The Wicked Witches of Oz
Xchange Hotel
July 26, 2008
The biggest thing in Melbourne musical theatre right now is Wicked. Well, I haven’t seen Wicked, but I reckon I’ve seen something just as imaginative. And it still involves witches, munchkins, dancing and spectacular special effects.
It’s shortly before 1am on Saturday night. My friend pays $12 for each of us and we walk into a dimly lit club. A blend of Kylie and techno music pumps loudly through the speakers. We walk past the first bar and enter a dance floor full of great-dancing, stylish, fit men. Very few women scatter the crowd.
Suddenly the sea of dancers parts and a stage is revealed. Dorothy enters onstage and starts to sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Ok, well she is lip-synching. And she definitely isn’t like any Dorothy I’ve ever seen.
Welcome to Xchange Hotel‘s The Wicked Witches of Oz. The beautiful (and sometimes not so beautiful) women on stage are not women at all. This is Wicked done drag style and is absolutely fabulous!
Conceptualised and directed by Anthony Stone and costumes by Jessica James, the show is an extravaganza of glitter and glam.
About half an hour long (and apparently it can be bit longer, depending on the crowd of the night), the show condenses the story of The Wizard of Oz, with a bit of Wicked thrown in.
All the familiar characters are there. The Cowardly Lion is well over six feet tall, with an elaborate glittering fur coat, and a pretty ugly grimace. The Munchkins sing “the witch is dead” bopping about on their knees.
There is the Wicked Witch’s deep green skin, the flying monkey’s black wings, the guards’ muffler hats, and Glinda the Good Witch’s pink fairy gown. The big screen backdrop transforms from Dorothy and her friends skipping into the Emerald City, to the giant head of The Great Oz.
The cast features Miss Lucy Loosebox as Dorothy; Miss Candee as the Good Witch, the Lion and Oz; Taylor as the Scarecrow; Sasha as the Tin ‘She-Man’; Sensation as the Wicked Witch; with munchkins Joel and Cory.
There is smoke and glitter, energy and glamour, sorrow and happiness. Everything you want from a musical. And I didn’t have to pay $125 to see it!
The Wicked Witches of Oz is the late show of three every Saturday night of the winter at the Xchange Hotel. Check out the website (here) for a promo clip of the show.
