It’s springtime at the Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central), which means a flurry of much-anticipated events: Color War, Senior Seminar, Envision Shakespeare, and the spring sports season. But there’s one performance that has a special place in Central culture: the annual spring musical.
This year’s musical is a classic: The Wizard of Oz. The Central Playhouse, in collaboration with Envision Theater, put their own special spin on the show, which ran on Thursday, April 4.
Senior Meirah Leban took the stage as Dorothy, who joins forces with the Cowardly Lion (senior Chani Weinberger), the Tin Man (junior Serah Tolchin), and the Scarecrow (senior Halley Bench) to follow the yellow brick road, meet the all-powerful Oz (senior Rachel Berkowitz), and avoid the Wicked Witch of the West (senior Atara Peretz). The cast members agreed that the show was a labor of love: “Having the opportunity to be a part of the play this year has been such a privilege and a joy,” Meirah said.
“We worked so incredibly hard to learn and choreograph dances, paint sets, and memorize lines, and it was all such a whirlwind. We hope everyone enjoyed watching it as much as we enjoyed creating it.”
Chani agreed that the production experience was a formative one: “The entire cast was supportive of each other, and practices were always full of laughs. We put in a lot of work staying after school to put this play together, and we were so excited to perform for everyone.”
Atara, a longtime member of Central’s performing arts cohort, said, “Working with all the different grades for the spring musical is definitely the highlight of the year.” She added, “It’s always a bittersweet moment when the show ends. There’s excitement that we finally did it, but sadness that it’s over.”
This year’s show was produced in collaboration with Envision Theater, an organization working throughout New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to promote active arts learning in schools, camps, and community centers. Teaching artists work with groups to develop theater, musical performances, dance, film, and more. The Central Playhouse was fortunate to work under the tutelage of Envision Theater Teaching Artist, Mrs. Mackie Saylor. Mrs. Saylor is also the current manager of Turnaround Arts: NYC, a program of The Kennedy Center and Exploring the Arts, as well as a collaborator with the NYU Verbatim Performance Lab.
The Central Playhouse is unanimous in its gratitude for Mrs. Saylor, who was a devoted director and mentor throughout the process. “It has been such an honor to collaborate with the students, faculty, and staff at Central to produce The Wizard of Oz,” Mrs. Saylor said. “I am so proud of the cast and crew, who have worked hard to showcase their creativity, talent, and passion for theater. There is no place like…Central!”
