BAP To Host “Wizard of Oz” at SCCC/ATS

As part of its ongoing commitment to bring high-quality arts events to Liberal and the region, Seward County Community College/Area Technical School welcomes the Broadway Academy of Performing and the musical “The Wizard of Oz” to campus. The Saturday performance is the first of three full-scale dramatic productions scheduled during the summer months on the SCCC/ATS campus.

Students ages 10 to 19 from Seward County and the region will present two shows of “The Wizard of Oz” at 2 p.m. and again at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Showcase Theater. Double performances are a new effort by the BAP campers, who have called the SCCC/ATS campus home for the past several years.

Camp director Alison Bridget Chambers said she wanted to give the students additional time on stage, as well as offering a second option for parents of young children who might want to view the show earlier in the day. People of all ages love the story, she noted, and that is especially true in Liberal.

“Liberal has always celebrated ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” Chambers said. “It’s a fun show and has a story worth telling. The people of Liberal connect with it on many levels.”

Not all the BAP campers have grown up in Liberal, where Dorothy statues appear on many street corners and there’s a Land of Oz museum to visit. Students from Elkhart, Dodge City, Plains, Sublette, Beaver, Okla., and even Tulsa arrived on the SCCC/ATS campus last weekend. They’ve stayed in the dorms, eaten in the cafeteria, and spent most of the rest of their time in the Shank Humanities building, rehearsing the music, drama and choreography of a complete Broadway show, mastered in one intense week.

“The cast is spectacular,” Chambers said, “and they’re having a lot of fun with the script.”

Cost for the BAP “Wizard of Oz” show is $5 for children, $10 for adults, with tickets sold at the door.

Coming up later this summer is the Rainbow Players’ community theater production of the musical “Aladdin,” in its bilingual, designed-by-Disney edition. Directed by SCCC/ATS drama instructor Gloria Goodwin, “Aladdin” takes the stage July 10 to 14, with matinee and evening performances. For information about the non-profit Rainbow Players, which is comprised of community members of all ages from Seward County and the surrounding area, visit www.rainbowplayers.com, or find the Rainbow Players on Facebook.

The BAP camp will hold a second session July 19-26, staging the musical “Fame.” For information about BAP, an independently-operated group, contact Chambers at [email protected], or call 646-712-2621.