A review by Daniel Minto, Aaron De Barra, Mia Nic Domhnaill, Setanta Mac Fheorais and Isabelle Nic Réamoinn, 3rd year, Múinteoir Grace and Aoife's class.
It’s been another amazing year for the transition year students of Coláiste Ghlór na Mara in the West End-standard performance of 'Draoi Oz', directed by Múinteoirí Niall, Siobhán, Grace and Turlough. It was a huge success and is the second year of Múinteoir Niall directing, as he also directed last year's "High School Musical ar Stáitse". With a talented cast of Aoibheann Butterly as Dorothy and Cianán Coiléir, Áine Ní Ógáin and Enda Ó Dúnaigh as the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion respectively it was a show to see. Saoirse Torkamani did the role of the Wicked Witch justice as she lit up the stage whenever she entered.
The story follows Dorothy Gale as she is swept away to a faraway land over the rainbow and must slay the Wicked Witch of the West. She journeys through the realm of Oz and meets new friends along the way. The story that unfolded onstage was enough to rival Judy Garland's legendary performance.
Where this show excels above the other musical that the school has put on is props. We were initially perplexed by how they were going to portray Dorothy's dog, Toto. The answer? A puppet, of course! A severely underrated actor, Grace Ní Mhuiris, puppeted Toto around the stage throughout each scene and young and old alike were entranced by Toto’s presence.
Thanks to Múinteoir Seosamh, the stage held up under energetic munchkin dancing. Most amazingly, with the help of Múinteoir Caroline’s superlative set design and the hard-working efforts of the backstage crew, Oz's head has born with a fully moving mouth. This added an aspect of realism to the play. It was also clear to see the effort Múinteoir Róisín put into the make-up and costume, from brightly coloured munchkins to the dowdier Midwest farmhands.
The music truly brought out the emotions of the play, whether it was the famous "Leanaigí Bóthar Brice Buí" or the menacing leitmotif that would play whenever the witch appears. The songs add impact to each scene as seen when Dorothy and her companions sing songs about their woes. "Dá mBeadh Muinín agam", "Dá mBeidh croí agam" and "Dá mbeidh inchinn agam" were all breathtaking to watch and able to flesh out the characters in an captivating way. In ‘Poppies’, the band’s musical talent and Glinda‘s (Aoife Fraser) angelic voice fused together to create a celestial melody that brought a satisfying end to the first half.
The teams’ effort for the dances and performances had us hypnotised and invested. The girls’ acrobatics stunned us, especially Etain and Emily’s stunt that had us in silence throughout the haunted forest sequence. The lighting in the show went over and above our expectations. The performance used red lighting that glistened through the smoke, from which the Wicked Witch of the West appeared, to exhibit the maliciousness and malevolence of the witch.
The actors’ passion and dedication to their roles carried the main message of the play. Aoibheann Butterly’s beautiful voice was exhibited during the standout track 'T'áit os cionn tuar ceatha’ that served as a powerful anthem of hope and longing during the play. The message was that there is no place like home and that the journey is about the people who you meet along the way. This is a profound message for all of us to slow down and look for the magic that is all around us.
The 2025 ceoldráma and the ones previous continue to allure a titanic crowd every time, without fail. It conveys CGNM‘s love and pride for Gaeilge, something that bonds and connects us Gaeilgeoirí together.
We believe that this is a show for the books that we should all be proud of. We hope that we can reach this standard in own own musical next year. "Draoi Oz" gets five yellow brick stars out of five from us and as they always say "Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán fein".