Follow The Yellow Brick Road To Ocean City's 'The Wizard Of Oz'

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Follow the yellow brick road this August to the Ocean City Theatre Company for their production of "The Wizard of Oz," featuring the Ocean City Pops Orchestra.

The magical production runs Aug. 1 through 11 at the Hughes Performing Arts Center in Ocean City. In a special collaboration with the City of Ocean City, the production features a cast of accomplished musical theatre performers, spectacular musicians, and special effects by ZFX Flying.

Featuring the iconic musical score from the MGM film, this timeless tale includes the Academy Award-winning Over the Rainbow, plus Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead, If I Only Had a Brain, We're Off to See the Wizard, and more.

Ocean City Theatre Company says that the show will be "a beautiful, one-of-a-kind experience."

Sixteen summers ago, a sold-out run of "The Wizard of Oz" was part of OCTC's inaugural season as a nonprofit performing arts organization. Now celebrating the show's "no place like home" theme, Founding Artistic Director Michael Hartman returns to direct OZ alongside OCTC's original music director, Jonathan Kreamer, with choreography by Rachel Marlowe who originated the role of "Dorothy" in OCTC’s 2008 production.

"Our production team is thrilled to revisit and reimagine a show that is very special to all of us," said Hartman. "Our goal is that audiences will be swept away on a journey that is familiar yet exhilaratingly refreshing."

Hartman assembled the cast after a competitive audition process in New York City. Joining the professional cast is a select group of students from OCTC's educational programs who will make a "small" appearance in the munchkin ensemble, and an adorable dog named Maddox will tackle the role of "Toto."

"The Wizard of Oz" runs Aug. 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, and 11 at 7:30 p.m. with matinees on Aug. 3 and 10 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $25-$30 and can be purchased at www.ocnj.us/boxoffice or by visiting any of the City of Ocean City Information Centers. You can also call 609-399-6111 for more information. Reservations are highly recommended.