If you’re looking for a little entertainment this weekend, try following the yellow brick road. But if you can’t find that one, try the road that leads to Gilbert instead.

The students of Gilbert High School will be performing the musical version of The Wizard of Oz at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, in the Gilbert Junior High School gymnasium.

Amy Arndorfer-Frankl, co-director of the musical, said the musical is more of a community event than just a high school production. Besides a cast and crew of over 75 people, elementary students, community seamstresses, the mayor of Gilbert, local news stations and a 12 pound AKC-registered Cairn Terrier named Kizzy (otherwise known as Take A Bow) are also involved with the production.

“We try to incorporate an educational theme into our productions. We will have four displays set up for people to look at during intermission,” Frankl said. Refreshments will also be provided.

The displays will be set up in the lobby, and they include: “From Here to Oz,” a display of 56 international flags rented from Iowa State’s International Resource Center; a display about weather and tornadoes in Iowa with information and “tornado paraphernalia” provided by local news channels 5 and 8 and Douglas Yarger, ISU professor of geology and atmospheric sciences; and a display called “The History of The Wizard of Oz,” which will have information from The Wizard of Oz museum in Chittenango, N.Y., the home town of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz.

Annette Sebranek, the other co-director of the musical, received a list of six names of original living munchkin characters and wrote to them. Although they haven’t yet heard from the munchkins, they are still hoping their wish of encouragement and good luck from the original cast members will come true.

Pam Pettus, a Bondurant resident, and owner of Kizzy, the dog playing the part of Toto, will also have a display set up with information about her dog breeding business.

Jami Sharp, a tenth grader at Gilbert High School, who plays the part of Dorothy, had expressed a concern to Frankl about being uncomfortable around dogs that she didn’t know. Fortunately, Kizzy has been well-behaved and there have been no problems. “Everything is great with the dog,” Sharp said. “She’s calm and easy to work with. Basically, all I have to do is carry her around, and it’s working out well.”

Elementary students in grades ranging from kindergarten through sixth have been involved in various contests relating to the musical. Students in the second and third grades participated in a contest drawing flags for mythical land of Oz. Fourth-graders designed medals of courage for the Lion. Fifth-graders created heart watches for the Tin Man, and the sixth grade students made diplomas for the Scarecrow.

The first-place winners of the contests will be notified and given their awards during the performance Friday evening by Dick Wright, mayor of Gilbert, and Aaron Nordyke, 10th grade student at Gilbert High School and munchkin mayor of Oz.

The first place winners’ creations will be used in the musical, and the second place winners creations will be displayed in the lobby along with the other displays.

“I’m supposed to show up, looking like the major, in a nice shirt and tie, and help give out the awards,” Mayor Wright said. “I’ve done plays and public speaking before, so as long as they keep Toto in line, I imagine everything will go just fine.”

Mark Jennings, a ninth grade student at Gilbert High School, who plays the part of the Lion, is going to use the badge of courage the winner of the fourth grade class designed. Unlike the part he plays, Jennings claims he won’t need any courage. “I don’t have much stage fright,” Jennings said. “I’m not a wuss!”

“We have something pretty unique happening here because our intermissions aren’t just about cookies and punch, but about education,” Frankl said. “The younger kids get so excited about being involved and receiving awards. It’s really important to them, and so far we’ve had a very good community response.”

Tickets for The Wizard of Oz are $2 for students and $3 for adults. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. in the Gilbert Junior High School Gymnasium.