Wizard
Wizard of Oz
Milton Keynes Theatre
(Review Complete)
"An absolute Wizard of a show”!
What a wonderful, “Wizard” show at Milton Keynes last night! This is the production from the West End and is very much based on the 1939 Hollywood film with Judy Garland.
The set was also extremely effective with individual items coming on and off and wonderful back projection that absolutely drew the audience into the action! The cast were excellent too! Aviva Tully was a super, feisty Dorothy with a fantastic voice. The Scarecrow/Hunk, Tin Man/Hickory and Cowardly Lion/Zeke were played by Benjamin Yates, Femi Akinfolarin and Nic Greenshields respectively.
They worked really well together with Nic as the lion towering over the other two. Emily Bull was a lovely Glinda/Aunt Em. She has a lovely voice and sang one of the new Lloyd Webber songs beautifully.
Miss Gulch/The Wicked Witch of the West is probably the most memorable character in the show and was brilliantly played by Craig Revel Horwood of Strictly fame. I have seen Craig in pantomime playing the Dame but this performance was far from pantomime! He was a nasty Miss Gulch and a truly evil Wicked Witch! He is also a fabulous singer which people may not know!
I asked the young 8 year old who was with me which character he liked best and without hesitation he said Toto! I have to say I agreed with him! Abigail Matthews was the puppeteer who brought Toto to life! She turned him into a real dog! He jumped around, followed Dorothy everywhere, wagged his tale and sniffed new situations just like a real dog! We both very quickly forgot that he was a puppet!
All the ensemble work was dynamic and slick, however the one small gripe was the volume. It was extremely loud and I saw some of the younger children in the audience with their fingers in their ears during the loudest bits.
I think this is a superb version of The Wizard of Oz! It’s on all this week at Milton Keynes so get a ticket if you can. It will then continue it’s UK tour.
You will be in for a great evening!
Reviewers: Julia Rufey and her Grandson Jack
We are Gifted tickets so that in return we may give an honest review. All comments are those of the reviewer and theirs alone.