By Lucy Chipperfield and James Cordell
Once again the students from Hassenbrook Secondary School ‘s Creative and Performing Arts Department showcased their outstanding talents in their latest production of ‘The Wiz’.
It was clear from the performances on stage that all of the students involved within this production had worked incredibly hard to recapture the magic of Victor Fleming’s 1939 fantasy film classic, ‘The Wizard of Oz’.
Samantha Allan’s portrayal of Dorothy was excellent and truly captivated the audience effortlessly. Throughout the entire show Samantha consistently wowed the audience with her brilliant solo vocal performances and convincing acting abilities. Given that Dorothy is the lead character, I suspect this was a very demanding role. However, Samantha rose to the challenge and her performance was flawless.
As we all know, along the yellow brick road Dorothy meets some charming chaps in the form of a Scarecrow, a Tinman and a Lion. During ‘The Wiz’ these three unusual friends are brought to life by the outstanding performances from Francis Ikhifa (Scarecrow), Callum Taylor (Tinman) and Jacob Davies-Giles (Lion). Whilst Francis, Callum and Jacob did do amazing individual performances, their talents also shone when they worked together within a number of comical sketches which throughly entertained the audience.
Alongside Dorothy and her three friends, there were an array of talented actors that supported their performances and helped to create this impressive production. The talent, enthusiasm and team work which was showcased on stage was overwhelming and I suspect a lot of talent will emerge from Hassenbrook School.
Not only were the actors brilliant, but I was also in awe of the music that supported the production. Created and performed by students, the music was simply amazing and certainly helped to make this production super duper!
Admittedly, it is always an ambitious move to attempt to recreate a classic like ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Having said that, this contemporary production was simply unbeatable and throughly enjoyably from beginning to end.
