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Senior Katie Curran will star as Dorothy in Streetsboro Theater’s first production in the brand new high school auditorium Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29.

Curran will take the cast down the Yellow Brick Road to see the “Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” played by senior Joe Beaver. Junior Sydney Miller co-stars as the Wicked Witch of the West, junior Braden Tucker as the Scarecrow, senior Anthony Mella as the Lion and junior Brandon Sanders as the Tin Man.

This version of “The Wizard of Oz” will be updated and light hearted, according to a press release from director Jim Boardwine. Well-known songs like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead,” and “We’re Off to See the Wizard” will be featured, along with less traditional ones like “No Place Like Home,” “One Girl, Two Witches” and “Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road.”

“I wanted to audition for Dorothy because I wanted to challenge my acting skills more,” Curran said. “I had one lead role my freshman year for ‘This Is Halloween’ and I’ve only been improving since then.”

Auditions took place November 8 and 10, with callbacks November 21, right before Thanksgiving break.

Regular rehearsals begin January 9.

“I was nervous at first, but I was confident in what I was doing, so everything went as I had hoped,” freshman Tate Raub, who was cast as an Emerald City singer, said of the auditions. “The callbacks were even better, because there were so many amazing people there, and it felt more like a fun activity rather than an audition.”

Due to numerous, high-quality auditions, Streetsboro Theater is considering adding an “understudy show.”

“We feel it may be worth it,” director Jim Boardwine said. “If our understudies do an incredible job at practice, are capable of putting on an equally great show, and are able to sell tickets, we will likely add a Saturday, April 29 or Sunday, April 30 matinee.”

If they do this, the stars’ understudies would play the actual roles in these additional shows. The cast would consist of Leah Shepard from Kent Roosevelt as Dorothy, Beaver still playing Oz, sophomore Fide Valverde Rivera as the Wicked Witch of the West, 2014 alumni Robert Gibbner as the Lion, freshman Shaciya Sims as the Scarecrow, and Sanders still as the Tin Man.

Those still interested in being a part of the show can volunteer to work sound or the light board, help with set design, serve as stage hands, run special FX lighting, record and video edit. Anyone interested should see Boardwine in room 116.

“Being in THRIVE is a big commitment and it’s good if you have a lot of free time,” said eighth grader Vivian Hall. “But it is a lot of fun. You get to meet new people and it looks good on a resume.”

THRIVE is open to people regardless of age or school district. It is aiming for more of an adult audience concerning its mature content.

Tickets will go on sale early February, $10 pre-ordered, and $12 at the door.

A copy of the performance will be sold in both DVD and a CD forms, and will feature the 13 show’s soundtracks. DVDs will be $15 and CDs $10.

THRIVE will also offer an “Oz” package, which would include the DVD, CD and dinner for $25.

Another option would be to attend the dinner and show, for the price of $20, which will feature servers dressed as Emerald City citizens and a photo shot with Dorothy and Toto.