THE WIZARD OF OZ
DANIEL EVANS AND KATHY BOURNE PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHAN PERSSON
WELCOME
A warm welcome to our Christmas production of The Wizard of Oz. Chichester Festival Youth Theatre always put their all into every production, but the two shows they’ve presented in 2019 must be among the most ambitious they’ve ever tackled. This summer saw them promenading Crossing Lines, a new play by Anna Ledwich, through the streets of Chichester: the result of a unique development process that placed young people at its heart, juxtaposing the city’s history with up-to-date digital technology. It proved to be a compelling evening, fully justifying the faith placed in CFYT to deliver such an innovative production. Whereas Crossing Lines was new in every sense, The Wizard Of Oz is a classic that celebrates its 80th birthday this year. But, as its director Lucy Betts and some of the young company explain in this programme, it’s an equally challenging
prospect in terms of the performing skills it demands. We are fortunate that once again, set designer Simon Higlett and costume designer Ryan Dawson Laight are among the outstanding professional creatives working on the show. CFYT involves 800 young people who meet weekly at the Festival Theatre and at eight satellite groups across West Sussex. Students from 172 different schools, colleges and academies across three counties are represented, including specialist provision for young people with complex additional needs. Participants mix with a broad range of peers from different geographical, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds; 12% of the membership benefit from bursary placements. Increasing access to the arts for people of all ages is at the heart of our work and is why our Ageless campaign is so important. We’d love you to get involved. We hope you enjoy today’s performance and wish you a very Happy Christmas and New Year.
Executive Director Kathy Bourne
cft.org.uk
Artistic Director Daniel Evans
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY Moscow City Ballet return to Chichester with their stunning production of The Sleeping Beauty. Presented in classic Russian style with full orchestra, this is an enchanting treat for the whole family.
FESTIVAL THEATRE 2 – 5 JAN cft.org.uk
BBC CONCERT ORCHESTRA FAMILY CONCERT Young composer Emily Presto needs your help to create a brand new piece of music for the orchestra and then be part of the performance! So join us for an exciting musical adventure for all the family. Ages 7+
FESTIVAL THEATRE 16 FEB cft.org.uk
A MONSTER CALLS Based on the novel by Patrick Ness Inspired by an idea by Siobhan Dowd Patrick Ness’s acclaimed novel is brought vividly to life in an Olivier Award-winning production by visionary director Sally Cookson. Ages 10+
HHHHH ‘Heartbreaking, spectacular, soaring. A monster hit’ Times
FESTIVAL THEATRE 6 – 15 FEB cft.org.uk
LEAP
LEARNING, EDUCATION AND PARTICIPATION Our Learning, Education and Participation department works with people of all ages and abilities, offering opportunities to get involved with CFT beyond the work you see on our stages. A wide range of practical workshops, talks, tours and performances aims to excite and inspire everyone who takes part.
COMMUNITY
CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE
Enjoy developing artistic, personal and social skills through our workshops, projects, productions and award-winning Youth Theatre for young people of all abilities. Chichester Festival Youth Theatre | Holiday Activities | Arts Award
EDUCATION
Our work with local schools, colleges and universities is designed to inspire and enrich students’ learning, while the next generation of arts professionals is nurtured through our training and apprenticeships programme. In-school workshops and projects | Work Experience | School Theatre Days
Learn about life behind the scenes, discover more about productions, develop creative skills, socialise and share experiences with others through workshops and community projects for anyone aged 18 +. Get Into It! workshops | Talks and Discussions | Heritage projects | Dementia Friendly activities
FAMILIES
We’re always delighted to welcome our youngest visitors and their grown-ups to the Theatre. Families can explore and have fun with workshops, productions, events and activities. Family Foyle sessions | Little Notes | Fun Palaces | Family workshops
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Chichester Festival Youth Theatre
THE WIZARD OF OZ By L. Frank Baum With Music and Lyrics of the MGM motion picture score by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg Background Music by Herbert Stothart Dance and Vocal Arrangements by Peter Howard Adapted by John Kane from the motion picture screenplay
THE
