Orlando Family Stage’s Youth Academy presents ‘The Wizard of Oz’
Tickets are on sale for the production running from Friday, Dec. 5 through Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.
PRODUCTION, THE WIZARD OF OZ, IS COMING TO CENTRAL FLORIDA. ONLY THIS TIME LOCAL STARS LEAD THE WAY DOWN THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD. KIDS AT THE ORLANDO FAMILY STAGES YOUTH ACADEMY ARE LOGGING HOURS OF REHEARSAL TIME AND PERFECTING THEIR SINGING, DANCING AND ACTING SKILLS. IT’S ALL TO BRING THIS BELOVED STORY OF A YOUNG GIRL’S MAGICAL ADVENTURE TO LIFE. AND THIS MORNING, WE’RE SHOWCASING TWO PIECES OF THIS MASSIVE PRODUCTION PUZZLE. JOINING ME RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE ORLANDO FAMILY STAGE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JEFFREY REVELS. GREAT TO SEE YOU AND JULIA ALVAREZ MILLER, WHO PLAYS OZ. DOROTHY, GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. AND OZ DOROTHY, YOU’VE GOT A CHEERING SQUAD HERE. WE’LL EXPLAIN WHY IN A MOMENT. HOLD FOR THAT. JULIA. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WORKING ON THIS PRODUCTION AND YOU’VE GOT A WHOLE TEAM THAT’S PART OF IT WITH YOU. YEAH, THERE ARE 47 OTHER AMAZING AND TALENTED KIDS IN THIS CAST. AND OF COURSE, I’M SO HONORED AND GRATEFUL TO PLAY THIS ROLE OF OZ. DOROTHY. BUT I DID WANT YOU TO MEET ALL OF THE OTHER KIDS IN THIS CAST. SO TAKE A LOOK. I’M PHOENIX AND I PLAY KANSAS. DOROTHY, I’M EMMY AND I PLAY MRS. GULCH. I’M RAY AND I PLAY THE TIN MAN. I’M LUCAS, AND I PLAY THE SCARECROW. I’M QUINN AND I PLAY GLINDA. I’M AUSTIN AND I PLAY THE COWARDLY LION. I’M HILARY, AND I PLAY THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST. OH. WE KNOW WHY SHE GOT THE PART. THAT WAS AWESOME. WELL, IT’S A GREAT CAST THERE. AND THEN SO MANY PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES AND WORKING ON BUILDING SETS AND PROPS AND ALL OF THAT. LET’S START WITH YOU HERE, JEFF. BECAUSE I’VE GOT SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT OZ, DOROTHY. BUT BUT FIRST, ORLANDO FAMILY STAGE. IF PEOPLE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF YOU GUYS, FIRST OF ALL, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? BUT WHAT DO YOU WANT OUR COMMUNITY TO KNOW? YOU. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN IS RIGHT BECAUSE WE ARE CELEBRATING OUR 100 YEARS NEXT YEAR. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. YOU GUYS LOOK GREAT. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. WHAT I WANT THEM TO KNOW IS WE HAVE PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTIONS FOR FAMILIES AND YOUNG AUDIENCES, BUT WE ALSO HAVE PRODUCTIONS WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN THEM, WHICH WE CALL OUR YOUTH ACADEMY AND WHAT THE YOUTH ACADEMY INSTILLS IS SO MUCH ACTUAL WORK, CRITICAL THINKING, TAKING RISKS, DEADLINES, COLLABORATION, TEAMWORK, ALL THOSE SOFT SKILLS YOU NEED. TODAY’S WORKPLACE NEEDS, NOT JUST IN THE FUTURE. SURE, BUT THEY LEARN THAT BY DOING THE SHOW. AND SO THAT IS WHAT PEOPLE COME JOIN US. YEAH. AND JULIA, FOR YOU, WHAT IS IT LIKE BEING PART OF ORLANDO FAMILY STAGE? IT’S LIKE HAVING A SECOND FAMILY. EVERYONE THERE IS SO WELCOMING AND COMFORTABLE. LIKE, IF YOU’RE LIKE A LEAD OR YOU’RE ENSEMBLE, YOU STILL FEEL SO INCLUDED AND HAVE SO MUCH FUN. BUT ALSO LEARNING HOW TO ACT, SING AND DANCE. AND IT’S JUST SO MUCH FUN. THAT’S AWESOME. OKAY, WE’VE GOT TO TALK. WIZARD OF OZ. IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYWHERE WE LOOK, THE TODAY SHOW HAS TURNED INTO WICKED WEEK. THERE’S THIS WHOLE OZ THEME IN THE UNIVERSE RIGHT NOW, BUT THIS IS THAT CLASSIC STORY WE KNOW AND LOVE. IT IS. AND SO WE CHOSE THE WIZARD OF OZ ON PURPOSE. OF COURSE, BECAUSE PART TWO OF WICKED IS WHEN WE GET TO THE WIZARD OF OZ STORY, FOR SURE. SO WE GET THE ENTRANCE OF DOROTHY INTO THE STORY. AND SO WHAT BETTER THING TO DO IS GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL