After seeing The Wizard of Oz in Concert in the Concert Hall at QPAC on the weekend I had one lingering question. What were they smoking when they wrote this?

The story is by L. Frank Baum with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. We all know and love the 1939 film starring Judy Garland, based on Baum’s 1900 fantasy children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

There’s no denying though that it’s a tad surreal, a bit psychedelic and altogether nuts, in a good way. Maybe that’s why we love it so much. It remains one of the most influential films of all time.

This stage version was fleeting – just a few shows in a very limited season but local outfit Prospero Arts is warming up to their task which is “striving to renew the landscape of professional musical theatre in Brisbane by providing opportunities for local talent to work in their backyard on exceptional musical productions”.

Nice idea and Prospero Arts is backed by QPAC, their production partner in this venture.

So far, they have delivered two musicals …Singin’ in the Rain in Concert last year and The Wizard of Oz in Concert – and my sources tell me it won’t be too long before they announce their next.

It’s all well and good to foster local talent but you do need some star power to anchor shows. The Wizard of Oz in Concert featured some of Australia’s favorite musical theatre stars including Elandrah Eramiha who we recently saw in Hamilton. She played Dorothy and she was amazing.

Euan Doidge of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat fame was Scarecrow, Mark Hill, a star of Muriel’s Wedding the Musical was Tin Man, Monique Sallé of Mamma Mia! The Musical was the Cowardly Lion (she was a hoot).

Angelique Cassimatis (A Chorus Line) was the Wicked Witch, Loren Hunter of SIX The Musical was Glinda, the good witch and Michael Tuahine, who starred in Singin’ in the Rain in Concert, was the Wizard with Tim McCallum as Uncle Henry. McCallum is a paraplegic but hasn’t let that hamper his career. He performs in his wheelchair and is a brave and inspiring artist.

There’s plenty of local talent too including Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra which supplied the music on stage (rather than in the pit) conducted by Andrew Worboys.

Prospero Arts Managing Director Hayley Johnson says the company tries to balance local and imported talent. She’s a member of the Power family, the force behind the huge construction conglomerate BMD.

Johnson (nee Power) is also an accomplished performer, and co-founder of PowerArts, major sponsors, investors and co-producers for theatrical pursuits.

This initiative is driven by Power siblings Dare and Hayley in particular. Their intention is to build stronger relationships within the industry, in order to gain the knowledge and first-hand experience required to branch out with a self-owned, self-run and fully sustainable, commercial production company.

Since her WAAPA days in the early 2000s, and the launch of PowerArts in 2007, Hayley Johnson has spent over twenty years in the Performing Arts industry, building strong relationships with actors, creatives and producers. With a newfound interest in the Queensland arts industry from around the country she reckons now is the time to create our own homegrown company.
But we don’t want to be too parochial.

“We always undertake an extensive auditioning process, casting the net nationwide, to ensure we get the right combination of local, up-and-coming talent and established performers for our productions,” she says.

“The ensemble we pulled together for this latest show was slick and talented, with the majority hailing from Queensland.”

Prospero’s ethos is to be a production company that offers Brisbane’s local talent the opportunity to work in their own backyard on exceptional musical productions of a national standard. Musicals are big business at QPAC. There is sometimes tension over theatres booked out by musicals which means other shows can’t get a look in. But business is business.

It’s a great idea, though, to back a local outfit producing shows in the musical genre.

QPAC chief executive John Kotzas says he is right behind Prospero Arts which is, he says, “committed to highlighting the very best of local and national talent and developing new productions right here in Queensland”.

“The success of Prospero’s inaugural production last year was proof that audiences love in-concert musicals like this and we were pleased to once again partner with them to present this latest work.”

The concert style production focusses the story and gives the musicians a chance to shine too as they share the stage. The huge screen above worked a treat helping us along the yellow brick road to Oz.

What’s next for Prospero Arts? Well, run through the titles of some of your favorite films and musicals and it’s sure to be one of them.

prosperoarts.com.au