Press views: The Wizard of Oz

The cast of The Wizard of Oz

A stage version of classic film The Wizard of Oz has opened at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

It is the first major live production of the story in the UK's capital for 20 years, and stars Sian Brooke in the role of Dorothy, made famous by Judy Garland on the silver screen.

The critics have delivered their verdict on how the magic of the cinema favourite has translated to the stage.

THE INDEPENDENT - PAUL TAYLOR

In her musical debut, Sian Brooke gives a creditable performance, though for my taste her Dorothy is too confident and self-possessed.

When she sings Over the Rainbow, there's little of the soaring yearning that makes you fall in love with Judy Garland. So you don't identify achingly enough here with the primal emotions of longing to get away and then pining to get back.

The production makes no jesting reference to Wicked (the other Oz show now in London) probably because no one can bear to think of its astronomically bigger budget.

Read the full review here

THE TIMES - SAM MARLOWE

Sian Brookes plays Dorothy in the production

The cavernous Royal Festival Hall is not a hospitable space for theatre, and the designs here do little to make it more magical. Where it should be dreamlike, the staging is merely mechanical, and it's much too mundane to enchant.

Sian Brooke as Dorothy doesn't attempt to exorcise the ghost of Judy Garland - the star's mannerisms and intonations are all here, though Brooke can't manage her liquid-eyed vulnerability, and her singing voice is a little coarse.

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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH - DOMINIC CAVENDISH

The awkward truth is that this Wiz lacks the necessary 'wow' factor. The songs are as fabulous as ever and the story is an enduring enchantment. But the spatial limitations of the Festival Hall stage mean that whether we're in Kansas or somewhere over the rainbow, there's little room for imaginative manoeuvre. It's all perfectly adequate and could have been tremendous; as it is, it feels like a case of wrong time, wrong place.

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THE GUARDIAN - LYN GARDNER

It doesn't help that the yellow brick road turns out to be exceptionally winding, creating a journey time of close on three hours. By the end I was longing to click my own ruby slippers straight for bed.

Essentially this feels very much like a Christmas show that has got its seasons mixed up. There is fun to be had along the way and the children will probably enjoy it, but for anyone who has outgrown the message that there is no place like home, this is not wicked, not even close.

Read the full review here