TheWizard of Oz

Well, congratulations to Ryan and his team for a great show! One can only imagine the amount of work that went into getting this production to performance stage, with the enormous cast, costumes, sets, etc. I know with such a large cast that someone is waiting eagerly to see what people thought of it, so I thought I would post some of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the production. The overall look of the production was fantastic and it kept so closely to the Judy Garland movie, right down to many of the characterisations such as the cowardly lion, tinman, scarecrow and even the palace guard who could have walked right off the screen! The standard of costumes was very high as usual, however I felt there were some things that could have been improved such as some of the emerald city hats which appeared to be made from green cardboard, or not covered properly. I liked the simple transformation of the poppies into being covered in snow, and thought the simplicity of the jitterbugs was great. The costumes of all of the main characters were excellent and particularly liked the lion and scarecrow costumes. One drawback however, was the metal suit which the tinman wore which had a prominent "Don't Walk" sign showing through underneath the paint. The singing and performances were of a very high standard and I thought Stacey Duckworth made a delightful Dorothy with her sparkling eyes and beautiful stage presence, her voice was very good, although I felt at times she pushed her voice a little too much which resulted in some sharpness which was painful on the ears. With the excellent personal miking I don't think it was necessary for her to push for extra volume. All of the children were delightful and performed well, as did the excellent chorus. The trees were a hoot, and the crows were my special favourites, adding a few cheeky moments to the show! My absolute favourite however, was Trevor Patient who was the cowardly lion, giving the best performance I have seen of this character. He was very faithful to the original lion in the movie and created a very memorable performance, which will no doubt have the audience talking for some time! Congratulations Trevor. This was a very good evening's entertainment and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a fun, entertaining night out. There are still some seats available for many performances apart from the matinees which are fully booked, but don't leave it to the last minute or you might miss out, so grab your kids and the Grandparents and take them to see this enjoyable performance. I think Ryan did a great job for his first show and took on a huge challenge! Well done Ryan, cast and crew and Wanneroo Rep! (I am not associated with this show in any way)