Wizard of Oz at the St Helens Theatre Royal Review
Wizard of Oz
Theatre Royal, St. Helens
22-30 October 2016
Reviewed by Melanie Allen
St Helens Theatre Royal is a friendly, 700 seater two–tier theatre and tonight was the opening night of Regal Entertainment’s autumn production of the Wizard of Oz which me and my two children had the pleasure of attending. We have been to this local theatre a few times before so knew to that parking in Birchley Street would only be a few minutes walk away, and free after 3pm on a Saturday.
The auditorium was buzzing with excited children and their parents. After a little mix up with our seats (someone thought we were sat in their seats when their seats were the same seats but in the circle), we settled down to watch the wizardly wonderful treat. The first scene is set in Kansas, where we are introduced to the 7 characters of the show (who double up on parts). Hickory (Liam Mellor who is also the Scarecrow), Dickory (Phillip McGuinness who is also the Tinman) and Doc (Simon Foster who is also the cowardly lion) are looking for Dorothy (Charlotte Gallagher) and her dog Toto (Buddy), as their neighbour Miss Windybottom (Cheryl Ferguson who is also Eva the Witch) has demanded that the dog be taken to the Sheriff by the end of the day as the dog has bitten her. Aunty Em (Claire Simmo who also plays Glinda) tells the boys that if they find Dorothy, they should let her know. The weather takes a turn for the worst and there is a tornado and the house is transported to Oz, where Dorothy discovers that the house has landed on the Wicked Witch and killed her. The sparkle children dancers taking part on stage are fantastic. They are constantly smiling and their bright and colourful costumes really add value to the set. There are some really young ones who are so brave for going onto a stage of that size and their parents deserve to be really proud of their performance.
The show then transforms into a pantomime and the audience become part of the show. There are many witty puns and double entendres relating to Eastenders and current affairs which helps to make the audience feel even more involved. The children love screaming ‘he’s behind you’ and ‘oh no he isn’t ‘. The blue monkey who works for Eva could be quite scary though for some young children. Phillip McGuiness does an excellent robotic peter crouch style dance which earned some well-deserved cheers from the audience. I loved the part where the Tin man, Scarecrow and Lion dress up as Marvel Superheroes to rescue Dorothy after she had been put in jail by Eva.
The funniest part of the show has to be where they are singing the song ‘If I was a ……’ and they have to keep changing places and costumes. The cowardly lion fell over trying to do this and tripped on his tutu which had me crying with laughter. There were a few adlib moments too which made the show even more hilarious. Although not a natural singer, Cheryl Ferguson was outstanding as the resident ‘baddy’. Charlotte Gallagher’s Dorothy voice was so like Judy Garland’s and her acting was akin to watching the original film. Toto was very well behaved and although this was his first appearance on stage, he was a natural. My son is now following him on Instagram.
I loved it at the end when 2 children from the audience went on stage to sing, and one of them turned out to be the son of the hunky Milk Tray man (Patrick McBride) who also went up on stage with him. Word of warning – if you sit in the front few rows, you will get wet!
All in all, a fantastic and entertaining family production, suitable for all ages. It’s a slight deviation from the plot in the film, but it works well. My kids loved it so much, they said they wanted to see it again! They can’t wait for the Christmas pantomime (Aladdin). Take your little cherubs for a half term treat, you won’t be disappointed.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £10 to £42
The Wizard of Oz is at the St Helens Theatre Royal until 30 October 2016. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01744 756000.
St. Helens Theatre Royal, Corporation Street, St.Helens, Merseyside, WA10 1LQ
