The Magical Murder of Oz (2007)

WRITTEN BY: Felisha Noble & David A. Scott
PERFORMED AT: National Soaring Museum, Elmira
PERFORMED ON: August 17, 2007
DIRECTOR: Felisha Noble
PRODUCED BY: Market Street Irregulars
CAST:
* DOROTHY HARRIS- Brittany Noble
* QUEEN OZMA/MOM- Amanda Fenn
* GLINDA- Dinah Cervoni
* SCARECROW- David A. Scott
* TIN MAN- John Olcott
* LION- Joel Wilbur
* KING TOTO- Jeffrey Smith

PLOT: A smart-mouthed young girl (Brittany Noble) wakes up in the land of her grandmother's stories, only to become a murder suspect in this parody/sequel to L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard Of Oz". A murder mystery dinner theater comedy.

HISTORY: During a 2006 meeting for the Market Street Irregulars, ideas were discussed for upcoming shows. A murder mystery involving "Wizard of Oz" characters was suggested (the idea for it having begun during a "Pirates of Pink Pants" post-show conversation at Denny's). Felisha elected to write a first draft, which she presented to the group that Fall. That same time, she began attending classes at Corning Community College, giving her less time to flesh out and revise her first draft.
I soon decided to write her second draft, to see what elements Felisha would select for her final version. In the end, after some dual tweaking, my contributions (including an additional surprise character, and the script's title) were warmly accepted into the script. To my delight, I was given a co-writing credit for the show. As Felisha would tell people, "I wrote the story, and David wrote the gags."
Auditions took place in May, and Felisha cast me as the Scarecrow. Cast in their first-ever MSI play were John Olcott (my co-star in "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"), Joel Wilbur (my director in "Beauty and the Beast"), and Dinah Cervoni (a friend and fellow MSI member).
Although Katie O'Herron had originally been cast as Dorothy, she later bowed out after a month of rehearsals, citing the demands of two jobs, plus a prior commitment to choreograph that Summer's Stagekids show, "Alice (and the Poly-Cotton Blend White Velour Rabbit) in Wonderland" (which I would later help co-write). Felisha initially stepped in to replace Katie, but later convinced her sister Brittany to do the role instead. Despite it being her first major role in a play, and having less time to learn lines than the rest of us, Brittany proved herself worthy of the role.
Photos (taken during a humorously chaotic August 6th semi-dress rehearsal for friends and press) and articles appeared in the Elmira Star-Gazette newspaper, and on its website, throughout the week of the performance. The Leader also printed an article on the show.
On the evening of the show, 1/4 into the performance, a storm knocked out Harris Hill's electrical power for the remainder of the night. Nonetheless, when the entire audience opted to stay, the show went on, with cast members humorously compensating for the lack of light (except for museum back-up lamps, candles, and flashlights), and lack of music and sound effects. It was a well-received (albeit odd) opening for an MSI show.
"The Magical Murder of Oz" was Felisha's directorial debut, and the first time that a play written by either of us would be performed live before an audience (although another play that I co-wrote, Stagekids' "Alice in Wonderland" adaptation, premiered the night before "Oz"). The show was the National Soaring Museum's third annual dinner theater with MSI, and easily its most successful, with a sold-out crowd of over 89 people.

OTHER INFO: Market Street Irregulars