See: Red Shoes Blues
Story by L. Frank Baum; Music by Harold Arlen, E. Y. Harburg, Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice; Directed by Jeremy Sams;
Danielle Hope (Dorothy); Michael Crawford (The Wizard of Oz/Professor Marvel); Hannah Wadingham (The Witch of the West/ Miss Gulch); Paul Keating (Scarecrow/Hunk); Edward Baker-Duly (Tin Man/Hickory); David Ganly (Lion/Zeke); Emily Tierney (Glinda); Helen Walsh (Aunt Em/Munchkin Barrister); Stephen Scott (Uncle Henry);
I was fortunate enough to get to the last preview of the show - tomorrow, March 1 is the big opening. The Wizard of Oz runs at the London Palladium - one of the biggest West End theatres and it's an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical - on paper it simply cannot get any better than this. It's big and loud and colourful and grandiose and it's got lasers and fireworks and revolving stages and it's got Michael Crawford. It's the first time I've ever seen a British audience really enthusiastic about something - Danielle Hope just made everybody go through the roof. And the Wicked Witch of the West was totally wicked - my absolute favourite part.
The Wizard of Oz has some strong roots in the British culture. I read Frank Baum's novel when I was 7 and I remember enjoying it a lot, particularly for the big colourful illustrations. But I think it's more than children literature - it's a tale about home and homecoming, a story about enjoying simple things in life and being able to see beauty everywhere around you rather than looking for unique wonders.
Now down to serious business - I cannot refrain from mentioning Ritchie Blackmore's version of Over the Rainbow that he used to play as a prelude to Rainbow concerts. Toto, I feel we're not in Kansas anymore... We must be over the Rainbow... and then the wizard's Stratocaster would descend into some Kill the King or Man on the Silver Mountain riffs. I'm going to stop here before Ronnie James Dio nostalgia gets hold of me.
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