by Annie Ruckman |

The musical, The Wizard Of Oz, can most likely be identified by sparkly red shoes and a little dog that answers to the name Toto, but debuting this fall, Liberty High School’s theater department will literally take flight with this classic musical. Participants signed up for time slots to sing for multiple teachers in the building at the recent auditions, including artistic director; Don Johnson, music and choreographer; Phillip Holthus, assistant director; Todd Hoover and accompanist; Leslie Bunch.
The first part of auditions was the singing portion.
“As far as singing goes, we are looking for good vocal tone that will carry and resonate in the performance hall, but a tone that also matches the characters’ voices in the script,” Holthus said.
Every character in the musical needs to fit a certain tone and attitude throughout to make The Wizard Of Oz the best it can possibly be.
“Dorthy needs to be innocent and a little on the mischievous side. The Scarecrow needs to have a little charm to him, the Tin Man needs to be strong and tough, yet still shows true sensitivity around him. The Lion needs to be funny, he has the most of the humor in the show and should be lovable,” Holthus said.
The next part of the auditions include a reading from the musical.
“We look for who is best for the role. Who shows us they are prepared, can make choices and be creative,” Johnson said. The actors have time to rehearse their scene with fellow students auditioning and then are brought in to begin the scene. Johnson and colleagues make the decisions and call backs are announced promptly after a decision is made.
This year, for the first time the theater department has a new never- before- seen addition to bring to The Wizard Of Oz.
“We are going to have flying actors. We are hiring Foy Inventerprises out of Las Vegas,” Johnson said. This new addition will provide students with the opportunity to challenge themselves.
With the new challenge students with also get to interact with elementary students, because two students from each Liberty elementary school were asked to play small roles in the musical this year.
“It is wonderful to watch the growth of the actors throughout the process. The most fun comes when the show comes all together and we are running the show and polishing the performance,” Johnson said.