Everybody Loves Oz

Matt Wolfe, Kasey Nusbickel, SCT Artistic Director Linda Hartzell, Auston James and Todd Jefferson Moore.

Positive reviews of The Wizard of Oz have been flooding in (and we expect a few more this week). We're immensely proud of this show, and gladly accept all the pats on the back:

As expected, Seattle Children's Theatre takes loving care with "Oz," and the reward is how riveted their young audience is to every song, pratfall and witch's cackle… Kids watching the show are so attentive you can hear a ruby slipper drop.
Misha Berson, Seattle Times

Artistic Director [Linda] Hartzell went above and beyond to make this production a unique re-telling of a classic story rather than merely mimicking the film.
Brittni Reinertsen, Queen Anne News

If you think you know The Wizard of Oz, see this production anyway. It will transport you to a place you’ve never been before.
Christine Johnson-Duell, ParentMap


Even more important than the media kudos have been the compliments from our audiences, because, really, we make plays for people, not papers:

WOW – it was my first visit to your theatre and it was the best play I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen a lot of live theatre and this production was absolutely amazing – I think I would sit through it the second time just as enthralled! Whoever did the casting was brilliant in every part!
Connie W.

My daughter, her two children (aged 5 and 7), and I (Grandma) - all 3 generations were entranced by the performance. Not a weak link in the multi-talented actors/singers/dancers. A fantastic cast, musicians, scenery - a stellar production. Thank you!
Sonia, Rayna, Cameron & Barbara

I thought the performance was stellar! The staging, the costumes, and the acting, fabulous. I want you to know I saw the movie with my grandmother when I was 5 years old. I found myself at the end of the performance when they sang "Over the Rainbow" at the finale, I had tears in my eyes. I guess you know how much I loved it - terrific job!
Dixie P.

Photo by Chris Bennion

Don't miss out on this spectacular, magical production. The Wizard of Oz runs through January 17th.

Activity: Oz Words

The following activity was prepared by our Education department as part of their curriculum for The Wizard of Oz. You can easily substitute the provided words lists with words the reflect your desired lesson, or the context of the activity.

Oz Words

The objective of this activity is to physically activate words from The Wizard of Oz while exploring nouns and adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Oz Words can be done in a large group, small groups or pairs.

- Display the word list below (or one of your choosing) for all players. Have one person in each group choose a noun to depict with his/her body (without words). The other players will try to guess which noun the person is portraying. (You can also ask players to experiment with choosing adjectives that do and don't make sense with the noun).

- Once they have correctly guessed the noun, have another participant choose an adjective to modify the noun and portray that adjective with their body. The other players should try to guess what the adjective is. You could also choose to add a layer by allowing participants to choose more than one adjective to portray at a time.

Oz Word List
Nouns: Slippers, Monkeys, Poppies, Broom, Wizard, Road, Lion, Cowardly, Woodsman, Forest, Dog, Witch
Adjectives: Ruby, Flying, Poisonous, Enchanted, Wonderful, Yellow Brick, Cowardly, Tin, Wild, Little, Wicked

- For a variation, or to take the activity to another level, try using verbs and adverbs. Have players choose a verb and act it out, then have them layer on one or more adverbs.

- Take some time to discuss the differences between similar adverbs (e.g., creepily and spookily, or bravely and fiercely).

Oz Word List
Verbs: Flying, Skipping, Picking, Stealing, Running away, Chopping, Pouncing, Floating, Hiding, Waiting, Celebrating, Dancing, Grabbing, Chopping, Chasing, Clunking
Adverbs: Bravely, Neatly, Fiercely, Softly, Cowardly, Stiffly, Innocently, Creepily, Menacingly, Spookily, Gracefully, Loosely, Neatly, Quickly, Cleanly, Wildly

As always, we'd love to hear your comments if you try this activity with your group.