‘The Wiz’ on Oct. 3-6

THE BROADWAY musical

THE WIZ will be presented in Cebu from Oct. 3 to 6 at the newly air-conditioned auditorium of St. Theresa’s College

(STC) with matinees at 2 p.m., and gala shows at 7 p.m. on all four dates.

THE WIZ is a fundraiser

for the Cebu City Young Ladies Association of Charity (YLAC) School Foundation located at P. Gomez St., opposite the Cebu Cathedral.

The YLAC School provides free quality Christian education to 561 students in the elementary grades from 1 to 6. The pupils come from marginalized families all over Cebu.

Benjie Diola, no less, is directing this musical comedy which we happily endorse and urge everyone to find time to see as much as to enjoy it. Tickets

are available through contact person Lea Rebollido at the school’s telephones 255-8839 and 268-8078.

A ticket to the matinee is only P100, sit anywhere. For the gala shows ticket prices are at P300 for seats from front to row 15; P200 for the remaining 25 rows; and P100 for balcony.

You may also obtain those tickets by contacting the Cebu City YLAC School Foundation officers, as follows:

Chairman Emerita Vilma Cornejo Lee at 0917-327-6084; president Anita Sanchez at 0917-328-1932; legal counsel Merle Cunanan at 0922-827-2099; Ways/Means chair persons Tessie Srela and Loretta Calderon at 0933-165-6191; and YLAC Cebu City unit president Marissa Baldecir at 0923-928-7262.

The story is familiar to many of us based as it is on the book “The Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. He adapted his own

novel, writing a libretto and the lyrics for a musical that opened in New York City in 1903.

The story: Dorothy lives with her Aunt Em in a Kansas farm house. One day a tornado lifts the house with Dorothy in it, landing in a magical kingdom. It just so happens that the house has killed The Wicked Witch of the East.

That is what Dorothy is told by the Good Witch of the North, who gives her the dead witch’s magical shoes. Dorothy wants to go home to Kansas. She is told to go to the Emerald City ruled by the Wizard of Oz. He can do anything.

Dorothy takes the golden yellow brick road and on the way acquires some companions. There’s the Scarecrow who’s like the wizard to give him some brains; the Tin Man who needs to be oiled and wants a heart; and the cowardly Lion who needs a good dose of courage.

At the Emerald City they are told that to obtain those wishes they must first get rid of the Wicked Witch of the West. It is a difficult task filled with dangers as Dorothy and her friends discover.

They are held captive but Dorothy’s magic shoes seem

to ward off the witch. By chance, all it takes to demolish the witch is

a pail of water Dorothy throws at her, and thus she melts away into nothingness.

Back in Oz they find out that

the Wizard is but a poor man who drifted there aboard a hot air

balloon that was loosened from its anchorage. He tells the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion that their having coped with their adventures has proven they have brains, heart, and courage.

As to Dorothy, all she has to do

to get back home is to click her shoes’ heels and make a wish. She does just that and finds herself back in Kansas with Aunt Em, her pet

Toto, and everyone else. She has a fascinating story to tell, but was it

all just a dream?

“The Wizard of Oz” was made

into a film in 1939 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with Judy Garland as Dorothy, and that launched her as a superstar. There were lots of songs in the film, the most popular being “Over the Rainbow.” It won the

Oscar for Best song that year in the Academy Awards.

The film was nominated for Best Picture but that Oscar went to

another M-G-M release, “Gone With The Wind.” If you follow tcm on channel TV, turner Classic Movies you may catch “The Wizard of Oz” some day, or night.

THE WIZ to be staged Oct. 3 to 6 has a totally new score and catchy songs. In the cast are the following:

Maria Kim Martinez – Dorothy; Gabriel Gomez – scarecrow; Phil

Angelo Lim – Tin Man; Benjie

Layos – Lion; Jo-Ann Abesamis

Zaldumbide – Aunt Em; Kyle Mella – The Wiz; Ria Araneta – Evillence the Wicked Witch of the West; Shane Reseroni and Gayle Sinodjan – Glinda the Good Witch of the South; Carmelita Martinez – Addaperle the Good With of the North; Anthony Borinaga as the Gate Keeper.