THE WIZARD OF OZ. To 7 January.
Southampton
THE WIZARD OF OZ
by L Frank Baum Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E Y Harburg Background Music by Herbert Stothart
Nuffield Theatre To 7 January 2006
Tue-Sun various dates 10.30am, 2/30pm 7pm
Runs 2 hrs 25 min with one interval
TICKETS: 023 8067 1771
www.nuffiedltheatre.co.uk
Review Hazel Brown 29 November 2005
Sentimental storyline, well-known songs, imaginative and colourful staging and a wonderfully wicked witch make a Christmas treat.Maya Barcot has a lovely voice and is suitably winsome as Dorothy, the country girl from Kansas ‘lost’ in the world of Oz, but out-and-out star of this show is undoubtedly the cross-dressed Granville Saxton as both the Wicked Witch of the West and Dorothy’s stick-like curmudgeonly Kansas neighbour, Miss Gulch. He elicits the necessary boos and hisses from the predominantly young audience with great delight while persecuting the four travellers on their journey along the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City.
He even manages to rub out the yellow bricks, making it necessary for youngsters in the audience to come on stage with pieces of yellow paper scattered liberally from the theatre’s ceiling to help Dorothy, Tinman, Lion and Scarecrow rebuild the magic road. (On the night I saw the production, Saxton’s considerable ability to ad lib was called upon when a fairly vital prop, Toto in a basket, came apart.)
The dreamlike journey is nicely brought to the fore, with the Oz characters being drawn from Dorothy’s real, Kansas life as established in the opening scenes. Three hapless farm hands become Dorothy’s companions on the journey, her aunt and uncle become the Good Witch and the General and the nasty neighbour, Miss Gulch, who is making Dorothy’s life a misery because of her vendetta against Dorothy’s little dog Toto, the Wicked Witch. Even the poppies on Miss Gulch’s hat become the flowers that send all the friends to sleep.
The team of children I saw, the Scarecrows, made very cute Munchkins and citizens of the Emerald City, if a little wooden in their dancing - no doubt they will relax and enjoy themselves a bit more as the run progresses. The costumes and sets were sumptuous, imaginative and colourful and further doubling, or rather trebling, meant that the live band at both sides of the stage also contributed the Tin Man and Lion.
This is quite a long show for young children to sit through, but the number of disappearances to the loos being at a minimum, they were obviously as entranced by the show as I was.
Dorothy: Maya Barcot
Auntie Em/Glinda, the Good Witch
Uncle Henry/General/A Mysterious Voice: Steven Bews
Hickory/Tinman: Matt Devereaux
Zeke/Cowardly Lion: Paul Kissaun
Hunk/Scarecrow: Andy Spiegel
Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch; Granville Saxton
Professor Marvel/Wizard’s Guard: David Alcock
Toto: Tinto, Archie, Pippin
Three teams of Munchkins:
Tinmen: Nathan Hack, Bethany Spreadbury, Kate MacDonald, Cameron Sahota, Phoebe Blandford, Hannah Rood, Thomas Watters, Lauren Williams, Daniel Gavin and Dave Trim
Scarecrows: Sam Naylor, Nikhila Saini, Natalie Ertl, Harry Sykes, Emily Naylor, Victoria Wilkinson-Smith, Jack Beresford, Chelsea Hodgson, Daniel Mackney and Craig Hutchinson
Lions: Gabriel Greer, Keziah Collett, Madison Greer, Rory Hughes, Lerryn Edghill, Jess Hall, Joe Boylan, Charlotte Downie, Harrison White, Simon Pothecary and Sarah Beckerleg
Director: Patrick Sandford
Lighting Designer: David W Kidd
Dance and Vocal arrangements: Peter Howard
Orchestration by Larry Wilcox
Musical Director: Paul Kissaun
Performance Musical Director: Chris Dickins
Choreographer: Elizabeth Marsh
Youth & Community Director: Fran Morley
2005-12-10 11:06:25