Somewhere over the rainbow in the Wareham Elementary School, a group of third and fourth graders performed the Wizard of Oz on Wednesday afternoon.
The group brought the beloved tale to life with style as a crowd of family members and school staff watched in delight.

The play was produced by the Wareham CARE after-school program, and the students met twice a week for about an hour to rehearse. 

After the performance, the young actors were excited.

“I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to do it in front of the school on Friday,” said Amarianna, who played Dorothy. She said she “definitely” wants to act in more plays in the future, especially in lead roles.

Rosabella was the narrator and one of the actresses playing the Yellow Brick Road. 

“I honestly love that story,” she said. “When I was little, I used to read the book every night.” 

As she got older, Rosabella said, she grew to love the movie, and was wowed by a performance of the play at Bridgewater State University. At that show, she said she got to take a selfie with the munchkins.

Aubrii, who played Glinda the Good Witch, said she hopes to act in Alice in Wonderland someday.

Jane Petracca, who co-directed the play with Renee Fernandes, said that the students did a great job. 

“The kids really came together and rolled with some last minute issues,” Petracca said, noting that some cast members took on new roles at the last minute.

Petracca thanked the schools’ administrators for their support, music teacher Russ Hart for help with sound and the custodians for putting away the chairs.