The Wicked Witch of the West is heading east

The Old Creamery Theatre Company, based in Amana, is preparing to land "The Wizard of Oz" on the Englert Theatre stage, 221 E. Washington St., Iowa City. The show opens Thursday and runs for six performances through Sunday.

It's a collaboration that started when the Englert's executive director, Beth Bewley-Randall, served on the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance board with the Old Creamery's former director, David Kilpatrick.

"We had been working together (on the board) and David came up with the idea of working together on a project," says Bewley-Randall, 37, of Iowa City. In a brainstorming session about a year ago, she says they discussed the best show and time frame for such a collaboration.

"'The Wizard of Oz' is Americana," she says, "and summertime is the perfect time for families to come out" to a show.

So the two groups set off, arm-in-arm, down the Yellow Brick Road.

Both groups benefit when pooling their resources.

The Englert is providing the physical space for audience and actors, as well as handling publicity, ticket sales, lighting, audio and technical crews. The Creamery hired a stage manager, is providing the director, actors, costumes and scenery and is handling all the union contracts, Bewley-Randall says. After covering their expenses, both groups will split remaining ticket proceeds.

"By far, this is the biggest show we've done," says director Tom Milligan from the Old Creamery, a professional company that typically uses paid actors and technicians in small-cast shows.

"The idea was to do an icon on stage for people to enjoy and to include a lot of community members," says Milligan, 59, of East Amana. "With the people in the chorus and Munchkins and Ozians and our staff, it's a good opportunity to do that."

A dozen adults and a dozen children from the area will join the professional actors in principal roles, including Creamery regulars Deborah Kennedy of East Amana as the Wicked Witch, Sean McCall of Marengo as the Lion and his wife, Jackie McCall, as Glinda. Diana Upton-Hill of Bloomfield will step into Dorothy's ruby slippers, clutching Toto, played by Bailey the pooch, who belongs to Scott Wolfe of Amana.

"For me, the fun part is watching the whole thing pull together," Milligan says. "Some (cast members) are brand new to us and are interested in getting into theater and music. This is an opportunity for them to work with this quality of people coming in. I told them upfront, 'You have a group of very talented directors; if you just pay attention a little bit, you're going to learn from this process.'

"If a young person comes out of this process learning a little bit about musical theater," he'll be satisfied, Milligan says.

Collaborations bring new people into theater seats, as well.

"Their audience will come to Iowa City and the Old Creamery will get exposure in the Iowa City area," Bewley-Randall says. "We're growing the theater audience together."

And while the Old Creamery's main stage in Amana actually measures larger than the Englert's, Milligan points out the Englert has a fly line system for moving scenery vertically, which the Creamery doesn't have. The lines don't hold people, though, so the witches, wizard and others won't be soaring above the stage.

Other technical difficulties come with staging a performance like Oz.

"We're finding new ways to conquer these challenges," Milligan says. "You have to make the details accurate to the movie so the other (effects) can slide by a little. How do you make the sound and lights and effects special enough to give the people a thrill?"

"The idea is to go through and find those images people want to see. They want to see Dorothy in red shoes, they want to see the Lion, Scarecrow and all dancing off down the Yellow Brick Road. They're there to see the people (in the cast), the music and dancing. They don't need to see every little detail in the movie" to have a good time.

For example, Toto appears through the entire movie, but the live performance will have the illusion of seeing Toto throughout.

"If you let the dog come onstage twice and at the curtain call," the audience will feel like they've seen Toto, Milligan says.

Kennedy, 41, is ready to have a good time putting on her green face and uttering the immortal line, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too."

The Wicked Witch, however, is one role where the script strays from the movie.

"Phyllis Diller and Roseanne Barr did the stage version and the script was adapted for those two ladies," Kennedy says. "It has a little bit of comedy, a little bit of camp, but she still has her bad moods.

"I'll have a lot of fun with it. Plus I'll get to do a little magic."

After all, creating magic is what Oz is all about.