Los Gatos Weekly-Times Making their way down the yellow brick road in West Valley College's production of 'The Wizard of Oz' are Andrew Ceglio of Campbell, Vanessa Parker of San Jose, Stephanie Keller of Cupertino and Michael Somoon of Los Gatos. West Valley College is off to see the wizard Family production a gift to community By Shari Kaplan Dorothy, Toto and the whole Wizard of Oz crew have blown into town--specifically, to West Valley College--and the timing couldn't be better. For the first time in decades, the original movie version of the L. Frank Baum classic is playing at movie theaters, and in a restored format. Although not as old as the movie, WVC is celebrating its 35th anniversary as a place of higher learning and a member of the West Valley community. "We selected The Wizard of Oz because we wanted to do something really special to help celebrate the college's 35th anniversary. The story holds a special place in everyone's heart and we like to think of it as a Christmas gift to the college and to the community that supports our work," explains theater arts chairwoman Virginia "Ginger" Drake. The musical opened Nov. 20 and runs at the campus theater Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 5. Showtimes are either 2 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., depending upon the date. "Some of our most enjoyable performance experiences revolve around the times when we entertain families," Drake adds. "A good production offers a wonderful sense of bonding and gives children the sense that the theater is important to their lives." Helping ensure the good production is Jeff Bengford, the show's director and pyrotechnics designer as well as a part-time theater arts instructor. Although this is the sixth time he's directed a stage production of The Wizard of Oz, he says he tries to look at the story in new ways and find different methods of capturing what he calls "the magical aspects of the film." The tornado, for example, consists of six dancers clad in swirling clothes who whirl like dervishes around the stage. They are accompanied by a carefully planned chaos of sound and light effects, smoke and musical orchestration. "The tornado sequence alone uses 40-plus light cues!" Bengford says. He also likes to shed more light on the character of Dorothy: "As a director, I've tried to focus on Dorothy's story," he says, emphasizing the importance of showing that when the journey has been completed, the protagonist has learned something from the experience. Although a theater doesn't have the luxury of camera fades or editing machines to assist with scene changes, Bengford knows many ways to compensate. "The stage version actually has much more than the film. In the film, you're shown where to look. But in a stage production, the audience can choose who or what to look at at any given time," he adds. The West Valley College campus is located at 14000 Fruitvale Ave. Tickets are sold at the door and are $10 general admission, $8 for seniors and students. For show times, call 741-2058. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, November 25, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.