Theatre review: The Wizard of Oz

Matt Adams follows the Yellow Brick Road to the Alban Arena for Brilliant Theatre’s youth version of the MGM musical…

Most parents will have endured school drama presentations featuring their little darlings, or even supported them performing in quality amateur plays as they grow older. But it’s fair to say that few of us would pay good money to watch other people’s kids take to the stage unless it was truly a truly exceptional production.

The Wizard of Oz, the 10th anniversary show from Brilliant Theatre Productions, was unquestionably that. In fact, you would not have been disappointed to have caught this show in the West End, there just wasn’t anything missing that you would have found being delivered by a professional line-up treading the boards in a London theatre.

And that was a surprise.

Having popped in to rehearsals ahead of last weekend’s short run at the Alban Arena, it was fair to say that the standard of talent looked promising, but there were still missteps and missed cues, so my expectations were good, but not staggering. How wrong could I have been?

As the curtain rises, immersive LED sets immediately propel the audience on a sweeping bird’s eye journey over a monochrome Kansas landscape – taking its lead from the opening scenes of the MGM musical – before arriving at the modest farm owned by the Gales.

The appearance of their niece Dorothy (played by Sara E for this performance – there was a dual cast for the main characters) thrusts her front and foremost for what would be almost the entire two-hour production, so it was crucial that her casting was spot on. Sara captures Judy Garland’s wide-eyed innocence, but rather than simply offering a tribute, makes the role hers with a determination and grit you can really believe was born in the Depression-era Midwest.

Her defining performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow is very much her own, rather than owing too much to Garland or the later version by Eva Cassidy, which is hard to achieve with such a singalong staple.

Dorothy is accompanied by a scruffy puppet interpretation of Toto, performed with realism, humour and charm by the incredibly gifted Gerry T, who almost becomes invisible for the duration of his performance, silent apart from the odd bark.

What follows is our introduction to Dorothy’s friends – all of whom will feature as alter egos in Oz – her nemesis, the cackling Miss Gulch (Mona E), who wants to destroy Toto in revenge for him biting her leg, and the travelling showman Professor Marvel (Grace H-W). It’s unexpected how long the Kansas-based section actually is if you haven’t seen the film for a while, but it never lags, and provides suitable background for the story to come.

Then suddenly a twister rips through the Gale farm and Dorothy and Toto are whisked into the sky inside their house – who saw the poster from the 1939 film adaptation floating past their window? – before crashing back down to the ground on top of the unfortunate Wicked Witch of the East.

As Dorothy realises that they aren’t in Kansas anymore, the entire stage transforms into glorious technicolour, and the extent of their journey is explained by Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Rather than base her performance on the somewhat saccharin stylings of Billie Burke in the movie, Liv E-I offers a multilayered delivery full of scene-stealing sass.

The extent of the show’s cast is seen for the first time in the Munchkinland sequence, which features dozens of youngsters belting out classics like Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead and Yellow Brick Road. All the while they are performing perfectly synchronised dance routines and acting out individual character moments which add to the overall impact of the scene.

Kudos to the Brilliant backstage team – musical director Gabrielle Ball, choreographer Lucy Connolly, vocal coach Joanna Hughes, assistant choreographer Chloé Porter and assistant director Lewis Maines, plus of course director Carly Halse – this was truly an incredible piece of musical theatre and even more remarkable given that the entire rehearsal process was just 12 days long. Shaping those children into performers of this calibre, no matter how much raw talent they initially possessed, is nothing short of miraculous.

And who can forget the Welsh maestro himself, show producer David Jenkins, whose vision for providing a full experience of the creative process for young people with a theatrical leaning is evident on stage this evening.

As we move through the traditional film story we are introduced to Dorothy’s trio of friends, the Scarecrow (Ollie E), Tinman (Jake E) and Lion (panto legend Bob Golding’s son Ernie), as well as the maleficent Wicked Witch of the West, performed with cackling menace by Mona E. But although there are no deviations to the original script, the show features different intonations to add character and depth to these familiar faces, or tweaks such as the South London accents given to the apple tree performers (Lily W, Holly B and Olivia R), full of attitude and cheek.

The choreography remains sharp and energetic throughout the show, but there’s barely a move out of place, even in the more complex numbers such as those involving props like umbrellas and canes. The Jitterbug routine in particular was remarkable to watch, and demonstrated the determination of the dancers as well as the skills of their instructors.

There’s also an obvious interest from all cast members in what’s happening elsewhere on the stage, rather than just focusing on their own lines or performance, which adds a sense of focus often lacking from professional productions where everybody is just going through the motions.

As the show reaches its climax – with Grace H-W giving her all as the Wizard, convoluted and complex lines seemingly no obstacle to her talents – and a few clicks of the ruby slippers take us back to Kansas, the entire audience erupted in a well-deserved standing ovation which brought tears to many of the cast.

That included Ernie Golding, whose rendition of If I Were King of the Forest had already fixed a beaming smile on his dad’s face. He’s definitely one to watch out for, with a sense of comedy obviously inherited from his old man.

It’s rare to be so completely caught off guard in such a positive way. We’re so used to unexpected disappointments in life that it’s a bolt from the blue when you experience something so uplifting, professional and entertaining that it’s hard to do it justice in a thousand words.

On the strength of this performance, the production company needs to change its name to Bloody Brilliant, because that’s what this was.