ORANGE — Arabella Malo and Audrey Elwood played sisters in “Frozen Jr.” a year ago. Now, they’re preparing to share the same character in “The Wizard of Oz.”

The two friends have both been rehearsing to portray the main character Dorothy in Ralph C. Mahar Regional School’s spring production, which is slated for six shows next month. Arabella will handle opening night and another two performances.

“They’ll go back and forth. We did talk about [doing] one weekend versus another weekend, but they have had to learn double the amount because when they are not playing Dorothy they’re our lead dancer — so they had to learn all of the dance numbers, including the tap numbers,” Director Julie Bouchard said of dividing up stage time for the two performers. “So they’re doing a lot of fun things and I think they are having a good time with this.”

Bouchard said rehearsals started in late January. Bouchard mentioned she always picks Sundays as a rehearsal day, as this accommodates student-athletes.

The classic tale follows the story of a young girl named Dorothy who is swept away by a tornado to the magical land of Oz, where she embarks on a journey with new friends to find the wizard, in hopes that he can help her get back home. The upcoming rendition of “The Wizard of Oz” is the junior version, meaning it is shorter in length and typically consists of fewer songs.

Evan Piscitello will portray the Scarecrow while Riley Murphy plays the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man is played by Michael LaPlante. The role of Toto will be played by cast member Matt Goguen’s dog, Tilly.

Arabella played adult Elsa in “Frozen Jr.” and Elwood was adult Anna. “The Wizard of Oz” marks the first time Bouchard has double-casted a role in one of her productions.

“It was hard to pick one Dorothy because both of them were equally talented,” she said. “When you have kids that can sing, dance and act, you want to be able to utilize them and not just say, ‘Well, I have to delete one and put [him or her] in the ensemble.’”

Arabella, in her third run with the Mahar Theater Department, said splitting a role is trickier than some might think.

“I think it’s harder than other people realize, because we have two parts — so every song, we have to learn it two different ways,” Arabella said. “It’s difficult.”

“And when one of us needs to work on one thing, we end up doing the other,” added Audrey, a sophomore.

Shows are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Fridays, May 2 and 9, and 2 p.m. on Saturdays, May 3 and 10, and Sundays, May 4 and 11. Tickets are $15 general admission and can be purchased at the door or online at tinyurl.com/MaharWizard.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.