The Australian premier of the new production of The Wizard of Oz opened in Brisbane with a spectacular extravaganza of song and dance highlighted in a rainbow of colour recreating all of the pizzazz expected from a World class production.

The musical has been adapted by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber from the original classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz which opened at the London Palladium on 1 March 2011, running until September 2012. The 1939 film popularised the tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum, published in America in 1900. However, the first stage production, which was only loosely based on the book first opened in Chicago in 1902. Finally, 117 years later the new adaptation has landed in Australia with an all Australian cast gleaned from the best Oz has to offer.

Anthony Warlow is The Wizard of Oz and has already performed in an Andrew Lloyd Webber production as the title role in The Phantom of the Opera in 1990 and 2007-2008. He had great presence terrifying the audience as he glared through the looking glass in the hall of the Emerald City. But once he was shown to be a fraud he transformed into the classic bumbling old fool stripped of his airs of grandeur very convincingly.

Glinda the Good Witch (Lucy Durack) was resplendent in a spectacular glittering gown adding glam and kitsch to the cast, whilst mimicking an incongruous but fabulous nasal Jewish New Yorker accent. Her sparkly pleasantness was juxtaposed to the evil hideousness of the Wicked Witch of the West (Jemma Rix.) Green faced and ugly with a cone of jade hair Jemma captured the terror portrayed by Margaret Hamilton from the original film, which gave many a child an insidious fear of scrawny older ladies. She has perfected the high pitched hideous laugh and the raucous cackle causing one front row audience member to shrivel in their seat as she threatened them from the aisle using a megaphone.

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Humour kept the show moving along using more adult-style jokes and innuendoes as a complement to Dorothy’s (Samantha Dodemaide) syrupy-sweet childish innocence and naivety. The trio of the Scarecrow (Eli Cooper), the Tin Man (Alex Rathgeber) and the Lion (John Xintavelonis) danced, joked and sung their way through the evening with the cowardly Lion providing most of the one-liners and the Tin Man acting as the straight guy, true to the original film. All three did an outstanding job mimicking the three stooges with the impediments of tails, rust and straw.

The supporting cast were flawless in their song and dance with a highlight being a choreographed sword dance in the Wicked Witch’s Castle to celebrate her demise after she melted into the floor with a shriek and a fizz.

Despite the outstanding quality of the cast, Toto, the dog was everyone’s favourite with Trouble and Flick, two terriers making this production their professional debut. Toto was thoroughly enjoying the role, trotting on and off the stage on cue and leaping into Dorothy’s arms. The tiny diva and was an almost constant presence and melted the audiences’ hearts as Dorothy cuddled into him in the storm, lost and frightened with a tornado approaching. On cue Toto gazed into her eyes and licked her nose to console her, greeted by a resounding ‘awwwww’ from the audience.

The numerous sets were bold, colourful and creative mimicking the “Glorious Technicolour” of the original 1939 film. An invisible screen with film projection, strobe lights, sound and props were used ingeniously to recreate the tornado complete with flying cow and the wicked witch on her broom stick. Lights flashed around the theatre and thunderous sounds combined with a live orchestra threw the audience into the maelstrom as Dorothy and Toto were sucked into the turmoil.

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The live eleven piece orchestra directed by Laura Tipoki enhanced the experience of each scene with the hallowed sing-alongs from the original Arlen/Harburg score including a wistful rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and my favourite, the cheery Ding Dong the Witch is Dead. Three new songs were included, written by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics from Tim Rice. This is their first theatre collaboration for 30 years composed to provide a voice for the Witches and the Wizard, on the advice of Director Jeremy Sams to fill gaps in the musical tale.

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz demonstrates that a classic film originally designed to highlight the new technology of “Glorious technicolour” can be translated into a spectacular colourful production without losing the original innocence of its time. This production truly is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and you can see it here in the real land of Oz.

 

 

 By Dr Gemma Regan (Photo by author)

 

The Wizard of Oz

Adapted by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Frost and Suzanne Jones, Director Jeremy Sams

Australian Premiere 9th Nov- 3rd Dec 2017

QPAC Lyric Theatre, Brisbane