'Oz with Orchestra' Receives Florida Premiere in Sarasota, April 5 with the Florida West Coast Symphony

SARASOTA, FL (Florida West Coast Symphony) - The Sarasota-Bradenton area will be the site of a Florida premiere on April 5, when the Florida West Coast Symphony presents "Oz with Orchestra" at 7:30 p.m. at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Artistic Director Leif Bjaland will conduct and Margaret Williams Pellegrini, one of the original Munchkins from the movie, will make a guest appearance.

In this classic event for all ages, The Wizard of Oz will be seen and heard for the first time in the state in a magical new format with the Florida West Coast Symphony, a professional regional orchestra based in Sarasota. The live orchestra will accompany the voices of Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley, conveying the brilliance and clarity of the original score as it has not been heard since it was first recorded. This is a powerful new way of experiencing the 1939 film, directed by Victor Fleming with score by Herbert Stothart and Harold Arlen.

"Oz with Orchestra" is the brainchild of John Goberman, Emmy award-winning producer of PBS's Live from Lincoln Center and the creator of the acclaimed A Symphonic Night at the Movies series. The program garnered rave reviews and drew eager audiences in excess of 5,000 at each showing at its premieres last summer at Wolf Trap with the National Symphony and Ravinia with the Chicago Symphony.
A kid's costume contest will take place promptly at 6:00 p.m. and is open to youngsters up to the age of 18. The first prize will be a live "Toto" Cairn Terrier.

When Margaret Williams appeared in The Wizard of Oz, she was 15 years old, one of the smallest and youngest of the Munchkins. Of the 124 little people appearing in the film, only nine are still living, and only six are willing and able to travel. Pellegrini, who earlier had worked with the famous "fan dancer" Sally Rand, only appeared in pictures once after the filming of The Wizard of Oz in 1938.
Tickets for adults are priced at $25, $32 and $40, and $15 for kids under 18. For information, call 941-953-3434.