Somewhere, down in Langley, there are more than just bluebirds singing.

There is a talented and irresistibly charming ensemble of young actors who have added a breath of fresh air to the popular L. Frank Baum story in the Whidbey Children’s Theater version of “The Wizard of Oz.”

In this “participation play,” directed by WCT’s artistic director Martha Murphy, the audience is welcomed in to help Dorothy and her friends on their adventurous journey to the Emerald City.

Sommer Harris plays Glinda, the good witch who also acts as the story’s narrator and audience liaison. Harris possesses a stage presence that defies her 13 years and brilliantly introduced and maintained a rapport with the audience through an off-the-cuff wittiness that allowed her to segue gracefully through a few opening-night bumps.

Harris has also perfectly captured the carefree attitude of Glinda, which she infuses with an agreeable quality of lightness and fun. In one long moment when there was a delay after Dorothy’s house lands in Oz, Harris cooly turned to the audience in the silence and said, “It takes a while to get to Oz.” The audience laughed loudly.

Jennifer Zisette does an excellent job as Dorothy and has a fine singing voice. When she sang “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” there was a general reverent hush in the audience. There is no musical accompaniment for these actors, and as any one familiar with singing knows, it is not easy to sing a cappella.

Zisette, 13, showed remarkable maturity with the song and took her time and allowed herself to color the nuances of it. It was an extremely moving rendition of the timeless classic.

Laurie Cummings has mastered the bumbling feet of the Scarecrow and his modest wisdom shines through in her portrayal.

Sarah Wilson is perfectly cast as the loving Tin Man and gives a sweet and heartfelt performance in the role.

Likewise, Ben Jacobson-Ross is well-suited as the Cowardly Lion and has perfected the art of the ‘fraidy-cat cry.

Isla Dubendorf finds the nippiness of Toto and even looked the part with her pig-tails for floppy ears.

A green-faced Katie Ewing is excellent as the not overly scary wicked witch, using her strong vocal ability to create the commanding presence required of the character.

The cute factor soared to the top of the charts whenever the ensemble players hit the stage as the Munchkins, apple trees, citizens of Emerald City or the flying monkeys.

Makeda Browne, Katherine Jacobson-Ross, Nolan Lovelace, Rohini Mikkelsen, Andrea O’Brochta and Mary Zisette could make the grumpiest of old-fogies forget their woes and bask in the delightfulness of these children on stage in colorful costumes.

In fact, the costumes, created by WCT with help from parent volunteers, were excellent and gave the production a wonderfully vibrant scheme of color that made every stage picture a photo op. They also made the littlest ensemble members too adorable for words.

Indeed, cuteness does often carry the day with any children’s theater production but what WCT does here goes beyond just showing off pretty children and rounding it out with a few funny turns from the adults.

By allowing the audience to participate, Murphy has opened up the chance for spontaneity, improvisation and genuine relaxed fun. This production of “The Wizard of Oz” is simple and creative. It doesn’t get bogged down in production values but instead allows the extraordinary talents of these children to shine.

The story moves along at a nice clip and Murphy has used the Middle School space well. Some of the actors should be careful of upstaging their fellow performers and the long moments between scenes might be helped perhaps with a live musical interlude to connect one scene to another, but those are minor glitches.

“The Wizard of Oz” is a must-see. It gives the mind a break from the often terrible headlines of today’s world news and offers up the chance to see something that fits the bill as one of life’s simple pleasures.

The part of Dorothy will be played by Sommer Harris and Glinda will be played by Jennifer Zisette on Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20.

The play runs at 7:30 p.m. Friday,

May 18 and Saturday, May 19 and at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20 at the Langley Middle School Auditorium.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. For tickets and information call WCT at 221-8707.