The Wizard of Oz

It was a great honour to join Maltby Minors on the yellow brick road all the way to the emerald city for their latest production, The Wizard of Oz. I’m always astonded on what this group achieves in a small space, but with great direction from Joanne Farthing, they always achieve. Joanne managed to make use of every available entrance of the auditorium  to create an immersive piece of theatre. Farthing also managed to overcome many challenges of staging this technical show with ease, and the melting of the Witch was genius. Martin Farthing, Musial Director, must have worked hard with this cast of 9 -25 year olds, as the harmonies and vocals were a delight to listen too. Ciera Greensill, Choreographer, crated some fun and fresh routines whilst still being true to the traditional and signature moves we come to expect from this production. The team were supported by Charlotte Kenny-Martin as Vocal Coach and Chris Badger as Acting Coach. 

Now to the cast. Maisie Ward excelled as Dorothy. Ward managed to capture the innocence of Judy Garland, as well as putting her own unique stamp on the role. You could hear a pin drop during her rendition of ‘Over The Rainbow’. Chloe Harper and Aiden Pearson, as Aunt Em and Unlce Henry respectively, were a believable on stage pairing and provided many of the nights laugh out loud moments with their quick snipes towards Miss Gulch. Whilst we’re here, we might as well talk about Miss Gulch. Maiya Vine was terrifying as both Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the West. Vine was able to capture all the movements of these iconic characters as well as a blood curdling cacklle. If I had one small critique it would be that I would have like to have seen her in full green makeup, and not just in a green spotlight, but I do appreciate it’s a very quick change. Tyler Holmes showed a what a talented actor he is with his role as both Professor Marvel and The Wizard. Is diction was incredible, most adults could take note from Holmes’s diction as I heard every word he said. Lillie Richards and Patience Armitage- Griffiths accompanied Dorothy down  the yellow brick road as the Scarecrow and Tinman. Both of these young performers displayed great physicality from the tumbling falls to the robotic walk. Olivia Wright delighted audiences with her beautiful and angelic voice as Glinda, which was worth the admission price alone. I for one am looking forward to seeing what comes next for this talented young lady. 

However, the ace in the pack here was Bailey-Jake Corker as the Lion. Corker embodied the lion and never came out of character once, even when his tail was dislodged, this young actor handled it like a pro. His accent was on point, and everyone in the audience fell in love with this cowardly lion. An exceptional individual performance. 

The principals were well supported by a strong and engaging ensemble: Millie McCaffery, Peyton Bevan-Shaw, AJ Dent, Abigail Dodson, Isabel Herbert, Auren Jeffcock, Ella Karatas, Emma Moffat, Lilyrose Pearson, Joshua Perry, Nancy Rutherford and Francesca Walton. 

Before I sign off, I must mention the costumes. This show requires many and varied costumes, which are lodged in so many people’s brains as they are so iconic and well known. The Maltby Minors costume team must be applauded as these costumes were some of the best I’ve seen for this show. Many congratulations to all involved in this great production. Here’s to High School Musical.

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