We’re off to St. Clair, to see The Wizard of Oz at the Boardwalk Theatre. Brittany Everitt Smith directs this well-loved family favorite, which is based on the classic motion picture, with story by L. Frank Baum, and music by Harold Arlen and E.Y Harburg. Any devotee of the film will find a lot to love in this stage production, including a live Toto!

There may be hardly a person in America not familiar with the story: young Dorothy Gale lives on a farm in Kansas, which seemingly offers very little to a girl with dreams, and she longs to be somewhere else. But when a twister rages through the Gale farm, Dorothy actually finds herself, her dog Toto and even her house, whisked away by the storm to a fantasyland called Oz. It is inhabited by Munchkins, witches both good and bad, and various other fanciful and whimsical creatures. Dorothy learns that her house has landed on and killed a wicked witch, and the witch’s even more wicked sister vows vengeance. Dorothy’s only hope to return home lies with the elusive and mysterious Wizard of Oz.

On her way to meet the wizard, Dorothy encounters and befriends a series of misfits: a scarecrow lacking a brain, a tin man lacking a heart, and a lion lacking courage. The wizard seems to be a one-stop solution for all their problems. They are beset with obstacles on their way, however, and when they finally find him, the wizard agrees to grant their wishes only on the condition that they bring him the broom of the wicked witch. They take on the task, as it seems the only way for them to achieve their goals.

After much heightened peril and a narrow escape from certain death at the witch’s hands, they return to the Wizard of Oz with the broom—only to find out the wizard is a fraud, and his promise to return Dorothy home evaporates. With the help and wisdom of Glinda the Good Witch, Dorothy realizes she doesn’t need magic to return to Kansas, and wakes up at home once again, surrounded by her loving family and friends.

There are several wonderful moral lessons in this story. Among them: we all have unique and valuable gifts and talents inside us, though they may be unconventional or unrecognized by others; digging deep inside ourselves when things get tough helps us learn our true strengths; and we should always appreciate the blessings we have, rather than long for an idealistic life of magic or adventure.

This stage production is filled with lively characters, bright colors, irresistible music and multimedia visual effects. The early scenes in Kansas are rather monochrome, the brown and gray dreariness broken only by Dorothy’s bright blue dress. Dorothy (Mirabella Ziegler) sings the wistful “Over the Rainbow” in a clear voice that is strong yet vulnerable. The projected background gradually becomes darker as the storm approaches, and the twister itself rages across the multi-wall screens to envelope the audience in its cartoonish chaos.

When Dorothy arrives in Oz, the vibrance is turned up several notches as she is greeted by a cast of Munchkins clad in bright and whimsical attire, who appear out of mushroom houses adorned with polka dots. The radiant Glinda the Good (Kaila Szafranski) “floats” in on her magical bubble, bedazzled by just the perfect amount of sparkle, and leads the munchkins in a lively sequence of songs extolling Dorothy and her elimination of the wicked witch (“Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead!”)

After following the yellow brick road with her dog Toto (Luna, a well-adapted stage dog), Dorothy meets her first friend—the Scarecrow (Matthew Drinkwater), who longs for a more cerebral existence. In “If I Only Had a Brain,” Drinkwater slips, trips and flops around as if he really were only built of straw, and continues his clumsy presence throughout the show. The Tin Man (Jacob Stoliker) manages to remain sensitive and simultaneously slightly rigid while singing “If I Only Had a Heart.” The Cowardly Lion (John Drinkwater) scarcely hides his anxiety with his exuberant energy in “If I Only Had the Nerve.” These three cohorts of Dorothy’s are worth the price of admission by themselves.

But the amusement is extended in many fun ways: the Wicked Witch of the West (Samantha VanCamp) is menacing without being too scary for young kids. The ensemble cast appears not only as Munchkins but also talking trees that sing like the Andrews Sisters; poppies, snowflakes, jitterbugs and flying monkeys. As denizens of the Emerald City, the ensemble is intensely animated and intensely green (“The Merry Old Land of Oz”). The Wizard (Matthew Seely) is appropriately represented as a fiery, floating projection of a head whose presence fills the auditorium.

You won’t find any story surprises in this production if you are a fan of the classic film, with the exception of the jitterbug scene which does not appear in the film. What you will find is energy, magic, exhilarating visuals, and a vivacious main cast—Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion—that will entertain audiences ages two to ninety-two. Bring the entire family for a shot of springtime amusement. The Wizard of Oz runs through April 28, 2024. For tickets and information, go to www.ThumbCoastTheaters.com.