The Wizard of Oz

It was a privilege to be asked to cover for my colleague Michelle and to visit Riverside Musical Theatre Company for their annual full scale musical, the much loved Wizard of Oz. The long drive up the A1, sadly not yellow bricked, took me to a lovely venue, the Park View Theatre and we received a lovely welcome from the Chair Marie Skipsey.

The Theatre itself is a great little venue with an elevated raked seating area allowing for great visibility and sight lines over the vast stage area, all of which was filled with colour and brilliant details throughout the whole production.

Director Bex Crawford kept very true to the original story and concept of the musical not skipping any parts of the story and whilst this did mean the show was a little bit long it did allow all the production to really retain that authentic and traditional feel. The staging was well thought out maximising all of the available space and allowing the large cast of 38 to never feel crowded or blocked on stage.

I have to give huge credit to the team behind the curtain whose hard work really paid off in creating a magical picture for the whole production. The large backcloths filled the stage whilst large oversized scenery and props gave depth and reality to the scenes. The farm scene with spinning doorway, storm bunker and full sized carts gave the opening scene authenticity whilst the huge thrones, giant Oz head and vibrant green Palace doors brought magic and mystery to the Land of Oz scenes. The lighting was bright and creative and little effects such as the Theatre fans on full blast in the storm scene were really clever and inventive. The sound was well controlled with Principals vocals well balanced against the backing tracks and sound effects, I would possibly look at how to bring those off mic more audible for future shows though as minor principle’s lines were at times lost in numbers such as Ding Dong the Witch is Dead. Overall though the quality of the vocals, led by MD Suzy Wake were very impressive especially in a lot of the complicated numbers where the timing and control was really tight. 

The huge praise must go to the amazing Wardrobe team who really brought the show to life. Not only were the Principal characters exactly how we picture them but the large ensemble costumes added detail and real quality to the production. The Winkie’s uniforms were sharp, The Trees and Crows full of detail, the flying monkeys looked ready for take-off but what really impressed me was the detail in the Poppy and Snow costumes. They were vibrant and packed with detail, a real quality for costumes used for such small moments in the show.

Speaking to the cast backstage it became clear that a lot of the performers were taking on lead roles for the very first time, well I would not have known that had it not been pointed out to me as everyone really brought these well known characters to life. 

Aunt Em (Julie Barton) and Uncle Henry (Nick Bevan) were a lovely double act as the picky bosses yet caring guardians of Dorothy. Roy Evans was a lovely eccentric Wizard of Oz and Professor Marvel, the raised inflections in his voice and larger than life mannerisms really adding to the quirky and wacky characters. Our graceful Glinda was brought to us by the lovely Katie Barton who added lovely vocals to a tender and caring performance. In complete contrast we had the menacing Jane Gibson as Mrs Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West. With a piercing cackle and overall terrifying persona she really owned the stage in her scenes bringing terror to Oz.

Other minor roles were well played with a special mention to the Juniors playing the roles of Coroner, Mayor and the Lullaby League and Lollipop Guild soloists. Their vocals and lines were really well delivered proving themselves as future stars of the Company. Zayn Morris was an excellent Nikko and Hayley Quinn was quite simply exceptional as the Emerald City Guard, her comic timing and line delivery was perfect whilst her facial expressions and quirky reactions helped her really stand out on the stage.

Our wonderful trio of Lion, TinMan and Scarecrow were really well cast and each of them brought their own character to life, bringing their own style yet honouring the traditional elements of these much loved roles.

Sarah Hamblett as Scarecrow gave us a lovely physical performance, with floppy legs, wobbly arms and a beaming smile it was impossible not to love her character. Showing true warmth and affection to Dorothy she became an audience favourite pretty quickly.

John Ronsdale really burst into life from the off, in a static role until oiled into action, his line delivery and movement captured the role perfectly. Every small detail was well thought through and even with the cast rushing off stage he remained calm, moving off in a generally lethargic manner.

Our lovely warm, cuddly and truly wimpy Lion was brought to us by the excellent Nick Thompson. He captured the famous lines wonderfully and visually was brilliant to watch from his tail wagging to nervous shaking he really gave the role everything. Nick also delivered some amazing vocals especially with King of The Forest with his commanding Baritone vocals echoing around the Theatre with balance, excellent tone and control.

Talking of lovely vocals, and speaking to this actress she still wouldn’t believe it, but what a wonderful voice Demilee Turnbull demonstrated in the lead role of Dorothy. Her Somewhere over the Rainbow wasn’t just pitch perfect but it also demonstrated an understanding of the song as she resisted the urge to blast it out, slowly building the song and letting it develop naturally to a great climax. In the famous role Demilee really delivered on the shy vulnerability of Dorothy. Keeping in character and wonderfully supported by her 4 legged friend Toto (under full control by puppeteer Emily Crawford) she should be so proud of herself. She brought so much warmth and energy to the production, not only delivering her lines with purpose and keeping the accent true for the whole show but also showed herself as a bit of an all-rounder with good movement as already mentioned lovely vocals.

Now when we think of The Wizard of Oz we immediately think of the principal roles but what really brought this production to life was the energy and commitment from the huge ensemble numbers. Choreographers Julie J Laws and Anna Skipsey deserve huge credit for creating some lovely choreography for the big pieces. Keeping the movement simple when the stage is full yet clearly rehearsing it well to ensure it looked unison and balanced. Yet also creating some more complicated routines for the key dancers Abbey, Anna, Abbie, Charlotte, Chloe, Emma and Hannah to allow them to flourish and show off their skills. 

A lot of companies choose to cut the big dance number, Jitterbug, when putting on this musical but I am so glad Riverside didn’t as it proved to be the standout ensemble number of the night for me. The Neon costumes and accessories with blackout staging and a lovely routine carried out by Dorothy and these 7 talented dancers really gave it energy and I for one had my legs tapping throughout - almost as if I too was caught in the spell. 

A huge well done to Bex and everyone involved in the production, from the detail on show it is clear just how much love and work had gone into putting this show on and it really did pay off. I will be crossing my fingers that Michelle is busy again soon and I can come back and visit you all again soon. Good luck with your Pantomime in December, at least the risk with that show is eating apples and not having them thrown at you like in tonight’s production!

 

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