Addison Trail eases into 'The Wiz'
Just one little catch surfaced when Addison Trail High School held auditions for "The Wiz."
The play, which turns the traditional "Wizard of Oz" into a homage to African-American culture, didn't attract any African-American students to audition.
So when students perform "The Wiz" today and Saturday in the school auditorium, audiences will see director Don Miller's creative solution: a mash up of both tales of Oz.
"The script has not been adjusted," Miller said. "But, conceptually, we tried to stay true to the more well-known 'Wizard of Oz.' "
More than 100 students have been working on stage and behind the scenes for 10 weeks to make Dorothy's trip to Oz relevant to modern times -- and different than most plays at Addison Trail.
"This gave students the greater freedom of creating a character. We're not re-creating 'The Wiz' stock and we're not re-creating the 'Wizard of Oz' stock either," he said.
The school's vocal and instrumental jazz ensembles will perform and, in a rare move, the play will include several dance numbers thanks to choreography by orchesis coach LeVonne Cescolini-Boyer.
"Rather than just cut dance numbers called for in the script, as I would have done normally, we now have four our five," Miller said.
And because "The Wiz" is a modern favorite, Addison Trail's Teacher Parent Organization and theater department will host its annual fundraising dinner for student scholarships in conjunction with the play.
The fundraiser will be from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday in the school cafeteria. The menu includes unlimited spaghetti, salad, Italian bread and dessert.
Tickets for the meal can be purchased at the door and cost $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens and children up to age 18.
Guests also will have an opportunity to purchase raffle tickets and win donated prizes. Raffle tickets are priced at $5 for six tickets or $1 a piece, and winners do not have to be present to win.
Community members who cannot attend the event, but would like to purchase raffle tickets or make a cash or raffle donation, may call the school at (630) 628-3304.
If you go
What: "The Wiz"
When:7 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Addison Trail High School, 213 N. Lombard Road, Addison
Cost: $6; $5 for students; $3 for students with school activity pass; free for ages 3 to 12 and senior citizens with a District 88 Gold Card.
Details: (630) 628-3304