The Wizard Of Oz

Dear Riverside Seniors,

Thank you so much for inviting me to come and see your lovely show, The Wizard Of Oz at The Priory Centre. Upon my arrival it was clear that you were virtually sold out so I am really pleased that lots of your Mums and Dads, Grannies and Grandads were there to support you all.

The excellent six piece band, led by MD Ian Tipping, opened with the overture and the audience knew they were in for a treat. As Amy Prutton took to the stage as Dorothy it was clear that costume, along with hair and make up were suitably professional and as the musical progressed everyone looked superb! Toto was a lovely surprise as he came running through the audience, well done Esme Johnson for keeping him under control!

The sound and lighting were good throughout - another success from Dave Maltby and his team - with any little opening night sound issues being immediately sorted. Clever use of lighting from the back of the auditorium created the yellow brick road and the stage lighting was used creatively, along with dry ice and sound effects, to add to the atmosphere. The twister scene worked well and what little scenery there was, was superb - in particular the house that landed in Munchkinland, just a shame there wasn’t more of this great set throughout the show. Congratulations must also go to Rowan Marshall as director and Ellen Tipping as choreographer for both helping to create the magic and giving the performers such a great experience.

And now to our fabulous cast - Amy Prutton, you did a great job as Dorothy with some lovely acting a a very sweet singing voice. Remember to slow down and think about diction to make your character even better. I particularly enjoyed the scene in the witch’s castle where you were thinking of Auntie Em - some excellent emotions displayed here and I truly believed that you wanted to go home. You were on stage A LOT and remembered every single one of your lines, with no trace of opening night nerves, so congratulations for becoming a super Dorothy!

Esme Purdon made the most wonderful Scarecrow! Esme, your characterisation was fabulous for someone of your age and you really captured the emotions - and the hilarious clumsiness - of the Scarecrow. Your facial expressions and physicality here were superb. I loved the way you tumbled about the stage and how you created relationships between the other characters - well done on a brilliant job Esme!

Jacob Albone, you were a great Tin Man with an awesome costume. Just believe that you can do it Jacob, get up there on that stage and shine, young man! That little push of confidence will make all the difference to your characterisation and I can see a great actor in you - you just need to let him out! Get on the stage and own it Jacob and you will be a fabulous performer!

Hannah Gilbert as the Cowardly Lion was super! Well done Hannah, you created an utterly believable Lion, with great characterisation and lovely range of emotions. Your initial entrance onto the stage as you leapt at us was awesome and your hair and make up was fabulous too. You had a wonderful singing voice and showed great confidence throughout  - a super job, well done Hannah.

Izzy Lines was a great Wicked Witch - again it would help you if you slowed down a bit in your delivery to help the diction become clearer and I’m sure you can do a much more evil cackle! Clearly, you are too nice Izzy to be truly wicked! Really work on that characterisation and think about why you are saying those lines and you will have it nailed. Your transformation from Miss Gulch to Wicked Witch was excellent, I barely recognised you in your fabulous make up - well done on a great job!

Bodie Miles - some excellent characterisation here as you switched form Uncle Henry to the Winkie Guard, you showed a real understanding of your roles and weren’t afraid to let go and truly become the character. Some mature choices from you throughout and a really great job - congratulations Bodie!

Eleanor Robinson, you made an excellent Glinda. A wonderful costume and some great diction from you made us really believe in your character. Again, another great transformation from Auntie Em to Glinda. As Glinda, you took control and commanded the stage when you needed to, meaning that the audience had could relax and enjoy your performance - well done on a super performance.

James Rix - well, it’s certainly not easy to play three (!) characters on stage in one night so well done on a lovely Professor, and excellent Wizard and a superb Nikko! Your movements and physical skills as Nikko were awesome and I loved the characterisation you portrayed as the Wizard when Dorothy and her friends discovered that you were a fraud - well done James on three (yes, three!) really great performances!

Also worthy of mentions are Libby Robinson as the Mayor, Chloe Patterson as the Barrister and for her lovely dance skills and Jessica Riddy as the Coroner and the Winkie General. The Lollipop Guild (Willow Miles, Nicole Carter, Kenyeh Soyei) did a great job with their singing as they took centre stage - as did the Lullaby League (Esme Johnson, Abbie Jones and Megan Jones) welcoming us to Munchkinland. Well done to all of you on really helping to create the atmosphere needed here.

The Junior Ensemble were awesome! I loved your costumes and the colourful look of Munchkinland when we were first introduced to you all. ‘Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead’ was a superb number, exciting to watch and wonderfully bright and cheery - well done to everyone who was on stage helping to create this fabulous scene. Later on, in ‘The Merry Old Land Of Oz’, and also the Reprise of Ding Dong, everyone involved - but in particular our lead characters downstage - created a great energy and a super sound together as you all worked as a team to produce the magic for the audience. These scenes were visually arresting and you drew us into Munchkinland completely - congratulations!

In a note to everyone, juniors and seniors alike, make sure that you always play right out to the back of the audience. Those deaf old grannies (ooops!) in the back row may have struggled to hear you sometimes, especially  if you were facing upstage or were looking down too much. Keep that diction clear and ensure that you project your voice right to the very back of the room - just because you are wearing a mic doesn’t mean you can mumble. Make sure granny hears every word!

In a final note, best wishes go to Dave Winfield, stage manager, who had a slight accident during a scene change. I believe that this affected a rather large and fabulous prop at the end of the show which was not able to be used due to Dave’s indisposition. Get well soon Dave and a huge well done to the cast for carrying on as though nothing had happened. When you prop did not appear on stage you kept going and I had absolutely no idea until afterwards that anything was amiss - the mark of a truly professional cast - the show must go on!

Congratulations Riverside Seniors, you can all be very proud of what you achieved - The Wizard Of Oz was a great production! Once again, thank you for inviting me, I had a lovely evening and I can’t wait to see your next show. Keep up the good work, Riverside!

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