Although the high school’s Little Theater wasn’t exactly filled to the brim, “The Wiz” got off to a rousing start at its premiere Friday night. The production of the 1975 soul-music version of the beloved children’s story “The Wizard of Oz” completed with barely a hitch and was greeted with enthusiastic applause from friends and family at its curtain call.

Director Portia Ezell was ecstatic at the quality of the show and said she was extremely proud of her cast.

“What’d I tell you? Weren’t they great?” she said. Ezell said the average age of her cast members was 14. Two of the leads, Tabitha Snell as Dorothy and Dallas Hart as the Wiz, are 12. She said they had been one of the easiest casts to direct she had ever had. She said she didn’t have to raise her voice once during the entire rehearsal time. Usually, she ends up screaming a lot during the last couple of weeks, she said.

Thomas Broadbent, who played the Tin Man, said he felt good about the show in part because of how animated all the actors were. Suzanna Sadler, playing the Scarecrow, said she thought the first night was fantastic and hoped it just gets better.

Snell said she had been nervous before the first performance, but felt relieved after it was over, saying she couldn’t wait to do it again the next night. Robert Ingram, who played the Cowardly Lion, said he had had a wonderful time doing the show and felt honored to be playing a character that everyone knows so well.

For the rest of this story, read this week's Cadiz Record.