I have to admit I have always been a bit nervous when a theatre claims a much-loved classic has been revised and has "brand new songs" in the past.
And when you are dealing with a songbook that includes "Follow The Yellow Brick Road" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", I have to say my worries for Hull Truck's Wizard of Oz were almost palpable.
Well, I have just stepped out of the show's opening night and all I can say is who needs troubles melting like lemon drops or a whiz of a wiz anyway?
This production is Hull Truck at its very best: innovative, thoroughly entertaining and rollicking good fun.
All the familiar characters are here – Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion, Wicked Witch and, of course Dorothy and Toto (played here by a cute puppet) – and although, through her stint on Hollyoaks, Dominique Jackson has been attracting all the coverage so far, it seems unfair to single any one performer out in a show that is so clearly an ensemble piece.
The entire cast were fabulous – not least the bunch of Hull schoolchildren who turn up as everything from the witch's winged monkeys to the townsfolk of the Emerald City. And the set and effects create a brilliant atmosphere throughout.
Even my youngest – four years old and with the attention span of a gnat in normal circumstances - sat stock still, enthralled throughout. The localised references and moments of laugh-out loud humour that had the adults in fits may have passed him by. But that didn't matter as open-mouthed he was transported into the wonderful world of Oz, which, of course, is exactly what the best theatre should do.
This really is a whole heap of festive fun that will entertain everyone from grandma to fidgety four-year-olds.
I promise to never be apprehensive of re-worked classics again: blue birds can fly over the skies of Kansas. We would rather have Dorothy trying to get back to the Prospect Centre any day of the week.
To book tickets for the show, which runs until January 13, call the box office on 01482 323638 or visit www.hulltruck.co.uk.
