OHS grad appearing in 'Wizard of Oz'

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January 24, 2011

By Mark Boshnack Staff Writer The Daily Star Mon Jan 24, 2011, 08:02 AM EST

Somewhere over the rainbow, an Oneonta High School graduate is pursuing her dream of being on stage.

Alexandra Fassler is appearing in the national tour of “The Wizard of Oz” — based on the 1939 movie and the books of L. Frank Baum — which will be coming to the Proctors Theatre in Schenectady on Jan. 30. She said she was hoping to see friends and family while there.

Fassler, a 2005 high school graduate, is the understudy for Dorothy Gale, the main character. As part of the ensemble, she plays five different roles in the regular performances, including a Munchkin and a resident of Oz, she said.

The tour started the third week of November and ends in April, with many stops lasting one day.

Traveling so much has its ups and downs, she said. But being on stage is “very fulfilling,” she said.

“It’s what I was hoping to do since I started performing at age nine,” she said. “It’s all worth it.”

She graduated from the Boston Conservatory in 2009, studying musical theater. Soon after, she moved to Manhattan and started auditioning.

When not performing, she works as a cocktail waitress and at a variety of odd jobs so she can afford to keep at it.

Among her successes, in late 2009 she appeared in a live Manhattan Disney show following a showing of “The Princess and the Frog” movie.

This summer she played a role in “The Who’s Tommy” at a Hilton Head, S.C., venue.

About her appearances, she said: “I love it.

I feel really comfortable on the stage. I’m never nervous. I just feel that’s where I am supposed to be.”

“Wizard of Oz” company manager Brian Bauer said that Fassler was “phenomenal” in the show. “She brings it every day.”

He looks forward to seeing her as Dorothy. “I have no questions that she will be great when she is called on.”

Fassler said her parents came to the first show in November, but she hasn’t seen them since. She is looking forward to them and other family and people from the community coming to the Schenectady show.