The Alunana Theater invites you to the premiere this week – the musical “The Wizard of Oz” : Jelgava

“It is a tale about the three things that we all need in order to be able to overcome all the difficulties on our way – mind, heart and courage,” says Dace Vilne, the artistic director of the theater and the director of the show.

In a dream, little Dorothy and her dog Toto, carried by the wind, get far away from home. Looking for their way back, they meet the Scarecrow, the Iron Woodcutter and the Cowardly Lion, who become companions. On the journey, together learning to overcome their weakness, fears and shortcomings, they both end up in the legendary land of the Wizard of Oz and find their way home.

“The repertoire of the Alunan Theater also traditionally includes performances for children. We have very good singing actors, whom the audience likes to listen to. This is evidenced, for example, by the concerts of the singing actors of the Gadumiya Theater, which always take place in a full hall. We decided to combine these two conditions and stage a musical in which all musical actors of the theater take part,” emphasizes D. Vilne.

In the production, the theater has chosen to use the music composed by H. Arlen “The Wizard of Oz”, which can be heard in the famous 1939 musical film. Uldis Timma composed the musical arrangement for the Alunān theater production. “This work is a big challenge for me. Arlene’s music is written in the style of the 1930s, and it has its own sound and mood. We had two options for the production – to completely preserve the sound of the original music with a symphony orchestra, or to create something closer to today’s children, while preserving musical message. We chose the second one,” says U. Timma.

In the musical, the main characters will be played by: Dorothy – Katrīna Kreile, Scarecrow – Ivars Pirvics, Iron Woodcutter – Ivars Mozga, Cowardly Lion – Mik Vilnis, Wizard Oz – Ingus Vidiņš, Wicked witch Bastinda – Kristīne Paņko. Cast: Māra Kropa-Rusoviča, Liene Krūmiņa, Elita Majevska, Inga Riharda, Amanda Siliņa, Elīna Skutele, Jānis Dūrējs, Manfreds Grunde-Zeiferts, Ainars Līcītis, Vlads Spunītis, Artūrs Vasiļjevs, Gatis Vāczems. Collectives of the municipal institution “Kultūra” – Jelgava Pop Choir and dance studio “Intriga” take part in the show.

The creative team of the production: director D. Vilne, scenographer I. Pirvics, costume designer Iveta Vilne, musical director U. Timma, vocal teacher Erita Karlsone, choreographer Inga Ose, video projections – Andris Apinis.

The price of tickets is 5–7 euros and can be purchased at “Biļešu paradīze” ticket offices and on the Internet. www.bilesuparadize.lv.

Photo: Jelgava.lv

Information prepared

In the Department of Public Relations