The Wizard of Oz

Dorothy & chums journey down the yellow brick road. £12.50-£22.50
New Theatre, Oxford. 15th December 2005 to 8th January 2006

December 20, 2005
This isn't a Christmas Panto, it's a good old-fashioned Show, with songs and dances. If you're taking children to it they will probably love it (mine did) but your chief entertainment is more likely to be seeing the answers to the question "I wonder how they're going to do that on stage?". So, let's start with the good news. The sets and costumes are very colourful and pretty, and the special effects are nicely done. I particularly liked the giant green Oz head on the screen, its lips moving thanks to a tangled Heath Robinson contrivance of pipes and gears in the background. The songs and dances were splendid, with teams of children playing the Munchkins to a pre-recorded sound track. Amanda Barrie was a hissable Wicked Witch of the West. Debbie Chapman, who played Dorothy, is a talented singer, whose flexible, expressive voice is capable of both tender nuance and belt-it-out power. She was clearly not in any need of amplification, which brings us to the bad news. Why, in a perfectly functioning proper theatre, was it necessary to mike up all the performers and connect them to a sound system that was turned up FAR TOO LOUD? It was quite overpowering - I know some people complained about it - and totally unnecessary, as countless productions have been successfully staged in this theatre without it. And also, why were all the performances simply copies of the ones we all know and love from the great 1939 film version? This must have been a conscious decision on the part of the director and producer. This Dorothy imitated Judy Garland's to perfection, the Cowardly Lion was a most talented rip-off of Bert Lahr's, and every strangely accented tone of Glinda the Good Witch of the North was rendered identically to Billie Burke's. The only distinction that could be made was when some of the British performers were not quite up to snuff with their American accents. It was perhaps unfortunate for them that the movie was on TV the day before the press viewing, thus enabling us to make very close, and not very favourable, comparisons between the originals and their copies. Surely when you are putting on a stage production you have the chance to do things differently from the movie - as with the fantastically creative, exciting stage version of The Lion King? To slavishly imitate the movie, however diligently, seems kind of lazy and sloppy, and rather a fraud on the paying audience, who could have stayed home and watched the video for much less money.
I absolutely loved this production! All the hard work put into working out every detail seemed quite evident to me. I find it impossible to call this show "tacky" and it is most certaintly not cheap! In fact it must have cost a fortune with all the effects for the Wizard and twister, not to mention the flying. I'm glad they stuck to the film, (my children would have been very disappointed if not!), after all, you can't better it! The only way the theatre can compete today is the fact that it is live! After all, what is better, watching someone on television or in concert? there's no difference here! Well done to all involved, it truly was fantastic and well worth every penny!
Don't expect too much or pay too much and you'll be happy.

The show doesn't quite live up to it's title of "Oxford's Most Magical Christmas Show" - I have seen better.

It certainly isn't a polished pantomime nor is it a masterpiece in musical extravaganza. Amanda Barrie is relatively impressive as the Wicked Witch but quite frankly for all the wrong reasons - she is by far the star of the show.

All hail to Dorothy Gale and her three other friendly companions who somehow manage to hold this show together. This show is not a definite miss but it is far from one I would recommened as a definite "yes". Go and judge for yourselves fellow Ozians...
This production of The Wizard of Oz was a joy to watch for young and old alike.
The attention to detail was superb and the effects, brilliant.The twister scene from Kansas to Oz was so realistic, I could almost feel the wind blowing.
Beautifully directed by David Fleeshman, the actors give terrific performances. Debbie Chapman as Dorothy, with the voice of an angel is quite stunning.
This production should not be missed.
Wizard of Oz is a classical story and this production has kept it to timing that works for all age of audience, good sets, good actors and some great kids from 2 local dance schools doing a great job with some lovely colourful scenes.

Kids and parents alike come away singing the songs from the production having had a good time, talking about it and humming along to the tunes for days.
This was a great piece of family entertainment with a good cast. Dorothy and the witch played their parts well and the Lion, Tinman & Scarecrow were extremely good. I noticed the tin man dolls were selling well after the performance.Perhaps this is a reflection on the performance and likeability by the children? Yeah there were a few minor technical problems but this didn't detract from the great performance. Well done New Theatre.
I think people have forgotton what is expected of a good old-fashioned Christmas show! Well, this may not be the most visually amazing production ever but it certainly is entertaining. Perfect for the kids and grown-ups to relax and have a couple of hours of fun. Everyone seemed to love it when I was there and the kids really were enthralled by it. Songs, bright colours and costumes, some classic panto lines and big warmth and happiness when you leave. Isn't that what a Christmas show should do? I recommend this one to anyone with children and anyone without! Enjoy.
I really enjoyed the show - I thought it was fantastic and the cast were excellent.

My 6yr old certainly enjoyed it, and is still humming the tunes to this day!

Well worth seeing.
This production is cheap, tacky and nasty. Conspicuously under-rehearsed, woefully directed, with a chorus of no more than 20 "dancers" from the local dancing school - who couldn't even march across the stage in single file in step. The Munchkins were clicktracked in their entirety - dire. No orchestra, but a pre-recorded soundtrack which sounded like it had been produced on a Hitachi Home Organ in someone's back bedroom. The three farmhands wear what are quiet obviously their own clothes in fact, the vast majority of costumes - particularly those of the Emerald City citizens - looked home made. Glinda could neither hold an American accent nor act convincingly. And "star" Amanda Barrie could neither be bothered to ride her bicycle in Act One nor put any Witch makeup on in Act Two (although she did have some on in Act One - perhaps she was in a hurry to get home that evening). Far too many scenes were played out in front of plain white cyc lights.

Adult tickets for this were £16.50 - and these were far from the most expensive.

Certainly one to avoid. Going to see "The Wizard of Oz" should be magical. But I've had more magical haemorrrhoid surgery.
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