REVIEW: Wizard of Oz panto is a real Bobby dazzler

Chocolate eggs? Check.

Less rush hour traffic? Check.

Panto season? Er... Check!

And so the family and I headed on to the Yellow Brick Road (or the A505 to be precise) to travel to the Grove Theatre in Dunstable for their Easter panto, The Wizard of Oz.

The cast featured Tracy Beaker star Dani Harmer as Dorothy, alongside comedy legend Bobby Davro as the Scarecrow and CBeebies’ Sarah-Jane Honeywell as Glinda .

After what I thought was a rather disjointed opening ten minutes featuring a lot of cast members milling about on a dusty Kansas farmyard set (and the obligatory Gangnam Style dance out of the way in the first five minutes), the show quickly got into its stride when we took off for the land of Oz.

As you’d expect much of the humour was delivered by Davro, who revelled in playing the brainless Scarecrow, quipping “ I’m stupid, I put the dunce in Dunstable.” (Ouch, I thought the digs were supposed to be aimed at neighbouring towns?).

As Dorothy met the Scarecrow and then the Tin Man, the next line went down well... “ Look a man that looks like he’s made of tin. Goodness, whatever next, a lion that can talk!”

And then we were treated to a bit of rivalry between the Scarecrow and the Tinman whose duet Anything You Can Do provided the excuse for an impressionist sing-off where Bruce Forsyth, Chris Tarrant, Scooby Doo and Michael McIntyre were just a few names to be honoured in fine style.

But it wasn’t all about Davro, who managed to throw in a fair amount of adult humour which sailed over the heads of the youngest audience members, the female stars played their part with a string of great solos.

Harmer’s rendition of Over The Rainbow was superb and got a rousing reception, although my seven-year-old daughter’s reaction was simply a bewildering “why is she so short!”

Honeywell as Glinda, the Good Witch, performed with an infectious enthusiasm (who’d have thought she was a smiley smiley children’s TV star!). She was on a roll (literally) with her performance as she glided around the stage in her Heelys, and her high-pitched squeaky voice saw her dubbed Squeals on Wheels later in the show.

The repertoire of hits included Toy Story’s You’ve Got A Friend In Me, One Way Or Another (The Wicked Witch of the West is going to get you), At The Oz (Car) Wash, and The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

Then, when Dorothy is captured by the witch, it’s time for I Need A Hero , featuring the Tin Man dressed as Batman and the Scarecrow as Robin (the feathered variety... he admitted he was stupid after all!)

The escape from her clutches is aided by Davro’s take on a Harry Hill mobile disco, with Beyonce and Lady Gaga making an appearance to distract Her Wickedness, who is then sent packing with a bucket of water and we are left to enjoy her hilarious death throes as the audience slightly prematurely celebrate her demise .

So can panto work at Easter as well as Christmas? These may be tough economic times, but four sell-outs Grove shows from Enchanted Entertainment over the weekend, give you the answer.