Woodbury students are Munchkins for "Oz"

They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway, but east-facing windows in Woodbury also glow.

As the sun streamed onto the hardwood floor of the 5 Star Dance Studio, a dozen kids -- each shorter than 60 inches, each lighter than 100 pounds -- assumed their places, made their Munchkin feet (heels together, toes out) and practiced how to correctly point down to "where the goblins go, below, below, below. Yo ho, let's open up and sing, and ring the bells out."

Point with the right hand. Point with the left hand. Point with both, "then remember how we ring the bell -- straight elbows, arms next to your ears," said instructor Jena Sandell, staring into the mirrored wall reflecting the local talent in this weekend's production of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Orpheum Theatre. The kids begin again, pointing below, straightening their elbows, pulling their gangly arms right up to their ears.

In its 46-city tour, Broadway Across America always arranges for local dancers to step into the roles of Munchkins, and Winkies, the regimental army of the Wicked Witch of the West (the Yo-Ee-Oh guys). The students from 5 Star Dance Studio were chosen after responding to the call. They don't get paid, but gain stage experience. (Each dancer does earn two tickets to the opening-night show, so Mom and Dad can cheer them on.)

The students have had about three weeks to learn their parts well enough to seamlessly slip into their places when Broadway Across America pulls into Minneapolis on Friday afternoon for the first dress rehearsal with the kids. Opening curtain? Friday night.

"I have jumped out of an airplane without a parachute," Pam Feske remembers thinking when 54 pages of stage directions arrived at the Woodbury dance studio, where she's a co-director. The instructions resemble a football coach's X's and O's -- if the coach favored a pastel palette. Munchkins, Lollipop Guild toughs and Lullaby League ballerinas all have places marked with pink, blue or green symbols.

The directives are explicit: "Lunge right leg on 'la' of the first 'tra la.'"

The 5 Star students seem up to the task. "We're not used to that stage, but we're used to performing in front of people," said Marina Tipler, 9, of St. Paul. So no butterflies? The students, gulping down sandwiches and fruit during a much-longed-for rehearsal break, barely considered the question. They might as well have practiced their Munchkin giggle. You know the one: a helium-pitched, "hee-hee-hee-hee-hee."

The Winkie role proved an unexpected challenge. It's a simple march across the stage, "but they were very specific about the step," Feske said. It's not a typically bold stride, but a beleaguered trudge. Toes lead, then heels, but all within a hairsbreadth of the floor, "like walking through mud," said Sandell.

Still, they are soldiers, so "chin up, chin up." As the dozen Winkies trudged the length of the studio, 11 continued on while Jessica Jugovich, the 12th and tiniest Winkie, turned and delivered a snappy salute to ... well, to the air. But 9-year-old Jessica, of South St. Paul, knows that the wicked witch will be standing there on opening night. As the smallest among the local dancers, her role is the sort of sight gag that makes audiences smile.

"The tiniest person is always the saluter," said Broadway Across America's Kim Reiter, whose job title is Munchkin coordinator for the tour. The company regards using local talent as continuing education for young dancers. "They get to see how all the nuts and bolts they learn in classes come together for a production. We've really not been disappointed."

The professional actors also like the ever-changing cast of little people. "It keeps the performance fresh for them," she said.

"You need to make sure you have energy moving through your whole hand to get that slap," Feske said of a move during the "Ding Dong, the Witch Is Dead" song, where pairs perform a sort of patty-cake move. The kids have been rehearsing for an hour, after a morning dance class. Some hands are veering toward limpness.

Performing in the five shows this weekend represents a tremendous commitment of their families' time, Feske said. "Most of these kids are here three times a week as it is," she said. Videos help them see how the show comes together, and gives them a glimpse of their costumes. "We just hope it's all the same as on the video," said Lauren Simon, 10, of Woodbury.

All the dancers said they've grown up watching the "The Wizard of Oz" and divulged, bursting with an insider's knowledge, that the movie Munchkins weren't played by children, but by little adults. Uh-huh, really.

Such familiarity, though, resulted in an "oops" that had to be addressed immediately. It's human nature to have grown up, even at age 9, singing along with Dorothy, but the role at hand is that of a Munchkin. "So remember," Feske said, "it's, 'You're off to see the Wizard.' Not 'We're off.'"