Primary Times Children's Choice Awards review of The Wizard of Oz

 

Our Primary Times' review:

 

A new, green message for a well-loved tale. The Wizard of Oz delights with a mix of song, dance and drama based on the original story by L Frank Baum. The young stars put their all into the performance, and look to be having the time of their lives. All our favourite characters are there, with chorus members taking on more than one role in the very active ground level stage where characters enter and exit from all 4 sides.

Both my girls really enjoyed this as it made them feel like part of the action! The backdrop is a huge map of Oz and we get to see the legs and ruby slippers of the wicked witch of the east sticking out from under them at the start. For younger children the appearance of the wicked witch of the west and the winged monkeys might be a bit scary as could the voice of Oz which booms out of the speakers.

Music helps our journey through the tale, though different from that of the movie. Hailey aged 10 liked that they used the same song "Just One Road" to connect Dorothy meeting her new friends. Rachel aged 10 loved the costumes and the facial expressions of the cast. Throughout the tale there is a strong message/pun about being 'green' - not emerald like the city but sustainability and recycling, and each child gets given a 'green' card by the cast during the show. All the cast look like they are having just as much fun as the audience, and the Scarecrow is particularly good. In fact, you can meet all the cast outside for a chat or pictures which was lovely for the kids in the audience.

The wizard of Oz is an old tale, but my two 10 year olds were delighted that the cast managed to get meaningful, modern day green message into a much loved classic.

 

Our young reviewers say:

 

Hailey, aged 10, said: "it's a magical tale with a good green message" 

Rachel, aged 10 said "it's a must see for me!"

 

 

Reviewed on 5th August 2019

 

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