Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
More than 80 students across seven grades at South St. Paul Secondary have joined forces to whisk people into a mesmerizing land filled with mystical characters, a yellow brick road and a young woman wearing a pair of magical ruby-red shoes. The South St. Paul Theatre Department will present “The Wizard of Oz,” at 7 p.m., Nov. 10, 2 and 7 p.m., Nov. 11, and 7 p.m., Nov. 12, at the Secondary School, 700 2nd St. N. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. Cost is $8 for students and $10 for adults. Admission is free for seniors.
“It’s a fun, classic children’s tale that also has a lot going on under the surface for the adults to enjoy,” said South St. Paul theater director Eric Holsen. “It will have all the songs you’re used to plus some new ones you probably haven’t heard before.”
The musical is based on the famous 1939 film of the same name and the book by L. Frank Baum. It hasn’t yet hit the South St. Paul stage under Holsen’s leadership because of the technical challenges it presents, such as complex special effects and numerous fast set changes, but it has always been on his bucket list. He knew this year’s talented students were up to the task.
Each of the five lead roles is cast with two students. Audiences will see different faces on stage depending on which of the four performances they attend. Most of the students have years of experience in the school’s theater program and have previously held lead roles. Lilly Rosengren (grade 12) and Kaylee Contreras (11) will be Dorothy for two performances each. Rosengren had a lead role in last fall’s all-school play “Little Shop of Horrors,” and Contreras was Matilda in the show of the same name in summer 2022. Xaden Gullickson (12) and Tre Allen (11) will be the Tinman. Gullickson was in last spring’s performance of “Tempest” and Allen was the voice of the man-eating plant in “Little Shop of Horrors.” Grace Kliniski (12) and Wyatt Hren (10) will perform as the scarecrow. Klinkiski is an experienced dancer who played Ariel in last spring’s presentation of “Tempest,” and this will be Hren’s biggest role yet. The cowardly lion will be played by Cat Sundly (12) and Zacchaeus Yang (11). Sundly was a lead role in last year’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” and Yang transferred to South St. Paul this fall from Arkansas, where he was involved in theatre. The wicked witch will be played by Paige Schlagel (12) and Eliana Klaehn (8), and it will be each of their biggest roles yet.
“Double casting works great,” said Holsen. “We get opportunities for more students to be in bigger roles. Another big part of it is, post-COVID, we always have to think about happens if someone gets sick. Even now, if somebody gets COVID the day before the show they’re out for five days, and that’s our entire run.”
Holsen said the musical is similar to the movie and that teams of students have been hard at work crafting costumes and more than 20 different backdrops to bring the show to life. Maggie Tuhy, an eighth grader, has been selected as stage manager. Altogether, 62 students will perform on stage and 21 will be behind the scenes working on lighting, sound and more.
“Our cast is grades 6-12 and we get kids from all those grades onstage and backstage,” said Holsen. “We work with everyone from third graders to adults in our two summer shows, so I just see a whole lot of advantages to working with a wide range of ages [on one play]. I think the younger people bring a lot of energy and freshness and the older ones bring their experience and a lot of mentorship for the younger kids.”
Due to play rights, livestreams of the performances are banned so you can expect the auditorium to be full of other friendly faces eager to see the students shine under the spotlight. For more information, visit sspps.org.
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