Creative Cauldron Presents THE WIZARD OF OZ 6/8 - 25

Creative Cauldron announces American classic musical The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, directed by Creative Cauldron Artistic Associate, Matt Conner. The story is the whirlwind journey of a Kansas farm girl, Dorothy, swept away to the magical Land of Oz where she meets a cast of iconic characters, like the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, on her journey home. Creative Cauldron will reimagine what the Library of Congress called "America's greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale" within their intimate black box theatre, featuring a virtuosic cast of local talent and an ensemble cast drawn from Creative Cauldron's new Professional Musical Theatre Workshop.

Creative Cauldron's professional cast for The Wizard of Oz will feature three Creative Cauldron Helen Hayes Awards © nominees in leading and featured roles. The role of Dorothy Gale will be played by Tiara Whaley, who was nominated in the 2017 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical - HELEN Production category for her role as Emmie Thibodeaux in Creative Cauldron's Caroline, or Change (2016). The role of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, will be played by Iyona Blake, who was nominated for the 2017 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical - HELEN Production category for her role as Caroline Thibodeaux in Creative Cauldron's Caroline, or Change (2016). The role of The Scarecrow will be played by Alan Naylor, who is the winner of the 2015 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical - HELEN Production for his role in Creative Cauldron's Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (2014). Previously, Whaley and Blake both appeared in Creative Cauldron's Once on this Island (2015), which was nominated in 2015 for Outstanding Musical - HELEN Production. Blake performed earlier this season in Creative Cauldron's Blues in the Night. Naylor performed earlier this season in Ruthless! The Musical and as Percey Shelley in Monsters of the Villa Diodati (2016).

The remaining cast includes Talmach White as Uncle Henry, Harv Lester as the Cowardly Lion, Willie Garner as The Tin Man, Gus Knapp as The Wizard, and Creative Cauldron's Producing Director, Laura Connors Hull, as The Wicked Witch of the West. The ensemble for The Wizard of Oz will be drawn from Creative Cauldron's new pre-professional musical theatre training program for teens. The six-month, audition-only intensive provides master classes from seasoned professionals in voice, movement, and acting technique that prepare young performers for the professional stage.

Matt Conner directed Creative Cauldron's Helen Hayes © Recommended productions of Ruthless! The Musical and last season's hit Caroline, or Change. He was awarded the BroadwayWorld DC award for Best Direction - Small Professional Theatre with Stephen Gregory Smith for 2016's Monsters of the Villa Diodati. Conner and Smith hold a Helen Hayes Award © Nomination for Outstanding Director of a Musical - HELEN Production for Creative Cauldron's 2015 production of The Turn of the Screw. The production team for The Wizard of Oz includes Strauss Award winning scenic and costume designer Margie Jervis, lighting designer Lynn Joslin, and music direction by Iyona Blake.

Tickets for The Wizard of Oz can be purchased at creativecauldron.org or by calling 703-436-9948.

Creative Cauldron is a non-profit arts organization whose innovative programs in the performing and visual arts embody collaboration, experimentation and community engagement. Creative Cauldron was founded by Producing Director Laura Connors Hull in 2002. In June of 2009, Creative Cauldron acquired a permanent home in ArtSpace Falls Church, a 3,000 square foot flexible arts space that provides a venue for year-round classes, live performances of theater, music and dance and visual art exhibits. Programs are presented in part through grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts Council of Fairfax County, the City of Falls Church and the Little City CATCH Foundation. Creative Cauldron's programs are also supported by generous corporate and individual sponsors.

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