Stony Point Players to present Wizard of Oz this weekend

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Mike Lembke said he was excited when he heard that the Stony Point Players were making a return.

“I was glad to see Stony Point coming back,” he said.

When he learned that the production was going to be The Wizard of Oz, he knew immediately that he would like to play the role of the Cowardly Lion.

“Even as a kid I always wanted to play the Lion.”

Lembke said he remembers playing with childhood friends when they would repeat the Lion’s iconic “Put ‘em up! Put ‘em up!” dialog.

The three shows will be this weekend at the old middle school — North Grand Auditorium at 500 North Grand Avenue. Dates are Saturday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., and Monday at 7 p.m.

Tickets have been selling quickly. Reserved-seat tickets can be ordered online at showtix4u.com or by phone at 866-967-8167. Whatever seats remain will be sold at the door before each show.

The director is Michelle Grob, who moved to Charles City to teach in the district at the start of the 2017-18 school year. She said that the upcoming show is a “community” effort, and that each audience member will surely know at least one person somehow involved with the production.

“Since we have over 100 people involved in our show — from our pit musicians, to our crew, to our set designers to our people acting — I can’t imagine that there wouldn’t be several people who they know,” Grob said. “Whether it’s people from their church, or from their neighborhood, or a relative, or a co-worker, or someone they went to school with — this is truly a community play,” Grob said.

Grob is assisted by student director and stage manager Ryan Wolfe, and the musical director is Derek Sturtevant, going into his third year as the CCHS vocal director. Sturtevant has assembled an orchestra of 17 pieces, all musicians from the community.

“You’re going to come, and there’s going to be all these people involved who you know, and you’re going to be thrilled to see what they do,” Grob said. “You can watch and support the community effort.”

The cast is made up entirely of local actors young and old, from seasoned veterans to talented newcomers.

Olivia Wolfe, a high school student, is on stage in nearly every scene in the main role of Dorothy. Ruby Peterson, also in high school, plays the Scarecrow.

Lembke, who landed his coveted role of the Cowardly Lion, got his start on stage in high school, from 1990-94, under the tutelage of longtime Charles City theatre director Linda Brant.

“I did almost every show I could, as well as speech and community theatre,” he said.

Lembke went to the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York and spent most of his 20s traveling around doing what he calls “off-off-Broadway theatre.” He has been active with the Charles City School District since 2010 as a speech and drama coach and play director.

“I think I’ve been a part of almost every show we’ve done the last 10 years, either on stage or off,” he said. “It’s exciting being back on the stage.”

Jeff Kellogg, who is playing the role of the Tin Man, is new to the Charles City stage. Kellogg has lived in Charles City for two years, and in Iowa for four. He grew up in Michigan, and currently works as an engineer at Cambrix. He and his wife have four children.

Although this is his first experience working with the Stony Point Players in Charles City, Kellogg is no stranger to the stage. His introduction to theatre came in high school back in Michigan, and he has been involved in community theatre and opera in Grand Rapids, among other places. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to audition when he first learned of the Stony Point production.

“Originally I was thinking that I wasn’t going to be able to, but I got home and my wife said, ‘Hey, they’re doing The Wizard of Oz, you should try out. I thought, OK,” Kellogg said.

Kellogg said that he would have accepted any role offered to him, and was glad to be offered the role of the Tin Man after auditions.

“It’s an exciting role,” he said. “I’d have been happy to take anything, but they wanted me in this spot, so I’ll do my best.”

He said that this was the perfect opportunity for him to get back on stage.

“I am going to be excited to have the curtain go up and have an audience again,” Kellogg said.

The all-important witches are played by Sherri Niles and Lynn Bauer. Bauer is Glinda, the Good Witch, while Niles has taken on the role of the Wicked Witch of the West. Erik Gordon has taken on the role of the Emerald City Guard.

Dorothy’s Auntie Em and Uncle Henry are portrayed by Yvonne Kisch and Chris Baldus, while Dorothy’s friends back in Kansas are played by James Severin, Stu Coulson and Bill Wolfe.

Justin DeVore is playing the mysterious Professor Marvel, while Marcia DeVore has the role of the adversarial Miss Gulch.

And then there’s Toto, Dorothy’s dog — played by Scarlett Woodard.

In addition to the principal and supporting roles, more than a dozen actors have been cast to play the roles of Trees, Crows, Winkies, citizens of Oz, Jitterbugs and other parts. About 40 third and fourth graders have been cast to play the roles of Munchkins.

“Everyone loves to see cute kids on stage, singing and dancing and loving what they’re doing,” said Grob.

Grob moved to Charles City last August, and before that had been very involved in community theatre, with the Davis County Players in Bloomfield, Iowa, as well as with school productions.

“I had heard about the reputation that Stony Point Players had, and was really excited to become part of that,” she said. “I was looking forward to auditioning for a role in a play. Then, after being here a few months, I discovered that Stony Point hadn’t been active for a few years.”

Grob was then approached by Bob Frascht, president of the Stony Point Players, who was trying to get things going again.

“It looked like they needed a director more than they needed an actor,” she said.

Grob then talked with Sturtevant, who directed the high school musical “The Addams Family” last fall. Sturtevant agreed to be musical director, and the two chose The Wizard of Oz.

“There were a few criteria Derek and I talked about,” she said.

Grob said she and Sturtevant wanted to do a musical, to draw in more potential actors and a bigger audience. They also wanted to do a show that would have children in it, and that children and families would want to come and watch.

“We also wanted to have a show that everyone knows. Something that people recognized, that they would want to come and see,” Grob said. “’The Wizard of Oz’ fit all our criteria.”

The stage musical is based on the 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest films in cinema history, based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” It starred Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.