The Wizard of Oz, Regent Theatre, Thursday May 31st 2018

The Wizard of Oz, Regent Theatre, Thursday May 31st 2018

Andrew Lloyd Webber's New Production of "The Wizard of Oz" was presented at Regent Theatre, Thursday May 31st 2018 by John Frost and Suzanne Jones.

For those new to my blog I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre. I buy my own tickets. So if you want a re-telling of the story please refer to the links for further information or for further insights.  Note, that I may provide different links for repeated main words or phrases.  I write for my memories of what I have seen, and is more of a stream of consciousness.

There are aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber's New Production of "The Wizard of Oz" presented at Regent Theatre that resemble the London Palladium Production.  Then again on page three of the programme states, "This production is closely based on the one seen at The Palladium." But it is not "close" if you use the dictionary definition.  They are stretching the standard deviation of the word "close". 

The movie and even the most awful amateur versions of this iconic musical have had some emotional heart.  The script is foolproof to tug at the heart-strings.  The new additions to the script and extra songs give some back story to some characters but bog the flow of the show.  Yes, we get to see some sensational performers sing these new songs, as the audience ho-hummed in their seats.  The applause was very lukewarm with even the big well known songs.

Choreography was by Arlene Phillips.  The big production numbers were well executed and each of the support performers created defined characterisations.

Sadly, the most famous choreography for the "We're Off To See The Wizard" was so poorly executed and the staging was even worse due to the scenic design.  This alerted me to remembering the staging I had seen of the London Palladium production was significantly robust in the progression of the characters' journey.  I remembered they had a stage revolve or a treadmill in London.  No revolve or treadmill was used here. It looked like they use a hydraulic lift in the centre of the stage in the London production.  Marking out steps on the spot was executed worse than any amateur production I have ever seen.

I recalled seeing Poppies in the video shorts of the London Palladium production.  The 1991 production at the State Theatre, Melbourne made great use of the poppies with a poppy ballet by Leigh Rowles.

The staging most of the time was poor and showed the original staging had been massively compromised to tour the production.  Direction by Jeremy Sams was awkward in both the staging of many numbers and sequences.  Plus the relationships between the characters were so two dimensional.  I have been in tears many times watching far worse staged versions, but they had the essence of the material.  Here, I was very disappointed that I was not flowing with tears at key moments in the show.

The sets were rolled out for the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion while in London they had the massive revolve and substantial movement to discover each of these characters.  This is one of the most important moments in the show.  Well, the audience in Melbourne were not amused.  Yes they clapped and the response was very ho-hum.

I preferred the Munchkins in the 1991 production at the State Theatre, Melbourne.  Here the choreography was well executed, but it did not have the same impact here with the performers stooping down rather than the fun of the performers on their knees in the 1991 production.

Yes, the performers sent themselves up.  Well, camped it up.

The stand out for me was John Xintavelonis as the Lion, who captured the heart of the show.  His performance was consummate in style and honoured the book and movie.

Dorothy played by Samantha Dodemaide was way too old for the role and her voice was not pure enough with the vibrato.  More legato was required in her singing. The inter-relationships with each character needed more connection.

  

Anthony Warlow gave a great performance as the Wizard with his wonderfully versatile voice.  The added song did not add to the show.

Lucy Durack as Glinda the Good was a clever piece of casting as she had appeared in the same role in the Australian production of "Wicked".  I loved how she sent herself up as the ditsy "Legally Blonde" version of Glinda.  Usually this role is so purely performed, and I liked Lucy Durack's touches paying homage to her other roles.

Jemma Rix had also been in the Australian production of "Wicked", and played the same roles as both Miss Bulch and The Wicked Witch of the West.  The new song for her was "Red Shoes Blues" which I felt did add to the story.  Her performance was exceptional and the set looked terrific.  Her melting scene was one of the scenes that was well staged.

When the Wicked Witch of the West melts, one of the Winkie steps forward using a Russian accent, while the other Winkies stepped forward using a range of other accents.  It just lost me.  I cringed as I thought I was watching a High School version. Have them all play the Russian accent, or, any accent; but please use the same accent for the Winkies.

Costume Design by Robert Jones varied in quality.  The green shoes could use a good repaint and clean in the Emerald City number.  The scuffs and varying patch colours detracted from the sharpness of the costumes.  The farm characters' costumes did not have the worn look of working people and looked like costumes.  Yes, I know it is stylised, but ironed clothes for people working in the fields does not ring true - even in a musical.

Set Designs, also by Robert Jones were flashy and cartoon-esque.  The sets jarred at times because we only received half of the production design - by not having the revolve and the added lighting etc.  So therefore some aspects hit you with the wow factor, while others made you question that something was missing and made the staging awkward.

The Lighting Design by Hugh Vanstone was also half realised as per the set design.  The lighting was effective at times, while at other times was overwhelming as it did not balance with the set.  Whereas in the London Palladium production, from the videos and promotions looked more balanced and polished.

The Video Design by Jon Driscoll did not work as effectively from the second row, and I suspect would have looked better further back.

Musically, the ensemble numbers with their rich harmonies was a highlight.  The orchestra led by Laura Tipoki was also one of the few highs.

I wrote the following on Facebook after seeing the show:

I was very disappointed in "The Wizard of Oz" as I was expecting it to be the Palladium of London production. The programme notes say "This production is closely based on the one seen at the London Palladium....". Yeah sure. Check out the footage on Youtube and the differences are obvious. It is a very underwhelming production with no revolve etc. I could go into a lot of detail but at $119.90 a ticket for the "New production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Wizard of Oz". - it was not what I had seen of the London production. I have copies of the ads with dates. I would say "it had aspects or inspired by the London production". The production at The State Theatre in about February 1991 left me glowing. This, well......

I would have preferred to buy a dvd of the Palladium production.

This Australian touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's New Production of "The Wizard of Oz" received a very generous 6.5/10.