The Wizard of Oz

The eternally popular tale of Dorothy's trip to the magical land of Oz seems to have had something of a renaissance in recent years, certainly if we go by the number of amateur performances. This time, the old warhorse was presented to a packed house at the Pendle Hippodrome theatre, the audience being transported into the auditorium via the theatre's very own Yellow Brick Road! I've mentioned in previous show reports that I think I must be one of the very few people of a theatrical bent to find this show eminently resistible - it's a peculiarly winsome little fable which has never won me over - so it was at least nice to see that the Hippodrome Youth Theatre had decided to present a production of the 'MUNY' (St Louis Municipal Theatre) version of the show which differs slightly from the film (and therefore also the RSC stage version) which promised to be something different. By the end of the evening, I wasn't sure that the choice was altogether a wise one but it was certainly heartening to see so many young performers being given the chance to shine, many of them for first time, as there were a number of youthful stage debuts.

An impressive display of technical splendour welcomed the audience into the auditorium; along with the aforementioned Yellow Brick Road, there was a lush green hue bathing the stage and the auditorium, suggesting the magical land of Oz which awaited us. The initial Kansas farm setting was nicely realised but the hustle and bustle of stage business and a rather 'devil may care' attitude to throwing lines away as the show began meant that some of the dialogue was missed: perhaps the cast were keen to gallop through the opening section in order to throw off their drab raiments for the more colourful garb of Oz?! Introducing our Dorothy in the shape of the always brilliant Brogan Riley (not to mention a rather wonderful Toto!) the show nevertheless got into its stride in short order with a rather good version of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. The chorus supported Dorothy in singing this vocal evergreen which was a nice touch and made a pleasant change from the cloyingly winsome effect which can result from a solo rendition of the tune: despite the unfortunately inconsistent harmonic blend of the combined voices, full marks from me for a different approach to this popular song. I didn't think there was enough time spent familiarising the audience with Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and the farm hands however, and the complete absence of Miss Gultch (I kid you not dear reader!) threatened to undermine the whole point of the show altogether. These being faults of the show rather than this production however, I shall hover over this seemingly insurmountable fault in the 'MUNY' version for now and, following Dorothy's example, speed off to Oz (via a rather impressive cyclone, courtesy of the Hippodrome technical team.)

Over in Munchkinland, as well as a host of very colourful Munchkins, we were introduced to our travelling companions in the shape of the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion as they gambol along to find the Wizard. The terrifying Wicked Witch of the West in the shape of Paige Brett soared majestically above the stage at intervals too; another triumph from the technical crew here. James Holt was a terrific Scarecrow, floppy, bouncy and full of energy throughout; Fletcher Smith's Tin Man was a very well realised characterisation, with Dale Blackburn completing the Wizard-seeking line-up, giving a great performance as the cowardly Lion. Dale's performance was a masterclass in comic amiability and was a big hit with the audience. Grace Hall and Emilie Chadwick were very impressive as a brace of Munchkin officials, Tara Overend was an affecting Gloria, Harley Horsfall also impressed as Sorceress of the North and Lydia Hunt gave a strong performance as Ozmas. Mollie and Ella Thompson were a particularly strong presence on stage throughout the evening, coming into their own as a pair of visiting witches and Jake Cordeaux managed to breathe life and energy into the rather odd role of 'Tibia', the Wicked Witch's creepy partner in crime. The a lullaby League won the audience over in seconds and the Lollipop Guild gave a good account of themselves too, with Ethan Manley popping up again in the second half as the not-so-dastardly-after-all Wizard himself. This was one area however where the technical team perhaps over-reached themselves: the fantastically mobile Wizard prop was great but the booming special sound treatment meant that quite a bit of the Wizard's dialogue was lost.

This young and very talented ensemble really came to life and were clearly enjoying themselves on stage - an enthusiasm which carried across the footlights and warmed up the auditorium - which bodes well for the future, especially with so many of the PHYT's old hands having moved on to pastures new. It was particularly cheering to see so many young performers really giving their all and throwing themselves into proceedings with gusto.

Unfortunately, this 'MUNY' version of the classic tale seemed to throw up too many obstacles to enjoyment, rather than adding any sort of welcome twist to the familiar story. I did like the addition of Tchaikovsky and Saint Saens into the musical score - along with the dances which went with them - and Evening Star was a very pleasant song: unfortunately, they came across as being rather awkwardly shoehorned in and, along with some of the other touches which were imported for no good reason, had the effect of adding an unwelcome 'panto' feel to the show. As for the interminable sequence with the moving bridge, the less said the better... There also seemed to be acres of dialogue which were weakly written, clunky and meandering, leading to many longueurs punctuating the evening. If the additions to the show weren't altogether successful, the absences proved to be a bigger problem for me: without the set-up of Dorothy's imagination conjuring up the magical world of Oz and populating it with familiar characters from her life in Kansas, the whole exercise seemed rather pointless and wasn't really anything other than a jolly jaunt around a colourful fantasy world to no good purpose. Without the added extra layer which ties the narrative together, the show becomes an exercise in daftness which - although engaging enough - rather makes one wonder what the whole thing was about. It would have been nice to see Dorothy return home at the end too, rather than just let the audience know that she'll be on her way shortly, so not to worry!

All these criticisms are of course the fault not of this particular production but of the 'MUNY' performing version, so having had my grumble, I'll leave it at that. Performances were of a good solid standard across the board all evening, with some fantastic technical support in every area. Costumes were up to the Hippodrome's usual gold standard and make-up for all the characters was very well realised, both helping with individual characterisations and adding a welcome professional gloss to the show. The score was handled with her customary effortlessness by Lisa Manley and the music bounced along at an agreeable pace throughout the show. A number of strong vocal displays and more than a few confident performances peppered the production and the usual sprinkling of Hippodrome excellence helped to make for an enjoyable evening. My thanks to everyone at the Hippodrome for an entertaining evening and the usual fantastic hospitality.

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