‘The Wizard of Oz’ Opens New Auditorium
©The Talon News | Cate Clark
Senior Carlin Clark stars as Dorthy Gale along side, Grant Wright as Tin Man, Srimaan Kolanakuduru as Scarecrow, and Levi Pabst as Lion in The Wizard of Oz. They perfromed on January 20, 2022, in the new Argyle High School Auditorium.
January 27, 2022
The Wizard of Oz, one of the most famous fictional stories in American history, was brought to life last weekend by the Argyle theatre department on stage after months of hard work and dedication by all of the cast, crew, and directors.
In October of 2021, tryouts were held for the crew and huge cast that also included elementary school children to portray the Munchkins. Afterwards, there was a drive to prepare for the opening Jan. 20, 2021.
“It was a lot of work,” junior Grant Wright, actor of the Tin Man said. “There were so many lines and songs to memorize and dances to learn.”
Alongside the cast, the crew worked diligently to prepare for the show. Set pieces had to be built for every scene of the show, and the crew also had to navigate the new lighting panels, controls and the backstage operations in a new auditorium.
“This is the first production we’ve ever done here,” sophomore Jade Beaulieu, a member of the running crew for the show said. “We all had to relearn everything.”
With this new struggle for the crew, there were also problems relating specifically to the play, including the elementary school Munchkin cast and the dog who would be posing as Toto.
“There just has to be a Toto in a Wizard of Oz related anything,” sophomore ensemble cast member Cora Crowell said. “But we didn’t think about how every other Toto was professionally trained, while ours was not.”
Despite the many challenges, senior lead [Dorothy] Carlin Clark relished the opportunity of performing her last musical on the new stage.
“I loved every second of getting to play the role of Dorothy,” Clark said. “I’ve always loved her and her story, so it was thrilling to be able to play her.”
Clark has been in six total shows in her acting career so far, with her seventh approaching quickly at the preparation for the One-Act Play.
“I’ve been the lead role or supporting lead role for all 6 of those plays,” Clark stated. “It’s definitely been a long ride.”
Wright is coming up on his senior year soon and is looking forward to what he can accomplish in his last year at Argyle.
“It’s been a huge and fun process these past few years,” Wright said. “Especially with all the people I’ve been blessed to meet.”
With the musical now behind her, Clark looks forward to the productions to come, determined to push herself to be the best she can for her last year.
“It was a bittersweet ending for me to play a character I so admire for my last musical here,” Clark said. “I will miss the people who have become my family and all we have grown through together, but this was by far the best musical to end my high school career on.”
Last Thursday night, The Wizard of Oz began its first show for the weekend, and every show was met with overwhelming success, with turnout increasing daily according to Director Melissa Toomer.
“There’s always problems that appear in production,” Wright stated. “But in the end, we all came together to create the world of Oz for everyone to enjoy.”
