The Wizard of Oz

The story of ‘Wizard of Oz’ is very well known having originally been adapted from the book ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ by L. Frank Baum and turned into an Oscar nominated film featuring Judy Garland and most recently a West End revival of the musical starring Jason Manford as the Cowardly Lion.

With so many versions around of this well-known classic, it can be a challenge to produce a show that inspires the imagination and awe of the original musical for modern audiences.  I am very pleased to say that the Youth Section of Retford Musical Theatre Company, The MOB, have more than risen to this challenge and have produced a slick, mind blowing production that left their audiences gasping in sheer delight and wonder.

Directed by Keri Duffy and Assistant Director Sarah Mitchell (herself a founding MOB member) this production of Wizard of Oz stayed very close to the original 1939 film with the same styled costumes, storyline and even some character arcs.  I was delighted to be able to watch two performances of the show, so I had the opportunity to compare each different cast (Cast Oz! and Cast Wiz!) and see what different elements the principals brought to their individual characters.

The curtains were open, and the audience were treated to a projection onto a mesh curtain, designed by Vinnie Hemmings, which set the mood for the farm theme with pecking chickens and swooping birds. A simple shack could be seen on stage, some hay bales and a storm shelter.  This is the Kansas home of Aunt Em and Henry Gale who live there with their niece Dorothy (a feisty headstrong young girl) her dog Toto and their farm hands Zeke, Hickory and Hunk.  A disheartened Dorothy sings wistfully about her dreams of a life away from her own beyond the rainbow while Toto watched quizzically from a haybale. 

Life on the farm is hard and relentless and Aunt Em has no time to talk to Dorothy about Toto’s misbehaving on their neighbour’s land.  Until Miss Gulch herself turns up with an order from the sheriff to have Toto destroyed for allegedly biting her leg.  Dorothy is distraught and is horrified when everyone sides with Miss Gulch and poor Toto is taken away.   Fortunately, Toto escapes and returns to Dorothy who realises to prevent Miss Gulch reclaiming Toto and carrying out her threat they must run away together. 

Dorothy meets Professor Marvel, a travelling fortune teller, who convinces Dorothy that a vision in her crystal ball has shown Aunt Em is heartbroken by Dorothy’s departure.  Dorothy hurries back to the farm but a tornado hits Kansas prompting the Gales and their farmhands to seek refuge in the storm shelter.  Dorothy rushes back into the house and as she watches through the window realises that the house has been lifted into the eye of the storm.  This effect was achieved dramatically using blinding flashing lights rotating into the audience and various members of the ensemble being carried through the air with one even holding a cow on sticks!  Then before Dorothy’s eyes the odious Miss Gulch is transformed into a witch and flies across the skies on her broomstick and literally across the stage using a flying harness courtesy of Flying 1st Class Aerial Entertainment.

As Dorothy opens the door, she quickly realises she isn’t in Kansas anymore and her heartfelt wish to travel beyond the rainbow has come true.  Suddenly, we see a host of bubbles floating out over the audience and then a glittering golden bubble containing Glinda the Good Witch of the North glides into view.  Glinda introduces a host of shy colourful characters whose favourite colour is blue – the iconic munchkins.  Here the ensemble is used to full effect as the entire stage is filled with children of all ages and sizes wearing various colourful outfits who are thrilled to discover that the evil Wicked Witch of East has been squashed under Dorothy’s house.  I loved the delightful Lullaby and Lollipop Leagues and was impressed with the Mayor of Munchkin Land and the coroner who performed their lines with impish confidence.  The munchkins are jubilant at the news until the festivities are abruptly stopped by the terrifying arrival of the Wicked Witch of the West.  She tries to claim her dead sister’s ruby slippers, but they suddenly appear on Dorothy’s feet much to the evil witch’s fury. 

Dorothy is told to visit the Emerald City where she will find the mysterious Wizard of Oz who might be able to help her return to Kansas and she is told to follow the yellow brick road which will lead her there.  On the way Dorothy meets a brainless scarecrow, a heartless Tinman and a cowardly lion who lacks the nerve and all three friends head towards the Emerald City with the wicked witch trying to thwart their journey.  Will Dorothy find her way to the Wizard and get her wish, and will she realise that home is actually in her own backyard?

The two different casts meant that some of the principal parts were changed, and it was lovely to see each character being created.  Aunt Em / Glinda was played by Grace Nelson and Naomi Earl.  I liked the way they each created a different character contrasting the hard-working Aunt Em to the kindly and wise Glinda.  I was especially impressed with both girls for having the bravery to use the flying harnesses especially considering that Grace is only 12 years old, and this is her debut role with the group.  She had gorgeous vocals and gave a confident performance well beyond her years.   Naomi performed the part beautifully and looked every inch the Glinda from the film she carried herself with poise and elegance and played the part well.  Jack Hilditch played kindly Uncle Henry and the Emerald City Guard he really grew into his role highlighting the wit and dry humour of both the characters.

