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Strathclair Drama Club stages Wizard of Oz

Nearly 50 actors from across region

The production team of Strathclair Drama Club affectionately refers to its principle characters as The Fab Four. The Beatles will not be performing on the Bend Theatre stage in Strathclair this April, but Dorothy, Lion, Tinman and Scarecrow are indeed a “Fab Four.”

The Wizard of Ozfoursome will be joined by several supporting characters, as well as a chorus of jitterbugs, munchkins, monkeys, poppies, snowflakes, etc. This year’s cast numbers 49 people from the communities of Strathclair, Shoal Lake, Cardale, Rapid City, Minnedosa, Rivers, Brandon, Russell, Virden and Oak River.

Because Dorothy is in 26 of the 27 scenes in this two-act musical, Strathclair Drama Club decided to double cast the leading lady. Ashton Lefave and Molly Prevost are both newcomers to the club and we are thrilled to have them join our 37th annual production.

Lefave was born and raised in Russell, where she has been involved with three different choirs and in eight musicals. She also has eight years of dance experience in four different disciplines. Because she loves The Wizard of Oz, and because she is on maternity leave, she knew she had the time required to commit to this role. And a commitment it is! She makes the two-hour round trip twice a week to rehearse her role.

Prevost lived in Birtle for eight years before she and her husband moved to Shoal Lake some 18 months ago. She has spent six years in two different choirs and has 15 years of competitive figure skating on her resume. She loves watching musicals, she loves to sing and although it was something of interest to her, the kindergarten teacher has never been involved with a drama. When Molly became acquainted with drama veterans from the Shoal Lake area, she decided to audition in Strathclair.

The Lion is played by Greg Kirk of Brandon. He was born and raised in Hamiota and was involved in Strathclair musicals from 1998-2000. He rejoined the club in 2008 and commuted from Portage la Prairie for the next eight years of musicals. Kirk has since retired and moved to Brandon; he is now enjoying his 15th year with Strathclair Drama Club.

Dan Voth of Strathclair first graced the Bend stage in 1993 and has been in 20 shows in the 26 years since. One of those shows was The Wizard of Oz when Strathclair first presented it in 1997. Since then, he has wanted to play the role of Tinman, so he considers himself fortunate to have this opportunity. This father of one pre-school child works for Park West School Division.

The final member of the “Fab Four” is the role of Scarecrow, a.k.a. Eric Menzies of Shoal Lake. This father of two has nine cumulative years with the club, five consecutive. When his job with Royal Bank offered him the opportunity to be manager in his home town, he once again joined Strathclair Drama Club; his first four years in Bend Theatre were during his high school years.

Tickets for the 2019 production will go on sale Saturday, March 23. Please watch this paper for our ad with all the details.

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