Musical: The Wizard of Oz
Leeds Playhouse (0113-213 7700). Until 25 January Running time: 2hrs 50mins ★★★★★
You’d expect the refurbished and rechristened Leeds Playhouse’s first Christmas show to be pretty spectacular, said Paul Jeeves in the Daily Express. And artistic director James Brining has indeed thrown everything at this “romping, stomping” production of The
Wizard of Oz, in a bid to tempt a whole new audience into his theatre. It has gymnasts, sensational set-piece dance routines, innovative lighting and special effects, a brilliant 11-piece band, big screen projections, flying monkeys – and not a single weak link anywhere. It all adds up to a “breathtaking piece of theatrical magic” that will win over a new generation to a well-loved classic.
Oozing “visual flair”, this “thrilling staging” begins in the “sandy sepia” of Kansas, with “colour drained and dimensions squashed”, said Mark Fisher in The Guardian. Then stunning video projections and lighting conjure up a “tornado that’s all swirling scratches and flying debris, complete with spinning aerialists”; we’re then transported to a “magically amorphous yellow brick road”, and a sparklingly emerald Emerald City. It’s more than a visual delight, though: on the night I saw it, the show was beautifully anchored by Agatha Meehan’s performance (in an alternating role) as Dorothy. Without a hint of “stage-school affectation”, she “sings with truth and directness”, her focus
“never less than intense”. It’s a tremendous achievement.
I saw a performance featuring the other Dorothy, Lucy Sherman, said Ron Simpson on What’s On Stage – and am happy to report that she too is “outstanding”: spirited, fresh and natural, with a singing voice that, in the wonderful Over the
Rainbow, will “melt audience hearts”. Elsewhere, Polly Lister excels as both Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch – “unpleasantly human as the former, and mixing scenerychewing with dry wit as the latter”. Meanwhile, Marcus Ayton (Lion), Eleanor Sutton (Scarecrow) and Sam Harrison (Tinman) all convince and entertain as Dorothy’s companions, with Ayton delivering a “virtuoso” If I Were King of the Forest.
The whole evening is a treat.