"The Wizard of Oz" will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Friday and again at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday at Bishop Gorman's Haddad Gymnasium.

Bishop Gorman Catholic School hasn’t staged a musical production in the past four years, but this week its new drama teacher will help send the school to “Oz.”

Amanda Wade is a Dallas native who joined the school staff this year after living in the Los Angeles area for over two decades, where she and her husband owned a sports training facility. Before that, she graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in theater.

Wade said she came to Gorman in hopes of helping her niece, senior KellyAnn Harrell, pursue a path to major in acting. Already, Wade said she’s grown to admire the students for being “smart and willing to try new things,” such as a major musical.

When she asked the students what kind of theatrical production they would like to stage, she said they requested a classic – so Wade picked “The Wizard of Oz,” L. Frank Baum’s 1900 book about the misadventures of an imaginative young girl, Dorothy, and her dog, Toto.

The show runs at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday at Gorman’s Haddad Gymnasium. Tickets start at $15 each for general admission and go up to $50 apiece for premium reserved seats. They can also be purchased in advance at bishopgorman.net/oz.

Wade called the musical a “perfect balance of fun, light, and family friendly.”

So far, there are roughly 35 students in the cast and crew for the production. But since Wade hasn’t directed “Oz” before, she said she is “taking it one thing at a time” and working with the students’ personalities to bring out the enthusiasm in each of their characters.

Harrell, her niece, auditioned and won the lead role of Dorothy. Brendan Carney will play the Tin Man, Jack Coan will play the Scarecrow and Kaela Young will be the Cowardly Lion. Annie Paniagua will step into the green-faced role of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Wade has also enlisted the school’s art classes to help with props and set design.

Before coming to Tyler, Wade and her husband lived in Pasadena, California, but they longed to relocate closer to family in East Texas. The move to Tyler was driven mainly by a desire to raise her children here, but it’s also given her the chance to teach theater, she said.

Growing up, she first played Tessie in the musical “Annie,” where she had to learn tumbling and gymnastics skills. She said it’s often easiest to try acting while still in school, adding that the excitement from the role often helps with memorizing lines quicker and more easily.

Wade said she prefers classical dramas over modern-day musicals because she said the “literature is more rich and the dialogue has more depth.” She added that classical dramas, like “Oz,” often appeal more easily to families, which is appropriate for a high-school production.

Yet her personal favorite is Anton Chekov’s family saga, “The Cherry Orchard,” because she said she “really enjoyed the character development and the thematic depth of the story.” In the play, a family must decide what to do with their estate and choose between embracing modernity or clinging to the past.

As Gorman heads off to “Oz,” Wade knows the students are feeling the pressure, especially since it hasn’t put on a musical in years. But she said she’s encouraging them to see the high stakes as a way to build their audience’s anticipation. She said she wants her students to “use their gifts and talents that God gave them and to use this experience to do something greater than what can be accomplished on their own.”

What: “The Wizard of Oz” 

When: 7 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Bishop T.K. Gorman’s Haddad Gymnasium

Tickets: $15 to $50, online or at the door

Information: www.bishopgorman.net/page/oz