One More for the Kids

My pal Mary Smirl, who directed the young performers who appeared in last night's production of The Wizard of Oz, sent this comment along, and I wanted to share it with you, gentle reader:

I have to brag about these Munchkins, Chuck!

They have been such a dream to work with and the cast and crew of OZ thought so too. They went in (Monday) night for their first time with the rest of the cast to be "put in" the show.

They were feeling pretty good about what they had learned and were ready to take the stage when they found out they were to learn new blocking and movement due to stage/set adjustments. Now we know this happens a lot at load-in, but we also usually have a solid week of tech to work out the bugs. Not the case for the Munchkins of First Stage!

They had two hours to re-learn (their blocking) last night and then they were fed a wonderful dinner and sent home. They were to be put in the show, fit for costumes, makeup, hair, and learn curtain call (Tuesday) morning. Their call was 7:15 a.m. with the show starting at 9:30.

They have basically had a full week of tech in about three hours! They adjusted beautifully, as to be expected of First Stage kids, and you could not tell the difference between the local kids and the adult pros, they never missed a beat!

The cast and crew were very complimentary of their behavior both on and off stage and I have to say the same in return for the company itself. They were amazing to our kids! What a wonderful gift The Marshall Artists Series has given this group of kids short in size but long in talent.

It is one I know they won't ever forget:)

Thanks, Mary! Readers, you can see a few photos from last night's show (like the one above) right here on the Herald-Dispatch photo gallery.