Fall Play Review

Fall Play Aims High, But Gets Lost in Oz

Jada Godwin Staff Reporter

Feature Ellensburg High

School’s Fall Play fell short of the joy and wonder that the story, The Wizard of Oz, is known for. The story was under whelming and slow at times, with the only reprieve coming from the strong student performances.

The characters costumes were done well which is shown above.

Fall Play was previously held in the EHS Little Theater, a smaller stage then this year’s Morgan Middle School Theater. While the play used many of the impressive features that the Morgan theater provided, from light tricks to a trapdoor, the production seemed empty and vacant. A lack of scene pieces and reliance on the curtains to create depth on stage created almost no visual interest, and that combined with the slow pace in the beginning did not give the play a good start.

The second half was better than the first, speeding up the plot and adding much needed action for the audience.

There were also some parts that were confusing to the audience, the most being the double storyline. Adapted from the original play and the original book, the play switched back and forth from two stories. At the front of the stage, King Pastoria and his lover Trixie run around Oz trying to overthrow the wizard and regain Pastoria’s kingdom. Behind them, the more commonly known story of Dorothyplays out (with a few exceptions).

The actors played the characters well, but there wasn’t much they could do to liven up the performance as a whole. Madison Pannatoni (the Wicked Witch of the West), James Kirkham (King Pastoria), Kassy Edie (Trixie) and Brock Bowers (the Wizard of Oz), all embraced their character, along with Alice Miller (Scarecrow), Jared Gomez (Tinman), and Avery Dean (Cowardly Lion). Overall the cast clearly added passion to their performances that fit the characters.

The switch in stages seemed to be the main demise of the production. The stage was too big, and the story was too small to fill up the space to its full potential. This problem should be fixed in the next few years with more experience at Morgan, but this year’s play was disappointing at the

Below, Trixie, King Pastoria and the Munchkins in a funny scene.