WAUSAU, Wis. (WAOW) — It’s off to see the wizard at the Veninga Theater at UWSP Wausau, where the Central Wisconsin Children’s Theater (CWCT) is gearing up for their final production of the season.
Sophia Volpe is starring as Dorothy Gale, and her faithful friend Toto will be played by real life canine companion Coco, a sweet Yorkshire Terrier.
Sophia Volpe (Dorothy) sings ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ while holding Coco (Toto)
“It’s exciting to see like all the pieces come together I think, so I’m really happy with how far everyone’s come during this whole show and I’m really excited for people to see the whole thing,” said Volpe.
They, along with the Tin Man, Lion, and Scarecrow, will take on the Wicked Witch of the West in the CWCT’s production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’.
Cindi Strobel is directing the show.
“Oh I’m so proud of these kids oh my gosh, I have 31 little munchkins and they are just the cutest little things ever and the older kids the teens, wait till you hear them sing it’s just amazing,” said Strobel.
She said it’s one of the biggest casting calls she’s seen.
“It ended up being really popular, for a good show for childrens theater we have maybe 90 kids, sometimes 100 audition, we had 165, so we said this was a good choice this year,” said Strobel.
Over 90 performers are really showing that there’s no place like the theater, bringing this classic story to life.
“I think that the Wizard of Oz is a good show to put on because it’s like a classic movie that happened a long time ago and I think its’ great to bring it back,” said Sophia Volpe.
Monday, the cast and crew got together for one of their first dress rehearsals on the stage they’ll be performing on.
Weeks of work is finally paying off this week.
People can see Dorothy, Toto, and all their friends on opening night on Thursday, June 20th. Tickets can be found here.
