By Coral Gables Gazette staff
Families heading to Actors’ Playhouse this month for The Wizard of Oz should leave their expectations of ruby slippers and a certain Harold Arlen ballad at the door.
This is a different journey down the yellow brick road, built for young audiences from the ground up.
Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre’s Children’s Theatre presents The Wizard of Oz through July 25, with public performances Saturdays at 2 p.m., a Sensory Inclusive performance on July 12 at 2 p.m. and weekday matinees at 10:30 a.m. for school and summer camp field trips.
Not the film, a different Oz
The production’s licensing materials make clear that this version is not based on the MGM film adaptation. Written by Jim Eiler, with music by Eiler and Jeanne Bargy, the show is based on L. Frank Baum’s original book and was originally produced by the Prince Street Players.
The story still follows the broad strokes audiences know: a Kansas farm girl swept by a tornado into the land of Oz, a Scarecrow, a Tin Woodsman and a Cowardly Lion in search of a wizard who can send her home, and a Wicked Witch of the West determined to stop her.
But the songs, pacing and stage mechanics are original to this children’s-theater version, which was written for young audiences and flexible-cast companies rather than as a recreation of the 1939 film.
That distinction matters. Instead of leaning on the movie’s iconic images and songs, the production asks children to meet the story as a live stage adventure: familiar enough to recognize, but different enough to surprise.
Who brings it to the stage
The Coral Gables production is directed and choreographed by Earl Maulding, the Playhouse’s director of theatre for young audiences, with Anneliese Wolfanger serving as musical director.
The cast is led by Carolina Carmona as Dorothy, alongside Lovell Rose, Wolfanger, Luis Otamendi, Alexa Seder, Catherine Viera, Ryan Townsend, Quinn Doyle and Anna Russell in the show’s other principal roles. Toto is played by a real dog, Snickers, continuing a KidsBILL tradition of casting a live canine in the role.
Built for young audiences
The July 12 Sensory Inclusive performance is designed for children and families who benefit from a modified sensory environment, part of a broader push among performing arts venues to make live theater accessible to audiences with autism and other sensory sensitivities.
The weekday matinees, meanwhile, are aimed at school groups and summer camps, a longtime staple of the Playhouse’s children’s programming. Actors’ Playhouse says its student matinees include study guides, live performances and cast talkbacks designed to connect theater with classroom learning.
What comes next
The Wizard of Oz opens the Playhouse’s 2026-27 children’s theater season, which continues with A Christmas Carol, The Musical, Junie B. Jones Essential Survival Guide to School and Disney and Pixar’s Finding Nemo.
The Playhouse is also booking weekday matinees for school field trips and enrolling students in its fall conservatory classes.
What to know
The Wizard of Oz runs through July 25 at the Dr. Lawrence and Barbara Stein Center for the Performing Arts, home to Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile.
Public performances are Saturdays at 2 p.m., with a Sensory Inclusive performance July 12 at 2 p.m. Tickets and showtimes are available through Actors’ Playhouse or by calling 305-444-9293.
