The annual Watertown Middle School musical takes the stage this week. “The Wizard of Oz” will be performed for the public on Thursday, March 1, and Friday, March 2, at 7 p .m.

Tickets are $5 for students/children/seniors and $10 for adults. Tickets will be available at the door. The evening shows are appropriate for children 5 and up.

The students have been working on the set since September, and the cast auditioned in the the first week of November.

According to WMS theater director Abby Casey, last year’s show, “The Sound of Music” had 50 students in the cast and 10 on the crew. The year before 90 students were involved with “The Lion King,” including some 70 on stage.

“I try to add a new layer [for the students] every year,” said Casey, whose first WMS musical was “Once On This Island” in 2009. “In 2009, I had four boxes on the stage, almost no set pieces. We borrowed as many costume pieces as we could, and luckily people said, ‘Oh I’ll let just you keep it.’ Last year we added a live orchestra, as we stopped using the karaoke tracks.”

Over the years, she also given more and more responsibility to the students, including building the sets and and making the costumes.

“A lot of what you are going to see [in “Wizard of Oz”] is coming right from a student’s head,” she said.

Eighth-grader Malcolm MacDonald is one of 12 WMS students who worked on the crew, doing everything from building the sets to making costume. For “Wizard of Oz,” Malcolm is working as the lighting director.

Q: What do you like most about being on the crew?

A: “”What I like best is probably how much work goes into it. Like building it, rehearsing it. It has all the fun you can get. There’s always something happening, and you feel like you’re helping build something. And when you see the what happens finally, it’s just really cool.”

Q: Do you like being backstage or in the booth better?

A: Probably in the booth. It’s much quieter, and there’s a lot less room to mess up. You only have one thing to stick to.

Q: Have you ever gotten anxiety during the plays? If yess, then when?

A: To be honest, no. There’s not 50 people running around. You don’t have to worry about someone else doing the same exact job as you. Because I only have one job, and that’s to control the lights. Nobody else controls the lights except me.

Q: What’s the hardest part about your job?

A: Probably cues. Especially during the play when all the lights are off, it’s hard to see backstage, so you have to make sure you get the lights on the stage on so they can see. But you have to make sure the crowd ain’t seeing lights at the same time.

“The Wizard of Oz” cast and crew

Dorothy …………………………………………….Isabella Nitschke

Aunt Em ……………………………………………Gianna Mariano

Uncle Henry ………………………………………Andre Monteiro

Hunk/Scarecrow ………………………………..Sadie Currier-Brown

Hickory/Tin Man ………………………………..Riley Doss

Zeke/Cowardly Lion …………………………..Sidney Hackett

Miss Gulch ………………………………………. Kira Walker

Professor Marvel/Wizard…………………….Daniel Garside  

Toto…………………………………………..Jenna Attiyat, David Macuk

Glinda, The Witch of the North……………Claire Fabian

The Wicked Witch of the West ……………Kira Coleman

Mayor of Munchkinland ……………………..Camila Lo-Pinto

Barrister …………………………………….Lara Cordeiro

Coroner ……………………………………………Desiree Ambila

Schoolteacher ………………………………Victoria Reilly

City Fathers: Ava Hayward, Alyce Judge, Eva Kelleher

Lullaby League: Naomi Fandetti, Casey Master, Jenika McMillan

Lollipop Guild: Catherine Fabian, Brodie Flan, Tyler Herrero, Aidalyss Ortiz

Munchkins: Diana Abramian, Alishba Amin, Jenna Attiyat, Lana Bekdash, Claire Bernstein, Mina Garcia-Rangel, Isabella Hanna, Alex Maguire, Nadeen Mahkzomi, Malac Mahmoud, Anastasia Rykova Kira Walker

Crows: Julia Biagiotti, Brodie Flan, Nina Paquette

Trees: Jodie Coulter-DeWit, Neythaniel Rosario, Eden Salley

Poppies: Julia Biagiotti, Mairead Connolly,  Avaree Crockton, Brodie Flan, Gianna Mariano, Nina Paquette, Eden Salley, Leniya Yapjian

Emerald City Guard ………………………….. Brodie Flan

Winkie General …………………………………. Bianca Skraly

Nikko (Monkey Commander) …………..….Tyler Herrero

Monkey Deputy…………………………………. Casey Master

Flying Monkeys: Katey Cabral, Victoria Reilly, and Mina Garcia-Rangel

Beauticians of Oz: Lara Cordeiro, Avaree Crockton, Camila Lo Pinto, Casey Master

Polishers of Oz: Isabella Hanna, Bianca Skraly, Rylee Valstyn,  Kira Walker

Manicurists of Oz: Mairead Connolly, Catherine Fabian, Alyce Judge

Ozians/Winkies: Desiree Ambila, Jenna Atiyyat, Lana Bekdash, Claire Bernstein, Julia Biagiotti, Naomi Fandetti, Mina Garcia-Rangel, Ava Hayward, Eva Kelleher, Nadeen Mahkzomi, Malac Mahmoud, Jenika McMillan, Andre Monteiro, Nina Paquette

Jitterbugs: Julia Biagiotti, Mairead Connolly, Avaree Crockton, Brodie Flan, Isabella Hanna, Nina Paquette, Eden Salley, Leniya Yapjian

Munchkins: Diana Abramian, Alishba Amin, Jenna Attiyat, Lana Bekdash, Claire Bernstein, Mina Garcia-Rangel, Isabella Hanna, Alex Maguire, Nadeen Mahkzomi, Malac Mahmoud, Anastasia Rykova, Kira Walker

Crows: Julia Biagiotti, Brodie Flan, Nina Paquette

Trees: Jodie Coulter-DeWit, Neythaniel Rosario, Eden Salley

Crows: Julia Biagiotti, Brodie Flan, Nina Paquette

Trees: Jodie Coulter-DeWit, Neythaniel Rosario, Eden Salley

Poppies: Julia Biagiotti, Mairead Connolly,  Avaree Crockton, Brodie Flan, Gianna Mariano, Nina Paquette, Eden Salley, Leniya Yapjian

Emerald City Guard ………………………….. Brodie Flan

Winkie General …………………………………. Bianca Skraly

Nikko (Monkey Commander) …………..….Tyler Herrero

Monkey Deputy…………………………………. Casey Master

Flying Monkeys: Katey Cabral, Victoria Reilly, and Mina Garcia-Rangel

STUDENT CREW

Director: Theresa Cabral

Technical Director: Jared Norton

Lighting Designer: Malcolm MacDonald

Lighting Intern: Zuhi Masud

Fight Choreographer: Matt Tuccinardi

Set/Props Designer(s):

Mahera Ahmed Marwa Alwaz

Tini Coulter-DeWit Mona Houjazy

Cicily Langdon Koji Obara

Isaac Russo Anna Vrahliotis

Program, Ticket, & Shirt Art Design: Eleni Hum

Curtain Operator: Eleni Hum

Costume Managers: Jamie Fernandez-Sanchez, Gaby Santos

STUDENT ORCHESTRA

Claire Gabel (WHS ‘18), Flute

Anna Fabian (WHS ‘20), Clarinet

Rita Hackett (WHS ‘21), Alto Saxophone

Maud Neeley (WHS ‘21), Trumpet

Michael MacNeill (WMS ‘18), Trumpet

Maia Vachon (WHS ‘20), Violin

Anaïs Markwood (WHS ‘20), Viola

Nathan Theodore (WMS ‘18), Viola

–March 1, 2018–