Hollywood’ timeless classic “The Wizard of Oz” takes to the stage in Stroud this week (from Friday 23rd January) with the Yellow Brick Road leading to the Cotswold Playhouse, writes Nick Brunger.
The much-loved musical, which later spawned the prequel “Wicked” and more recently the films starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, has long been praised as a celebration of the enduring power of friendship, bravery and self-belief and a reminder that there really is no place like home.
But in a plot twist the film makers never imagined, in our local production the young heroine Dorothy, originally played by Judy Garland, becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
When the Cotswold Players first staged the Wizard of Oz Dorothy was played by Janette Deacon, who won a prestigious Rose Bowl Award as “Best Comedy Actress” that year. Now, in their third production of this show, she has graduated to the role of Wicked Witch of the West in all her evil greenness.
And in another echo of the past Terry Clifford, who flew as Glinda when the show was staged in 2005, returns as Granny Smith and one of the Munchkins.
In this 2026 production Dorothy is played by seventeen-year-old Jenny Sampson, making her stage debit outside of school productions. This is a landmark show for Jenny in more ways than one as she celebrates her eighteenth birthday on the last night of the run.
L. Frank Baum’s story of “The Wizard of Oz” has been delighting children and adults for generations but this stage version sticks closely to the script of the much-loved 1939 film.
The show features all the popular numbers from the movie including “Over the Rainbow,” “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead”, “If I Only Had a Heart” and, of course, “We’re Off to See the Wizard”.
Dorothy’s famous three companions on the yellow brick road, the Scarecrow, Tinman and Cowardly Lion are played by James McGrath, Richard Murray and Harry McNeil, with Becky Townsend taking the role of Glinda and Janette Deacon as the Wicked Witch.
“Wicked has introduced new generations of theatre goers to the land of Oz,” says director Simon, “but our version of the Wizard of Oz sticks closely to the original movie screenplay and allows the original to shine.”
“It has been wonderful to explore the clever lyrics and witty dialogue with fresh eyes; both scrub up surprisingly well.”
“The Wizard of Oz” runs from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th and the Wednesday 28th to Saturday 31st January at the Cotswold Playhouse on Parliament Street. Tickets are still available for some performances from www.cotswoldplayhouse.co.uk.
