This vivacious revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams’ musical adaptation is full to the brim with pizzazz and dazzling performances in a radiant, almost cinematically theatrical experience. The proscenium arch is reframed as a luminescent screen, and the production adheres in many ways to the spirit of the 1939 film, which was based on the children’s novel by L Frank Baum. But wistful imagery of bucolic Kansas is juxtaposed with a contemporary world, and we are transported to an Oz that, whilst emerald green, feels futuristic, kitsch, and utilitarian,
Directed by Nikolai Foster, the escapades of Dorothy and her pals are reimagined in an action-movie format, the back screen resembling a virtual reality video game. The intrepid motley crew, each travelling in pursuit of disparate dreams (home, a brain, a heart, and courage), hurtle, helter-skelter, down the Yellow Brick Road and into Emerald City, which is reminiscent of New York’s Times Square with a green tinge.
The central conceit for the story is inspired: Dorothy (played with panache by newcomer Aviva Tulley) is an outsider, a misfit in the tightly knit Kansas community, which hints at America’s pre-civil rights history of segregation, and all its ostracisms. She is at once naive yet also steely, and Tulley has a truly exquisite voice, leaving the audience with goosebumps in her renditions of 'Over the Rainbow'.
Gary Wilmot makes a convincing Wizard and Benjamin is a great Scarecrow, balancing the role of slack-jawed simpleton with protean, jelly-boned movement. Marley Fenton, as the Tin Man, and Nic Greenshields, as the Cowardly Lion, are both outstanding.
The spirit of pantomime is evoked by the Wicked Witch of the West (The Vivienne - the UK’s No. 1 drag superstar, after emerging as the original champion of the first season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK). Emily Bull masterfully plays the dual roles of a glamorous Glinda (channeling Barbie as she cruises onto the stage on her bubblegum pink moped) and stern but kind-hearted Aunt Em. Toto the dog is an utterly delightful puppet (controlled with notable aplomb by Abigail Matthews), which offers a counterbalance to all the snazzy wizardry on stage.
The kinetic screen combined with Harold Arlen’s music (with additional music by Lloyd Webber) and lyrics by E Y Harburg (with contributions by Tim Rice) makes for a lively, effervescent show, which is packed with talented performances and a stellar enemble cast.
The Wizard of Oz
Touring the UK until August 2024.
For tickets, please visit atgtickets.com
