THE WIZARD OF OZ
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January 11-26
Roo Theatre, Shellharbour
Tickets: 4297 2891
The Wizard of Oz is a story that never gets old. Released almost 75 years ago, the movie that spawned countless reimaginings and Over the Rainbow renditions remains a family favourite.
But its popularity can make a new production of the classic story a challenge. The audience comes with certain expectations, something Daniel Stefanovski, director of the Roo Theatre's upcoming production of the tale, was well aware of.
"I tried to keep it as classical as possible, because that's what people come to expect, so I didn't want to alter it at all," he says.
"I wanted to keep that feeling from when you first watched it as a kid on video and bring that all onto stage."
The script is matched word for word, and the only difference music-wise is the inclusion of The Jitterbug song before Dorothy and her friends are captured by the flying monkeys, a tune left on the cutting room floor of the film but one that appears in most stage productions.
"In the movie it's never there, so it is hard to interpret what to do with it, but I quite enjoy it; we've gone a bit Thriller," Stefanovski laughs.
He thinks the lasting appeal of Dorothy's adventure to Oz and her encounters with the colourful characters she meets on her way to the Emerald City is due to people remembering it fondly from their childhood and wanting to share the memory with their own children.
"The Wizard of Oz was the first show I was ever involved in when I was eight years old and it was the first show I ever watched professionally 12 years ago."
The interest in the production was huge, with 140 people auditioning. There has been six months' worth of pre-production and rehearsals and 14 performances have been booked in for its season.
With a final call of 70 cast members, including both seasoned theatre actors and newcomers, a trained dog in the role of Toto and costumes sourced from the 2001 professional Australian production of the show, every effort has been made to make this show as magical as what is seen on screen.
This is not a simple task, with winged monkeys, green make-up, tornadoes and a change in setting from drab Kansas to spectacular Oz.
"We're trying to create the whole sepia feel for Kansas and then transitioning into the wonderful, colourful land of Oz using a lot of special effects with sound and lighting to create the atmosphere," Stefanovski says.
But he won't reveal how they have chosen to create the iconic yellow brick road.
"It's a very tricky thing, so we're trying to keep it a secret. It's not the easiest thing we've tried to accomplish, but we've tried to make it amazing."