Who among us wouldn't like to take a jaunt down the yellow brick road toward the shimmering towers of the Emerald City? Picking up a charming and eclectic selection of waifs and strays en route and going on a few little adventures on your way home? Frankly, Oz sounds wonderful. Most of us grew up with its charms from a very young age – the
book and the
film – and the story translates perfectly to the stage, with a few additional songs mixed in for good measure.
This new version of the
The Wizard of Oz for the stage is the latest production to get that special Andrew Lloyd Webber treatment – that public quest for a leading, in this case, lady. And dog. Lord Webber has been sharing his quest with Saturday night BBC audiences and come up with a Dorothy in the form of
Danielle Hope and a Toto called Dangerous Dave. But it's not all unknowns, he's partnered her with
Michael Crawford as the Wizard, a man who has some of the best stage credentials around.
Hannah Waddington, diva extraordinaire, plays the witch and there are four
Totos: Bobby, Razzamatazz, Dazzle and Topper. Dangerous Dave, the people's Toto, is only performing on the 21st of April for Comic Relief.
If
The Wizard of Oz is one of your favourite films then you're in for a treat, as this take on the tale comes straight from the MGM screenplay rather than the book. It's by the same team who did such a nice job of bringing
The Sound of Music to the same stage. It also uses the score wherever possible, with fresh musical and lyrical contributions from Webber and Tim Rice, and includes stage renditions of some classic cinematic moments from the film. The staging looks and sounds like a Judy Garland dream, with an only gently updated Dorothy, and a very colourful set and costumes. Complete with winged monkeys, of course.
