The Wizard of Oz
The Sainsbury Singers invite you and your family to join us ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’ as we present the magical musical The Wizard of Oz with a creative steampunk twist.
This famous story needs little introduction as we ‘Follow the Yellow Brick Road’ to ‘The Merry Old Land of Oz’. Packed full of classic songs from the original 1939 film, we travel beyond our imagination with Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow in search of the mysterious Wizard of Oz.
We invite you to The Hexagon Theatre, Reading, Berkshire from Wednesday 17th – Saturday 20th May 2017 to watch a show full of entertainment for the whole family.
Based on the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum with music and lysrics of the MGM motion picture score. By Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harbury. Background Music by Herbert Stothart. Dance and Vocal Arrangment by Peter Howard. Adapted by John Keane from the motion picture screenplay.
Read our full NODA report of the Wizard of Oz here.
What the audience said
Wow! Such a fabulous show, I was really proud last night to be a Sainsbury Singer (and a little sad at times not to be up there with you but then I wouldn’t have been able to watch it!) Special mentions to Lorraine for such an amazing performance as well as brilliant multi-tasking of singing, dancing and looking after a dog; Emma and Amanda for the outstanding costumes, they really make the difference between amateur and professional, the tiny munchkins who brought a tear to my eye (that could be hormones!) and of course the entire cast who were, as always, fabulous, I didn’t know who to watch! And the set, lighting, special effects. Everything!! All the best for the rest of the performances!
This was amazing! The sets, lights, sound and special effects plus make up, costumes etc, etc, are all amazing. I loved every second of the show.
Just to say what a great show last night – the three of us thoroughly enjoyed it. And little Toto barked in all the right places! And a thank you from me because for the first time in my life you made me enjoy the Wizard of Oz. Hope you have a great success with the show.
Thank you for the tickets. I thought it was great especially the witch, and heard nice comments behind me about keeping an eye out for future productions and why bother going to the West End. Oh, and we LOVED the dog!
Just wanted to say congratulations on the success of the Wizard of Oz last night! Your final show was amazing and you should all be so proud of the stellar performance you gave! We enjoyed every minute of it!
An absolutely fabulous show, great dancing, singing and with a lot of humour…well done to everyone, looking forward to the next show!
Was like going to the West End. I was really impressed, the score and accents were great. It took me back to the first time I saw the original movie with Judy Garland.
Thank you all so much for a wonderful afternoon’s entertainment. My gang absolutely loved the show, and we don’t feel it fair to pick out individuals as everyone did a cracking job! I do however feel I would like to put a particular note in about the costumes, lighting, set and orchestra. You really did surpass yourselves in the detail and overall vision, that brought it all together so beautifully. Matthew, Jon, Emma, Amanda, Kaz, Denise, Kim and Production Team (sorry not to name all!) – outstanding work bringing it all together!
Superb! Every single person was just brilliant.
Wow. 10/10, 5 stars, A** 100%…tonight’s production of The Wizard of Oz was just fantastic. Fabulous costumes and scenery (the wood was amazing!), fantastic voices…and those children! They were brilliant and it must have been quite a late night for some (all?) of them. All of it so polished and professional. Really hope you are all feeling very proud of yourselves. I saw Hot Mikado and thought it was very good…I think Oz is better!
Peppa (Toto) stole the show, the four main principals were equally wonderful, the band was amazing and the whole staging looked spectacular. It’s the best show you’ve ever done, and I’ve been to at least ten of them!
