Crown Point High School’s theater department presented the fall musical as, “The Wizard of Oz.” The cast and crew put together various set designs and memorable scenes from the original Wizard of Oz. This musical production’s box office sold out seven shows during their run. This cast proved that if they gather some courage, put on their brains and act with all their heart, they’ll be off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz.

“My most memorable moment on set, I have to say, is probably the guard’s outfit,” sophomore Kayden Rodriguez said. “It’s very funny.”

Within the Wizard of Oz, many of the cast members have memorable moments on set that help to bring their characters to life. Senior Rana Stevens, who played the Wicked Witch of the West and Miss Gulch, describes her favorite moment during the musical.

“My favorite entrance on set is my entrance as the witch for the first time in Munchkinland,” Stevens said. “Everyone just acts so scared of me, and I had to walk on with so much power and so much stage presence, or it’s not going to feel as eerie as it needs to be, and it just feels so cool to be the chaos.”

Within this show, many of the ensemble characters played roles from winkies to poppies. Many actors and actresses learned to be flexible in playing different roles.

“Being able to be versatile in all my roles has helped me become a better actress, because going from playing an excited Munchkin to a mad tree just really helps build variety,” junior Alyce Mehrle said.

The nostalgic characters within The Wizard of Oz gave actors and actresses a chance to bring to life their own version of the character. The dedication and improvisational acts of the Tinman, played by sophomore Andrew Zenere, helped him thrive as an actor and brought this fictional character to life.

“It’s a lot with knowing your movements, with characterization,” said Zenere. “This is my first character that is not human, so he doesn’t move like a human would. He moves very stiff at some points, but also very smooth at others, depending on whether he’s oiled or not. It is helpful knowing how to play nonhuman characters.”

Upon bringing the magic of this show to life, many of the hard-working crew members worked behind the scenes to make the show’s atmosphere feel as though the audience is a part of Oz. Many of these meticulous jobs were all for the audience’s enjoyment of the show, in hopes of the audience saying, “Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in the auditorium anymore.” To make this show work, some crew members had to step up and take on more responsibilities to help the show run smoothly.

“The production has been rough,” senior Aiden Hielema said. “ It’s been messy. In the crew that I’m on, currently, I have five jobs, most of which I wasn’t expecting to have. Usually, I just do atmospherics, but this year, I am atmospherics, stagehand, flight crew, puppet operator and backstage mic tech.”

Although the cast and crew put in tiresome work to make this production the best it can be, some moments on set stood out to the cast and crew more than any accolades they could receive. Freshman Jett James’s experience so far has been fulfilling.

“It’s been a lot of fun, but it’s also stressful,” James said. “It’s really high tempo, but it’s very rewarding.”

The production of “The Wizard of Oz” took a village to create, but to make this show the best it can be, it took a hardworking team. The cast and crew created a magical production for many to enjoy. From the dedicated crew and orchestra pit members to the high-flying cast, the theater department put together a show that will make the audience feel like there is no place like home.