Windsor High School’s musical production is one of the most highly anticipated events of February, however, without an auditorium the student body had one big question on their minds.

“Will we have a musical this year?”

Madame Honz answered this question in December with a short video showcasing past productions as well as the big reveal for this year, Wizard of Oz. A classic all in itself, the new show got an overwhelming response from applications and ticket sales.

Ongoing construction has put obstacles in the way for Windsor traditions such as Improv, Shakespeare, band, and the musical. For these events and others that relied on the auditorium, these clubs had to find their own area and stages for their practices. 

Despite obvious hurdles, the production crew pushed forward, while the performers practiced their lines and songs, and the people behind the scenes got to work. Between making the sets, the crew moved all the electronics that ran the show to the middle school. Having its construction finished at the end of last year, the middle school has become a makeshift auditorium, becoming host to all the events that normally take place in the high school.

Even with the trip, the electronic presents was large. This year’s production showcased an advanced usage of green screens during the wizard scenes. Normally this would be projected with an overhead projector in the auditorium, but this year a separate project had to reverse the image then broadcast it to the screen located in the middle of the stage.

The extensive setup had a huge payoff in the end, leaving audience members pleasantly surprised.

Tenth grader and usher Clarissa Escoffier said, “Seeing the munchkins come on stage was really funny. I wasn’t expecting them to be on their knees and it made me laugh. The music was fun and it was nice because the actors could sing.”

The cast also had loads of fun during their practices and the live dog that was a part of the show added some randomness and humor throughout the show. However, junior Alexis Russell’s dog, Harley, stole the show. Russell used leading and occasional treats to help acclimate him to the work. It wasn’t all easy going while training Harley–there were many challenges brought with having a furry cast member.

“It was a little difficult getting him used to everyone in the cast and used to the middle school, so he was a little bit apprehensive. He has a lot of anxiety,” Russell said.  “He did thoroughly enjoy (working with us), actually, as each night went on, he got more comfortable with the audience, and by the third night, he was out wanting to be on stage.”

Audience members loved the show and were wowed by the energy the cast members showed in their performances. The energy hyped up the crowd and got them excited to see what happened next. Despite how well known The Wizard of Oz story is, the fun twists that the Windsor cast added made it very enjoyable.  

Sophomore Emily Springkamper said, “I enjoyed how lively everyone was and how well the characters were played.”

Windsor High School can expect many more great productions from the theater department, just wait another year until musical season comes around.

“It was so much fun! I’m so glad that I could be a part of it this year and can’t wait for next year. It was really fun putting on the show,” said Sam Weidner.