Young Chang The director of the show...

Young Chang

The director of the show has directed this exact show before. Many

times.

At 17, he knows what doesn’t work and also what’s worth

remembering. So for the Newport Beach Theater Company’s production of

“The Wizard of Oz,” running through Sept. 8 at Lincoln School, Ryan

McKenian has brought in a ramp that snakes from the stage to the area

where the audience sits.

It was recently painted yellow to look more like the yellow brick

road.

To simulate falling snow, he’s using a bubble machine and

substituting bubbles for snow.

He’s adopted a track-on-ceiling system that allows stage crew

members to fly things across -- a cow, a lady in a rocking chair, a

miniature of Dorothy’s house -- for the famous tornado scene.

“I’ve just brought in good things from every production I’ve

done,” Ryan said.

Based on the book by L. Frank Baum, “The Wizard of Oz” tells the

story of a girl, Dorothy, who gets caught in a tornado and sent over

the rainbow to the land of Oz. There she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin

Man and the Cowardly Lion, all of who help her to meet the Wizard and

get back home to Kansas.

One good lesson McKenian’s gleaned from years of acting in or

working behind the show is making sure the show moves along.

“This show, as much as people love it, can get really boring and

really slow,” Ryan said.

His goal as the director since mid-July has been to maintain a

brisk and fun pace.

But ask four of the main characters whether their experience this

summer has been at all slow or boring, and they’ll giggle their way

through a vehement “no.” Most of them relate so deeply with their

characters that getting into costume and stepping on stage is barely

like stepping into someone else’s shoes.

Speaking of shoes.

Jennie Geoffroy, a Newport Beach teen playing Dorothy for half of

the shows, reportedly ran out and bought shoes the minute she learned

she was cast in the principal role. She also bought 30 yards of red

sequins from Calico Corner and picked up a pair of bows too. Today,

her once plain and pointy shoes are wildly red, glittery and bowed.

When she’s not wearing them on stage, they sit on a visible ledge in

her house where a ceiling light dramatically makes them glow.

“I kind of am Dorothy, in a way,” said the 15-year-old. “I’m all

for the little girl dress, the pigtail braids... and I love my ruby

red slippers.”

Jessie Safran plays Auntie Em and the Glinda, the Good Witch of

the North. The daughter of Linda Safran, who is president of the

company, admits that she’s a lot like both her characters in that she

likes to take care of people and be all-around pleasant.

But Nichole Hayes, who plays mean neighbor Miss Almira Gulch as

well as the Wicked Witch of the East, says she really has to try to

step out of herself to be convincingly evil.

“I wanted something challenging when I first tried out for the

part,” said the 13-year-old Newport Coast resident. “And I’d never

been evil before.”

Perhaps most suited for a role though is 10-year-old Alexa Safran,

sister to Jessie and daughter to Linda. At 4-feet-9, she crawls on

her hands and knees throughout the show and plays Toto. Her costume

is a furry dog outfit and her makeup includes a black nose.

“When I was younger, I always acted like a dog,” Alexa said. “And

whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said

a dog.”

The cast ranges in age from 7 to 17. The audience also runs the

gamut in age. Ryan isn’t at all surprised that the classic tale

attracts so many generations.

“‘The Wizard of Oz’ is one of those stories that people love to

see over and over,” he said. “And we learn to love Dorothy in the

show. We’re struggling with her the entire show to help her get back

to Kansas.”