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Confederation Centre of the Arts announces full cast for Wizard of OzOctober 10, 2012CBC's Bruce Rainnie to wear Lion's mane; Donna Garner to play Good Witch Glinda (Charlottetown) - Those planning to follow the yellow brick road to Wizard of Oz at Confederation Centre should be advised that tickets are flying fast. April Cook (Hairspray) and Glenda Landry (The Kitchen Witches) have already been revealed as Dorothy and the Wicked Witch for the Christmastime musical, and today casting was announced for the full company. CBC News host and local musician Bruce Rainnie will don the mane of the Cowardly Lion this December. "This is such a timeless family show, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it," says Rainnie. "I can't wait to see how Wade and the Centre crew make it sing." The broadcaster played the scaredy-cat role twice before and is excited to reconnect with it twenty years later. "My six-year-old son loves the movie, and he knows I played the Lion before. When he looked at me and said, 'Daddy, would you do it again?' - I knew then I just had to audition." Charlottetown Festival veteran Donna Garner (Ring of Fire, 2 Pianos 4 Hands) will carry two important wands for the production -- one as its musical director and one as the Good Witch Glinda. "I'm really looking forward to working with the talent in this community again," says Garner. "The Sound of Music was a joy last year, with a seamless fusion between professional and community artists. There was so much heart in that show; everyone was there because they really wanted to be, and it showed. I can't wait to do it again with this beloved musical." Dorothy's Aunt Em and Uncle Henry will be played by Associate Director Catherine O'Brien (Separate Beds, The Ballad of Stompin' Tom) and Stephen MacDougall (Victoria Playhouse's The Foursome). Rounding out Dorothy's foursome are P.E.I. actors Ian Cheverie (The Kitchen Witches) as the Tinman and Seth Johnson as the Scarecrow. A full cast list can be found under the Wizard of Oz homepage at confederationcentre.com. Director Wade Lynch is thrilled with the casting. "I did not anticipate the tremendous turn out we got! We saw over 100 people in two days. I think, when the smoke clears, we'll have about 64 actors cast and I'm not at all embarrassed to say, the more Munchkins there are on stage; the more Munchkin relatives we'll see in the seats!" Presented by Kwik Kopy, Wizard of Oz is at Confederation Centre of the Arts from December 6 to 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Homburg Theatre with 2 p.m. matinees on December 8 and 15. Tickets start at $20 and are on sale now. Visit the box office at the Centre, phone 902-566-1267, toll free at 1-800-565-0278, or order online at www.liveatthecentre.com. Sobeys is the title sponsor for Live @ the Centre! -- Confederation Centre's fall and winter programming. Media sponsors are The Guardian, Hot 105.5, Ocean 100 and telecommunications sponsor, Bell Aliant. -30- Photo Cutline: CBC News host and local musician Bruce Rainnie will don the Cowardly Lion's mane this December for Confederation Centre of the Arts' production of Wizard of Oz (Submitted photo). |