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| Cast | |
| Aunt Em | Laura June Barnes |
| Toto | Shy |
| Dorothy | Charlotte Jacobs |
| Tornado | Jenny McCarthy, Alison Henderson, Hannah Jacobs, Sam Stevens |
| Munchkins | Desni Hanford, Marian Harper, Eleanor McEnery, Tierney Smith, Annette Tranter |
| Adderperle | Sarah Hills |
| Yellow Brick Road | Jenny McCarthy, Allison Henderson, Hannah Jacobs, Sam Stevens |
| Scarecrow | Linda Gay |
| Crows, Kalidahs, Mice Squad | Ben Cowen, Tony Weller, Andrew Kelly |
| Tin Man | David Oatley |
| Lion | Chris Manning-Perry |
| Poppies | Jenny McCarthy, Allison Henderson, Hannah Jacobs, Sam Stevens |
| Gatekeeper | Desni Hanford |
| Emerald City Citizens | Marian Harper, Eleanor McEnery, Tierney Smith, Annette Tranter |
| The Wiz | Keith Harper |
| Winkies | Ben Cowan, Desni Hanford, Marian Harper, Eleanor McEnery, Tierney Smith, Annette Tranter, Tony Weller |
| Lord High Underling | Andrew Kelly |
| Evillene | Helen Bezer |
| Messenger | Eleanor McEnery |
| Head Winged Monkey | Hannah Jacobs |
| Glinda | Aysev Ismail |
| Crew | |
| Stage Manager | Helen Bezer |
| Director's PA | Sarah Hills |
| MD / Keyboards | Richard Andrews |
| Electric Guitar | Roger Mainwaring-Burton |
| Bass Guitar | George Evans |
| Drums | Tom Turner |
| Choreographer | Jenny McCarthy |
| Vocal Coach - Pit Singers | Laura June Barnes |
| Vocal Coach - Principles | Wendy Marsh |
| Pit Singers | Roz Betts, Liz Gillett, Laura June Barnes, Sarah Hills, Keith Harper, Marian Harper |
| Set Design | Wendy Marsh |
| Set Construction | John Vinnels, Peter Smith, Ron Andrews |
| Set Painting | Wendy Marsh, Chris Manning-Perry, Charlotte Jacobs, Nathan Aspell, Hannah Jacobs, Allison Henderson, Annette Tranter |
| Costumes & Properties | Wendy Marsh |
| Lighting Design & Rig | Jerry McKeon, Christine McKeon, Colin Hill, Nathan Aspell, Charlotte Jacobs, Jack Moore |
| Lighting Operation | Jerry McKeon, Jenny Devonshire, Nathan Aspell |
| Sound | David Murray, David Shields |
| Backstage | Colin Rayment, Adam Wilson, Paul Freun, Jack Moore, Wendy Marsh |
Special thanks to Andy Godfrey for the wonderful artwork, Eleanor McEnery for 'Spider' mark 2, Marnic plc for material and Charlotte and nathan for the wonderful Wiz mask. Also to John Vinnels, Peter Smith and Ron Andrews for going beyond the call of duty, Chris and Jerry McKeon for all their hard work with the fantastic lighting, and Jenny Devonshire and the heavy mob for helping to make space.
Review
It's all white on the night for Dorothy
Award-winning Broadway musical The Wiz was performed for the first time in 1975 and, after a stuttering start, became a very big hit, writes Roy Atterbury. This is surprising, because when I went to see the production at the Edward Alderton Theatre (EAT) in Bexleyheath last week, the show was completely new to me.
I suspected from its title that it was something to do with The Wizard of Oz and, sure enough, a young girl called Dorothy and her dog Toto are swept to Oz by a typhoon where she meets witches, the Munchkins, a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Cowardly Lion. They set off down a yellow brick road to find the great Wiz in the hope that he can sort out their problems. However, The Wiz has original music and lyrics by Charlie Small and a book by William F Brown that was written for an African-American cast that originally included Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the scarecrow. The land of Oz became a tough, urban area in a city like New York - complete with drugs, a savage gang culture, and a lot of unhappy people. And it had a message for its audiences.
Much can happen over a period of more than thirty years, although I am not at all sure what has happened to The Wiz. The EAT production had a white cast, was set in a land that looked very much like the original Oz, and was staged with some colourful scenery, delightful costumes and, other than the music, did not appear too different to L Frank Baum's original masterpiece. Yet even without any guidance from the programme, parts of the show were unsettling - for example, the lion began to drift off into a trance while standing in a field of poppies and was arrested by the Mice Squad (read 'V for 'M'.). But the theme of the show is encapsulated by one song called If you Believe in Yourself, suggesting, I suppose, that self-belief can actually help to overcome almost any problem or achieve any aim.
With twelve principals and around twenty other characters, dancers, and singers, director Wendy Marsh created a few minor miracles on her creativity on the small stage with the help of choreographer Jenny McCarthy. Her task was made easier by the fact that Dorothy (a very talented Charlotte Jacobs), the Scarecrow (a bubbly Linda Gay), the Lion (Chris Manning-Perry), and the Tin Man (David Oatley) were all perfect for their parts and Keith Harper excelled as The Wiz.
The dancing, singing, and Richard Andrews' band were generally good but some background notes on the show would have been a big help and, unfortunately, unexpected backstage problems on the second night caused overlong delays in the set changes.
Roy Atterbury
Kentish Times | 27 July 2006
