The Wizard of Oz

What a brilliant choice for their 30th anniversary.. It is also 80 years since the Wizard of Oz film was first shown  (in 1939) You did the whole show credit. Where to start? We enjoyed it so much we actually stayed to see the evening performance too.

The scenery, costumes, performances and music all complimented one another and the characters were well cast. A special mention of Barrie Potter who was the inspiration for the brilliant projections throughout the show, they certainly gave another dimension to the show – example – the Tornado storm when the family escaped down the trapdoor.

Obviously the cast, as ever, is huge for this company, principals and chorus groups alike, and everyone gives of their best and obviously enjoys themselves. I cannot mention everyone by name, but suffice it to say there were lots of good performances.

Dorothy (Grace Roberts) was a very strong character who never put a foot wrong. She had a lovely voice and gave a confident performance throughout. She related well to all of the other characters. Poor Toto (Florence Cattley) was a loyal dog to Dorothy and became quite tired by the evening performance, but well done. Shea Ferron gave his usual strong portrayal of Uncle Henry and other cameos.

Professor Chester (Will Heath) played a good part but lost a little clarity at times. Aunt Em (Erin Roberts) was a believable character and of course was delighted when Dorothy returned from her adventure.. Miss Gulch (Heledd Edwards) was excellent and handled her cycle well.

Ewan Roberts, James Rearden and Elnathen Castillo-Burley were helpful farmhands who managed props very well and were also involved in other cameo parts – I enjoyed the trees!

Glenda  (The Good Witch of the North) (Connie Richardson) had a lovely voice and was a believable character. The Wicked Witch of the West (Katie Clark) was certainly wicked. Her costume was exquisite. I was told the costume team were responsible for 1 special costume plus all of the others. Congratulations, one of those musicals that encourage lots of imagination. Munchkins were very colourful, the poppy fields very red, trees full of leaves and the green costumes in Oz certainly fitted the brief of imagination.

Ozette 1 (Sophie Roberts), Ozette 2 (Celyn Orton Jones) and Ozette 3 (Mia James) were a confident smiley trio with nice voices. They were especially good as crows and sang with lovely harmonies. The Mayoress of Munchkinland (Bea Lermite) was fairly quiet but gave a nice cameo performance.

Emerald City Guard (Kamil Grzelak) had lots of energy but he was difficult to understand. The Wizard of Oz (Ethan Roberts) had another great outfit and flew away on a balloon, another projection surprise.

No, I haven’t forgotten the Scarecrow (Matthew Humphreys), Tinman (Ethan Le Cheminant) and the Cowardly Lion (Aled Morris). Costumes and casting were excellent. The energy of the Scarecrow was quite exhausting to watch and he kept it up all through the show. My initial impression of Tinman was that he could earn a good living as one of the statues in Covent Garden. He had a good voice too when he eventually moved when oiled. Excellent.

And then there was Cowardly Lion – he brought a real smile to my face with his cowardly voice. His song ‘If I Was King of The Forest’ was a difficult one vocally which he mastered well, another excellent performance.

As you can tell, I loved the whole show. Your backstage work and support from everyone is very commendable. Excellent production from a talented group of Young Uns.

Well done everybody.

Jackie Titley

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