Music by Harold Arlen

Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg

Additional Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice

Adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams

Directed by Nikolai Foster

Tickets from £20.00

For those who thought the Edinburgh Playhouse’s fascination with the colour green had left with the departing for the smash-hit Wicked, they could not be more wrong – and this time, the whole rainbow comes along for the ride in The Wizard of Oz, continuing a successful and popular tour following a Westend stint.

For the uninitiated (and yes, everyone has a first visit to Oz), the enchanting tale of a young woman whisked from her farm life in the bland monochrome world of Kansas and flung into a land of colour and fantastical creatures and magic has mesmerised readers since L. Frank Baum’s original text, specifically for this incarnation, is the cinematic gem of MGM Studios’ 1939 film starring Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton. In a tale where the journey is quite literally the main event, Dorothy Gale (with her little dog Toto in toe) encounters her newfound friends in Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion and ventures forth to visit the wonderful Wizard of Oz in the hope he can bestow gifts upon them and grant Dorothy a way back to Kansas.

Leading us down the yellow brick road is Aviva Tulley who has a firm grasp of the reins as Dorothy, vulnerable but with a nerve and strong presence. Delivering tender renditions of Lloyd Webber and Rice’s new songs (Nobody Understands Me), and of course, Arlen and Hrburg’s originals like Over the Rainbow, with enough personal stamp to avoid being too like Garland’s performance. There is an amalgam of capturing the old with a newer dynamic with the rest of the cast, save for Nic Greenshields’ Cowardly Lion who makes a firm impact as the King of the Forest without the noi’rve to fight onwards. Marley Fenton’s Tin Man benefits from the choreography and robotic movements but also plays more into the ‘brawler’ of the trio, and the first one ready to get involved in the action. While Benjamin Yates’ no-brained Scarecrow demonstrates some finely tuned humour in the role and is the closest we get to the fourth wall breaks outside of Greenshield’s cheesy, if laughter-inducing “friend of Dorothy” line.

Fitting into their roles perfectly, though not used to a full enough extent, firm crowd favourite Gary Wilmot returns to Edinburgh to spread that musical theatre showbiz attitude as the Wizard of Oz and Professor Marvel with charming efficiency. And crashing into the Wizard of Oz through the set of Barbie, Emily Bull’s scooter-riding Glinda is as chipper as can be wielding their glittering remote wand, pushing the show forward at a brisk pace. They’re often at their best when paired with a co-star, such as Ru Paul’s Drag Race Winner The Vivienne, who does what any Queen does best: leave them wanting more. Departing the stage in an infamous scene, one staged effectively with plenty of additional stage technique, their performance as the Wicked Witch of the West is unashamedly revelling in wickedness and crimson lippy. Enjoying some of the show’s better use of the pyrotechnics, their upgraded broom is wielded as a weapon and extension of their performance to terrific effect. But this element of the audience ‘wanting more’ speaks to the production’s shortcomings in how everything is enjoyable, but not resoundingly memorable or heartfelt.

It’s a technically heavy production in its projections, which slots into Adam Fisher’s synthesised sound design that compliments elements of Lloyd Webber’s additional music and Rice’s lyrics (the Wizard’s new number Bring Me the Broomstick springs to mind). Though the continued use of large-scale video backdrops comes with the reservations and lacking pizzazz which physical set dressing and design can bring, it makes space on the stage for the gallant energy through Shay Barclay’s choreography. Much thought and creativity goes into the show’s movement – both in Barclay’s choreography and the shifting yellow-brick road of Colin Richmond’s bright, if heavily under-utilised set design.

It crafts a tightly paced production which squeaks in at just over a two-hour runtime: impressive but showcases drawbacks. The sharpness in the pacing causes a different area of concern and while The Wizard of Oz takes plenty of courage in moving into new angles of expression, with an idea-laden brain full of possibilities and visual styles, it is missing that final element: heart. There are sparks in the performer’s chemistry, especially with leading, but in the whistle-stop tour of in-jokes, references, and bright glittering effects, the show loses a spot of that technicolour magic along the yellow brick road. Entertainment is aplomb though, for a production which pushes style and movement over sincerity.

It’s hard to be subtle with The Wizard of Oz, so the team go in an entirely different direction with their puns, design work, and theming around the Depression and the rise of big business surrounding the farmland and the impact it has. Quick-paced with puddles of neon colour and effects – this touring show may not always capture the grandeur of the West End revival, but it certainly embraces the aesthetic of something different and mildly ‘Vegas-like’. With courage, brains, and a fair attempt at the heart, The Wizard of Oz sets audiences down the Yellow Brick Road once more – this time with a different spring in their Ruby Slippers.

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