The Wizard of Oz

I always look forward to receiving an invitation from Nunthorpe Players and look forward to seeing how their creative production team turn their vision of their production into reality, as well as having one of their legendary hot dogs in the interval.

Their 2024 pantomime was an interpretation of the great masterpiece that has captured the imaginations of generations of children and adults for a staggering 85 years, “The Wizard of Oz.”  It first screened in 1939 as a American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum.

This year’s  pantomime was written by their very own Chairperson Julie Hobson who is no stranger to writing pantomimes following her debut success of last year’s pantomime “Peter and Friends Return” as well as the festive play “Lead us not into Temptation” not only did Julie write the panto but played a principle role  as Billy Lions and the cowardly Lion, great performance in both roles Julie, excellent stage presence and you have a natural ability to bring your characters to life in all the roles you perform in.

Director, Katie Legg and Co-Director, Tracy Legg combined their skills to put their special family memories of this film together to bring this pantomime to stage and with an extremely large cast they did a sterling job creating a memorable trip down the Yellow Brick Road. Choreography was in the capable hands of Nicola Fox, who brought lovely movement and choreographed dance routines together considering the size of the cast on stage, as well as playing the part of Toto which was delivered with great characterisation. Well done also to the stage managers Rebecca Atkinson and Jemma Bringloe supported by the stage crew who managed the changeover of scenes seamlessly.

As always, the set looked great considering the limited stage space, but each scene was creatively staged to help bring the story to life. Well done to the set designers Peter Legg, Katie Legg, Tracy Legg, and Lee Blake. The lighting and sound were particularly good thanks to the tech team Paul and Marc Crosby, as were the costumes and props which were excellent and certainly brough out the characters thanks to the wardrobe department.

For this pantomime to be a success it needs an all-round good performer in the role of Dorothy and in Rebecca Baxter you had just that, Rebecca had a confidence about her performance and a very pleasant singing voice meant that the audience was always confident when she was on stage. Her relationship with the various other characters was a central feature in making this pantomime believable. Auntie Em as the Panto Dame was brilliantly played by Paul Maull and his performance on stage you would never have guessed that this was his debut role as a pantomime Dame, whilst Paul has a great deal of experience on stage he certainly took the role as the Panto Dame and made his own, great entertainment Paul. Kayleigh Thompson as Jude Steel and Tin Man also gave a first-class performance with good stage presence and a great support to the other principal characters. Karena Coxon gave an impressive performance as Edward Brains and Scarecrow a standout performance from this young actor, well done Karena. Playing the role of Miss Delores and the Wicked Witch of the West, Zelda, on the performance I saw was  Claire Byron-Stonehouse and what a great performance as the Wicked Witch, quickly established herself as the villain of the panto, Claire certainly had the audience hissing and bowing and her blood curdling cackle brought shivers down your spine. She understood both the comic content and evil intentions perfectly and I certainly enjoyed her interaction with the audience in her all-round first-class performance. Special mention must also go to Lisa Tomlinson for her performances as the Wicked Witch, sorry that I was unable to attend the dates of your performances, but I am sure you will have delivered the character perfectly. Sharon Landess delivered a calming performance as Belinda the Good Witch who brought the sparkle to production, well done Sharon. Playing Professor Magic and the Wizard was Benjamin Whitehead a good solid performance from Benjamin who showed his versatility and acting ability in both of his characters. In this production we had two dogs and playing the part of Tiara, the castle dog was Danielle Edwards who again delivered great characterisation and performance as did Peter and Ruth Johnson in their roles as the Sentinels of OZ.

As I mentioned previously this production consisted of a large cast, and most of these were made up of some very talented youths playing the parts of Team Monkeys and Team Munchkins, there contribution to this pantomime was particularly impressive in terms of colour, singing and movement and was a real joy to behold. Well done to the cast of Team Monkeys, Daisy Wall as Galen/ Head Monkey, Jasmine Holmes as Eenie, Olivia Kennedy as Meenie, Elspeth Carroll as Miney, Megan Thornton as Mo and the ensemble Monkeys- Nova Wall, Gracie Pattison and Ellie Edwards each one supporting the Wicked Witch with her evilness, lovely contribution from all of you. Playing the characters of the Team Munchkin’s were Annabelle Hayman as Head Munchkin Ringo, Deanna Kennedy as Paul, Kobe Byron as John, Jess Dixon as George and Freya Cowie, Rebecca Derrick, Heidi Edwards, Jessica Fenton, Connie Fisher, Ruby Grimley, Ellie Holmes, Hollie Johnson, Delcie Kennedy, Charlotte McElvaney, and Elizabeth Roberts as the Ensemble Munchkins, great performances from these talented youths well done to all of you.  

 Congratulations to Nunthorpe Players on another great pantomime, once again thank you for your kind invitation and look forward to seeing what you have in store for 2025.

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