Wizard of Oz

With the recent cast change in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz taking place over the past week, which saw the London Palladium bid farewell to performances from old hand Michael Crawford and BBC1’s Over The Rainbow winner Danielle Hope, I was eager to see how the production would hold up without these two well-known names bringing in the audience. It was clear that many theatre lovers weren’t interested in seeing the runner-up Dorothy and a Strictly Come Dancing dud due to the overwhelming amount of empty seats littering the auditorium of one of the most famous theatres in the world, yet I was presently surprised by the show itself.

As a lover of the story of The Wizard of Oz as a child, owning five other versions of the story on VHS aside from the classic 1939 film starring Judy Garland in a role that we all associate the iconic star with, I actually had low expectations, having heard that the show was tacky and knowing that it could never live up to the MGM mega-movie that immortalised the 1900 book by L. Frank Baum. It doesn’t live up to the film, but it does provide a good live adaptation without adding too much and without taking much away from the story, which is what most people who love the movie would want to see. Producers could have turned the story on its head and dramatically changed a lot, like other film adaptations I have seen, but if you want to feel like you are watching and are a part of the 1939 film of The Wizard of Oz, then you will love this production.

With beautiful set designs that take us from a sepia-toned Kansas farm to the beyond-bright Land of Oz, Robert Jones has cleverly created the contrast we see in the movie, from drab to dazzling, and his tornado scene is exciting and enables the audience to feel as though they have been caught up in the storm along with Dorothy herself. Other added effects include snow falling on Dorothy and friends as well as the audience which was a nice touch, even more so that it was actually snowing outside, so we got the snow without the chill!

Sophie Evans was the runner-up in the BBC talent show that Danielle Hope won, and she now plays Dorothy on all shows instead of just some. Her sublime vocals were touching and you could see from her passionate performance how pleased she was to be playing the role full-time. Astronomer Russell Grant who was recently a contender on Strictly Come Dancing, the ‘comedy’ act of the 2011 series, plays the parts of Professor Marvel and the Wizard himself, and was a disappointment, although my hopes weren’t too high to begin with! His American accent was only just about present and his singing consisted more of talking than actual melodic notes. Unfortunately he has to sing the forgetful Lloyd Webber song ‘The Wonders of the World’ which drags by and adds nothing to the show. On the plus side, Grant seemed to be having lots of fun and he certainly looked the part.

As well as ‘The Wonders of the World’, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote a further four songs to add to the classics ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’, ‘We’re off to see the Wizard’ and ‘Follow the Yellow Brick Road’. These extra songs were bland and quite obviously inferior to the original songs, although the song ‘Already Home’ sung by Glinda the Good Witch to Dorothy near the end of the production was quite touching, as she tells the girl from Kansas who only wants to go home, that ‘home is a place in your heart’.

The stand-out character was the Wicked Witch played by Marianne Benedict with her powerful vocals and scary presence. All of the Witch’s scenes were dramatic, apart from the important moment where Dorothy destroys her by throwing water over her, which I found anti-climactic as an empty bucket and a slowly-descending hole in the ground with the Witch standing on it was all that was involved. The Tin-Man played by Edward Baker-Duly provided much of the comedy for me personally, as he portrayed the character with a deep, macho superhero voice, the opposite to Jack Haley who in the MGM movie has a soft and somewhat camp voice. His lines were delivered comically and his robotic moves were also spot-on.

If you already like the story of The Wizard of Oz how it is seen in the Judy Garland version and do not like to see it messed around too much, then you will love the London Palladium production of the show. If you were expecting an unconventional twist on the classic story however, then you had better stay at home!

Where I sat: B15-16. Central seats in the second row of the Royal Circle. A completely unobstructed view in possibly one of the best seats I have ever sat in at the theatre. The London Palladium is huge yet all seats from the Royal Circle seemed to be good. The Wizard of Oz is definitely best viewed from this section.

Recommended: Yes, if you enjoy a simple musical with interesting special effects and scenery.