Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(15 customer reviews) 14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A magical musical that lives up to its classic predecessor.,
May 16, 2011 M. Secaur "Meredith Secaur" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Wizard of Oz: 2011 London Palladium Recording (Audio CD)
I've been in love with the "Wizard of Oz" since I was very young, and nothing could deter my excitement when I heard that the musical genius behind "The Phantom of the Opera" was working on a lavish stage production based on the classic MGM film. Needless to say, I am as immense a fan of this production as I am of the 1939 version and can hardly wait for it to transfer across the pond to Broadway. I haven't been able to stop playing it since I got it, it is simply so wonderful, and I guarantee that anyone else will feel the same way.
One thing that is special about this production is that Webber doesn't attempt to reinvent the wheel, or rather, the Wizard; instead, he aims to give additional color and freshness to a time-honored classic and bring it successfully to the live stage. His fine musical arrangements (together with David Cullen) are nicely done and enhance rather than belittle the original compositions by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. The new pieces he's...Read more
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A.L. Webber's new songs give "voice" to the witches and the Wizard and the packaging is superb!,
June 30, 2011 Steven I. Ramm "Steve Ramm "Anything Phon... (Phila, PA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Wizard of Oz: 2011 London Palladium Recording (Audio CD)
Fellow reviewer Meredith Secaur did a superb job of detailing the tracks on this album so I won't repeat that part of her review but - rather - provide additional details. But, first, I must say that I'm not a big fan of most of Andrew Lloyd Webber's shows. I tend to like the ones that are not over-exposed like "Song and Dance" or "The Beautiful Game" ( a show about English football that I saw in London and it never came to Broadway). Just so you will know where I'm coming from.
I really liked this album! Then again I love Harold Arlen's music.
The CD package consists of a tri-fold digipak containing the 60-minute CD - and a 32-pahe booklet with the lyrics and "stage directions". The latter is very helpful in being able to follow along because the action is somewhat changed from the classic 1939 Judy Garland film. The print for the "directions" is quite small - so you might want a magnifying glass handy - but it's a nice touch.
As noted in the other...Read more
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
We're Not In Kansas Anymore!,
September 2, 2011 J. Mathews - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Wizard of Oz: 2011 London Palladium Recording (Audio CD)
What a disaster! Andrew Lloyd Webber's music has always been hit-or-miss with me, and this is a whopper of a miss. The orchestrations and casting are so distracting that I honestly forgot what I was listening to at some points, not to mention the additional music was so unnecessary that it was a struggle for me to get through most of it.
I'll dive in a with the few positives that I found. Ms. Waddingham as the Wicked Witch was the one and only saving grace of the cast, in my opinion. I think that she took the material she was given and worked it in every way she could to shine, and she succeeded as best she could. I'm a huge fan of her work, but was sorry to see that she wasn't given better music. I also liked this version of "Merry Ol' Land of Oz" a lot, which surprised me because I had all but given up hope by the time I reached that track. The song "Already Home" has a great deal of potential to really shine, but I don't think it's quite there. Perhaps they'll...Read more
