Tacoma School of the Arts high school senior Cara Rudd stars as Dorothy in the production directed by Bill Berry. The new Emerald City staging adapted from L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" closely follows the 1939 MGM movie.

Also featured in the cast are Larry Ballard (as the Cowardly Lion), Lisa Koch (as The Wicked Witch), Greg Michael Allen (as the Scarecrow), Louis Hobson (as the Tin Man), Sean G. Griffin (as the Wizard) and David Earl Hart (as Uncle Henry). A cast of 25 local school children will perform as the munchkins.

Cohenour, who recently starred in the world premiere of The Light in the Piazza, has appeared on Broadway in the original stagings of Big River as Mary Jane, The Mystery of Edwin Drood as Rosa Bud and The Phantom of the Opera as Christine Daae (as alternate to Sarah Brightman). She also appeared in the 1998 revival of The Sound of Music.

The design team includes Michael Anania (scenic), Tom Sturge (lighting), Gregg Barnes (costume), Kurt Fischer (sound) and Mary Pyanowski (hair and make-up). Bruce Monroe serves as conductor and musical director.

For tickets to The Wizard of Oz, at The 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Avenue in Seattle, WA, call (206) 292-2787. For more information, visit www.5thavenuetheatre.org.