The Story of The Wizard of Oz 1994.

This marked the first show that Mark Van Epps, Michael Jordan and Mistie Jordan collaborated for The Players. These three went on to remarkable success in later years with the group. This show represented a dramatic improvement in the quality of the little theater group which had been building for a few years. The show was a technical masterpiece.

The background behind the show. Tucker Hale, an experienced director along with producer Ruth McKay persuaded the members of the production team to join the crew. Producer McKay also went about and beyond the usual production standards by persuading an original cast member from the Wizard the Oz 1939 movie to appear prior to the final show and give memories of his experiences. He played the little munchkin who came out of the manhole cover. McKay also had the local Argus paper promote a coloring contest with the winner announced by the 60 year old munchkin.

The evening started with the movie theater screen down. While the orchestra directed by Joe Scott played the overture, a short film supervised by Michael Jordan filled the screen giving the credits -- the cast crew with a similar cloud background as in the movie opening credits. Van Epps and his partner, Kathy Denby, had designed this as this show was originally a movie now made into a play. This way the audience was being transported into the new world.

The Kansas scenes were all painted in sepia tones, like the movie. One often hears that the movie starts in black and white, but it is actually sepia, which was good for this show, as the skin tones of the actors would also blend in more with the opening scenes. There was a Kansas backdrop and a house on wheels for Dorothy to hide in.

A bale of straw was used for Dorothy to sit on for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". This was a mistake as not only did straw get everywhere, but Toto liked to pee on it. When the hurricane happened, the next effect was shown the audience. In order to make it work, a device was ordered to rotate two gobos in opposite directions (cutout patterns projected through the drop in iris slot of a ellipsoidal spotlight). The effect was like a spiral in and out. The house on wheels spun around. The scrim came down and the house could be seen behind it. The strobe light pounded out lightning effects. When the storm was over, the next scene showed a colorful munchkin land. There was a yellow brick road around the orchestra pit and a trap door in the road allowed one munckin to recreate the scene our special guest originated.

The effects in the show were mind astounding. The great and powerful oz was projected on hanging carpet tubes suspended by invisible wire while smoke effects surrounded the projection. A camera in the booth caught the dialogue of Don Peters, who played Oz. Mark Van Epps applied for and received a license for pyrotechnics. Michael Jordan implemented the special effects. There were explosions and firework type lighting around Oz. The Wicked Witch would appear in a burst of smoke from seemingly nowhere. The smoke was lit with hidden fresnels. She threw fireballs with devices hidden in her hands. In the castle scene, in a box seat, Kathy Kowalski had a crystal ball that emitted sparks. Oz left in a basket made of caning from Woodards. Instead of the basket rising, the backdrop fell like in Les Miserables.