The Wizard of Oz

From the opening notes of the overture I could tell the full house audience were in for a magical evening. Amy Youngson as Dorothy had wonderfully strong stage presence, obvious from her first steps on the stage in the legendary blue gingham dress, and a beautiful singing voice shown to its best in her opening rendition of “Over The Rainbow”. Matt Tryer as the brain-less, but evidently sensible, Scarecrow gave an excellent performance - his loose-limbed antics on being released from his tether being almost acrobatic. Another excellent performance was given by David Saunders as the heart-less Tin Man – his performance of “If I Only Had A Heart” being particularly poignant.  Alistair Davidson’s portrayal of the Lion was the epitome of comic cowardliness – his rendition of “King of the Forest” was truly regal. Caroline MacPherson’s portrayal of Miss Gultch/Wicked Witch, complete with truly evil-sounding cackle, was eminently boo-able and was in total contrast to Michelle Newell’s sweet, pink candy-floss like Glinda/Aunt Em. I take my hat off to both actresses for making their aerial entrances and exits look so effortless!  Eddie Docherty in the dual roles of Professor Marvel/Wizard of Oz and Richard Miemczyk as Uncle Henry/Head Guard both gave strong support. Special mention must be made of Rhona the impeccably behaved terrier who elicited many oohs and aahs every time she appeared on stage as Toto. The large group of children playing the Munchkins sang and moved well and those who had lines to say had very clear diction. The adult chorus too sang and moved well - the trios of ladies playing the crows and trees added much laughter to the scenes in which they were involved as did the men of the Winkies Guard. As one would expect in this show the scenery was bold and colourful as were the costumes. Congratulations to all at Inverness Musical Theatre for another excellent evening’s entertainment.

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