The lights dim and the audience members fidget in their seats, waiting for the show to begin. The curtain pulls away and suddenly the Cannon Falls Auditorium is transformed into Kansas where Dorothy and her little dog Toto live. The set pieces were artfully constructed  and really captured the essence of OZ.  Hannah Brummund, who plays the ever wistful Dorothy, delivered every line with absolute grace and skipped in her dazzling ruby red slippers like they were made for her. The crowd was roaring with laughter at Matt Lockett’s entrance as the cowardly lion and enchanted when Mary Franz as Glinda the Good witch appeared.

Oz has many magical elements that can not be brought to life on stage so the cast and crew had to get creative with props like Glinda the Good witch’s bubble and the field of poppies scene. “The Jitterbug”, a dancing number, was refreshing and added a jazzy and interesting new piece to the story instead of the poppy field scene. Musical numbers were clearly practiced to perfection and it showed in the flawless performance of all.  The Scarecrow (Rachel Hartman), the Tin Man (Matt Breuer), and the Lion teamed up to save Dorothy from the Wicked Witch of the West, who is out to get Dorothy “and her little dog too!”. As a result, they gained what they most desired from the Great and Powerful Oz.  It’s like the movie jumped out of the screen and found a home on the stage of CFHS. When Dorothy returns to Kansas after her long sought after adventure in Oz, the viewers see that magic may not be in the mundane world but it is in everyone and it can take people many places.