PANTOMIME REVIEW: The Wizard Of Oz - The Theatre Royal, St. Helens.

Panto in February? 'Oh NO its NOT' surely? Well let me tell you 'Oh YES it IS!'  And what a treat it is to see another fantastic production from Regal Entertainments at St Helens Theatre Royal. Performed by an amazing cast to a packed theatre, there is over two hours of fun and laughter throughout with plenty of audience interaction to the delight of the children and the much older 'children' accompanying them! 

So here I am, an adult with my plus one, no kids with us and slightly worried that maybe I should have enlisted a child instead of my husband to get a kids perspective of the show. Who knew I was sitting next to the biggest kid of all?

With puns and innuendoes that sailed over the heads of the youngsters but delighted the adults, the Wizard Of Oz is a  Perfect, Amazing, Nutty, Terrific, Oh not to be missed, value for money, entertaining delight you really need to get to see.

There will be few who do not know of Dorothy and her quest to get back to Kansas after a storm, the Scarecrow desperate for a brain, the Tinman in need of a heart and the cowardly Lion wanting to find  courage. The four meet up and follow the yellow brick road, hopeful to meet the Wizard who it is thought will be able to help them all. The wonderful cast bring the story to life. Dorothy, fabulously performed by Maddy Hope Coelho, is accompanied for most of the show by her dog, adorable scene stealer Toto, and arguably the best behaved performer on the stage! (not sure if this was Buddy or Bindi but suspect it was Benny today if the photo is in name order on the programme, they share the role) He was totally unfazed by the pyrotechnics, music and dancing surrounding him.

Dorothy gave a captivating rendition of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' and her performance throughout was enchanting.

No panto would be complete without a baddie and this is no exception with the Wicked Witch played evilly and with a fantastic cackle by Bethany Grace, who received the biggest boos and hisses with her every appearance. Her opposite number is Glinda the good witch with Hayley Russell playing the part to a tee especially with her American drawl.

What can be said about Reece Sibbald as scarecrow? Just be prepared for side-splitting laughs at his hilarious antics! The Tinman, played by Adam Melville, is brought to life with a drop of oil and he acts his role superbly even with the occasional risqué innuendoes expected in panto and received with great laughter. The loveable Lion from Michael Alan-Bailey is another perfect-for-the-role performer with his cowering scaredy-cat behaviour. The Wizard of Oz lives up to his name, wonderful at least by Warren Donnelly.

The dancers, choreographed by Nazene Langfield are a delight to watch as they perform in many scenes as Munchkins, nymphs and creatures with fabulous colourful costumes courtesy of Regal Entertainments Ltd.  Of course the success of a show is not just the performers but the behind-the-scenes creative department who also deserve an accolade for their contributions to the production.

Three youngsters are winners of the golden ticket found in some programmes and are invited to the stage to meet Scarecrow and help him with the well known song 'Old MacDonald Had A Farm' with  one child is a star-in-the-making with a very confident 5 year old Darcy taking the limelight.  

'The Wizard Of Oz' is only running until 19th February with some days having three performances with selected morning shows having a 40% reduction in ticket price so get on your red shoes and follow the yellow brick road to the Theatre Royal where you will be guaranteed to have a MARVELous time with lots of surprises (you'll understand the marvel link when you see it!)

Reviewer - Lorna Weekes
on - 15.2.23