Twelve children from J* Company, housed at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center at 4126 Executive Drive, are performing the roles of “munchkins” in the upcoming Broadway production of “The Wizard of Oz.” The performance, which runs through Feb. 20 at the San Diego Civic Theater, is a traveling act starring theater professionals from all over the world. San Diego is the tour’s first California stop, and in each city local munchkins will perform. “Wizard of Oz” organizers contacted Joey Landwehr, J*Company’s artistic director, to choose this year’s munchkins (who double as “winkies,” the evil minions of the Wicked Witch). The pleasure, for Landwehr, was like history repeating. In the 1990s, he traveled with the “Oz” show, which then starred comedian Phyllis Diller as the Wicked Witch. Landwehr had certain height and weight requirements to adhere to, but ended up choosing a stellar cast from J*Company’s nearly 400 young stars — Marissa Wolfsheimer, Megan Spector, Nathan Miller, Adira Rosen, Rebecca Penner, Jonas McMullen, Sierra Lieb, Gabriel Mayer, Sebastian Mayer and Danya Greenberg. The kids will be singing timeless tunes such as “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead,” while bringing the beloved classic to their hometown stage as part of their continuing performing arts education. J*Company’s munchkins will be performing at San Diego Civic Theatre, located at 3rd and B St., downtown San Diego today and tomorrow, Feb. 17 and 18, at 7:30 p.m. There will also be shows on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com or (800) 982-2787. La Jolla’s munchkins Marissa Wolfsheimer The 13-year-old started performing at age six as the star of “Annie.” Her most recent role was Cassie in “13” at J*Company. She loves singing, dancing and acting, and her grandmother was a La Jolla city councilwoman. She tap dances competitively and likes to surf — and she hates the sound of Harley motorcycles. Nathan Miller The 10-year-old is a fifth-grader at Torrey Pines Elementary. Nathan’s parents, who own Geppetto’s Toys, located at 7850 Girard Ave., knew he was going to be a performer because by the time he was two, he knew all the songs from “The Sound of Music.” Nathan’s dream role would be to star in “Oliver!,” and he can’t live without the “Wicked” soundtrack. Danya Greenberg The 13-year-old is a seventh-grader in University City, and has a 15-year-old sister who is also active in theater. Along with singing, dancing and acting, Danya also enjoys hanging out with friends, shopping and watching movies. The first Broadway show she was exposed to was “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” She would drop everything to go see Idina Menzel.
