The Wizard of Oz - Royal Festival Hall
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
FOLLOWING the success of last year’s Carmen Jones, the South Bank Centre’s artistic director Jude Kelly will direct a staged, musical version of The Wizard of Oz at the Royal Festival Hall – from July 28 (previews from July 23) to August 31, 2008.
It’s hard to believe but The Wizard of Oz first surfaced as long ago as 1903 when L Frank Baum wrote a stage version of his 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. However, it’s the 1939 Hollywood film starring a young Judy Garland that most of us remember best.
The Wizard of Oz is, of course, the magical story of Dorothy’s epic adventures through the Land of Oz to meet the Wizard. Along the way, she meets the Scarecrow who needs a brain, the Tin Man who wants a heart, a cowardly Lion who desperately needs some courage, and the Wicked Witch of the West.
The new production, a revival of the 1987 stage musical version which was adapted by John Kane from the classic motion picture for the Royal Shakespeare Company, will feature all the well-known characters, as well as Harold Arlen and EY Harburg’s all-time classic songs Somewhere Over The Rainbow, We’re off to see the Wizard and Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
Casting has not yet been announced.