Faces & Places Ministries will present \u201cFollow the Yellow Brick Road\u201d at St. Matthew\u2019s Harkins Hall on Sunday, April 27 at 3 p.m.
\nAlthough it takes a slightly different path, \u201cFollow the Yellow Brick Road\u201d tells the story of \u201cThe Wizard of Oz\u201d, brining to life all the favorite characters from the original story.
\nThis weekend\u2019s performance will be the last, following a small tour which took the cast throughout central Pennsylvania.
\nWhile known for their dedication to bring the Gospel to life through biblical productions, as well as real to life stories, many people have asked why Faces & Places Ministries chose to perform this take on \u201cThe Wizard of Oz\u201d.
\nAccording to Faces & Places members, one of the reasons for doing the show is because it is rich in spiritual truths.
\n\u201cThe yearning for heaven and the corresponding redemption from evil are illustrated in it from beginning to end,\u201d said Drew M. Baker.
\n\u201cIn the beginning, Dorothy talks about going \u2018someplace where there isn’t any trouble.\u2019 She wants to go \u2018over the rainbow,\u2019 where there are no problems.
\n\u201cThese thoughts are paralleled in our own longings for paradise and freedom from the effects of the curse, to be fulfilled at the end of the age, when paradise will again be restored through redemption in Christ.\u201d
\nAnother important spiritual principle is the powerlessness of evil in the presence of good. Think back to the movie\u2019s struggles between the wicked witch and Glinda, the good witch.
\nAccording to Baker, the wizard himself in some ways portrays aspects of God’s character.
\n\u201cHe is awesome and unapproachable, yet at the same time, personal and very approachable,\u201d said Baker.
\n\u201cThen, there is a clear reference to God’s omniscience when the wizard says, \u2018Silence! The Great and Powerful Oz knows why you have come.\u2019\u201d
\nThese are just a few ways in which the story parallels the Christian faith. Those in attendance can watch this play with new eyes as they see the many other references and similar spiritual ideas that are presented throughout the show.
\n\u201cAnd so it is for those who follow the path of the Lord–the path of righteousness. While Dorothy and her companions were traveling along the path that they were directed to follow, they encountered evil of various kinds, and it was at times very frightening, but they always managed to get through it safely,\u201d added Baker, \u201cIf we are obedient, God will get us through the frightening and evil things we encounter, and He will actually grant us great success in our spiritual battles.
\n\u201cYet, when all is said and done, we cannot take credit for success in finishing the course, or fulfilling His call. We can only obey God and wait for Him to do the impossible. We are only able put into operation God-given courage, love, and obedience, and He takes care of the rest. The end result will be the destruction of evil.\u201d
\nThe cast for this performance includes, in order of appearance: Kathleen Beck of Tyrone as Dorothy; Jessica Murphy of Altoona as Toto; Mary Edna Lykens of Tyrone as Aunt Em; Erik Baker of Tyrone as Uncle Henry; Karen Beasom of Tyrone as Almira Gulch; Drew M. Baker of Tyrone as Prof. Marvel; Betsy Beck of Tyrone as Glinda; Donna Derdel of State College as the Wicked Witch; Drew M. Baker of Tyrone as Scarecrow; Jack Wagner of Tyrone as Tinman; Erik Baker of Tyrone as Lion; Joyce Kennedy of Altoona as Doorgirl and Jack Servello of Altoona as the Wizard.
\nThe Forest Trees are played by Judy Campbell, Tyrone; Jayne McPhail, Tyrone and Cindy Murphy, Altoona and the Munchkins are portrayed by: Connor Garman, Stephen Garman, Morgan Garman, MJ Hunt, Kali Lingenfelter and Marlena Wagner.
\nCostumes for the production were provided by Karen Baker of Tyrone. Technical Assistance by Jack Servello and Servello Family Studios of Altoona and makeup and hair was done by Erika Garman, Tyrone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Faces & Places Ministries will present \u201cFollow the Yellow Brick Road\u201d at St. Matthew\u2019s Harkins Hall on Sunday, April 27 at 3 p.m. Although it takes a slightly different path, \u201cFollow the Yellow Brick Road\u201d tells the story of \u201cThe Wizard of Oz\u201d, brining to life all the favorite characters from the original story. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area","category-excerpts-from-the-tyrone-daily-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}