The Wizard of Oz, The Old Rep Birmingham Review
Written by Marianna for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's classic written by L. Frank Baum first published in 1900. In the piece Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away from their Kansas farm by a tornado and transported to the magical Land of Oz. Dorothy follows the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz, who can help her return home. Along the way, she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. Within the piece, the group encounter obstacles and work together to achieve their goals.
The BOA group production of The Wizard of OZ directed by Lorna Laidlaw is a pantomime production. The production is full of humours lines accessible for all in the family. There were some adult humour moments around topics such as marriage and some child or dad humour moments. Tom Whalley did an incredible job with the writing bringing The Wizard of OZ into the West Midlands region, with comments such as Glinda the Good Witch of the North being from Erdington. The combination of the classic story alongside modern elements was certainly a gamble but it was received incredibly well by the audience.
Leanne Fitchett’s costume design especially for Dorothy, Glinda and The Wicked Witch of the West was absolutely flawless. It was a genius idea to include her speciality of corsetry as it provides the costumes with structure but at the same time fluidity. The Wicked Witch’s costume was a fresh change from previous interpretations and felt very inspired by the American TV series, Once Upon A Time.
Ebrahim Nazier’s sets were outstanding and the grandeur of Wizard of Oz was certainly achieved. The great and powerful Oz head is a particular credit to Nazier. It was also well thought through to be able to use the same pieces of set in multiple ways.
Jaiden Tsang makes for an excellent Dorothy; her interactions with the rest of the cast feel genuine and her authenticity brings the performance to life.
As possibly the most memorable characters of the play, the scarecrow, tinman, and cowardly lion are vital to the success or failure of any performance, and the actors here performed excellently. Julie Baker as the scarecrow drives audience participation, and her sense of comedy and energy make her a highlight of the piece. Oraine Johnson as the Tinman oozes confidence and cool, and the humour regarding his string of ex-lovers is a joke that unites the whole audience. Jordan Laidley as the cowardly lion is everything pantomime should be he is camp, overacted, and overreactive in the best way. The lion’s perpetual cowardice is well known, but better still is the acknowledgement that plenty of the lions fears are completely reasonable.
Avital Kagan portrays the Wicked Witch in a fresh and fun way; the audience is encouraged to boo her, and she absolutely laps it up. With all the tropes such as evil monologues, telling the heroes her plan, and being evil for its own sake, she adds a fresh twist by showing genuine affection to winky, and being aware of her henchmen’s critical ineptitude.
Winky was also incredibly acted, often not quite grasping the concept of being evil, and instead complimenting Glinda’s dress, or otherwise being kind. Her sense of timing was truly masterful and got some of the biggest laughs from the audience.
Denise Pitter and Matthew Christmas have excellent chemistry together and separately- back in Kansas they are Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, both offering humorous takes on marriage and making risqué jokes for the adults in the audience. As Glinda and Oz the pair continue to drive the piece forward. Oz is a difficult character to master, a liar and charlatan, yet genuinely kind and willing to help, and Matthew Christmas portrays a “fake” without being cheesy excellently.
The choice of music for the piece is one of the biggest elements that brings the piece into the modern era. Gladstone Wilson chose familiar pop culture pieces to drive the narrative and humour. Familiar songs to renditions of Wizard of Oz are also adapted for the piece most notably ease on down the road. The choice to open with Hoedown Throwdown from the Hannah Montana film set the tone straight away. Song choices throughout were suitable to characters such as Lion King references for Cowardly Lion. The usage of Mr Lover Lover for the Tin Man for why he does not have a heart was excellent levelled humour, a light-hearted joke for the kids, and a double entendre for the adults.
This is certainly one production that families will enjoy from across the West Midlands during the festive season.
At The Old Rep Birmingham until 31 December 2024
★★★★
