REVIEW: The Wizard of Oz at the Curve, Leicester

The Wizard of Oz has had a strange relationship with the theatre. Of all the retellings of L. Frank Baum’s classic children’s novel, the 1939 MGM starring Judy Garland is undoubtedly the best-known and as such, all adaptations will be compared to it. Despite its seemingly large potential, the wondrous world of Oz has often felt stagnant in the theatre and versions have only managed short runs before being relegated to endless performances by schools and amateur dramatic societies.

Just in case the one person on the planet who does not know the plot is reading this...The Wizard of Oz follows a young Kanas farm girl called Dorothy who is whisked off to the magical land of Oz via a cyclone and must follow the yellow brick road to meet the wizard and return home. Along the way, she meets a scarecrow who wants a brain, a Tin Man who longs for a heart and a cowardly lion but also has to face the wrath of the Wicked Witch of the West, who is after her magical Ruby Slippers.