Barbara Lawlor, Gilpin County.  When the final performance of The Wizard of Oz ended with its matinee swan song on Sunday, August 12, 2018, the audience knew it had just been a part of something special, something that was just the beginning of Gilpin County theater history.

The Peak to Peak Players have jumped onto the performing arts stage with a robust debut of kids’ musicals, adult cabaret acts, and now, a stunning production of the Wizard of the Oz that is in a realm of its own, on par with any professional community theater offering.

Oz had the best lion, the best witch, the best Dorothy, the best costumes, song and dance numbers and kids’ ensembles seen on the Gilpin stage. Oh, what fun the community is going to have following this yellow brick road!

After months of rehearsal and the three culminating performances, a group of the Oz cast, had difficulties letting go of their roles and performed on stage at the Gilpin County Fair on Sunday, reprising their signature roles from the performance.

Chip Smith shook his jowls and roared as he sang “If I Were King of the Forest,” and Grace Pouliot looked to the horizon to voice her yearnings in “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

Smith performed in his Timberline Fire Protection District attire rather than the hairy costume, but his vulnerable courageous character shone through as it did on the GHS stage. He was perfect. The best that a lion could be, and he stole the hearts of the audience who couldn’t cheer loud or long enough to acknowledge Smith’s stellar performance.

Jess Schmeling as the wicked witch of the west was up there at the top of the list of nasty characters. Schmeling cackled and shrieked her curses at the hapless Dorothy as no other wicked witch ever did before. Her performance was cheered on with glee from a drama infused audience.

Deborah Wolfe and Mark Ragan as Aunt Em and Uncle Henry were the epitome of down-home, Kansas country-living gentle souls, going so far as to bring out baby chickens as a tornado thunders in on the farm. The tech crew did a great job of meshing prescreened film shortage that gave a polished edge to the simple sets of each Oz location.

Angela Hunt and Crystal Zeilbeck as the tin man and the scarecrow and Dorothy’s extended family in Kansas did a great job of stealing hearts in their roles.

Local children put all of their light into making the song and dance numbers brighten one’s spirit and their spot-on renditions of songs are sure to be rolling around in one’s head for the next few months.

All in all, it was a flawless show, a delivery that more than satisfied all expectations of the beloved musical, way over the top of the theater rainbow.

Although the curtain has fallen on Oz, the Peak to Peak Players are just setting off on the next leg of their journey. Peak to Peak Players producer Mark Ragan said that 600 people attended the show, which is phenomenal for the first adult/child participation production, raising $5,000 in ticket sales.

Peak to Peak plans to produce Romeo and Juliet and the next big musical will probably be Shrek.

(Originally published in the August 23, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)