For the next several weeks, the Sikes family is leaving behind Main Street for the glitter of the Yellow Brick Road. All four members play major roles in the Fredericksburg Theater Company's summer production of the Wizard of Oz. Photo by Phil Houseal

Details:
The Fredericksburg Theater Company's production of the Wizard of Oz is at the Fredericksburg High School Auditorium.

Tickets are Adults $22; Kids 17 and under $5.50. Purchase tickets online at www.fredericksburgtheater.org, or at the box office, 306. E. Austin St., Tuesday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 888-669-7114 toll-free or 830-997-3588.

webmaster: phil@fullhouseproductions.net

From Main Street to the Yellow Brick Road

by Phil Houseal
June 27, 2007

By day they run a thriving retail and hospitality business, with two Main Street gift shops, and more than a dozen bed & breakfast accommodations. By night, they reside in the Land of Oz.

Tammy and Barry Sikes, along with daughters Savannah, 10, and Sealy, 9, all play juicy roles in the Fredericksburg Theater Company's summer production of the Wizard of Oz. The experience is about as far from their daily routine as Oz is from Kansas.

Tammy - who stars as Glinda, the Good Witch - had never set foot on any stage in her life. Barry - the Tin Man - had his last stage experience in 5th grade when he was in a production of The Music Man. Savannah and Sealy turn out to be the most experienced troupers, having danced since they were toddlers.

The acting bug bit both Barry and Tammy during last summer's Beauty and the Beast. Barry was coerced into being an extra, a stagehand, and singing in the chorus. He discovered he liked it.

"I enjoy singing and being crazy, and getting in front of people," he said. "Doing a play, in a structured format, helps make my personality come out."

Tammy's only role last summer was in the audience.

"I enjoyed Beauty and the Beast so much, and I didn't even get near the stage," she said. "I thought, if only I could be a part of something like that!"

But during this year's auditions, Tammy planned to again tag along while her family tried out for parts in Oz. Like millions of other visitors to the Emerald City, she got caught up in the excitement.

"I went home and said, I think I'm going to try out for Glinda," she said. She wasn't that familiar with the movie, so she got a copy and watched Glinda's scenes. "I tried it, and I got it."

Not bad for someone whose only acting experience was five years as a trial lawyer, and whose only singing experience was karaoke on a cruise ship.

The kids, on the other hand, are stage veterans. Both are Munchkins, with Savannah dancing in the Lullaby League, and Sealy taking a turn as the Coroner, complete with a singing solo.

But that's natural for Sealy, the youngest, who may have the longest resume in the family. She has been performing for 7 of her almost 9 years, specializing in song and dance.

I asked her if singing in front of hundreds of people is scary.

She thought a moment before replying, "The first time it is. But then you get used to it."

Neither of the kids seems embarrassed about having their mom and dad acting like a tin man and a witch.

"I think it's cool," Savannah said. Sealy added, "I am proud to see my whole family on stage."

Then they both confess the real reason they enjoy being in an acting family - "We get to stay out later!"

For the record, there are several parent-child and husband-wife teams among the 90-some cast and crew. On behalf of those busy families, I had to ask how it is possible to run several businesses, yet spend so much time at the theater and the dance studio (all four Sikes take dance lessons year round at Ms Rhonda's School of Dance.)

Tammy has a one-word answer.

"Energy."

That's what she heard Donald Trump - one of her heroes - tell a reporter who asked for his key to success. "You have to be good at multi-tasking; at getting from one thing to the next quickly; and you have to be OK with 14-hour days. When I go home, I turn it off. When I go to work, I'm ready to hit the floor."

But, for the next several weeks, the Sikes family will be busy hitting the Yellow Brick Road.

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