The Wizard of Oz

Choreographer: Meg Dowen

An orchestra under the tight control of their Musical Director set a full house audience on a journey down the Yellow Brick Road. Claudia Gilmour was a Dorothy who did not try to emulate Judy Garland but brought her own particular talent to the role. She was in beautiful voice. Toto was played by a dog rescued by Birmingham Dogs' Home and he stole the hearts of all the audience. The Scarecrow (Will Phillips), The Tinman (Rob Dixon) and Cowardly Lion (Alf Rai) absolutely stole every scene. As a trio they complemented each other perfectly. The Good Witch of the North (Mary Mark) and Wicked Witch of the West (Rachel Coleman) were a most suitable Goodie and Baddie pair and the children in the audience delighted in booing the Wicked Witch every time she appeared. The line-up for this talented cast was completed by The Wizard (John Wiley), Aunt Em (Carol Burgess) Uncle Henry (Colin Hunt) and the Emerald City Guard (Roger Stokes). This was an ambitious production given the facilities at the Mill Theatre and one that paid off handsomely. The lighting storm effects were good and the special costumes excellent, especially the "trees" and the green and white colour scheme for the Emerald City. A really good Jitterbug number and the children taking part were lovely.There were plenty of props. If there was a downside it has to be the sound sytem. At times it was late picking up the cues and this meant that some of the dialogue was missed and of course, like so many productions today, the orchestra sounds were, at times, much too loud. Having said that, this was an excellent production and full marks to everyone connected with Willenhall MTC for a memorable show.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.