Wizard of Oz

Loved it!
I was in London over the summer and while there found out that Wizard of Oz was playing. Well if anyone knows me, they know that I cannot resist Wizard of Oz as it is my all time favorite. Of course we had to go! Lions, Tigers & Bears. Oh my!
I was like a little kid watching this wonderful Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Wizard of Oz. As I sat there enjoying the show I was grinning from ear to ear and filled with so much excitement the whole time.
The previous review by Mary Jane T. pretty much sums up the whole production. I don’t need to go too much into detail on that as she really did a great job with her review.
After I got back to the hotel I of course had to look up the play and came to find out that it was coming to Canada next. They are currently doing the tv show «Over the Rainbow» in search of Dorothy for the musical. I may just have to take a trip to Toronto next year to see Wizard of Oz here in Canada. So can’t wait!
We’re off to see the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz…

When I was a child I was lucky enough to have been taken to many West End theatre shows by my grandparents. This is a tradition I have carried on with my own children, having taken them to shows such as Blood Brothers, Grease, Phantom of the Opera and Cats (to name a few). So when I finally became a grandmother myself I was champing at the bit to be the first to take my granddaughter to a full scale London theatre production!
To my excitement (I was perhaps even more excited than my four-​year-​old companion!) I was able to take my granddaughter, Carly, along to the world famous London Palladium to see Andrew Lloyd Webbers production of The Wizard of Oz.
Having had some reservations about taking Carly to see the show due to the fact that some ticket vendors and websites seem to have different age limitations, I was able to telephone the Palladium and they confirmed that children above three were allowed in.
Carly, who has seen and knows all of the words to the film version, dressed as Dorothy to see the show and I was delighted to see other young children and even adults embracing the spirit of theatre by dressing up to! However it wasn’t until Carly and I were in our seats that the journey truely began!
True to the film, the show started in a drab sepia tone, reflecting the monotony of Kansas and the hum-​drum of life on the farm. This really set the scene of Dorothy’s world and served as a stark contrast to the beauty and vitality of colourful Oz!
I must admit that prior to the production I was concerned about how various and potentially technically difficult scenes would be portrayed on stage however I was taken aback at the clever use of realistic projects. For example the whirlwind/​twister scene was brought to life by a projection of a hurricane layered over the top of the onstage action. Again I was thrilled to see that the Palladium had re-​instated their famous revolve (that I remember seeing on Sunday Night at the London Palladium when I was young!) which added another level to the twister scene as Dorothy’s house was lifted up and spun around.
Similarly the revolved assisted speedy and realistic set changed once Dorothy was in Oz, and the moving light-​up yellow brick road was a treat to the eye!
The show uses a great deal of tricks and pyrotechnics such as smoke and flames coming from the witches spells. I was afraid this was going to frighten Carly but she booed along with the rest of the crowd as the ugly green Wicked Witch literally flew above our heads! Carly wasn’t even afraid of the flying monkeys in the second Act (I was)!
At times I found the production slightly repetitive as Dorothy predictably found the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion one after another in extremely similar scenes however I am aware that this is a problem that extends from the journey of the original film.
All in all I found that the consistent energy of the actors (I am lead to believe that I was watching a relatively new cast), especially the hilariously physical Scarecrow, served to make the production extremely watchable. This, combined with the tremendous costumes (Glinda’s dress sent sparkles of light across the whole auditorium!), staging, design and use of engaging pyrotechnics and stunts made the Land of Oz entirely convincing and enjoyable. Carly and I were definitely not the only ones singing along!
(I must also add that after the show Carly went to stage door and had her programme signed by Sophie Evans, the Actress playing Dorothy, and she was THRILLED! All in all a brilliant first West End experience for my granddaughter and I)