Review: The Wizard of Oz
Edinburgh Playhouse ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fizzing with big bold colours, catchy show tunes and a contemporary new look that still manages to embrace all things retro, The Curve Leicester production of L Frank Baum’s ‘modern-day’ fairytale, The Wizard of Oz, is a fun night out that doesn’t quite hit the heights required to ensure it soars over the rainbow but comes close.
Based on the ever-green Hollywood movie, it’s familiar territory. Having been caught up in a tornado, Dorothy and Toto aren’t in Kansas anymore. Welcome to Munchkinland (Home of the Lollipop Guild), where Dorothy’s arrival coincides with the demise the Wicked Witch of the East. Credited with ending her reign of terror, our heroine finds herself posing for selfies and placed firmly in the sights of the very green Wicked Witch of the West, now on a mission to recover her sister’s enchanted ruby slippers.
With the help of Glinda, a good witch, Dorothy’s only hope of a safe return home is a visit to the Wizard of Oz and so she sets off for the Emerald City meeting, along the way, a scarecrow in search of a brain, a tin man in search of a heart and a cowardly lion in search of some courage… you know the rest.
As concepts go, Douglas O’Connell’s set design is curiously contained yet proves attractive and effective. It’s akin to watching the tale unfold inside an old school telly, the live action and ever-changing digital backdrops cleverly woven together by Nikolai Foster’s pacy but light direction.
If Dorothy’s travelling companions entertain the kids in the audience en route to Oz, they could be more. Benjamin Yates’ energetic Scarecrow is no Worzel Gummidge but he can certainly dance. Marley Fenton’s feisty Tin Man is suitably angular and never drops a clanger but it’s Nic Greenshields, no stranger to the Playhouse stage, who steals all the laughs with his corny one-liners and timid gentle-giant of a Cowardly Lion.
There is only one star in this production, however, and that is The Vivienne, stage name of Liverpool’s James Lee Williams. Following in the footsteps of the late, great Paul O’Grady, he has taken his delicious drag creation into the world of musical theatre where The Vivienne is mesmerising as the Wicked Witch of The West. Agile and commanding, the performance - including a nicely nasty turn as Ms Gulch - is the highlight of the night.
West End favourite Gary Wilmot is always a welcome sight in any production and he ensures his limited stage time doubling as the zany, sausage frying Professor Marvel and The Wizard is used to best effect. There’s strong support too from the excellent Emily Bull, a warm, no nonsense Aunt Em and glamorous Glinda, while master of comic timing David Burrows puts in a busy shift flitting between Uncle Henry and numerous other characters, often in the blink of an eye.
And let’s not forget Toto, or rather, let us do just that. A puppet complete with on stage operator, it’s an irritating distraction that does nothing other than pull focus from some of the show’s most iconic moments, including Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Talking of which, all the old favourite musical numbers are there.
Somewhere Over The Rainbow is beautifully sung by Aviva Tulley, as Dorothy, although her spoken dialogue is difficult to hear in many scenes. It’s Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead, however, that first lifts the energy of the piece. It goes without saying that Yellow Brick Road remains a real crowd-pleaser. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s additions to the original score are on the whole underwhelming but Already Home, a powerful and heartfelt duet shared by Bull and Tulley, carries real impact as the production reaches its climax.
So, if its a little bit magic you want, click your heels together three times and head to The Playhouse for this fun show for all the family.
Runs until February 17. Edinburgh tickets here. Full tour details here.