WIZARD AT 80 It’s 80 years since Judy Garland was whirled away from the Kansas prairie to a magical land ‘over the rainbow’, and an icon of silver screen history was born. This latest anniversary of the 1939 movie – like each previous one – has prompted an outpouring of commemorative merchandise and features, adding to the thousands of articles, souvenirs and tributes devoted to the film and the huge cast of creatives and actors who brought it to life. The movie was based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – ‘America’s greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale’, according to the US Library of Congress. Extravagant stage versions in Chicago and on Broadway soon followed. But it was MGM’s lavish musical film which established The Wizard of Oz as a phenomenon; although it was poorly reviewed and lost money on its original release, it’s become the most-watched movie of all time thanks to its many television showings from 1956 onwards. It has spawned philosophical, psychological and economic treatises, and hugely successful off-shoots such as the Motown version The Wiz and prequel musical Wicked. Its cult status rivals the likes of the science fiction franchises,
with devotees who attend conventions, pursue rival loyalties and obsessively collect souvenirs. Dorothy’s ruby slippers, for example, are now among the most famous, valuable – and consequently oft-faked – historic film memorabilia. At least seven pairs, possibly more, of the hand-sequinned pumps were originally made; in 2005, a pair was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in the actress’s home town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota and only recovered by the FBI in 2018. The identity of the culprit – and the slippers’ whereabouts in the intervening 13 years – remain a mystery. The ruby slippers on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington DC are actually a mismatched pair, one being slightly bigger than the other. Each shoe is covered with red satin, to which 2,300 sequins are applied; an added layer of red felt on the sole was meant to muffle the sound of her dancing on the yellow brick road. Nominated for six Academy Awards, the film won two for its music but was beaten to the Best Picture prize by Gone with the Wind. ‘Over the Rainbow’, which won the Oscar for Best Song, was almost left on the cutting room floor: some producers thought it too sophisticated for a teenage girl to sing in a farmyard.
(One number that didn’t make it into the film, ‘The Jitterbug’, is restored in all its glory to this production.) The original choice to play Dorothy was Shirley Temple, then aged 11, but her voice wasn’t up to the demands of the score. The role went instead to the 16 year-old Judy Garland and shot her to stardom. Her later evergreen movies include Meet Me in St Louis and A Star Is Born but she won her only Academy Award, an honorary Oscar for ‘outstanding performance by a screen juvenile’, jointly for her roles in The Wizard of Oz and Babes in Arms. Perhaps ironically, while The Wizard of Oz has been celebrating its 80th anniversary, 2019 has also seen the release of Judy, a big screen adaptation of the play End of the Rainbow, with Renée Zellweger giving an acclaimed performance in a (somewhat fictionalised) portrayal of Garland’s chaotic final concerts in London, just months before her premature death. 30 years after The Wizard of Oz, the film depicts the exhausted, broke and drugaddicted singer haunted by the exploitative abuse handed out to her as a teenager on the set of the movie. So much for history. But what is The Wizard of Oz’s appeal for the creative team and young LUCY BETTS IN THE LAND OF OZ 1999 IMAGE COURTESY OF MIKE EDDOWES
actors involved in this new CFYT production? Those with long memories may recall that it’s not the first time that the Youth Theatre has tackled the story. In 1999, Lucy Betts, who is directing this production, played Dorothy in The Land of Oz, a summer promenade show directed by Dale Rooks – now Director of Learning, Participation and Education at CFT, but back then Head of Performing Arts at St Cuthman’s School where the play was staged. In 2003, the year Dale joined Chichester Festival Theatre full-time, she chose The Wizard of Oz as CFYT’s first Christmas show on the Festival Theatre stage, so in a sense it has come full circle. ‘The Youth Theatre show goes from strength to strength every year; and for the past few years it’s been an adaptation or a play with music that’s been specially composed for them,’ Lucy Betts says. ‘So to have something like this full musical version of Oz, that is pre-existing and so iconic, is a huge challenge in itself. ‘It’s not about creating something new from scratch, it’s taking something that is already so known to the general public and saying right, how do we own it, how do we put the CFYT stamp on it? Why is it still a story that we need to tell?’