Follow The Yellow Brick Road To RPCS: Celebrating Thirty Years of Arts 

By: Madelyn D. ‘25

Entering Roland Park, one walks down the vibrant yellow brick road and under the colorful rainbow. The entrance is adorned with balloons and a yellow carpet, creating a festive atmosphere that draws you into the musical experience. With the lollipops given at the entrance, audience members became a part of the lollipop guild - another reference to this year’s production: “The Wizard of Oz.” Throughout the show, the audience also transformed into characters like poppies, fire, the rainbow, or even the road itself, as our bracelets light up in sync with different songs. The bracelets first lit up during Somewhere Over the Rainbow, sung by Dorothy, played by Roland Park student Aveon Green the day I attended, and Ashby McGill the day prior. Wearing the rainbow on my wrist made me feel like I was part of the performance, even while sitting in the audience. I experienced a sense of community as everyone's wrists lit up in unison, working together to create a sea of light while the vocals continued. Each detail in the lights and festive decorations was carefully chosen to honor the thirtieth anniversary of the Roland Park Country School’s Sinex Theater. 

The Roland Park Country School holds an all-school production involving over 50 students from grades 2 to 12 in cast and crew every ten years. There was an effort to include every age group - even those not on stage - as paper crafts made by the younger students or “little reds” sat by the entrance to the theater. Notably, the first show performed on the Sinex Theater stage was "The Wizard of Oz," presented by the middle school in 1995. The playbill for the show alleges that they were unaware that the show was the first one in the theater until shortly before opening night. The show assisted in bringing the community together under a collective appreciation for the arts. An audience member remarked, “Students in the RPCS theater did a fantastic job collaborating across their school divisions in this fun and timeless show”.