2 – 7 April

When producers adapt a musical based on a successful movie, they face a series of dilemmas. Do they rip it up and start again? Do they ‘modernise’ the setting? Or do they just stick bits on top and go with the original?  Andrew Lloyd Webber, and his long-time collaborator Tim Rice, have in the main gone with the latter approach. And much of it works.

Based on the book by L. Frank Baum, the classic film is changed to the extent that the ending is made a bit more dramatic and several new songs have been added to pad out the musicality. However, the principal change is in using video projection.

This is a growing technique used in touring shows, as it brings a freshness to the expected perception but also significantly reduces the amount of staging that needs to be hauled up and down the country and shifted on stage. This could have been a disaster, but the video projection by Douglas O’Connell is a thing of wonder. It carries us up into the Kansas sky, shoots us along the yellow brick road and plunges us into the wacky world of Oz. There are some lovely witty touches along the way with nods to the actors in the original film with adverts for ‘The Lahr King’ ‘Margaret Hamilton’ and ‘Bolger’s coffee’.

One thing that the adaptation cannot change is to feature the most iconic song in the show, Over The Rainbow, right at the beginning of the show. It is nicely sung by Aviva Tulley as Dorothy, but the producers missed a trick by not reprising it in the finale. Tulley does well throughout, although was too often pushed to one side, particularly in the first Act. This would not have happened to Judy Garland.

Casting was, on the whole, excellent. The Vivienne of Ru Paul Drag Race was quite simply divine. Her singing, stage presence and mastery of eight-inch heels was a masterclass. Why she wants those boring ruby slippers is anyone’s guess. Benjamin Yates as an elastic limbed Scarecrow and the impressive Nic Greenshields as the Cowardly Lion nailed it. Emily Bull and Alex Bourne made convincing contributions as Glinda and the Wizard and the assorted Munchkins, Winkies and Guards added to the fun. The well-designed puppet of Toto the dog was also given prominence, although it didn’t appear to have any sort of characterisation other than yapping.

Although given prominent billing, Aston Merrygold as the Tin Man did some great robotic dancing but was largely anonymous. Much of the reason for that, however, lay with the musical score. It was LOUD. So much so, that too often lyrics and dialogue were drowned out. Had the new songs been half as good as the originals, it would have been a triumph, but they were so unmemorable that even when re-reading the programme, I couldn’t recall them.

There is much to enjoy about this production and it will delight audiences, but there isn’t enough gold under this particular rainbow.

★★★☆☆  Bryan J Mason, 4 April 2024