The Wizard of Oz
★★★☆☆ Ambitious
Church Hill Theatre: Wed 3 – Sat 6 Sept 2025
Review by Hugh Simpson
There are some tremendous performances from the young cast in LYAMC’s The Wizard of Oz, at the Church Hill until Saturday. Much of the production is very impressive, with only some uneven staging letting it down.
This is the stage adaptation originally done by John Kane for the RSC in 1987. It stays remarkably faithful to the 1939 MGM film, which has been cited as the most influential piece of cinema ever made and surely needs no introduction. Which means that all of the songs from the original (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Yip Harburg) are present and correct, as well as Herbert Stothart’s background music.
Lillie Paul with Milo. Pic: Ric Brannan Photography.
That so many people will be so familiar with the narrative is a great advantage, as this production, with its bells-and-whistles approach, is not as strong on the storytelling as it might be. The use of recorded music leads to some awkward transitions, and there is the odd unsure onstage moment.
The performers, however, are very impressive indeed overall. This adaptation gives more weight to the chorus than some of the (many) other versions, which can only be a good thing when you have a huge (some 50 strong) ensemble, tremendously well-drilled by choreographer Jemma Crawford and musical director Carole Gibson.
an astonishing feat
In particular, The Jitterbug (a number cut from the original movie and restored here) is an astonishing feat of terpsichorean logistics with an almost absurdly packed stage and beautifully cohesive dancing.
Members of the Munchkin Chorus. Pic: Ric Brannan Photography.
Elsewhere, the ambition of artistic director Malcy J Burnett leads to the odd slip-up. The use of projection as scenery might save time in scene-shifting but can be overdone. It also leads to confusing moments such as when Dorothy spies the Emerald City, despite its huge projection having been just behind her for the last ten minutes (and apparently in the direction they have just come from).
Similarly, Burnett’s sound design is not always ideal. There are problems with balance, constant pops and crackles, and delays in mic-switching which means that on occasion, some cast members’ featured lines of dialogue or singing are almost completely lost.
seizes every opportunity
As many previous productions have discovered to their cost, you cannot always predict what a live animal is going to do during a performance. Milo (the dog playing Toto) is only on stage for a small proportion of the production, but certainly seizes every opportunity to upstage the humans in terms of movement and volume.
Sean Tomassi, Lillie Paul, Lewis Boyd and Ryan Guthrie. Pic: Ric Brannan Photography.
Lillie Paul, whose Dorothy has presence and a tremendous voice, does brilliantly well to keep going throughout Over The Rainbow in the face of constant barking and leaping from her canine co-star, but what should be the production’s most poignant moment is badly affected as a result.
Paul is well backed up by Sean Tomassi (the Scarecrow), Lewis Boyd (the Tinman) and Ryan Guthrie (the Lion), with their various featured numbers (If I Only Had a Brain/Heart/the Nerve and We’re Off To See The Wizard) very strong indeed.
similar yet subtly different
Tomassi has an impressive comic dexterity, while Guthrie’s performance has real charm. Boyd gives the Tinman the necessary stiff-legged dignity (and is not the first to discover that the make-up and costume the character requires are not necessarily conducive to quick changes).
Something the production does very well is present performers (such as those three) who appear in both the Kansas and the Oz scenes, ensuring their two characters are similar yet subtly different.
Ellis Brannan and Zofia Luczak with members of the cast. Pic: Ric Brannan Photography.
Ellis Brannan’s Wicked Witch is played with evil relish, while Zofia Luczak’s Good Witch has a nobility. Callum Burnett’s Wizard is well-judged, while Daniel Quinn’s Uncle Henry is the model of decency. Anna Purnell’s gatekeeper is a beautifully played comic cameo.
The other cast members all do well in their various featured moments (although, as previously mentioned, sound glitches do affect some). Overall, the performances are very fine, and only excusable over-ambition prevents the production from having even more impact.
Running time: Two hours and 20 minutes including one interval.
Church Hill Theatre, 33 Morningside Rd, EH10 4DR.
Wednesday 3 – Saturday 6 September 2025.
Evenings at 7.30 pm; Matinee Sat 2.30 pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
LYAMC Website: www.lyamc.com
Facebook: @lyamc
Instagram: @lydreamers
ENDS
