The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz is a firm favourite for many people, especially at Christmas Time when all the memories of Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Tin Man and of course the Cowardly Lion all of which have been loved by generations.

 The story starts in Dorothy’s aunt and uncle’s home where they are busy counting the chickens, as usual because they are so busy, they do not have a great deal of time for Dorothy, however this does not mean they do not love her.

One person who enters the stage is Miss Gulch, who is a force to be reckoned with, she says Toto has bitten her and therefore must be destroyed. Dorothy does not like this and when Toto runs away from Miss Gulch, Dorothy is very pleased.

Dorothy decides to run away with Toto and on her way, she meets Professor Marvel, who tells her he can foretell the future, of course we all know this is not true.

Normanton MTS have engaged a new director for this one and it does seem to have worked, Nicholas Gillott has brought in some new fresh ideas and together with Choreographer Jess Fahey and MD Rosalie Newton Van Der Berg the ideas paid off.

The leading role of Dorothy Gale was in the more than capable hands of Jennifer Waring, who has a beautiful voice and was able to deliver the lines and songs with ease.

Dorothy’s Aunt Em was played by Debbie Kenworthy who relished the part, Uncle Henry was played by Steve Littler who was excellent.

The wicked Miss Gulch was played by Victoria Wilkinson who also doubled us as The Wicked Witch of The West, two great parts to get your teeth into and Victoria certainly did this, loving every minute.

 

We all know there is a good witch in this piece, Glinda who not only guides Dorothy around Oz, she also tells her how to get The Emerald City, by Following The Yellow Brick Road, here Dani Alexander was perfect, delivering her lines with ease and being every bit the Glinda we all know and love.

Professor Marvel was in the more than capable hands of Chris Oxley who also doubled up as The Wizard of Oz too.

When this starts Dorothy’s dog, Toto is played by a stuffed toy, however once they get into Oz Toto is morphed into a character played by Eliza Sorby, who was superb, she managed to get all the characteristics of this little dog much to the delight of the audience.

Dorothy’s three friends, Zeke, Hank and Hickory who eventually become The Cowardly Lion, The Scarecrow and The Tinman played by Chris Littler-Moore, Harley Walker and Brad Shaw-Sullivan respectively. All three managed to get everything out of their characters both in singing, dancing and acting too.

All the respective actors were able to work together to deliver an excellent production which together with some great singing and dancing was enjoyed by the full audience.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

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