The Wizard of Oz (@CarouselTheatre) Guest review by @DianneChow

If you fertilize the imagination of a child, you preserve the innocence of childhood and purity of the soul which allows the child to believe in the wonderment in small miracles instead of dwelling on unexpected disappointments that life will bring. Imagination is the fabric of life upon which we weave our hopes and dreams and to lose that is to lose our soul.

When I was invited to guest blog the Carousel Theatre production of the WIZARD OF OZ for Hummingbird604, I really didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did because well, truthfully at my age I have seen the original movie with Judy Garland and all it’s various remakes, so my only thought was “Golly, gee I hope I don’t snore too loud!”

There is nothing that compares to live theatre when it is executed flawlessly from casting the perfect actors for each role, setting the stage, engaging dialogue and authenticity of costumes. I found myself being captivated by the youthful charm of Dorothy (ROBYN WALLIS – Hairspray) whose naïve demeanour and shrill-pitched voice made us forget that in reality, Robyn Wallis is years above the fictional Dorothy’s age.

From the menacing cackle of the Wicked Witch of the West, the pathetic tears of the Scarecrow, the comical whimpering of the Cowardly Lion to the lame brained ideas of the Scarecrow, their over-animated gestures and comical dialogue seemed to entertain the tiniest of tots who were too young to understand the dialogue and the most senior of us in the audience who are never too old to appreciate being entertained.

What always intrigues me the most is how a screenplay which has mythical creatures and magical sequences is adapted to create the same illusion on stage: the hurricane which takes Dorothy out of her beloved home of Kansas is represented by “leafed” -dancers who “pass” Dorothy back and forth in a frenzied dance; the comedic sight of people walking on knees that appear to be stunted leaves no doubt in our minds that these are the “munchkins” of Oz and my favourite scene, the luminescent glowing figurehead of the omniscient Oz who threatens us in his loud booming voice.

Carousel Theatre is a production company dedicated to captivating the hearts of children, young or old by tickling our imagination by with their live theatre performances of children’s classics that though once loved, remains never to be forgotten.

THE WIZARD OF OZ By L. FRANK BAUM. With Music and Lyrics by HAROLD ARLEN and E.Y. HARBURG. Background Music by HERBERT STOTHART. DANCE and Vocal Arrangements by PETER HOWARD. Orchestration by LARRY WILCOX. Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Based upon the Classical Motion Picture owned by Turner Entertainment Co. and distributed in all media by Warner Bros

DECEMBER 2 to DECEMBER 31, 2011
At the Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street on Granville Island)
For Ages 4+ (No Babies in Arms)
School Matinees November 30 – December 16, 2011 (Selling out fast!)
Tickets Adults $29, Students with ID/Seniors $25, Youths (Ages 4-17)
$15 Discounts Available for groups of 10+
For tickets contact Carousel Theatre Box Office @ 604.669.3410 or purchase online.

Credits
Carousel Theatre’s Artistic & Managing Director CAROLE HIGGINS directs, with Musical Director STEVEN GREENFIELD, Choreographer MELISSA YOUNG. Design Team HEIDI WILKINSON (Set Design), BARBARA CLAYDEN (Costume Design), and JEFF HARRISON (Lighting Design) will transport you over the rainbow.
ROBYN WALLIS (Hairspray) – Dorothy
DARREN BURKETT (Hairspray, Seussical) – Scarecrow
MIKE STACK (Henry VI, Richard III) – Tinman
JOSUE LABOUCANE (Henry VI, Seussical, Bird Brain) – Cowardly Lion
Other Cast Members: MEGHAN ANDERSSEN, TIMOTHY E BRUMMUND, DAMON CALDERWOOD, KAYLA DUNBAR, JANET GIGLIOTTI and CHRISTINE QUINTANA

This guest review was produced exclusively for Hummingbird604.com by Dianne Chow, who writes the blog Fabulously Frugal in Vancouver. You can follow Dianne on Twitter at @DianneChow and you can also like her Facebook Fan page here. Dianne was a guest of Carousel Theatre on media tickets for Hummingbird604.com. Thanks, Dianne!