When the muted grays and whites of Kansas change into the brilliant hues of the Land of Oz on the O’Shaughnessy Center stage, the children in the audience probably won’t realize that there’s a bit of a message behind the transformation.

“The Wizard of Oz” director Jesse Culp looks at it this way:

“There’s always a reason people come into your life,” she said. “The black, white and gray space is when you think you know someone, then when there’s color, you’re looking at them a new way. I hope it leaves audiences with a new perspective as to why people are in their lives.”

Whatever its intent, everyone attending the show will doubtlessly be caught up in the visual spectacle that Culp, along with costume designer Lonnie Porro and set designer Rachel Naber-Burke, have fashioned. For this year’s Whitefish Theatre Co. holiday musical, the production team has taken a universally known story and created the unexpected.

“People say to me, ‘I’ve seen “The Wizard of Oz,”’ but this is like you’ve never seen before,” Culp said.

The Munchkins are perhaps the biggest visual surprise of the show.

The 14 actors playing the inhabitants of Munchkinland take on the role of circus performers, tumbling, juggling and spinning across stage, creating a swirl of color against a fairly neutral backdrop. The stage design was intended to be simple so that the costumes stand out.

Porro said they used the bright colors of the rainbow as their costume guides for the Munchkins, with no pastels, only bold primary tones in patterns of plaid, polka dot and stripes.

“We did a lot of sleuthing around,” she said. “We looked up circus clothes on the Internet, watched movies with circus characters.”

The classic 1939 movie with Judy Garland will be recognizable in the basic storyline, and in the costumes of Dorothy and her traveling companions — the Tin Man, the Lion and the Scarecrow. Other characters — such as Glenda the Good Witch and Lord Growlie, the equivalent to the gatekeeper to the Emerald City in the movie — have taken on a bit more prominence in this interpretation,

The inhabitants of the Emerald City are fashionable types, dressed entirely in white, except for the dashes of green to match the theme of the city. Their costumes are pure high society, with an abundance of lace and chiffon, and Lord Growlie stands high over the others on his stilts.

The Emerald City is represented on stage by emerald crystals that light up within a series of obelisks.

“It’s rather ethereal, almost spiritual,” Porro said.

The tornado that sends Dorothy to the Land of Oz is created by dancers with ribbons and capes; chaotic lighting and twirling streamers hanging from the ceiling add to the illusion of motion. Choreographer Katie Scotten came up with the movements, and one of the two pianists for the show, Stephen Fairweather, wrote an original piece of music for the scene.

As Whitefish Theatre Co.’s costume designer, Porro has been working 10- to 12-hour days since the end of September in preparation for the show.

A raft of volunteers have been sewing like crazy for weeks, taking pieces home or coming in for afternoon “work parties” to construct costumes in the back rooms of the O’Shaughnessy, which are stuffed with fabric, costumes and sewing necessities. (Around 100 volunteers altogether will be involved by the time the show is wrapped up.)

With 28 in the cast of “The Wizard of Oz,” Porro and company had to create more than 80 costumes, as many characters change clothes more than once.

The detailing is an endless task with that many outfits, and the revisions constant.

For instance, Porro said they had created a coat for the Mayor of Oz that was perfectly suitable in fittings, but when he started gesturing and waving his arms around in dress rehearsals, his coat rode up and ruined the look of the costume. The sleeves had to be lengthened and a tail added to retain a bit of the mayor’s dignity.

The costumes have to be perfect, as they are such a major part of making this production a unique take on a timeless story.

“There are people who want things to be the way they remember them as children, and say ‘You can’t mess with “The Wizard of Oz,’” Porro said. “But our intent was to offer a different vantage point, to look at the story with fresh eyes and a little innovation for those who have seen it 100 times.”

Culp has the same philosophy.

“We wanted to step so far outside of the box that we wouldn’t be compared to the genius of the movie,” she said. “We wanted to do something different to excite and engage a new audience, and still retain the old audience and give them what they expect.”

Performances of “The Wizard of Oz” are today at 4 p.m.; Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 12 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 13 at 4 p.m.; Dec. 18-19 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 20 at 4 p.m. All seats are reserved.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors and $12 for students. To purchase tickets call 862-5371 or buy online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org.  Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday and one hour before a performance.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com