The floor was speckled with leaves from bouquets and glitter after an epic performance of “The Wizard of Oz” at St. John the Evangelist Catholic School.

Excited children clamored off the stage clad in sweet costumes after the nearly four-hour performance. Some actors, like Ben Largent, who played Toto were hardly awake by the end of the play. Largent spent the better part of the performance crawling on hands and knees in an adorable fuzzy dog costume.

The play included dozens of students, ranging from first to eighth graders. The wide variety of ages allowed for the older children to be cast in the more sophisticated roles, while the youngsters played munchkins and poppies.

The actors all seemed to enjoy working with children of so many ages. Marissa Sandoval, who played Dorothy, kindly whispered lines to the little ones several times during the performance, helping them remember their cues.

The range of ages also led to some adorable moments, such as the Scarecrow (Patrick Deterding) picking up Toto (Largent) during a dance scene so that he would not be stepped on.

Fifth grade teacher Joanne Giffard proved a masterful director. The sets were elaborate and the costumes extremely clever. The crow’s costumes worn by Audrey Van Noland (who also played Mrs. Elvira Gulch) and Brianna Ewert were adorable. Their stuffed bellies and feathered hoods perfectly captured the shape of a crow.

Giffard also engineered creative ways of achieving plot elements on stage. During the tornado the whisks Dorothy to Oz, actors dressed as the storm tossed stuffed pigs to achieve flying animals.

Nick Kennedy, was a standout as both Professor Marvel and the Wizard of Oz. Kennedy captured the devious laughter of the professor, drawing laughter from the audience with his dead on-portrayal.

The play was loads of fun for both the audience and the actors, who were able to laugh when mistakes were made. One hilarious moment occurred when the stage crew forgot to toss the Tinman’s oil can on stage. The can was tossed after the actors called off stage for it – drawing roaring laughter both the cast and audience when the can finally landed on stage.

In producing the play, Giffard worked with two different casts. The first cast performed on Friday, and will perform on Saturday at 2 p.m. The second cast will perform Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. The play will be performed in the Tinlee center at the school, located at 5701 Locust Avenue in Carmichael. Tickets are $5.