The Wizard of Oz

We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz, simply because we can – this week its showing at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield.

The musical charts the familiar and well-loved story of Dorothy and Toto following the yellow brick road and along the way meeting a scarecrow, a cowardly lion and a tinman all desperate to meet the wonderful wizard in Emerald City who can grant each their dearest wish and help Dorothy and Toto return home. Assisted by Glinda, the good witch, the foursome combine their wits and bravery to eventually defeat the Wicked Witch of the West and finally meet the wizard.

Aviva Tulley as Dorothy is fabulous. She has a beautiful voice and her rendition of Over The Rainbow left me feeling quite emotional. Her companions on the yellow brick road were an endearing and charming trio. Benjamin Yates as the Scarecrow, Marley Fenton as the Tinman, and Nic Greenshields as the Cowardly Lion could all sing and dance and all created realistic characterizations. Alex Bourne as Professor Marvel / The Wizard is well known to Sheffield audiences as someone with a beautiful singing voice and an enviable talent for perfect comic timing.

Glinda The Good Witch, played by Emily Bull delivered a captivating performance of ‘Already Home’ which again left me feeling a tad tearful. Her costume was unusual for a good witch, as was her mode of transport - she had been given a ‘Barbie’ type of makeover, complete with a pink Vespa scooter and helmet with not a broomstick in sight in spite of claiming to fly everywhere!

The star of the evening though has to be The Vivienne as the Wicked Witch of the West. With a commanding stage presence she was a triumph. She can sing, can act, and can shake a very shapely leg.

The ensemble were excellent and were kept fully occupied. The quality of their singing and dancing was second to none.

There exists a generalization that you should never act with children or animals and this musical is no exception as the Munchkins were fully grown adults whilst Toto was a wonderfully expressive puppet most ably controlled by Tyler Ephraim.

The challenges of bringing an iconic film like The Wizard of Oz to the stage are complex to say the least but as you may expect when Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group are involved in a production no expense is spared. There is extensive use of exceptionally fine film projections throughout the show but especially during the ‘Twister’ scenes when the show transitions from a dull and dreary Kansas farm scape to the Land of Oz which by contrast is a riot of bright and vivid colour. Similarly, the Wicked Witch’s castle was ablaze with colour and creativity.

The infamous yellow brick road revolved around the stage in three distinct sections from which brightly coloured gardens were growing. The special effects were some of the best I’ve seen in a long time. The costumes designed by Rachael Canning were both flamboyant and colourful and displayed to full effect by the Lauren Stroud’s choreography.

It is so nice to be able to enjoy live music at the theatre and the company’s group of musicians led by musical director, Lestyn Griffiths delivered an excellent and enthusiastic account of the musical score all of which added to the overall enjoyment of the performance.

A theatre packed to overflowing with an appreciative audience tells you all that you need to know when deciding whether to buy a ticket or not. You won’t be disappointed.