The Wizard of Oz

I was a member of the cast in 2001 when Ferndown Phoenix last produced this version of The Wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baum. It was always going to rekindle lots of happy memories and it was also going to be difficult not to make comparisons. There was one major difference.  In 2001 it was an all adult cast with one or two children in the ballet, where as in this production I would suggest that about 75% of the cast were junior members, many showing great potential for the future of the society. One could say the adults were surplus to requirements.

It proved to be a very enjoyable production with wonderful bright coloured costumes, all but the Tin Mans, made by the society’s wardrobe dept. They looked wonderful and they gave the show a nice glow.

An Excellent, Dorothy performed with confidence from the start, with good support from The Scarecrow, Tin Man and The Cowardly Lion.

The Sorceress of the North, although looking to lack confidence, has one of the finest young soprano voices in the area, and she can only improve as her voice matures

Whilst I still maintain that the Barrington is not a big enough theatre to justify the cost radio microphones, for a change they were relatively trouble free and with director Lee Redwood on keyboards, the sound balance was acceptable throughout the production.

My only criticism was that the gauze cloth was either too thin, or not lit correct, as I could see what was going on behind it most of the time that it was in use, and this proved to be a little distracting in some of the scenes.

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