Residents make costumes, present play
Berl Tiskus
Dorothy and Toto stand on the yellow brick road during Polson Health and Rehabilitation Center’s play.
Berl Tiskus
Chris Garcia plays the cowardly lion with a wonderful roar and swish of his tail.
Berl Tiskus
Glinda the good witch reads her lines as Dorothy and Auntie Em look on during the production of “The Wizard of Oz” put on by Polson Health and Rehabilitation
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POLSON — Complete with the ruby slippers and Toto, the residents at Polson Health and Rehabilitation Center put their spin on “The Wizard of Oz” as family, friends and staff gathered on May 29 to watch.
The plot follows the tin woodsman, who wants a heart; the cowardly lion, who wants courage, the scarecrow, who wants a brain; and Dorothy, who wants to go back to Kansas, as so they search for the Wizard of Oz to grant their wishes.
While it’s been a month-long, building-wide effort with lots of practicing, one lady has had a lot to do with the play’s success. That lady is 5-year resident Julia Rosenhan, who created the residents’ costumes.
“I kind of pick them (the costumes) out of my brain,” Julia said.
With a one-month schedule for costume construction and time out of her sewing schedule for a family reunion, Julia was finishing up the outfits on the day the play was to be performed.
Glinda the Good Witch’s costume she fashioned from swaths of hot pink tulle and shiny silver fabric for the crown and the belt. A star-shaped wand completes Rena Lingo’s costume.
Julia said Rena is a quiet lady, but she’s so excited about the play and her costume.
“She just smiled from ear to ear,” Julia said.
The lion costume has an extra long tail, she said, so Chris Garcia, who plays the lion, can flick it around from his wheelchair.
Chris perfected his roar and delighted in using the microphone to make it even louder.
Julia made both the tin man’s and the lion’s costume so they would be easy to put on, since both men use wheelchairs for mobility.
A self-taught seamstress, Julia began stitching when she was 8 years old, designing and making clothes for her dolls. Then she graduated to sewing for herself when she was 10, and in high school devoted herself to designing clothing.
Julia had six children, three girls and three boys, “and not a lot of money,” so she sewed for them all the time.
That seamstress experience and imagination shows in the witch costume, which Julia fashioned from lacy black fabric, a hoopskirt and a sparkly gold witch’s hat worn by Janet Maday.
Maday practiced her cackle all month, according to PHRC staffer, and did a great job demanding the ruby slippers.
Dorothy was played by one of the resident’s granddaughters, who sings beautifully, according to Julia.
The facility plans a couple of theatrical presentations each year because the residents love to perform, according to Kathy Cutting, PHRC recreation director.
