A packed house for “The Wizard of ODD”

The Wizard of Odd brought in a packed house both Friday and Saturday nights! And, what an amazing show it was! Who would’ve known we had so much talent right here in Crystal Beach? The production was presented by The Way Off Broadway Ensemble Players, written, produced and directed by Linda C. Elissalde, pictured below.

We all know the story: Dotty (Fran Griffin), Jojo (Raquel Silverberg) and Auntie El (Linda Elissalde) find themselves in a very ODD place,

Linda Elissalde as "Auntie El"

they travel with a lot of really ODD characters to visit the Wizard of Odd (George Strong). They follow the Yellow Brick Road (Lee Cook) where they also encounter The Good Fairy (Mary Raney), The Better Fairy (Debbie Hanagriff), Scarecrow (Bill Silverberg), Tin Can Man (Tommy Hughes) and the Cowardly Tiger (Robert Daniel). And, of course, the show wouldn’t be complete without The Best Fairy (Vicky Courtney) who waves her wand and transports the trio back to The Crystal Palace, while she sings Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

The Best Fairy, Vicky Courtney, singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"

Musical entertainment was provided throughout the program by The Three Odd Sisters, Sandy Cook, Gerry Lang and Vicky Courtney singing swing tunes. The One Man Band Man, Cody VanZandt, sang and strummed out melodies on his acoustic guitar, banjo, ukelele and electric guitar, assisted by Katelin Kochan. The Happy Dancing Cowlets, Rita Moseley and Reba Hemstad tapped and tapped up and down the stage and The Green Island Land Cellist, Dr. Melanie Wallace played “green” tunes on her cello. Dr. Wallace also played The Wicked, she’s the green character pictured below, you can’t miss her!

The ODD Sisters, (L to R) Sandy Cook, Gerry Lang and Vicky Courtney

Devilishly Delicious Desserts were provided for all at the end of the program. Pecan pie, decadent chocolate cakes and brownies, Italian cream cake, strawberry shortcake and coconut pies were lovingly baked by the Members of the BayVue United Methodist Church and the Bolivar Community. As the audience enjoyed their treats, members of the cast mingled amongst the crowd, thanking all for coming, posing for photographs and basking in the delight of the evening.

The Wizard of ODD cast before a packed house.

Thank you Ensemble Players, Bravo!

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