We're Off to See the Wizard!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!
Elijah and I got the opportunity to be in a community production of The Wizard of Oz. Elijah was a munchkin, a poppy, a citizen of the Emerald City and a winged monkey. I got to be a very large munchkin and the Guardian of the Gates. Also, as an adult, I got to be the backstage and on stage guardian of both Elijah and another little boy whose name we will change to Matthew to protect his privacy.

Elijah loved his munchkin mustache and chicken hat.

Anyway, the rehearsals were a bit of a trial but Elijah loved performing and so did Matthew. There were a million fast costume changes so my expert skills at wrangling clothing onto little boys at lightening speed was invaluable in this production. I also brought multiple electronic devices to make sure there was no talking backstage when it wasn't their turn to be hamming it up.
The production itself was not perfect, by any means, but there were a few shining moments. First, we had the most amazing scarecrow of all time. Truly. He could walk into any broadway production of the Wizard of Oz and win the part. He was a terrific physical and emotional actor and he was great with kids. He's single ladies!
Second, the scene where the witch calls her flying monkeys was worth the price of admission to experience. After we got the monkeys all suited up we sent them through tunnels underneath the auditorium so that they could come pouring in the auditorium doors and down the aisles when they were summoned. The kids really got into this and the sheer volume of monkey sounds while small bodies came leaping from nowhere made many of our smaller audience members cry. It was awesome. I got to see it during rehearsal and it made my hair stand on end. Elijah was a truly outstanding monkey.

This is my awesome Emerald City eye make-up. The first time I came home with it on, Tobias climbed up on my lap looked at face and said, "What the heck?!?"

Third, the set people built a really cool giant oz head puppet. The lighting and sound for that part was pretty incredible. It was way better to see it in person than in the movie.
So, we definitely had some things to be proud of. For my part, I was mostly there to support my kiddo and my roles were small and somewhat embarrassing at times but I threw myself into the performance so that it was fun. I liked being the Guardian of the Gate because I got to crack a few jokes but I was disappointed when they wouldn't let me have a gigantic green mustache like the guy in the movie. My friend and I had this idea that I would rip the mustache off and throw it into the audience later in the scene when we break into a calypso dance. There were three adult women who were citizens of Oz so they had us do a little dance front and center stage while we sang a song about the Emerald City. We felt a little bit like Vegas showgirls especially because the song contains the lines "We'll entertain you, make your dreams come true..." complete with shoulder movements and jazz hands. Oh yeah.
I have to say, though, the most memorable part of being the play was keeping tabs on those two boys. I had to make sure they were where they were supposed to be at all times, that they remembered and delivered their lines and that they didn't fall off the stage. It was harder than it sounds. Matthew had quite a few lines because he had an adorable delivery that just made you smile. During one performance, I noticed that he was edging away from our group of munchkins and that he kept putting his hand in his mouth. I started to worry that he was going to miss his cue for a line so I surreptitiously made my way over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. It was then that he turned to me pressed something small and wet into my hand and walked forward to deliver his line. When I looked down I saw that he had handed me the tooth he had just pulled out of his mouth. Awesome. And totally not gross. When we walked off stage after our scene he showed off his tooth to the lion, the scarecrow, Glinda and Dorothy. Best night ever in his opinion.

Elijah and I are munchkining it up. Love this kid.

I love that being in community theater brings together a diverse group of people and that it expands the people you know and interact with. I still run into college students and others from the productions I've done and it's fun to exchange a knowing smile and nod. I'm glad that Elijah got to experience the wonderful world of theater for the first time.