Local events

The Parkersburg Actors Guild is bringing a classic to the stage with its presentation of "The Wizard of Oz" in July and August.

"The Wizard of Oz" will play for nine performances at the Actors Guild, located at Eighth and Juliana streets in downtown Parkersburg.

The performance dates are 8 p.m. July 25 and 26 and Aug. 1, 2, 8 and 9 and at 2:30 p.m. on July 27 and Aug. 2. The Guild will present both a matinee at 2:30 p.m. and the evening performance at 8 p.m. on Aug. 3. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and can be reserved by calling the Actors Guild Box Office at (304) 485-1300. Reservations can also be made through the Web site at www.actorsguildoline.com.

Director Robin White said four auditions were held in May and from the nearly 60 people who auditioned, 28 were cast to bring the characters to life. The directors looked for strong singers, dancers and actors and feel that they found all three for not only the principle roles but the ensemble roles as well, he said.

Many of the actors play multiple roles as background characters in some of the crowd scenes in Munchkin Village, the city of Oz and other locations.

âThis is an amazing cast that has worked tremendously hard from day one to perform for our audiences,ã White said.

The cast is made up of both Guild veterans and some new faces. The main role of Dorothy will be played by Vallery Crossley, who has appeared in productions in the theatre department at Ohio Valley University.

Crossley is a relative newcomer to the Guild, having appeared in her first Guild production in its last show, the drama âDoubt.ã She recently won an excellence in acting award at the regional Ohio Community Theatre Association Fest for her portrayal of a nun in that production. She will be competing on the state level later this year, White said.

Following Dorothy down the yellow brick road will be E. Allan Pennington as the Scarecrow, Danny DePugh as the Tin Man and Todd Tucker as the Cowardly Lion. Additional principal characters include Rick Perdue as the Professor and the Wizard of Oz, Melody Carson as Glinda the Good Witch and Dixie Sayre as the Wicked Witch.

âItás been amazing,ã Crossley said of her experience working on the Oz production, which was much larger and more intricate than anything she had done at OVU or her first Guild experience. âThereás so many technical things that Iáve never even seen before and everythingás so organized and big.ã

Crossley was determined to audition for Oz even before she tried out for the âDoubtã cast.

âI couldnát imagine being in this type of show buy I knew I wanted to audition because itás exciting. Everybody loves this story when theyáre kids and just being in it and being part of it, any part of it, is a dream come true,ã Crossley said.

Doing the two Guild productions back-to-back has given her âa great range of experience coming out of college,ã especially since they are so different, a serious drama with a controversial subject and the classic musical.

Tucker, who plays Zeke the farmhand and the Cowardly Lion, said it has been âextremely funã to play such a familiar character.

âWhile you want to pay homage to the movie and the people that came before, you still want to put your own twist on it. These characters are all still copyrighted so you have stay within parameters, but weáve all managed to put our own little twists on things,ã he said.

White said nearly 80 costumes were constructed for the production, with costuming being handled by Ann Simonton. The technical director is John Gradwohl, who is responsible for all things technical ­ lighting, sound and set.

White said designing the set was daunting as there are numerous scene changes throughout the production. Gradwohl decided to try something unique for the Guild and designed a turntable for the stage that will rotate not only with set pieces but will become a part of the action in the musical as well.

White has previously directed the Guild productions of âSeussicalã and âBeauty and the Beast.ã Assistant director Bob Heflin is participating in his first venture on the directing side of the stage and is also assisting with choreography, while Morgan Heflin is serving as choreographer. White said one of the most difficult jobs on the production side was that of music director who was basically âon taskã throughout the entire process ­ from auditions to closing night ä and Debbie DeWees was up for this challenge.