In just a few short weeks, two magical worlds will be revealed beneath the red rocks at Tuacahn. The first begins with a yellow brick road and ends in the Emerald City; the second takes the entire audience on a journey under the sea, but both emphasize the importance of home and family.
Filled with all the technical splendor one 80-foot outdoor stage can hold, this season’s productions of Disney’s The Little Mermaid and The Wizard of Oz promise an experience worthy of Tuacahn’s 30 illustrious years and more, beginning May 2 and running through Oct. 25.
“Coming to Tuacahn lets you expand your imagination around what is possible,” said Michael Heitzman, director for The Wizard of Oz. “There are so many fun things you get to play with, and we could not have asked for a better cast.”
After auditioning more than 1,000 actors from across the nation, only 32 made the final cut, which means when rehearsals started, the creative teams for each of the shows were met with a group of highly talented, ambitious and grateful actors who were ready to get to work.
“I am so excited for this company,” said Mara Newbery Greer, choreographer for Disney’s The Little Mermaid. “Every day I am in the room with these people I get more excited. They are smart actors, and gorgeous dancers, not to mention their voices. But the biggest thing is they are fantastic humans as well.”
This is not the first time Tuacahn has gone into the depths of the ocean with Ariel, Sebastian and the rest of the sea creatures, but as Scott Anderson, artistic director for Tuacahn and director for Disney’s The Little Mermaid, likes to say, there is always a new crop of 5-year-old girls who can’t wait to see this popular story come to life. Not only that, this season’s iteration features some of the best technological elements from the past, and a fresh approach to some of the most beloved scenes in the show.
“The other day Scott was telling me, ‘I have never seen Under the Sea danced like this before,’” Greer said. “And I don’t want to spoil it, but we are doing something with ‘Kiss the Girl’ that has never been done before.”
Likewise, Heitzman and his creative team have developed a look and feel for The Wizard of Oz that pays homage to the beloved classic story, while enhancing the experience with highly creative technical elements and a new audience engagement aspect that Heitzman can’t wait for people to experience.
“Since the play opens on a farm in Kansas, we’re opening the stage up prior to the show to a small group of people to come and interact with the live animals on stage in a petting zoo,” Heitzman said. “It’s going to be the most fun thing ever.”
Called Dorothy’s Farm Friends, the on-stage petting zoo is open to the first 75 patrons who purchase a ticket to go along with their tickets to The Wizard of Oz for the same night. For just $10 per person, and only $8 for season package holders, patrons will be allowed on stage 45 minutes prior to showtime and will be able to stay on stage with the animals for roughly 30 minutes, giving them time to find their seats before the show begins. There is a limit of four tickets per customer and at least one of those four needs to be an adult.
Once the play begins, audiences will be transported from the sepia-toned Kansas farmland to the bold and colorful Oz, with all the classic characters people love to see.
“My principles cast, including Aunt Em/Glinda, Wicked Witch/Mrs. Gulch, Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion, they are all just fantastic,” Heitzman said. “Seeing them here in rehearsals, they have truly exceeded my expectations even from the audition process.”
One difference between the audition process and coming into the actual show, Heitzman explained, is that the audition process is a very individual version of each person, and it is impossible to know how they will all mesh as a full cast until they come together on site.
“We are really in luck as these actors all have a great deal of chemistry together,” he said.
Combine that onstage talent and chemistry, with the emphasis on the visual spectacle of each of these musicals and it’s a recipe for a season that is above and beyond anything people have come to expect at Tuacahn.
“I’m just so grateful I get to be part of the process,” Greer said. “I leave work smiling every day.”
And she hopes audiences will leave smiling too.
Get your tickets to Disney’s The Little Mermaid and The Wizard of Oz in the Tuacahn Outdoor Amphitheatre by calling 435-652-3300 or online at www.tuacahn.org And don’t forget the rest of this 30th anniversary season, including Newsies, Elf the Musical and Million Dollar Quartet. Get your tickets today!
