{"id":286701,"date":"2011-03-02T11:09:33","date_gmt":"2011-03-02T11:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/"},"modified":"2011-03-02T11:09:33","modified_gmt":"2011-03-02T11:09:33","slug":"hope-competent-in-webbers-oz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope ‘competent’ in Webber’s Oz"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n \t\t
\n 2 March 2011<\/span>
\nLast updated at <\/span>06:09 ET<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"Danielle<\/p>\n

Please turn on JavaScript.<\/strong> Media requires JavaScript to play.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The show features original songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice<\/p>\n

\t\t\n <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\t<\/p>\n

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz has opened in London’s West End, with Danielle Hope playing the lead role of Dorothy.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old won the part after being voted the winner of BBC One talent search Over the Rainbow.<\/p>\n

Hope is joined on stage at the Palladium by Michael Crawford, making his West End return in the dual role of Professor Marvel and the Wizard.<\/p>\n

While critics have praised the show’s visual aspects, they have expressed reservations about the lead performances.<\/p>\n

In the Daily Mail<\/a>, Quentin Letts says that “the story lacks the emotive motor of a love affair” and that the “dramatic buzz” is “not much better than you’d find at a decent pantomime”.<\/p>\n

\n\tContinue reading the main story<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

OUR VERDICT<\/h2>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\tEmma Saunders<\/span>
\n\tEntertainment reporter, BBC News<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\t<\/p>\n

Even the mighty Lord Lloyd Webber must have wondered if he had bitten off more than he could chew when he took on the iconic Wizard of Oz.<\/p>\n

But he pulls it off – sort of.<\/p>\n

TV talent show winner Danielle Hope wisely avoids the temptation to just imitate Judy Garland – her understated and tender rendition of Over the Rainbow proves this newcomer can hold her own.<\/p>\n

Webber has written additional songs to complement classics such as Follow the Yellow Brick Road and We’re Off to See the Wizard.<\/p>\n

And while Michael Crawford’s Wonders of the World and Bring Me the Broomstick are a little underwhelming, the Wicked Witch’s Red Shoes Blues is a powerful number sung with gusto by Hannah Waddingham.<\/p>\n

But it is undoubtedly the set design that is the real star of the show. In fact, it almost puts the stars in the shade.<\/p>\n

The famous cyclone scene in the 1939 movie is achieved using a combination of live action and film effects and is truly thrilling.<\/p>\n

As long as the slick revolving stage and special effects are a dazzling assault on the senses, the cast will have to be happy to play second fiddle.<\/p>\n

\t\n\t<\/div>\n

“The most appealing star of Lord Lloyd Webber’s latest telly-marketing musical is not veteran hoofer Michael Crawford or even Danielle Hope,” he continues.<\/p>\n

“It is Toto the West Highland terrier.”<\/p>\n

The Guardian’s Michael Billington says the musical – adapted from the classic 1939 movie that was itself based on L Frank Baum’s 1900 novel – is “quite an eyeful<\/a>“.<\/p>\n

Yet he goes on to claim it is “somewhat lacking in humanity” and that he “came out feeling blitzkrieged rather than charmed”.<\/p>\n

Hope, he continues, “shows a natural, easy presence” but “can’t hope to compete with the scenery”, while Crawford seemed “slightly subdued”.<\/p>\n

The Daily Telegraph’s Charles Spencer<\/a> echoes those sentiments, saying that Hope “offers a thoroughly competent rather than an inspired performance”.<\/p>\n

She “sings Over the Rainbow with feeling” but “lacks the heart-catching vulnerability of the young Judy Garland”.<\/p>\n

He also wonders “why Michael Crawford has bothered to come out of semi-retirement”.<\/p>\n

“You can’t fault the proficiency of Hope’s performance or her clear, serviceable singing,” writes Paul Taylor in The Independent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“But she is never going to break your heart.”<\/p>\n

Taylor also joined Letts in his praise of the actress’s canine co-star, saying he was “touched” by “the endlessly endearing Westmoreland terrier… who didn’t put a paw wrong as Toto”.<\/p>\n

The Wizard of Oz is one of two current West End musicals inspired by L Frank Baum’s famous characters.<\/p>\n

Broadway hit Wicked – described as “The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz” – is now in its fifth year at the Apollo Victoria.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

See the original post here:
\nHope ‘competent’ in Webber’s Oz<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2 March 2011 Last updated at 06:09 ET Please turn on JavaScript. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-286701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nHope 'competent' in Webber's Oz - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Hope 'competent' in Webber's Oz - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"2 March 2011 Last updated at 06:09 ET Please turn on JavaScript.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/37e464b5hi011419674.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Hope ‘competent’ in Webber’s Oz\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-02T11:09:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/\"},\"wordCount\":642,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/37e464b5hi011419674.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/\",\"name\":\"Hope 'competent' in Webber's Oz - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/37e464b5hi011419674.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-02T11:09:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/37e464b5hi011419674.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/37e464b5hi011419674.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hope 'competent' in Webber's Oz - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Hope 'competent' in Webber's Oz - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"2 March 2011 Last updated at 06:09 ET Please turn on JavaScript.","twitter_image":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/37e464b5hi011419674.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Hope ‘competent’ in Webber’s Oz","datePublished":"2011-03-02T11:09:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/"},"wordCount":642,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/37e464b5hi011419674.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/","name":"Hope 'competent' in Webber's Oz - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/37e464b5hi011419674.jpg","datePublished":"2011-03-02T11:09:33+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/hope-competent-in-webbers-oz\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/37e464b5hi011419674.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/37e464b5hi011419674.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286701\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}