With performances starting on Wednesday, April 10, through Sunday, April 14, Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance put on a classic musical, “The Wizard of Oz,” at Bedell Performance Hall.

Having a total of six shows, the students in this musical shared the classic tale of adventure and friendship. Many people of different generations came to these performances, filling the hall with laughter and applause.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow allowed the audience to see all the characters come to life, including the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow and Toto, a real dog played by Barney Alworth.

“I’ve really enjoyed playing with the sassiness of Glinda but honestly I just want to join in with the Munchkins to having a dance party,” Hudson said.

In Act I, SEMO students perform as Munchkins during the "Wizard of Oz".Photo by Tabitha Blunt

She said she was grateful that she and the cast were able to do the show for the community while also bringing in their own families to Cape.

Rehearsals for this production started around Feb. 5, 2024, but the auditions and the planning for this show started much earlier.

Chair of Dobbins Conservatory of Theater and Dance and Director of this production, Kenneth Stilson, explains the process of start to finish on a musical performance like this.

“There’s an evolution, not just from opening night to closing but there’s the whole evolution starting with the very first time you cast the show months ago,” Stilson said.

Watching a musical for the very first time, sophomore entrepreneurship major Nathan Rushak Govada describes what it was like to see “The Wizard of Oz.”

In Act I, SEMO students perform as Munchkins during the "Wizard of Oz."Photo by Tabitha Blunt

“This is my first time so I just like experiencing it all. The story was pretty interesting and there was a good story at the end like a good moral,” Govada said.

Hoping to be in musicals like this, sophomore music major Mark Klockenkemper describes how this production compares to other musicals he has seen.

“I would say it’s college theater at its best. I have a lot of friends in it, they all did really good, singing, acting, dancing, all triple threats,” Klockenkemper said.

The next performance by the theater and dance department will be at Rust Flexible Theatre with the production of “Moving Perspectives” on April 19-20, at 7:30 p.m., with original works by Southeast students.