August 16, 2017
The South Burnett Musical Comedy Society’s exuberant and innovative production of ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ will open at Kingaroy Town Hall this Friday night (August 18), and it promises to set a new standard for South Burnett live theatre productions.
The show boasts a record-breaking cast of 52 singers, dancers and actors along with more than 200 costumes and a wide range of sets that include static and animated projection screens never seen in a local stage production before.
Four directors have played a hand in the show’s overall structure, music, dancing and sound; and a bevy of sponsors have come aboard to help the SBMCS bring the production to the stage.
Performers have been drawn from not only the Musical Comedy Society, but from local primary and secondary schools and three local dance schools as well.
The result is a lively, colourful and at times whacky rendition of this much-loved classic that seems certain to keep audiences happily glued to their seats from the opening scenes to the final curtain.
On Sunday, the SBMCS gave a twenty minute preview of selected scenes from the Wizard Of Oz for an audience composed of friends, supporters and proud parents whose children are performing onstage.
The result was a spell-binding insight into the show, which will have seven outings before its short season wraps up on August 26.
Director Craig Reiger, who has been living and breathing the show since rehearsals began in May, said he hoped audiences would enjoy the end result.
The images and video broadcast on the projection screens were specially imported from the USA, he said.
They not only add a new dimension to the production, but have also saved the group countless hours painting static backdrops on canvas.
Smoke machines and crisp sound production by Andrew Beckett from Bullroarer Studios also add to the atmosphere.
So do cleverly constructed sets that have been designed for rapid assembly and disassembly in the Town Hall’s cramped quarters.
Cast members range in age from three to 88, Craig said.
They’ve been drawn from St Mary’s Catholic College, St John’s Lutheran School, Kingaroy State High School, and Taabinga, Kingaroy, Nanango, Crawford and Proston State Schools.
Students from the Kingaroy Dance Academy, La Creme Dance Academy and Ally Walker’s Dance Academy help round out the cast.
The Wizard Of Oz will before performed at Kingaroy Town Hall at 7:00pm on August 18, 19, 25 and 26. There’ll also be three additional matinee performances at 2:00pm on August 19, 20 and 26.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for concession card holders and $15 for young people aged 5-17 (under 5s are free).
They will be available at the door before each performance, but can also be booked online.
The Wizard Of Oz has been sponsored by Huston Motors, Kingaroy Freight Express, Bullroarer Pro Sound, Greenslades Earthmoving, T&T Septic Cleaning Service, Two Sisters Scrapbooking, Kingaroy Joinery, Red Ant Mowing Service, Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington, Kingaroy Plumbing Works, Ken Mills Toyota, the Empire Theatre, Coppards Menswear, Vicki Rossi and Lyn Sullivan.
storm fairies gather and wait to transport her to the land of Oz
at a Munchkin village and meets the Good Witch Of The North
Nikki Webster as Dorothy and toured Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