Gallery
Cast
- Dorothy Lorraine Cox
- Hunk / Scarecrow Gareth Wells
- Hickory / Tinman Stephen Cox
- Zeke / Lion Brian Bretney
- Auntie Em / Glinda Emma Reeves
- Miss Gultch / Wicked Witch Kazia Grainger
- Toto Peppa
- Uncle Henry / Guard Rob Latimer
- Professor Marvel / Wizard of Oz Chris Reeves
- Munchkin Mayor / Niko Chris Thomas
- Munchkin Barrister Jessamy Vincent
- Munchkin Coroner Michael Schult
- Munchkin Teacher Hilary Latimer, Katie Wise
- General of the Winkies Joanne O’Mahoney
- Crows Amy Hale, Catherine Hannan, Jackie Stoffels, Helen Thomas
- Trees Sara El-Hanfy, Lucy Hutson, Louise Quelch
- Ensemble Adults Emma Bradbury, Godfrey Chigona, Sara El-Hanfy, Amy Hale, Catherine Hannan, Emily Hiscock, Lucy Hutson, Hilary Latimer, Rob Latimer, Joanne O’Mahoney, Natassia Papierowski, Louise Quelch, Chris Reeves, Emma Reeves, Denise Schult, Laura Schult, Michael Schult, Martyna Sharma, Jackie Stoffels, Chris Thomas, Helen Thomas, Jessamy Vincent, Claire Wilson, Katie Wise.
- Ensemble Children Sophie Bagshaw, Molly Gorman, Sophie Hannan, Jemma Johnston, Rebecca Johnston, Olivia Macdonald-Grute, Olivia Mackinder, Zoe Masters, Evie Morgan, Beth Pearson, Arthur Reeves, Lawrence Reeves, Elsie Shackell.
The Wizard of Oz Orchestra
- Violin Steph Cole
- Harp Elizabeth Elliot
- Bass Jim Pullen
- Keyboards Anton Gwillt
- Reeds Anna O’Brien, Joanne Patterson-Neild, Phil Waymen
- French Horn Jess Cooper
- Trumpet Mark Cox, James Lowe
- Trombone Gen Curd
- Percussion Julian Brown, Ben Hartley
Behind the Scenes
- Director Matthew Smith
- Musical Director Jon Brooks
- Choreographer Denise Schult
- Assistant Director Kazia Grainger
- Production Coordinator Susan Richardson
- Lighting Designer Kim Hollamby
- Lighting Programmer & Operator Adrian Croton
- Follow Spots & Lighting Assistant Louis Martin
- Lighting, Effects and Projection Hire Dinrino Theatre Services
- Additional Lighting Equipment Kim Hollamby
- Stage Manager John Simmonds
- Deputy Stage Manager Becca Simons
- Assistant Stage Manager Nick Humby
- Stage Crew Anthony Appleby, Julie Cox, Joe Daniels, Danny Humby, Ian Reeves & David Schult
- Hexagon Sound Board Dan Bryan
- Sound Assistant Sally Ollerenshaw
- Sound Effects Brian Bretney
- Projections Stock media provided by Pond5
- Props and Set Kazia Grainger & Matthew Smith
- Set Hire Scenery Solutions
- Balloon basket and witch melting effect James Humby
- Farm house / Door to Oz Russell & Graham Smith
- Dog handler Kerry Thomas
- Wardrobe Designer Amanda Bretney
- Wardrobe Supervisor Emma Reeves
- Wardrobe Team Laura Schult, Gareth Wells
- Makeup Design Kerry Thomas
- Makeup Team Rosanna Bowles, Isobel Rogers, Kazia Grainger, Joanne O’Mahoney
- Hair and Wigs Catherine Hannan
- Prompt Gerry Hiscock, Rachel Masters
- Chaperone Coordinator Emma Reeves
- Chaperones Gemma Bagshaw, Joe Croombes, Robert Furnell, Juliet Gorman, Sarah Johnston, Katie Morgan, Megan Pearson, Suzie Shackell & Amanda Wise
- Programme and Handbill Design Jessamy Vincent
- Photography Ray Wilmott
- Ticket Officer Anne Jones
- Front of House Manager John Jones
Society Front of House Team
Lucy Betts, Sam Blake, Elma Bretney, Olivia Bretney, Emma Fry, Rob Furnell, Sarah Johnston, Pat Long, Chris Masters, Rachel Masters, Steve O’Mahoney, Megan Pearson, Susan Richardson, Gordon Wyard.