SOUND OFF: THE WIZARD OF OZ 2011; Red Shoes Rave

It is one of the most highly anticipated shows of the twenty-first century, if only because the most successful composer of all-time - and the man behind not one, but both of the longest-running musicals in Broadway history - Andrew Lloyd Webber, has taken perhaps the most beloved American film of all, THE WIZARD OF OZ, to the London stage and has outfitted it with a number of new songs and musical sequences from his own hand and brazenly titledit Andrew Lloyd Webber'S THE WIZARD OF OZ. Rumors of a Broadway opening ring out as the show sells out every night in London. And the show itself? Well, it certainly lives up to the title - and then some! But, what about the cast album? Re-teaming with his Oscar-winning collaborator on JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and EVITA, Sir Tim Rice - who wrote THE LION KING and AIDA with Elton John in the interim, among many other musicals - and securing the most celebrated star of the stage in the modern age and the original Phantom in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA himself, Michael Crawford, as the Wizard, Lloyd Webber proceeded to procure a Dorothy through the nouveau means of a 2010 reality TV casting competition, OVER THE RAINBOW: THE SEARCH FOR DOROTHY, and he certainly found a more than acceptable heir to the mantle left by Judy Garland in the 1939 film version in newcomer Danielle Hope. So, now, here we are, with the lushly produced West End cast album starring Hope, Crawford and Hannah Waddingham as the Witch glistening in its jewel case before us, so should we be joyously jumping over the rainbow or singing the red shoes blues?

The Wizard, The Phantom & The Maestro of Oz

Trying to top the songs by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg in the 1939 MGM film version of THE  WIZARD OF OZ - particularly the most famous movie song of all time, "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" - would be a simply insurmountable challenge, even for the verifiable Maestro himself, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sure, the Lord has composed a handful of the most successful musicals of the last fifty years, and many would argue the crowning achievements of his oeuvre are EVITA and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA - musically, thematically, theatrically; as well as their cultural impact, which surely cannot be overestimated.

So, seemingly inspired by this Herculean challenge in mounting a new WIZARD OF OZ onstage for a whole new generation, Lloyd Webber managed to enlist his two-time Tony-winning collaborator on EVITA, Sir Tim Rice, to pen new lyrics for the five or six completely new songs the stage demands of the story require. And, after all, if we are being completely frank and honest, even the film feels a little light in the musical department once we get into the thick of Oz - and, additionally, the entire poppy hallucination song, "The Jitterbug", was cut from the original MGM film; and, so, too, did "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" also almost get the ax, believe it or not (The reason? They felt it slowed the film down too early on.) Less is more in the film insofar as musical impact is concerned - as is almost always the case with movie musicals - but, even with a noted and respected librettist and director like Jeremy Sams on board, how exactly can THE WIZARD OF OZ onstage have the same impact or a greater impact than the punch it packs even on DVD and Blu-ray? The amply apparent answer: Write a killer new supplementary tunestack and get three stupendous performers to sing it. And, they did - and how!

While the sights and sounds and spectacle of the live show onstage in the West End somehow manages to live up to - and, dare I say, supersede - the images and memories of the MGM film, it is in the new songs by Rice and Lloyd Webber that this enterprise gains its greatest asset and all of its considerable cache, even to fans of the film it is based on (and, really, who isn‘t?).

Each and every one of these new songs firmly establishes what it sets out to do - filling in a litany of blanks the film left open; emotional, dramatic and otherwise - and each adds innumerable layers of depth and added power to the equal parts epic, mythic, grand, as well as intimate, warm and inspiring, story that they tell. While many would have expected Lloyd Webber to accentuate his predilection for schmaltz and syrup in a score aping OZ (and, let‘s be honest, cashing in on the success of WICKED to a certain extent, somewhat), it is in the jagged, at-times near-atonal - and at-other-times even a step away from jazz - music for the Witch that he solidly justifies this score as a complete anomaly even in his constantly-changing and impressively diverse canon.

