Paul Szmal: And welcome back to FLX Morning on Finger Lakes News Radio, it's 7.51. South Seneca High School is gearing up for a production of The Wizard of Oz and Tina Bonner is here from South Seneca Middle Senior High to tell us all about it. Tina, good morning. How are you this morning?
Tina Bauder: Good morning, Paul. I'm well, thank you.
Paul Szmal: So who made the decision to perform this particular version of The Wizard of Oz and why?
Tina Bauder: Well, it's always a group decision. I have a production team, a pretty amazing group of adults who every year work together on our show and we start, well, we already started for next year trying to think about what we do next year. We always have one in the hopper or an idea at least, hopefully. So yeah, we work together as a team, my other directors, to decide what's best for the group of kids we have, the resources we have, all kinds of things go into the decision.
Paul Szmal: Now this is a musical version of The Wizard of Oz, correct?
Tina Bauder: Yes, this one is actually pretty close to the classic movie from the 1930s. It actually follows that script pretty closely. There are a few differences, but it's the closest one to the movie version.
Paul Szmal: How long has the cast been in rehearsals?
Tina Bauder: Actually, we auditioned before Christmas break and then we started right when we got back the first week in January. So we've been working about 10 weeks. I remember doing drama productions and musical productions in high school and it's far more involved than you probably think it is.
Paul Szmal: It sure is. It's a commitment. It's a commitment on a level, especially the last couple of weeks, that's pretty intense, but so worth it. I keep saying I'm flying through the eye of the needle right now, this week before the production.
Tina Bauder: The cast is drawn from both the middle and the senior high schools, correct?
Paul Szmal: That is correct, yes. Our program at South Seneca, the Ovid campus, is a 6-12 program. We have a separate middle school and a separate high school, but a lot of our extracurricular things other than sports are mixed 6-12. And there's even some additional cast members from South Seneca Elementary?
Tina Bauder: Yeah, this year we're excited. We have 10 elementary students in 4th and 5th grade joining our Munchkin Chorus. They're excited. They're doing a great job. They bring such an interesting and great positive energy to the rest of the cast when they're on the stage with them. Our cast really, my older kids really like being role models and knowing that these students who are in 4th and 5th grade are the future of our program, so they really enjoyed having them and they're really optimistic and positive with them. It's awesome to watch.
Paul Szmal: Now here's the important details you need to know. The performances are Friday, March 21st and 22nd, and on March 23rd there's a matinee, March 21st and 22nd, 7.30 in the evening, a 2 o'clock matinee performance on Sunday, March 23rd. And where will the performances be taking place, Tina?
Tina Bauder: They'll be taking place in Ovid at the High School Auditorium, it's right on Main Street. And we have a wonderful, beautiful state-of-the-art auditorium we're so grateful for. So come and join us. We hope to see people coming out for the show.
Paul Szmal: It's one of those shows that a lot of people remember and they say, oh yeah, we used to wait all year for that to be on TV, that one night of the year, right, back in the day.
Tina Bauder: Oh yes, yes. I remember that. It was usually a Friday night on CBS as I remember it back in the day, or at least it was when I was a kid.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, and it was talked about beforehand, oh, are you going to watch it, are you going to watch it? You know, it was an iconic thing in America where everybody was watching something at the same time, and that certainly doesn't happen often anymore, but yeah, you could count on The Wizard of Oz, the other one would be The Sound of Music, right? Those are the two in the year that people looked forward to.
So we're bringing one to the stage in Ovid, and hopefully we'll have a nice crowd to come out and support and enjoy the production, the story that we all know so well.
By the way, tickets are just $10 general admission, $9 for students and senior citizens, and you don't have to worry about buying tickets in advance, you can buy tickets right at the door.
Tina Bauder: Yeah, we have a 500-seat house, so we are opening those doors a half an hour before each performance, and we hope to get a really nice-sized crowd.
Paul Szmal: All right, well, anything else you'd like to add about the broadcast or about the musical presentation?
Tina Bauder: I just think, you know, March is such a wonderful time of the year. It's not only music in our schools month, which is a pretty big deal still in schools, but it's also the celebration of the American High School Musical, and I hope to get to see lots of the other shows that are happening around us on the other weekends of our production. It's one of those things I know people take the time to say, oh, which show this weekend? Which school's doing this show or that show? So it's something to celebrate. We encourage our kids to go and see other schools' productions as well. We learn from them, and we enjoy them, so hopefully people will come and do the same for us on this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, and again, it is March 21st, 22nd, and 23rd at the South Seneca High School Auditorium in Ovid, The Wizard of Oz, The Musical, presented by the South Seneca Middle Senior High School Players. So I will say, break a leg, Tina, in true Broadway style.
Tina Bauder: Thank you very much. And we'll look forward to seeing the performances. Thanks for coming out and telling us about it.
Paul Szmal: Thank you. That's Tina Bonner from the South Seneca Middle Senior High School joining us here on FLX Morning. It is 7-57.
