M.A.M.A. over the rainbow.
Going to see the Matinee performance of Musselburgh Amateur Musical Associations 2014 production of The Wizard Of Oz, seemed like a good idea at the time, that is until I saw the many groups of children heading to the theatre. Oh no I thought, kids can be noisy I said, I needn’t have worried as most of them were good as gold. The only time they got out of hand was when the Wicked Witch (Kim Riddoch Nicoll) appeared, complete with convincing cackle, and was met with a barrage of booing, it was almost like being at the pantomime.
The Wizard of Oz is best known as the Hollywood film, released in 1939 starring Judy Garland and featured the song, Somewhere Over The Rainbow which won an academy award for Best Original Song. It was not until 1987 when The Wizard of Oz was adapted for stage by the Royal Shakespeare Company using the original score and screenplay that it became more widely known as a stage musical. This is the version that M.A.M.A. staged at the Brunton Theatre recently and a fine job they made of it.
From the chorus, who did not have a lot to do, to the principals who did have a lot to do, every one played their part to bring to life the adventures of Dorothy as she travels along the yellow brick road, though I was disappointed that they didn’t actually have a yellow brick road on stage, it just felt that something was missing. Mere detail you may say but you wouldn’t have Dorothy with out her Red shoes, now would you. The four main characters were played by Carla Allan (Dorothy) , Ali MacDougall (Scarecrow) , Mark Becher (Tin Man) and Justin Skelton (Lion). They all worked well together and looked comfortable in their characters especially Justin who was perfectly cast as the cowardly lion. As for the smaller parts, I have to say that Graeme Aitken was gloriously over the top as the Guard, not a lot to work with but boy did he make it his own.
After the success of M.A.M.A.’s 2014 January Revue which was non stop entertainment from beginning to end, with a finale that was just brilliant, which featured Justin singing ” Be My Guest” from Beauty and the Beast, Bravo!, M.A.M.A are now a must see company where you will not be disappointed, lets hope next years performances build on their previous successes, though they do say that you’re only as good as your last show!
the smycms 