It is evenly matched in its musical inventiveness and dexterity by Rice's exceptionally witty and aptly skewed (and skewering) lyrics, here and throughout. The original Arlen/Harburg songs - sans "The King Of The Forest" which did not make the cut in the transition from screen to stage - are all given more than their due here and the sparkling new orchestrations and arrangements are, in a word: glorious. Case in point: I cannot remember the last time an orchestration made me smile like that of "The Merry Old Land Of Oz" here on this sumptuously produced and very generously comprehensive cast recording. Also, the added and revised lyrics are all just lovely and the whole score has a flow that I would have never thought possible in a million screen-to-stage adaptations, particularly one with a Franken-score such as this. Yet, once again in his career, Lloyd Webber has done the impossible and proved the naysayers and critics totally wrong - and, done it effortlessly, impossibly well, as evidenced by this ingratiating and joyfully pure score.

Going song-by-song through the song-list, the two biggest standouts are undoubtedly the two new songs everyone will be talking about: "Wonders of the World" and "The Red Shoes Blues". The Wizard as embodied by Michael Crawford and the Witch as made alive again by Hannah Waddingham are exactly that - they seem to actually become their characters and the songs they sing are merely natural extensions of their character's idiosyncratic personalities. This feat is not achieved by only the perfectly placed, timed and hewn material, but also as a result of the complex portrayals by these two staggeringly stalwart stage animals. When Crawford lists the many marvelous modern achievements he has seen in "Wonders of the World", we have the warmth of being told a story by fireside while at the same time the gravitas his instrument commands clues us into the more majestic and magical side of his character - and the wonders he will reap after all.

Of course, we have to always remember that THE WIZARD OF OZ is two stories being told at once: the real farm in Kansas and the magic land of Oz. Crawford deserves the highest commendation of the entire cast for never overplaying any of his material, whether in Kansas or Oz, and always striking the perfect balance between magician, charlatan, magic man and madman - plus, those booming bass notes closing out Act One in "Bring Me The Broomstick" are rock solid proof he can still blast and belt and rock with the best of ‘em! The Wizard could have easily been a much different role in another star's guise and it shall be fascinating to see if those who fill the Wizard's shoes (I wonder: are they green? Blue? Maybe checkerboard pattern?) can manage half of the impact that Crawford musters from his already strong material - particularly the aforementioned "Wonders of the World", the Act One Finale ("Bring Me The Broomstick") and the endearing, unexpected earworm of his all-too-short goodbye, "Farewell To Oz". In awe of Crawford's masterful performance in OZ 2011, it makes one yearn quite longingly for yet another magnificent reprise to continue his storied and unparalleled career onstage - so much so as it compels one to desperately hope he will take part in the gala for PHANTOM's 25th Anniversary being recorded for DVD and Blu-ray later this year. He is clearly still at the height of his performative powers - Wizard, Professor Marvel or, potentially, as the Phantom onstage once more.

In much the same way, Hannah Waddingham is spot-perfect as the Witch and makes one of the finest of the new contributions to the score the true show-stopper it was undoubtedly destined to be right from the beginning. She goes so far in the other direction of Crawford with her portrayal of the Witch as to make it the perfect foil to the Wizard and, as a result, ultimately leaving the listener feeling like the Wizard and the Witch are given equal weight with the rest of the inhabitants of Kansas and Oz - with the glaring exception being Dorothy, who owns the show.

Danielle Hope brings a sweet but assured  presence to her character and manages to make her own mark on the role - no easy feat when going up against comparisons to arguably the greatest entertainer of the twentieth century, Judy Garland. "Nobody Understands Me" is a whimsical and fun establishing song that sets the ideal mood for the bustling-but-boring life that Dorothy leads at the start of the show and her sensitive and soul-baring vocals on the score's most famous Arlen anthem, "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", is a distinct delight in a recording of a score positively overflowing with exactly that. Otherwise, moderation and what-serves-the-story-best is the modus operandi at work here with all involved, creatives to cast, and the results are a well-balanced show and score with a real, live beating heart at its center with just a diadem or two of red rubies coursing through the lifeblood to make it really shine and sparkle just so. Indeed, the closing song, "Already Home" is the ideal conclusion to a heavenly listening experience on a disc with nary a dud. But, hey, if we are to make suggestions: a duet for Dorothy and the Wizard certainly could not hurt, especially if Crawford and Hope are doing it!

In closing, the new 2011 Original West End Cast Recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE WIZARD OF OZ is the glittering, never-out-of-fashion red shoes and the shiny new silver shoes, too (just in time for summer) - and so much more than merely WICKED 2! This is the original - the real thing; the real story - done even better than ever before. Or, particularly thanks to Crawford and Waddingham, make that: Done Best.