Off to the see the operetta: SHS hosts two weekends of “The Wizard of Oz”

Published 4:30 am Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Lions, tigers, and the operetta, oh my!

Sequim teens say they’re excited to bring the fun and magic of “The Wizard of Oz” to the Sequim Irrigation Festival for two weekends at Sequim High School.

“I’m really excited to work with everybody in the cast to create this classic story with so many really memorable characters,” said Emma Gilliam, an SHS senior playing the Scarecrow.

She and friends Lily Tjemsland, a junior, and Kate Brouillard, a senior, play the Tin Girl and Cowardly Lion.

“One of the extra magical things about the show is that I get to do the show with (Gilliam and Brouillard) and with freshman Dorothy (played by Trinity Devlin),” Tjemsland said.

“It’s really special getting to introduce her to the theater and (other new actors), and lead them through it. It’s been really wonderful.”

Sequim High School’s auditorium, 601 N. Sequim Ave., hosts two weekends of “The Wizard of Oz” at 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, May 1-2, 8-9, and with matinees at 2 p.m. May 3 and 10.

Tickets are $18 for adults, and $15 for children 12 and under and students with ASB identification. Find tickets at the show door, and sequimschools.org.

The show is a partnership between the Sequim High School Operetta Club and Ghostlight Productions.

Director Anna Pederson said she’s thrilled to stage the show as the movie was a favorite growing up. She said it follows the famous movie with added dance numbers, such as “The Jitterbug.”

“It’s not a version that tried to change something that was already perfect,” she said.

About Oz

The show follows Dorothy Gale who along with her dog Toto (played by Arrow the dog) are swept away by a tornado from Kansas to Oz.

Using creative costuming and set design, Kansas’ sepia tone becomes a colorful world where Dorothy must follow the Yellow Brick Road to meet the Wizard in Emerald City.

She befriends the Scarecrow who longs for a brain, Tin Girl who needs a heart, and the Cowardly Lion who hopes for courage. Together they receive help from Glinda the Good Witch (Quinlee Anderson) as they encounter the Wicked Witch (Isabelle Hosteller).

Gilliam said while their version is a close adaptation, “it’s still really great because you can have more of the full experience with everything around you, and the actors coming through the audience rather than just watching it on the screen.”

With three girls as the Scarecrow, Tin Girl and Lion, Tjemsland said they’ve set their own rules for their physicality and interactions.

“We’re not doing the same exact thing (as the movie),” she said.

“We’ve had so much fun with the physicality of it,” Gilliam said. “Just pretending I don’t have any bones and pretending I don’t have a brain. I think it’s funny.”

Forming the road

Gilliam said Pederson wanted upperclassmen for the Tin Girl, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion to guide a younger Dorothy.

“I feel like in the play it’s kind of the opposite,” she said. “Dorothy’s making sure they don’t, like, fall in a ditch somewhere.”

Devlin said she’s really enjoyed being a part of the operetta.

“They’ve really made this program in general just so enjoyable for me,” she said.

She and other cast members, including Hosteller as the Wicked Witch, say it’s exciting to play such iconic roles.

“For me, the Wicked Witch has always been one of my dream roles,” Hosteller said.

“And having ‘The Wizard of Oz’ as an option was like, ‘Yeah, I want to do this.’ And with it being my first ever musical, I was like, ‘yeah, I’ll go for this as my first ever musical.’”

She also loves the people in the musical, too.

“They have really helped me grow in theater, and I just feel so welcomed here,” Hosteller said.

She remembers being afraid of the Wicked Witch when she was younger, and now she’s embracing mean and scary characters, such as playing Lady Catherine de Bourgh in “Pride and Prejudice” earlier this school year.

“(That character) sparked that in me, and I wanted to do (that in the operetta). I kind of want to be mean on stage,” Hosteller said.

To the opposite of the Wicked Witch is Glinda with Anderson saying it’s a dream role for her too.

“I just like musicals and singing,” she said.

With the popularity of the “Wicked” movies, Anderson said she tries to have a mix of both the classic and current movies for her interpretation of the character

Sequim’s show features a large ensemble to welcome more freshmen and provide more opportunities for them to join, Gilliam said.

Eight dancers from Pederson’s classes at The Dance Center by Erica Edwards also join musical numbers, and several local children ages 6 and up will play Munchkins, Ozians, and other characters in the show. Tjemsland said it’s exciting to incorporate younger children because they might not have the same access to theater, and this show provides an opportunity to fall in love with it.

“Then they come back in high school and can do the shows with us,” she said. “I think it’s very special.”

Key to costumes

One of the show’s keys to success is the costumes, Pederson said, as it’s one of the Operetta Club’s biggest efforts in her tenure.

Volunteer Rebecca Chen has led costumes and props for the Operetta Club for five years and 14 shows and said this will likely be her last as her daughter graduated from SHS three years ago.

“’Anastasia’ was huge, but this is definitely the most (costumes),” she said.

For months, she’s been sourcing and custom making costumes and props for the show.

“I like doing the creative part,” Chen said.

Sequim’s last production of “The Wizard of Oz” from 15-plus years ago provided some key costumes, such as Brouillard’s Cowardly Lion.

Brouillard said it weighs about 15 pounds, and it’s hot, but she’s dedicated to the part. Chen added a retractable line between the tail and the costume for an added effect.

With such a large cast, Chen said she had to find multiple green shades of clothing for the 20 Ozian cast members, and the dancers have three separate costumes.

There are onesies for the flying monkeys, sepia-toned outfits for characters in Kansas, and much more.

The anticipation of getting ready for a show is similar to a dinner party, Chen said, but it always comes together.

Along with direction from Pederson, and costumes by Chen, the show features music direction by Mark Lorentzen, and multiple volunteers.