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HUNTINGTON -- Just when we need it most, there's a tornado blowing through town to whisk us all away to where skies are blue and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.

At least on Tuesday night.

Wednesday, you're back on your own.

At 7:30 p.m. today, Dec. 9, the Marshall Artists Series welcomes in the touring Broadway production of the beloved musical adventure, "The Wizard of Oz" into the historic Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center.

Tickets are $55, $50 and $45. Youth tickets (17 & under) are $27.50, $25 and $22.50.

Out since Oct. 23, this tour of the "Wizard of Oz," has been one whirlwind of a musical love fest for one of America's best road-trip stories, said Chris Kind, the Minnesota native who plays the Tin Man.

"I think it is such a universally loved movie and such a universally loved story that it's very strange to come across someone who does not like the 'Wizard of Oz,' " Kind said. "It's wonderful to be a part of any production of 'Wizard of Oz' but this one in particular, it has been something to see the care they took in getting it right and getting the cast together."

The musical follows the stage adaptation of the blockbuster movie, prepared originally for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and includes that stream of sing-a-long songs such as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" and "The Merry Old Land of Oz."

Kind said the production doesn't drift too far from the 1939 film classic that took home two Oscars for its music.

Herbert Stothart won the Oscar for Best Music, Original Score while Harold Arlen (music) and E.Y Harburg (lyrics) won a Best Music, Original Song Oscar for "Over the Rainbow."

That music was, of course, inspired by L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," that first hit Broadway in 1902.

Kind said Baum's great story, topped with unforgettable music, makes for a tale that takes everyone along for the ride.

"A lot of the really classic stories, like 'Lord of the Rings' it is that every man going on a quest and this one is a very average human being, going on a quest and there is a coming of age story on top of it," Kind said. "What 14-year-old would be able to handle all the crazy things that happen and handle it as maturely as she does? And who wouldn't want to go along with an insecure metal man, a friendly lion and the Scarecrow, probably the most pleasant, bouncy, positive fellow with you along the way?"

One of the largest shows that has played the Keith-Albee, "The Wizard of Oz," with its special effects and complex sets arrives in five semi-trucks to help tell the story of how Dorothy, a young girl dissatisfied with life on the farm, is swept away with her dog Toto by a tornado to the magical land of Oz.

In Oz, Dorothy and her unorthodox posse test the limits of friendship, loyalty, courage and the power of home as they battle flying monkeys and deal with witches, good and bad.

Kind, a graduate of Minnesota State University, said he feels lucky to be part of the production that has amazing lighting and sets that pop like the Technicolor of the original film with drastic, drab browns and grays depicting Kansas, while Oz gets blown with bright blues and pinks in an amazing dreamcoat of Technicolor.

"We took the movie greatly into consideration and the whole production is themed to honor the MGM movie," Kind said. "There is a movie theme throughout the entire show. A lot of things are obvious, there is a big border that has film strips and things like that and we start out with projections. When it becomes Oz, the movie references are less obvious, but there slightly."

One unique aspect of the NETworks Presentations' production is that they're using local child actors to play the roles of the Munchkins.

A dozen local grade school and middle school students with the Huntington-based First Stage Theatre Company have been working with Marshall University professor Jack Cirillo, Mary Smirl and others, a couple times a week to prepare for their roles Tuesday night.

The production, which has a cast of about 20 singers and dancers traveling with the show, also pulls some things on stage that were left out of the movie such as the jitterbugs that wore down Dorothy and her friends before the Flying Monkeys swooped down to carry them away.

"They have found that good balance between honoring the movie and creating enough new material and new character text," Kind said. "It is not so much though that you feel like they totally threw the movie out of the window."

One thing Kind is thankful for that is out the window is the old Tin Man getup and makeup.

The original Tin Woodsman in the MGM movie, Buddy Ebsen, was rushed to the hospital and replaced after ingesting aluminum that was in the makeup.

"It's standard makeup that is on me," Kind said, with a laugh. "But they really took a tack with my costume. It has reference to that classic big tin can look but has more joints involved and I think is a little more mechanical. On the positive side it is a little easier to play the Tin Man, if I fall on my back, I am a turtle and I can't get up."

Courtesy of Joan Marcus

Dorothy and friends (from left to right: Noah Aberlin, Cassie Okenka, Snickers, Jason Simon, Chris Kind) perform in the national tour of "Wizard of Oz." The tour will stop Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the Keith-Albee Performing Center.

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Courtesy of Joan Marcus

Dorothy (Cassie Okenka) and Toto (Snickers) in Kansas during a production of "Wizard of Oz." The tour will stop Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center.

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Courtesy of Joan Marcus

Dorothy (Cassie Okenka) and Professor Marvel (Robert John Biedermann) in the national tour of "Wizard of Oz." The tour will stop Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center.

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