The Central Middle School Theater Arts department is pleased to present The Wizard of Oz on the George Sepe Memorial Stage for two performances this Friday, March 22 at 7:00pm and Saturday, March 23 at 5:00pm.
Contributed photo
Tickets can be purchased in advance online. Limited seats might be available at the door.
This year’s production is backed by over 90 talented cast and crew members – all from Central Middle School with a handful of orchestra and stage crew mentors from both the esteemed GPS staff and GHS student body.
The creative team includes CMS teachers Maddy Gale and Danielle Berard as
Co-Directors, CMS teacher Rebecca Lipschutz as Music Director, parent Producer Tom
Casazzone, Bonnie Hann as Set Designer and Julia Maggiola as choreographer.
The story tells of young Dorothy Gale who is swept away by a tornado from her Kansas farm to the magical land of Oz. There, she encounters a host of whimsical characters: good witches, bad witches, animals that talk, scarecrows that walk, and things magical to behold. To find her way home, she must journey along the Yellow Brick Road to see the mysterious and all-powerful Wizard in Emerald City. Along the way, she makes new friends, but must also brave many dangers, including the Wicked Witch of the West, who will stop at nothing to get her hands on Dorothy’s magical ruby slippers. To make it home safely, Dorothy must learn an important lesson: there’s no place like home.
The role of Dorothy is played by 8th grader, Sophie Sterling along with 8th graders Liliana McGown as Scarecrow, Adriana Pia Vergaro Portolano as the Tin Man, John Trey Young as the Lion, Mikah Kaalund as Glinda and Carly Sole as the Wicked Witch.
The full cast includes:
Dorothy: Sophie Sterling
Auntie Em: Grace Bennett
Uncle Henry: Tommy Healy
Hunk :Madison Quick
Hickory: Sophie Trikoupis
Zeke: Ryan Miranda
Miss Gulch: Ela Larrea
Professor Marvel: Hunter Diedrich
Glinda: Mikah Kaluund
Emerald City Guard: Polly Wells
Scarecrow: Lilliana McGowan
Tin Man: Adriana Pia Portalano Vergona
Cowardly Lion: Trey Young
Wicked Witch: Carly Sole
Wizard of Oz: Charles Guliner
Munchkin Mayor: Michael Casazzone
Munchkin Barrister: Liam Westhoven
Munchkin Coroner: Nate Engle
Munchkin Braggart: Ava Kiraly
Munchkin No. 1 (Teacher): Hudson McWhorter
Munchkin No. 2 (Teacher): Elisa Dall'Olio
Munchkin Father No. 1: Rocky Ha
Munchkin Father No. 2: Charlie Peden
Lullabye League (Three Tots):
Clarissa Maldonado
Abby Winig
Maggie Reid
Lollipop Guild, (Three Tough
Kids):
Isabella Taffur
Parker Ryan
Lily Hall
Munchkin Woman: Emilie Sostre
Munchkin Fiddler: Ella Pietrafeso
First Crow: Taryn Zullin
Second Crow: Claire Pinheiro
Third Crow: Summer Jablonski
First Tree: Jules Yantorno
Second Tree: Ellie Rockel
Third Tree: Liana Zapata
Oz Man: Bode Erenson
Oz Woman: Lexi Guliner
Winkie General: Liam Westhoven
Nikko (Monkey Commander): Michael Casazzone
Munchkin Ensemble:
Olivia Bennett, Olivia Biano, Charlotte Bosco, Emi Casalins,
Kai Cooperman, Amanda Curtin, Anita Damota, Luke Daniel,
Lilia Dubin, Bailey Ehret, Olivia Honey, Jagger Levine, Dalia
Marroquin, Mila Moulson, Thalia Nobay, Emma O'Donnell,
Grace Reynolds, Sophia Salazar, Rushil Shah, Ava Silver,
Natalie Summerton, Elise Velleca, Audrey Walsh
Ozians Ensemble:
JinLee Brown, Gabby Caravella, Caroline Collins, Eliza
Cornelius, Sadie Craw, Bode Erenson, Amanda Guliner, Lexi
Guliner, Tinatin Kiladze, Florence Kim, Anna Lesniewski, Abby
Levin, Beatrice Madeira, Juliette Prezioso
Ensemble members also play a variety of roles such as the Jitterbugs, Poppies, Snowflakes, Winkies and Flying Monkeys.
The Stage Crew includes students Sean Lipp, Charlotte Bishop, Ruby Millman, Charlotte Ghinculov, Ashley Zosiak, Calliope Nobay, Ava Carroll, Luke Gyesky, Andrea Nguyen, Hugh Cassidy, Lia Southworth, EJ Gentile, Sarah Pemberthy, William Gilmutdinov, Nox Agosto, Jackson Toohey, Guiseppe Graziosi, Nicholas Machen, Isaac Southworth, Oliver Stein and Jack Glass