At the Mission City Center for Performing Arts (3250 Monroe St.), March 21-23 and March 28-30, Santa Clara’s beloved Roberta Jones Junior Theatre (RJJT) reprises its (and one of the world’s) favorite musicals—“The Wizard of Oz.”
Put on your ruby red shoes, close your eyes, and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself over and over, “There’s no place like…the Roberta Jones Junior Theatre!”
Then get ready for magic. You will be transported from Mission City to the fantastical Emerald City in the Land of Oz—by way of a Kansas farm caught up in a tornado.
In the 1939 MGM movie “The Wizard of Oz,” 16-year-old Judy Garland, starring as Dorothy, and Toto, her dog, are swept away from home in Kansas to the mystical Land of Oz. There, they encounter magical creatures and good and wicked witches. Yet, as awesome as her travel adventures are, Dorothy eventually longs for home and family.
Her quest for home takes her down the Yellow Brick Road. Ultimately, it is through the magic of her ruby red, sequined shoes—and her brain, heart, and courage—that she finds her way home.
In the RJJT production, 16-year-old Marie Suzano from Sunnyvale, a sophomore at Homestead High School, fills Garland’s shoes as Dorothy. Suzano sings and dances her way through almost every scene, opening with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
“It takes a lot of stamina to be singing and dancing on stage at the same time,” said Suzano.
“I want to try and do the very best I can to honor Judy Garland’s iconic performance,” Suzano continued. “It’s a really big honor to play a role like Dorothy.”
Fourteen-year-old Justin Morse from Santa Clara, a freshman at Cupertino High School, plays the Emerald City Guard. One of his challenges is doing a back handspring wearing a guard uniform with long tails. Another is sounding tough.
“It’s a challenge to have a loud, strong, authoritative voice,” said Morse.
Show Director Jennifer Kohler, a native Santa Claran directing her 23rd RJJT production, once played the Scarecrow onstage with RJJT in “The Wizard of Oz.” She explained the criteria for selecting a show.
“We look at the complexity of the piece. Will the show work well for an eight-year-old actor as well as an 18- year-old?” said Kohler. “Will it be challenging, but achievable? Are there enough roles or ensembles that will allow our actors to have ample time on stage performing?”
RJJT has produced “The Wizard of Oz” more times than any other musical, last in 2016. With the “Wicked” movie debuting in 2024, they felt the time was right to do it again.
An astounding 71 children are in the cast; 9 more are stagehands. Everyone who auditioned got a part in this Royal Shakespeare Company version of the musical, which closely follows the 1939 film. A production soundtrack is used for accompaniment.
Started in 1968 by the late Roberta Jones, RJJT is part of the Santa Clara Department of Parks and Recreation and show participants pay a Parks and Recreation registration fee.
Other production funding sources are ticket and concession sales, sponsorships, and donations. The City contributes staffing, and many of the staff participated in RJJT as children, including Performing Arts Supervisor Robin Shaddle.
“The staff love their experiences with RJJT so much that they want to be a part of providing that experience to new generations of participants,” said Shaddle.
“It is vital that we continue to provide creative, artistic outlets for our youth,” said Kohler. “The participants in our production of ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ both actors and technical crew, have done such an amazing job. You are sure to be swept away by their talent, their energy, and their enthusiasm.”
“It’s amazing that the City of Santa Clara offers this. I think every city should invest in the arts for kids,” said Sunnyvale resident Mel Foody.
His daughter, Emma, is the Wicked Witch of the West, trying her wickedest to snatch Dorothy’s valuable ruby slippers off her feet.
In 2024, a pair of Judy Garland’s original ruby slippers sold to an anonymous bidder for $32.5 million. They are the most valuable movie memorabilia ever sold at auction.
For show tickets, visit www.rjjt.org on the City of Santa Clara website.
Note: “The Roberta Jones Junior Theatre: A Model Children’s Theatre” is the 2009 Master’s thesis of RJJT alumna and Brigham Young University graduate Chareen Hardy Lauritzen.
