‘The Wizard of Oz – Youth Edition’ // Stage School Australia
‘The Wizard of Oz’ was faithful.
The sea of green that has descended on Brisbane for the return of ‘Wicked’ to QPAC has also washed over the Draney Theatre at Ashgrove for Stage School Australia’s inaugural Brisbane production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’.
Stage School Australia has been around for forty years, producing theatre in Melbourne and providing training for young artists in both Melbourne and Brisbane. They have classes for students of all ages in various locations. ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was a solid choice for their first production in Brisbane.
The story of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is so well-known that it needs no introduction. L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s novel, ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ was adapted into the 1939 American Musical Fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer. This film is the classic version that audiences have embraced and loved throughout the years. While there are a few different musical versions available for licensing, the 70-minute Youth edition, licensed through Origin Theatricals, and performed by Stage School Australia, retained all the well-known songs and plot-points of the film version.
In many ways, this production felt like the film version was placed straight onto the stage. The opening scenes of the show set in Kansas were all realised in tones of black, white and grey as though they were lifted directly from the film. Dorothy’s iconic checked dress was a black and white gingham fabric and the set pieces, projections etc were all united in their greyscale tones. The tornado scene included all the flying objects seen in the film, including an actor dressed as a cow which provided humour. The large screen displayed the moving vortex and funnel of the tornado, while the actors used movement and pace to indicate the severity of the storm. Once in Oz, the lighting changed to pink as the colourful munchkins emerged, with Dorothy’s dress also transforming to the blue and white traditional gingham pinafore.
Eden Vaka was perfectly cast in the lead role as ‘Dorothy’. She had impressive vocal ability and had beautiful vibrato on the high notes in her rendition of ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’. Her reactions and facial expressions to the dramatic action on stage, made the audience feel for her character in the high moments of tension. Vaka’s vocals and physicality made the character of Dorothy her own, retaining the innocence and kindness that Judy Garland portrayed 85 years ago.
The other lead actors were vocally solid, and their movements were strongly aligned with their character traits. Jake Stubbs cartwheeled and flopped about as the loveable Scarecrow, Scott Matthews maneuvered himself about robotically as the forlorn Tinman in need of a heart, and Charlie Kelly-Mandalis fought then retreated with false bravado as the Cowardly Lion. Scarlett Small played the magic role of ‘Glinda’. Her graceful entrances, poise and composure made for an elegant Glinda. Small played the character imitating the distinctive voice of Billie Burke from the 1939 musical film and was consistent in her delivery. This choice was synonymous with many other facets of the production in its replica of the film.
The humour in the show rested with Tiger Robinson in his multiple roles as Professor Marvel, Gate Keeper, The Wizard and the Munchkin Mayor. Robinson had impeccable timing and engaging expressions. His wide-eyes and clear articulation held the audience captive on every appearance. Likewise, Oliver Macready provided the audience with some well-timed laughs as Toto. His scooby-doo-esque voice and miming was playful and entertaining.
The production made the most of the technical elements including a bubble machine for the magic of Glinda, coloured smoke for entry of the Wicked Witch and snap blackouts that were effectively timed. The screen saturated the stage with colour to create stunning visual pictures. The heavily embellished costumed were extravagant and vibrant and truly incredible in their construction.
The choreography for the show was energetic and tight. The ensemble’s use of canons and synchronized sharp arm movements was effective. The majority of the young cast members were animated and enjoying themselves on stage, which always makes for a delightful performance.
Musically, the large ensemble numbers were delivered with volume and conviction by the cast. The musical direction focused on the execution of the melody rather than adding dynamics or harmonies. It was refreshing to see teen actors bravely modulating their voices to create different vocal tones for the munchkins and winged monkeys. Shoutout to Gracie Ollerenshaw in the role of lead monkey, Nikko, who upheld her character and the strenuous physicality for the duration of her stage time.
This performance was slick, well-paced and engaging and the audience were enthusiastic and encouraging throughout. Overall, the production remained extremely faithful to the original, closely mirroring the film without introducing many new creative elements. It is always a delight to see family entertainment of a high standard and this production oozed quality and extravagance in its design elements.
‘The Wizard of Oz’ performs until 28th September at the Draney Theatre, Ashgrove Brisbane. For more information visit their website.
