_edited.jpg)
We follow the yellow brick road to the GOH for the youth summer project
The Wizard of Oz, a much loved musical that’s been around since 1902, has been redone with a new lease for life by the grand opera house for this year's summer youth project.
Going into the show I was quickly energised by Holly Topping as she had so much enthusiasm for her role as Dorothy, it was infectious and the audience soon felt the joy she felt in Oz and her sadness at almost losing Toto, her singing was entrancing and she matched Judy garland with her singing and acting talents.
The scarecrow played by Peter Gildernew provided a lot of the comedy and also some heartfelt moments that you wouldn’t expect from a straw man and as this was he first musical number with the group it was a runaway success, his voice was heard all across the theatre captivating everyone with his vocal grasp.
The tin man played by Conall McGinn felt incredibly real with his plea's for a heart making everyone’s heart break (at least everyone who had a heart). Alex Jemphrey who played the Lion had to be one of, if not my favourite characters in the entire production with his humour and cowardice mannerism. His performance was authentic & realistic oh and his singing voice was amazing, it just fitted the Lion perfectly.
The rest of the ensemble cast were excellent, from the munchkins happily singing about a dead witch and dancing to sassy trees in the dark forest while throwing apples. None of them disappointed, each seemed more enthusiastic and engaging than the previous set of characters which was almost impossible to beat.
The costumes were incredibly well made, very Authentic and with fantasy in mind to match the world of OZ.
I particularly loved they the colourful hair of the munchkins, the black and red dresses worn by the dancing poppies and the Wicked Witch's costume, it was just what you would imagine when you think of the character, green skin, red lips and long black hat. Even the black dress was menacing yet somewhat beautiful, Jordan Rosborough brought this iconic character to life. Glinda the good witch played by Emily Marten also had an amazing costume rivalling the 1939 movie with its fantastical pink dress and long almost top hat like hat.
Their is no show without the musical numbers and dance routines, they honestly did not disappoint, the songs were incredibly well performed and expertly choreographed, personally my favourite was Jitter bug because it so upbeat yet had the sense of panic that the characters felt and made the audience feel too. Speaking of choreography the dances were expertly choreographed and impeccably timed. Nothing appeared to go wrong, which surprised me as it was the opening performance and as the cast was so large. Well done all round, its safe to say allot of hard work and practise went in to perfecting things.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Wizard of Oz, it’s made me want to listen to the soundtrack all over again.
I would recommend you go see it before Dorothy gets back to Kansas lol.
There are 4 more performances between this evening and Sunday. Tickets range from £15.75-£23.25 and can be purchased by clicking here or calling the Box Office on 028 9024 1919
