Thursday, December 2, 2010

Wonderful Wizard


I had a real treat last night. After my long day at the market I was off to see the wizard!

Neptune Theater 's holiday show this year is The Wizard of Oz. What a fun production. I love musicals and they did a great job with this one. Oh and as an aside, Neptune is where I had my first job when 16. I was an usher and loved it:)

The show started at 7:30 and I didn't finish up at the market at 6:30 so it was a bit of a mad scramble to get there. I picked up a sandwich from Pete's and a glass of wine at the theater bar and had a quick bite there before the show:)

Neptune has a small stage and I am always amazed at how they manage productions with a lot of cast members and tricky transitions. In this play of course there is a tornado! I loved how they whisked the house and Dorothy away and into Munchkinland. Simple magic.

Throughout the production there was lots of smoke, booms and sparks. Terrific fun. The singing was great! The lead actors did a really wonderful job. Blair Irwin played Dorothy with a lovely earnestness and a gorgeous singing voice. Andrew Scanlon was larger than life as the cowardly lion and Laura Caswell wins props for her annoying cackling Witch of the West:)

After the show, which is about two and a half hours, Blair comes down into the lobby to sign autographs. Lots of wee excited fans crowded around her.

I really enjoyed it, can you tell? The songs are so familiar...Ding Dong the Witch is Dead etc.....There was also a children's chorus who were cute as buttons . So much to write about but I will stop because you have to see it yourself:)
Except for one more thing.......TOTO! This wee dog stole the show:) He spent the entire show in Dorothy's arms. Bobbing up and down as she danced and nibbling on the straw man's arms and generally being adorable!

Stage pictures by Applehead Studios.

9 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

"Butch"? That's a pretty heavy-duty name for such a little dog to live up to! Sounds like a wonderful Wizard of Oz production!

Anne Chisholm said...

Sounds like time to round up the little people in the family and head to the Neptune. Thanks Shelagh.

Anita said...

Sounds like a great time and what a cute dog too!

Marilyn said...

i love theater and hardly get to go anymore. what a wonderful way to spend your post-market evening. city life is so different...how amazing to be living in the place where you had your first teenage job. :)

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

OOoh, I love toto. Great evening, tis the season for this sort of thing.

leendadll said...

awww... sounds like fun!

aliceinparis said...

Debra, yes Butch was amazing!

Really, if you are in the city, it is worth seeing for some holiday cheer.

Teena in Toronto said...

I love live theatre!

Dolores said...

Best job ever! Ushering in a live theatre. I too worked at as an usherette at a theatre downtown. My other jobs fell by the wayside once I got it. Worked there for years and then, after I got married and had children, I went back for a while. Some of my children followed in my footsteps.