Journey Through Oz

Concerts have become a popular performance genre for societies and with that comes the challenge of devising a programme which will showcase the talent of your group as well as give your audience something interesting and new to enjoy. Sunderland Theatre Group certainly rose to that challenge with an excellent mix of familiar numbers from MGM Wizard of Oz, The Wiz and Wicked together with songs from obscure musicals and soundtracks not previously performed in this country but all connected to the stories of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Hours of research and work sourcing the music must have gone into pulling together such a diverse and interesting programme and it paid off.
The opening set the tone with a delightful rendition of Rainbow Connections from The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005) followed by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of Over the Rainbow, both were very well performed. The children sang and danced numbers from the original Wizard of Oz (written by L. Frank Baum in 1902!), Rainbow Road to Oz (a 1956 never finished movie), Tin Man (a 2007 Sci Fi mini-series) and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013 movie); a varied and unknown mix of numbers which they took in their stride.
The soloists and small group performances showcased a wealth of talent within the company, all were well presented and my personal favourites were; One Day (Legends of Oz, 2013 animated movie), by Alexandra Fisk; Brain, Nerve, Heart ( MGM  Wizard of Oz ) performed by Gemma Fowler, Peter Oliver, Daniel Dryden & Michael Brabbs; He’s the Wizard (The Wiz) by Donna Robertson; Almost Home (Oz the Great & Powerful) by Sarah Ketchin; a superb tap routine to the Return to Oz Rag March (Return to Oz) by Ashlee Bentham and Graeme Smith; and an outstanding performance of You Can’t Win (The Wiz) by Michael Brabbs.
The company numbers were without exception well performed, I particularly enjoyed No One Mourns the Wicked (Wicked), Home (The Wiz) and Already Home (Lloyd Webbers Wizard of OZ), harmonies were good and the overall presentation was slick. The cast were well dressed and there was a clever use of accessories to help with characterisations. The lighting plot enhanced the simple set and complimented the performances and the sound quality was very good.
Congratulations to Brian, Jonny and the team for putting together a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment.

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