Young EODS SECTION
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The Wiz Book by William F Brown Director:
Peter Gurr
Performed at
The Devonshire Park Theatre |
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(Photo courtesy of
Laura Green of Time Images)Review from The Eastbourne Herald, Oct 26th 2006 by Laura Sonier
There may be no place like home, but for fans of the Wizard of Oz story and young performers there was no place like the Devonshire Park Theatre on the musical's opening night. The rock version of the famous film has an all-singing, all-dancing Yellow Brick Road, four witches making an appearance (although merely the legs of one), silver slippers instead of ruby ones and some snappy humour. But, of course, the main story remains the same, with Dorothy being whisked off to Oz and tracking down the Wizard with the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion.
(Photo courtesy of
Laura Green of Time Images)The youngsters in Young EODS are certainly talented - turning their
hands to acting, singing and dancing with equal aplomb - but even more
impressive than their talent is their sheer enthusiasm, energy and
focus.
Catherine Anderson, who takes the lead role of Dorothy, is on stage for
virtually the whole show and boasts a maturity in her voice and
performance that makes it difficult to believe she is just 15.
(Photo courtesy of Laura Green of Time Images)
Indeed, all the main roles are performed with equal amounts of talent and gusto - Megan Mason belts out an emotional number to Dorothy in the first scene as Aunt Em, Lucy Anderson has a kooky charm as Addaperle, Georgia Kemp is the sweetly goofy Scarecrow, Jonathan Stephens is suitably smooth as the Tinman. Adam Pitts is a roaring success as the cowardly Lion, Annie Sinclair-Wilson struts her stuff as the evil Evillene, Holly Curry is the sweet-voiced good witch Glinda and Will Hawksworth stands out as the eponymous Wiz.
(Photo courtesy of
Laura Green of Time Images)Of course, the smaller parts, dancers and singers are all as impressive you would expect from a Young EODS production, as are the band, the costumes and the sets. Congratulations to director Peter Gurr, choreographer Debbie Hackett and musical director Sue Burton for helming the complicated show so well and bringing out the talent of the performers.
(Photo courtesy of Laura Green of Time Images)
(Photo courtesy of Laura Green of Time Images)