TO PREPARE US FOR WICKED FOR GOOD. YEAH. AND WHAT’S IT LIKE BRINGING OZ DOROTHY TO THE STAGE? BECAUSE THIS IS AN ICONIC ROLE I ALWAYS LIKE. MAKE SURE TO KNOW THAT SHE JUST RANDOMLY ENDED UP FROM A TORNADO IN OZ, WHICH IS SO COLORFUL AND HAS SO MUCH LIFE, AND IT’S SO MUCH MORE DIFFERENT FROM KANSAS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, LIKE, HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU RANDOMLY ENDED UP THERE AND LIKE, YOU WOULD BE LIKE SURPRISED. BUT I ALSO LIKE, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE TO LIKE PUT IN THOSE ICONIC, LIKE THINGS IN DOROTHY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE RUBY SLIPPERS AND TOTO, WHICH IS LIKE SO COOL TO LIKE, BE A PART OF. THAT’S COOL. CAN WE GET A LITTLE HINT? IS THIS A REAL DOG, A STUFFED ANIMAL? WHAT ARE WE DOING? SO IT’S SHE’S A LITTLE GIRL AND SHE HAS THIS PUPPET. IT’S LIKE, YEAH, IT’S A PERSON. THERE’S TWO LIKE, RODS. AND THEN IT, LIKE, MOVES THE HEAD. IT’S SO COOL. SO WE’VE SEEN THAT IN SOME BROADWAY SHOWS. YOU REALLY ELEVATE. AND THE LAST THING HERE FOR YOU, JEFF, IS THIS IS DOING SO MUCH GOOD FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. I’VE OFTEN SAID, AND I WAS A KID AT YOUR AGE DOING THEATER, COMMUNITY THEATER IN ALABAMA. AND I ALWAYS SAY, HIRE A THEATER KID, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT REALLY DOES EMPOWER THESE YOUNG PEOPLE. I THINK THEATER KIDS CAN SAVE THE WORLD, TRULY. AND IF MORE PEOPLE CLUED IN WOULD BE JUST FINE. BUT JULIA JOINS A LONG LINE OF YOUTH ACADEMY PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE ENTERED THE WORKFORCE, LIKE MANDY MOORE, JOSH SEGARRA. IF YOU LOOK HIM UP AND SHELDON DUTES, ONE OF YOUR FORMER ANCHORS WAS ONE OF OUR YOUTH ACADEMY KIDS, AND WE HAVE ANOTHER CONNECTION HERE WITH JULIA. WE’VE GOT A MOM RIGHT OFF SET HERE. OUR OWN NANCY ALVAREZ IS SO PROUD OF YOU. THIS IS NANCY’S DAUGHTER. I MEAN, NOW YOU SEE THE RESEMBLANCE, DON’T YOU, NANCY? YOU GOT TO GIVE HER A HUG AS WE WRAP THIS WHOLE THING UP. COME ON. SET, NANCY. NANCY. JEFFREY. JULIA. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I KNOW YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO BE ON TV, BUT GIVE THIS ONE. WEARING SHOES. IT DOESN’T MATTER. BIG HUG. AND WE HAVE ONE LAST SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM OUR CAST. A LITTLE SHOUT OUT. OH. MY. YES WE WILL. WE WILL SEE THE
Orlando Family Stage’s Youth Academy presents ‘The Wizard of Oz’
Tickets are on sale for the production running from Friday, Dec. 5 through Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.
Updated: 10:46 AM EST Nov 20, 2025
The Orlando Family Stage’s Youth Academy will bring the classic tale, “The Wizard of Oz,” to life Friday, Dec. 5 through Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.The nonprofit’s artistic director, Jeffery Revels, and Julia Alvarez-Miller, who plays “Oz Dorothy” join WESH 2 in-studio to preview the show.The cast includes 47 kids, according to Alvarez-Miller, who’ve all collaborated to perfect their talent and reimagine the popular novel. Revels and Alvarez-Miller also discuss the mission of Orlando Family Stage and the unique experiences available to local youth.Click here to learn more.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
The Orlando Family Stage’s Youth Academy will bring the classic tale, “The Wizard of Oz,” to life Friday, Dec. 5 through Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.
The nonprofit’s artistic director, Jeffery Revels, and Julia Alvarez-Miller, who plays “Oz Dorothy” join WESH 2 in-studio to preview the show.
The cast includes 47 kids, according to Alvarez-Miller, who’ve all collaborated to perfect their talent and reimagine the popular novel.
Revels and Alvarez-Miller also discuss the mission of Orlando Family Stage and the unique experiences available to local youth.
Click here to learn more.