The Wizard of Oz

We were made very welcome when we arrived with drinks and programmes and lovely seats where we could see very well. The audience was all seated on the floor of the Hall on very comfy chairs. The high vaulted ceiling furnishes good acoustics.

The programme was thoughtful and simple with a few lines given to a biography of each of the characters, including all the children.

The Scenery was simple with different colour lighting on the backdrop and side panels to suggest changes of location. The bridge worked very well and Tibia worked jolly hard pushing it round on a very hot evening!

In the second act there was an excellent prop in the mask for the Wizard with eyes that lit up and an articulated jaw, coupled with the reverb and echo on his head mic it made for an impressive and suitably awe inspiring Wizard.

Every actor appeared to be wearing a head mic but the mic levels could’ve been a little higher. The lighting was furnished by eighteen lanterns and they made full use of them.

The gingham Scarecrow costume worked well, It struck me that it must be very itchy in all that straw! The Tin Man had a really good Costume, as did the Lion. It was an incredibly hot night and he must’ve been very uncomfortable but he never let it show for a moment. The costumes were appropriate for the roles and very colourful. I liked the use of the headdresses and the ghost outfits  for the Jitterbugs. There were some excellent green costumes in the Emerald city and I liked Ozmas’ massive hat very much!!

The four-piece band played the cheerful country music with enthusiasm and not too loud! The fiddle player was excellent.

Obviously a lot of work had gone into the show, especially work with the children who were super, but please don’t ask your leading lady to play dialogue upstage to minor characters! I thought the use of the floor of the hall was inventive and worked well.

Dorothy (Anouk Zschaler) was a lovely mover, she was very graceful, she was very secure in her role and had much charm. Tony Carpenter as Scarecrow had excellent movement skills falling around the stage to great comic effect. Tin Man (Richard Ashton) was an effective part of the Quartet. The Lion (Philip Hutchinson) bounced onto the stage with tremendous enthusiasm and immediately captured our interest and his performance was most enjoyable. His comic timing was very good. There was a very good performance by the Wizard (Steffen Zschaler) who held a long and very wordy scene together extremely well.

The Munchkins and the jitterbugs were choreographed simply but very effectively and executed their routines with commitment, energy and security.

The show was well executed and had great charm and invention.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.