The Wizard of Oz

THEATER 16
-summer 1987
My freshman year done, i returned to the Pennington Players for another summer show at the Park. Judi asked me to be a dancer again. Among the dancers were Jim Patton, Kathy Guthrie, newcomer Brad Dilly, and Donnamarie D'Andrea. Donna joined the Judi/Cathy/Rob carpool on occasion. She was around my age, extremely earnest and emotional, and serious about dancing. She developed a crush on me. I liked her, but not in that way. One car ride, she lay her head on my shoulder, and stayed there the whole ride. I caught Judi and Kathy in the mirror, stifling their bemusement. Betty Henninger returned, Doug Russell didn't, and a newcomer was fourteen year-old Randie Brotman. She hung out very easily with the adults, and i enjoyed befriending her. John Kling was the Tin Man. I played tree#1, who yells at Dorothy about stealing apples. I was hidden onstage when John sings "If I Only Had a Heart", and i suggested i sing the "Wherefore art thou, Romeo" line, falsetto. John agreed. One night, i completely missed the line. Oops. My first missed line ever. It was great having Jim around. He was just so goofy and fun. He was the one dancer who took at least as long as i did to get the steps. He told me he was moving to California, and i asked how he could give all this up. He said he was tired of returning year after year without getting a lead. I was surprised, but understood. Our costumes were great: big bumblebee jitterbugs, and skeletons with glow-in-the-dark makeup. A running joke started about me being a tree, two years running. The Wizard was Charlie Leeder, a barrel of non-stop fun. He was an imsomniac, and always pushed for everyone to stay out late. We were the two best ping pong players in the cast. After my second 4AM homecoming, my parents expressed concern. I told them not to worry. I developed a crush on Michelle Kovacs, a Polynesian girl a couple years my junior. We dated twice or once, but it didn't take. We had one rainout, and were so bummed that all the dancers went onstage and did one number in the rain, as the audience was filing out. So much fun.