There is, as they say, no place like home. That famous pronouncement from the tornado-riding Dorothy Gale of Kansas holds more than one meaning for Eileen Grady, executive director and artistic producer of the Mountain Play.
Having canceled its annual theatrical extravaganza atop Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais last year, the 112-year-old company is returning this summer to the historic Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre, preparing to present audiences with a lavish production of the musical, The Wizard of Oz.
“It’s a classic American musical that is beloved by theatergoers of all ages, and we think it’s the perfect show to offer our community, who we believe will be as happy to be back on the mountain as we will be,” Grady said.
Over the last year, the nonprofit organization has “taken a breath,” as she described it, giving itself a year away from planning, rehearsing, promoting and recruiting the cast, musicians and a full-on volunteer army for a massive theatrical production.
“After six financially challenging seasons due to weather, Covid, increased expenses and an industry-wide decrease in the theater-going public,” stated the announcement that went out to donors and sponsors in October of 2024, “the Mountain Play has decided to take a season off from its signature event on Mount Tamalpais to both raise funds and plan for a sustainable future.”
With fans left wondering when, if ever, the Mountain Play would return, Grady, along with her small staff and the organization’s board of directors and advisory council, committed to a year of next-level fundraising, deep market research that included talking with a huge number of supporters, exhaustive creative brainstorming and detailed “programming research.” All of it was undertaken to get a clearer sense of what the entire Bay Area wants, expects and is willing to keep supporting when it comes to the Mountain Play and its productions.
In discussing the decision last year, Grady noted, “There is a reason why this organization has been around so many years, and that’s because the Mountain Play is a unique experience that families and friends have enjoyed for generations. We want to preserve that tradition, continue to provide what the public holds dear and let go of the pieces that do not promote a financially viable experience.”
This year, having enthusiastically decided to return with a full production, the Mountain Play organization has pledged to continue its regimen of research, exploration and fundraising. With what has been learned over the last year, Grady said, the company is better prepared to address a whole list of tricky issues, from the financial repercussions of unpredictable weather, and state-wide changes in employment law and how it applies to theater and public performance venues, to the lingering effects of the 2020/2021 pandemic.
“The organization needs to evolve to create a sustainable future, but we can’t do it alone,” she pointed out. “We are looking forward to a sustainable Mountain Play that puts its focus on our community’s needs and desires for the future of the organization.”
In a business that is fueled by dreamy let’s-put-on-a-show optimism and plucky the-show-must-go-on determination, it can be hard to face the kinds of facts that have led to several Bay Area companies closing their doors over the last few years. In 2025, Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre went dark and left its longtime home, and as recently as last week, Berkeley’s Central Works announced it would be closing at the end of its 2026 season.
So, for the Mountain Play to end its self-imposed sabbatical with a renewed sense of positivity for the future, if slightly tempered by a newly won attitude of Fantasticks-style worldly-wisdom, that says a lot about how successful the last year’s efforts have been.
“It’s been a very important time, during which we’ve been able to take a hard look at how the world has changed since we were shut down, during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Grady said. “It’s become clear that the huge audiences we once counted on to make the trip up the mountain have just gotten out of the habit, and that if we are going to survive, we’d have to consider a new path forward. We think we’ve found that, and it all begins with a show that is life-affirming, heart-warming, positive and full of joy. Who doesn’t feel better whenever they even think about The Wizard of Oz?”
Showcasing the music from the classic 1939 MGM musical film starring Judy Garland, the Mountain Play’s production of L. Frank Baum’s beloved fantasy story is being directed by Dyan McBride, with a live orchestra under the direction of Jon Gallo and choreography by Meredith Joelle Charlson.
Those who’ve never seen the show on stage will be treated to a few surprises, as the theatrical version includes expanded versions of several of the songs, and one irresistibly infectious number that was cut from the movie. Titled “The Jitterbug,” the song takes place when Dorothy and her Land of Oz friends are plagued by jitterbugs. A delightfully up-tempo invention of the Wicked Witch, they make people dance uncontrollably until they die.
In most productions, it’s a showstopper.
One of the production’s other offerings is a direct result of the year-long brainstorming that Grady and her team took on.
“For the first time, we’re offering tuition-free theater training for kids,” she explained. “It’s a great program that’s already started, and the participants will play our Munchkins in the show. So they get some in-depth theater education, and then they get to participate in a professional production in front of what we expect to be thousands of people for each one of our four days.”
Due to the new program, a total of 17 students will be playing the denizens of Munchkinland over those four performances, admittedly a somewhat reduced number of shows compared to past seasons. Traditionally, the Mountain Play has presented six performances over five weekends, beginning in mid-May and ending in mid-to-late-June.
This year, there will be just four performances of The Wizard of Oz, taking place over three weekends. Scheduled, as in the past, on Sunday afternoons, there will be a single Saturday performance in the second weekend, and it is designated as a “Sing-along Saturday,” with audiences encouraged to belt out their favorite tunes along with the cast.
Asked to predict what might be happening on the mountain in 2027, Grady explained that to a degree, that all depends on how things go this year. That said, she feels confident that people are ready to return to what she believes is the greatest outdoor venue in the state, and that much of the Mountain Play audience has missed it.
“There really is,” she said, “no place like home.”
The Mountain Play’s production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ will take place on June 7, 13, 14 and 21, at 1pm. Information and tickets, which are now on sale, can be found at MountainPlay.org.
