The Wizard of Oz performance, originally postponed for tonight, is no longer making an appearance on a Prince George stage.
This means a loss of a great opportunity for the city's own munchkins that were scheduled to their debut on a national tour.
"The kids were pretty sad when they heard the news," said Judy Russell, owner of Enchainement Productions Inc.
"They were such troopers. I'm very proud of their behaviour, and I'm sad that the production team wasn't able to turn their big show around and come back to Prince George," she said.
To compensate, Russell will be incorporating a collage of Wizard of Oz production numbers into the year-end festival and recitals so the munchkins still get the opportunity to perform what they've learned on stage.
The tour performed at the Enmax Centrium, in Red Deer, Albt., Tuesday night and had hoped to return to Prince George, but according to a media release compounding logistical issues in Red Deer - including packing the show and making the overnight journey - meant the timeline for the show was too narrow to stage the show on time.
Rather than disappoint Prince George audiences, the producers decided to cancel the show completely.
"I apologize deeply to the Prince George audience for this unwelcome turn of events. I thought we had another opportunity to bring this magical production to Prince George, but unfortunately the Wizard of Oz production is proving to be just too problematic to changeover hastily in arenas," said Henry Kolenko, promoter for the CN Centre.
"I want to thank everyone in Prince George who tried to bring this show to town. In particular, I want to thank Judy Russell and her students who rehearsed so hard to perform as Munchkins. Their efforts are really, really appreciated."
Tickets for the show are refundable at points of sale. Due to Christmas holidays, refunds will be available at Ticketmaster points of sale starting at 10 a.m., Jan. 4.
Ticket-buyers need to return to where they purchased their tickets to obtain refunds.