The character of Hunk /Scarecrow was another dual role played by Abbey Mitchell and Toby Cupit.  Both actors brought their characters to life.  Abbey had excellent dance skills and vocals and Toby performed a tap-dancing routine.  They both used slapstick humour and physical comedy and as the scarecrow frolicked around the stage you could almost believe their limbs were made of straw.    Hickory / The Timman, another dual role, was played by Matthew Heard and Hermione Hunt, who each brought something different to their interpretation.  Hermione gave a sweet, heartfelt sensitive performance bringing the gentle character of the Tinman to life.  Matthew played his role more as a gentle giant who obviously doted on Dorothy and both actors had excellent comic timing.  Zeke / The Cowardly Lion was played by Oscar Pinkerton (in his final role with the group) and Charlie Buxton.  Oscar was amazing in this role bringing the lion vividly to life with a definite homage to the original character created by Bert Lahr in the 1939 film.  Oscar’s humour and comic timing shone through, and his tap-dancing skills were fabulous - I’m impressed he could perform with those huge furry paws!  His performance of ‘King of the Forest’ was brilliantly funny and a definite highlight with excellent comic timing. Charlie was great as the lion creating his very own character exuding a combination of arrogance and over the top terror at something as benign as bunnies!  His facial expressions and comic timing were good.

Miss Gulch / The Wicked Witch of the West was played by Mia Todd and Scarlett Parkin and both girls brought a different slant to the character.  Mia had her own style, and she was obviously enjoying having a wicked role with an evil cackle.  Scarlett’s wicked witch had lots of similarities to Margaret Hamilton from the original film as she snarked and snarled her voice dripping with sarcasm obviously relishing her role too.  Both girls played their parts very well and I was especially impressed with their melting scenes disappearing seamlessly into a concealed trapdoor to appreciative applause from the audience.

Victoria Needham played the dual role of Professor Marvel and the Wizard of Oz with humour and wit tricking Dorothy as the professor into believing her skills were real and equally acting as the charlatan conning the good people of Oz.  She also maintained her accent throughout and showed bravery and confidence while using that flying harness.

Dorothy herself was played by Cerys Pritchard and Daisy Brammall.  Cerys gave a beautiful, confident performance as the feisty Dorothy and her interactions with the other characters especially Toto was lovely, she also had a sweet singing voice which harmonised well with the other principals.  Daisy’s Dorothy was very much in keeping with the Judy Garland version of the character and I thought she acted out the iconic song ‘Over the Rainbow’ with emotion beautifully telling the story with every facial expression and mannerism. Both girls showed stamina keeping up with the copious number of lines and dance routines. I was very impressed that they maintained their American accents throughout.

There were far too many highlights to list here but some standout mentions go to the sassy apple trees (Bethany Bailey, Elisha Lucas, Adwyn Roberts and Eliza Wilson) slinking around with attitude tormenting the Tinman and dancing to their inspired 40s routine.  The jitterbug scene was excellent with two young cast members (Isla Merril and Mya Hill) sailing through the air and even performing somersaults and the poppy scene with members of the ensemble wearing light up capes to represent snowflakes.

A special mention goes to Toto the dog who was a puppet created by Bryony McCrombie-Smith a graduate of Nottingham university.  Toto was operated at different performances by Ava Softly Robins and Theodore Smith.  Both puppeteers were fantastic bringing the Butternut puppet to life using quirky movements such as tilting his head and wagging his tail which all added to the character the puppeteers also used Toto to interact with the other characters sniffing around and barking.  

The orchestra, led by Musical Director Pete Lack, was excellent bringing the soaring score to life with a mixture of soft tempos and more upbeat jaunty 40s influenced numbers.  The dance routine for ‘The Jitterbug’ was slightly crazy and frenetic which must have been a real challenge for the orchestra to perform! The sound of the orchestra was pitched perfectly and never overwhelmed the cast on stage.

Choreography, provided by Becca White, was wonderful particularly the munchkins and the residents of the Emerald City featuring a combination of quirky dance numbers each reflecting the principal characters and perfectly timed tap routines. 

Costumes were perfectly in keeping with the story line with Dorothy’s costume and the main principals getting much of their inspiration from the film.  The vibrant colourful costumes of the munchkins were lovely reflecting their status in the munchkin hierarchy and based around their favourite colour – blue!  The Emerald City costumes were a mix of traditional and modern with some sporting shiny emerald dresses and peering quizzically over their sunglasses. The ensemble themselves (and there were lots of them!) acted their socks off never once slipping out of character and showed they were completely immersed in their roles.  Well done!

Other projections, designed and created by Cinematic Theatre Projections, were used effectively for example in the tornado and surrender Dorothy writing scenes and as a very impressive moving Wizard head.  Scene changes were well executed using backdrops and cloths in the fly tower and physical manipulation of the props for example turning the shack around for the tornado scene.  All the Majestic crew are volunteers.

I must mention the stunning lighting designed by Vinnie Hemmings which is the best I have seen outside of the west end.  Lighting was not merely used as background; it told the story being unfolded on stage and it was used to magnificent effect during the tornado sequence and as a beautiful backdrop for the dreamy title song.   

It was lovely to meet Keri, Sarah, Becca and Pete before the show and of course a chance to chat with chairperson Carolyn White and the lovely President, Betty Teanby.

All in all, a stunning show that Keri and all her hardworking and dedicated team of creatives and behind the scenes operatives should be justifiable proud of.  Pitch perfect choreography, gorgeous costumes and wonderful talented actors who created a timeless story for a new generation to enjoy

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.