The Wizard of Oz & Breaking Boards

PHEW!  Time flies when you're having fun!  Took a trip to Iowa to see my niece and nephew in a musical rendition of The Wizard of Oz, and for a charity board breaking event.  First, the musical.

This is my niece, Sonya, as Dorothy, posing with the Good Witch Glinda. 
I bawled like a baby when Sonya sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow. 
FYI - Laura ( my baby sister) and Sonya made the dress together - nice work, huh?

Here's the opening scene.  Mr. Strawley (my nephew, Michael) is
telling Dorothy the nasty neighbor lady has caught Toto!  Oh my!

Of course you know how the story goes. The tornado comes, taking Dorothy to the Land of Oz, where she picks up these characters on her journey. Each of them played their part so well - what talented young people!

Here Michael is playing his second role as an evil flying monkey. 

He's got Toto in one paw and the other is around Dorothy's ankle.  What a beast!

Here's Michael (middle monkey)...

 ...and Sonya, and her co-stars taking a bow.

You may have noticed some differences between this musical and the MGM movie.  True to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum, the "Munchkins" are really "Winkies" and they all are dressed in blue.  Dorothy's slippers were not ruby red, but silver.  MGM made a number of changes to add more color.  This rendition included scenes and dialog not found in the movie.  For instance, we learned how the Tin Man came to be - a very funny story!  And Dorothy's time in Oz was not just a dream - when she woke up in Kansas her friend were there too!  I may just have to read the book now.

Here is Michael - he was a star in another event. 

His Tae Kwon Do school did a board breaking fundraiser for trafficked/exploited children.  All told, the school raised around $1500.00.  Michael sold 111 boards, and  had to break them all!  You can see the pile of broken boards at the instructor's feet.  That pile just kept growing.  Michael was a lean, mean (not really) board breaking machine.  I wish I had timed it.  It seemed like it took only about 5 minutes.  That's over 20 boards a minute!  Wow!

In upcoming posts I'll tell you about Pine Needles Quilt Shop, and the Amana Colonies - where we visited more quilt shops and the museum. 

It was a full, fun weekend!  :)