Wizard of Oz

Straying from their usual more traditional musical it was refreshing to see Trinity Music & Drama take on a new challenge, this time with the much loved Wizard of Oz.

Leading the principal cast with bags of energy, strong vocals and a good stage presence Nicole Clements made a lovely Dorothy. This role requires a huge amount of stamina and Nicole handled the extensive dialogue like a pro – I enjoyed her interactions with the rest of the cast and it was great to see how considerate she was of her canine on stage companion, the gorgeous and impeccably behaved Dexter Russell as “Toto”.

Supporting her along the way Kieran Bacon was great as Scarecrow/Hunk with brilliant physicality. His dancing in the “jitterbug” number was excellent and he gave a very believable performance as Dorothy’s friend.

One of my favourite roles in the show is the Cowardly Lion/Zeke and Mark Clements did a lovely job of this. His difficult solo number “If I Were King of the Forest” was a show highlight. I’m sure this role was even more special for Mark, playing alongside daughter Nicole as Dorothy and a lovely memory for them both to cherish.

Karim Wilkins made a natural Tin Man/Hickory, suiting the role perfectly and making the audience feel sorry for him in his quest to find a heart.

All of the above performers worked very well together and seemed to have a genuine friendship that came across nicely. They should all also be commended on some quick thinking and humorous improvisation when called for during some of the scene changes to fill the gaps… “does anyone have deja vu” and “why doesn’t Toto have to walk, he’s the one with four legs” being amongst my favourites!

In the villainous role of the Wicked Witch of the West/Miss Gulch, Joanne Davis obviously relished the opportunity to not only play the baddie but be at the heart of some clever technical elements within the show. I particularly enjoyed her entrance coming up through the roof of the house, this was really effective. A perfect foil to her evil character, Kayleigh McEvoy as the good Witch Glinda/Aunt M, treated the audience to some soaring vocals and a warm and gentle performance.

Completing this impressive principal line up, both David Ehren (Professor Marvel/The Wizard of Oz) and Paul Osborne (Emerald City Guard/Uncle Henry) gave enjoyable performances.

The ensemble and dancers also all did well. In particular, the Munchkins gave good characterisation. This scene in particular could have been tricky with both adults and young people of varying heights being used but it worked.

As I have come to expect from a Trinity show the set was huge and lavish. The Wizard of Oz’s castle was very impressive and a succession of colourful back cloths set each scene nicely. I was therefore disappointed not to see a “yellow brick road” with the exception of a very distant one at the end of the show. For me this is an integral part of the staging and considering how many excellent technical elements were achieved I was surprised this was therefore not included. Some of the scene changes were a little slow but given the many big pieces that had to be moved this is not surprising and the Cast members did well to then speed up the pace again to keep things moving along. There was some effective lighting design used, from the rainbow in Act 1 to the green of the Emerald City that all worked well. I appreciated the use of sepia tones at the beginning before revealing the vibrancy of Munchkin land although during the tornado scene it did mean we could clearly see the people moving the large props, including a full sized cow, which was a little distracting. Having said this, in other areas the technical aspects were superb. From the flying, to the Witch’s impressive entrance previously mentioned and some clever projections inside the Witch’s house – switching from Aunt Em to the Wicked Witch seamlessly. I also loved Glinda’s entrances on the beautiful “bubble”, sadly I could not hear any accompanying entrance music which was a shame as this would have created even more impact. I am told it was there but neither my guest or I could hear it.

Aside from this, sound was excellent throughout, I didn’t notice a single late cue and the balance was spot on. The band made a great sound, led by MD Gerald Hindes, never overpowering the singers. I didn’t notice much in the way of harmonies with the exception of one song which was a shame as I know chorally this group is very strong. But I am advised this is down to the score itself.

Principal costumes were beautiful as were the Munchkins. Congratulations to the wardrobe department for creating a strong aesthetic in keeping with the original movie. It is important that the costumes match the set for impact and they really did.

The Wizard of Oz is an ambitious musical by any standards. With a show so well known it is crucial to give the audience what they want – which is a production that keeps the original at it’s heart. Well done to Director/Choreographer Deborah Marks and her hard working team and cast for bringing the magic of Oz to Chelmsford Theatre. Finally, I would like to give special mention to everyone who worked back stage. They had an enormous amount to manage and I can only begin to imagine the efforts it took from everyone involved to ensure all the technical elements and scene changes were carried out. Well done all.

Thank you Trinity for a lovely afternoon of entertainment.

 

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