A couple of months ago I announced on here that Kendall had auditioned for and been cast in our local youth theater production of The Wizard of Oz as the Wizard (I find it interesting how, ever since this blog was created, this theme keeps popping into our lives at various points...) And so began the next several weeks of many, many rehearsals and memorizing and practicing at home, and oh so much exitement! Kendall was thrilled with his role and threw himself into it completely. This last weekend was the big production. They performed an assembly for the elementary school on Friday. Saturday they had an evening performance. Then Sunday they capped it all off with a matinee. Kendall was amazing! For never having done any acting (aside from some of his antics at home, that is), he was phenomenal. I tried my best to get a video clip to post on here, but I couldn't seem to get it to work. So what follows are a few still pictures of the entire show. Enjoy!
Upon arriving in Oz, Dorothy and Toto (who is an odd little dog who walks on two legs and resembles a little girl) met the good witch Glinda and a group of cute little munchkins who told her that she must follow the yellow brick road to find the wizard and ask him if he can help her get home.
Not long into their journey, they encountered a scarecrow, a tin man, and a cowardly lion (who did such a great job that Spencer giggled everytime he saw him onstage).
Just when they were getting very hungry they met a couple of twin trees (some of Kendall's very best friends) who were not in the mood to share their apples. It worked out anyway because they tried to chase the travelers away by throwing their apples at them and, thinking quickly the group picked up the fallen missiles and had a snack.
Oh dear! A field of enchanted poppies that made everyone so sleepy. (This was the part that was Spencer's favorite.) When the lion smelled the flowers he fell so suddenly asleep that he landed right on his face. (The picture I took of that came out too blurry to post).
After a nap and a conversation with a "polite" gatekeeper in the emeral city, the travelers were led to the throne room where they talked to The Wizard. He told them he would only grant their wishes if they killed the wicked witch and brought him her broom as proof. So they set off and after an altercation with the flying monkeys and the witch, they threw a bucket of water (that resembled a blue blanket) at her and caused her to melt. The monkeys and guards celebrated her demise and took Dorothy and her pals back to the emerald city with the required broom. Back in the throne room they spoke with the giant wizard head (who talked with a loud, booming 8th grade voice) and showed him the broom. He still didn't want to help them and told them to come back tomorrow. But just then, that curious dog toto made a startling discovery behind the throne. The giant head was knocked out of the way, and then the story became very interesting...
Up popped a tiny little man (this really got some laughs from the audience) who claimed to be the great and wise and wonderful wizard of oz. But the game was up! He admited that he is only a man from Omaha after all. But still he thought he could help them. He gave the brainless scarecrow a diploma from the University of Omaha.
The Tin Man finally got a heart that was given to the wizard years ago by a pretty little girl for Valentine's Day. And the lion took a hearty drink of courage (did you know that Sprite is another name for courage?).
"And as for you, my dear..." The wizard told Dorothy that he could take her home in his hot air balloon. Sadly, however, silly Toto was off sniffing the lunch of a crowd member and the balloon and wizard took off without Dorothy. All was not lost though. Glinda returned and told Dorothy to click her heels together 3 times while chanting, "There's no place like home" and she would return to Kansas. After a quick and sad goodbye to her dear friends, Dorothy and Toto landed back in Kansas with Dorothy's rather grumpy aunt and uncle. The End.
Everyone came back for a final bow. This is Kendall and Brennan, the boy who was the big voice behind the giant head.
And here is the entire cast--approximately 40 kids! It was a great production and Kendall is already looking forward to next year. So am I, actually.
Upon arriving in Oz, Dorothy and Toto (who is an odd little dog who walks on two legs and resembles a little girl) met the good witch Glinda and a group of cute little munchkins who told her that she must follow the yellow brick road to find the wizard and ask him if he can help her get home.Not long into their journey, they encountered a scarecrow, a tin man, and a cowardly lion (who did such a great job that Spencer giggled everytime he saw him onstage). Just when they were getting very hungry they met a couple of twin trees (some of Kendall's very best friends) who were not in the mood to share their apples. It worked out anyway because they tried to chase the travelers away by throwing their apples at them and, thinking quickly the group picked up the fallen missiles and had a snack.
Oh dear! A field of enchanted poppies that made everyone so sleepy. (This was the part that was Spencer's favorite.) When the lion smelled the flowers he fell so suddenly asleep that he landed right on his face. (The picture I took of that came out too blurry to post). After a nap and a conversation with a "polite" gatekeeper in the emeral city, the travelers were led to the throne room where they talked to The Wizard. He told them he would only grant their wishes if they killed the wicked witch and brought him her broom as proof. So they set off and after an altercation with the flying monkeys and the witch, they threw a bucket of water (that resembled a blue blanket) at her and caused her to melt. The monkeys and guards celebrated her demise and took Dorothy and her pals back to the emerald city with the required broom. Back in the throne room they spoke with the giant wizard head (who talked with a loud, booming 8th grade voice) and showed him the broom. He still didn't want to help them and told them to come back tomorrow. But just then, that curious dog toto made a startling discovery behind the throne. The giant head was knocked out of the way, and then the story became very interesting...
Up popped a tiny little man (this really got some laughs from the audience) who claimed to be the great and wise and wonderful wizard of oz. But the game was up! He admited that he is only a man from Omaha after all. But still he thought he could help them. He gave the brainless scarecrow a diploma from the University of Omaha. The Tin Man finally got a heart that was given to the wizard years ago by a pretty little girl for Valentine's Day. And the lion took a hearty drink of courage (did you know that Sprite is another name for courage?). "And as for you, my dear..." The wizard told Dorothy that he could take her home in his hot air balloon. Sadly, however, silly Toto was off sniffing the lunch of a crowd member and the balloon and wizard took off without Dorothy. All was not lost though. Glinda returned and told Dorothy to click her heels together 3 times while chanting, "There's no place like home" and she would return to Kansas. After a quick and sad goodbye to her dear friends, Dorothy and Toto landed back in Kansas with Dorothy's rather grumpy aunt and uncle. The End. Everyone came back for a final bow. This is Kendall and Brennan, the boy who was the big voice behind the giant head. And here is the entire cast--approximately 40 kids! It was a great production and Kendall is already looking forward to next year. So am I, actually. 
4 comments:
That was great! I loved the trees. Those productions are so fun. Great Job!
I wish so much that I could have been there to see that, it looked like a great production!! He is so small compared to everyone else that it was a perfect part for him to play the wizard!!
Good job!! Hopefully we can see what he does next year in person!!
How darling! Isabel will be jealous beyond anything...she has dreams of performing all the time.
How fun. I loved your narratoion too. Kendall was so cute.
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