The Wizard of Oz

This was a brave choice for a young and largely new company, not least due to the huge amount of scenery, props and costumes required.  I very much appreciated the idea of having the opening scenes in black and white, in the same way as the famous 1939 film starring Judy Garland.  Having all scenery and costumes in black and white really heightened the impact of Dorothy’s arrival in the Land of Oz. It was also a nice touch to create the twister in a more imaginative way by choregraphing the cast, rather than the usual projected images. Perhaps not surprisingly with 27 scene changes for the backstage crew to manage, there were quite a few issues on the first night, but they were quickly rectified and I am sure these will have been ironed out by the second performance.  In any event it did not seem to faze the cast who carried on regardless and also did not affect the enjoyment of the performance for the audience.

The staging for Oz was wonderfully colourful and I especially liked the clever yellow brick road which was rolled out by the cast and the bright green gates of the Emerald City.  The Hot Air balloon was also a very creative addition and looked great as it flew off with the Wizard onboard. Costumes too were vibrant and effective and the modern twist was a great idea for a young cast, especially the ruby red sneakers! Lighting and sound worked well.

There is no doubt the production was enhanced by the live band, and the musical director had clearly done a good job guiding the young cast through the score.  However, there were times when I wished the band could have been a little more sensitive to the young voices and held back on volume.  

The casting was strong throughout.  The pivotal role of Dorothy had a great southern American accent and also sang well. She had a huge amount of dialogue to remember and was word perfect. She had an excellent rapport with her fellow cast members and gave a spirited performance.

Toto was a hand puppet skilfully operated by a member of the cast.  They kept the dog moving throughout and created some lovely poignant moments with Dorothy whilst she sang.

Zeke/Cowardly Lion had great characterisation and confident vocals.  Another good accent.  

Hickory/Tinman had a nice singing voice and I liked their mechanical movements when Dorothy oiled their joints. Great physicality.

Uncle Henry/Scarecrow gave a confident performance, with the floppiness and flexibility expected.  He moved well and had a clearly defined character for each role.

Miss Gulch/The Wicked Witch of the West had a good clear voice and a fabulous cackle as she took her revenge on Dorothy and friends.

Aunty Em/Glinda had real authority when delivering her speeches, although she was often sadly drowned out by the overly loud band.

Professor Chester Marvel/ Wizard of Oz managed to keep going with his scene in the second half despite the problems with the scenery and handled his exit in the hot air balloon extremely effectively.

Hunk/ Emerald City Guard was brilliant in his dialogue and had real stage presence; very well done.

All transitioned well from their real-world characters to their Land of Oz characters.

As usual for this group, there was some excellent choreography which suited the cast and was very effective.  The ensemble of Munchkins, Jitterbugs, Winkies and ghosts were well rehearsed and added a good energy to the stage. Direction was strong and the young cast were obviously enjoying their time on stage. All in all, this was an enjoyable performance for the cast and audience and I look forward to seeing the progress this group of young people make in future productions.

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