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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz cover art

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

By: L. Frank Baum, Paul Magrs - adaption
Narrated by: Jim Broadbent, Lydia West
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About the Performer

Lydia West is currently filming the new Apple show Tailspin, playing the role of ‘Monique’. She has recently wrapped on filming Russell T Davies’ Channel 4 series The Boys. Recent credits include the Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat BBC 1/Netflix series Dracula and the critically acclaimed Russell T Davies’ drama Years and Years playing one of the leading roles of ‘Bethany’ for BBC/HBO. Other credits include the feature film Higher Grounds.

About the Performer

Jim Broadbent trained at LAMDA before embarking on a long and very successful career. He is an award-winning actor having won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for his portrayal of John Bayley in the film Iris. He also won a Bafta TV Award and Golden Globe for his role of Lord Longford in the made-for-TV film Lord Longford. Jim has appeared in numerous film and television productions. His theatre work began with productions for the National Theatre of Brent and he has since appeared in productions for both The Royal Court and the Royal National Theatre.

Summary

When Dorothy and her pet dog, Toto, are swept away from their Kansas home, they find themselves in the magical land of Oz where munchkins live, monkeys fly and Wicked Witches rule. In their quest to return home they meet a cast of characters that have become much loved by families since the story was first published in 1900. Dorothy, played by Lydia West (Years and Years) joins the Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion as they follow the yellow brick road to find the Wizard, played by Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady, Moulin Rouge).

In this Audible Original drama, Oz is a real place full of real dangers, and we are introduced to new characters and perils in the journey to the Emerald City to meet the all-powerful Wizard of Oz, who alone may hold the power to grant Dorothy and her new friends’ every wish.

Featuring: David Benson, Jim Broadbent, Margaret Cabourn, Stephen Critchlow, James Dryden, Alix Dunmore, Jack Lane, Jason Nwoga, Lizzie Roper, Dan Starkey and Lydia West.

©2020 Audible, Ltd (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

Behind the scenes

Lydia West and Jim Broadbent discuss the recording of Oz
0:00

What listeners say about The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I really loved this story!:)

What i disliked was that I’m only 8 and the was so much things about killing in it . What I did like was that Dorothy , scarecrow , todo, tin wood man, and loin became friends.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An interesting and vivid adaptation

This adaptation of the great children’s classic has plenty of excitement. The performances are energetic and vivid and the sound effects are quite spectacular at times. While the storyline is broadly faithful to the original, there is a darker quality to this version. The portrayal of Dorothy in particular has an angry edge. Now this makes her character believable but certainly loses the gentleness in Baum’s novel. And generally the adaptation does not have the charm of the book. So I think this is aimed more at an older audience. In the end, this is a fine performance, an interesting take on the story, certainly worth hearing. but it does not eclipse the original work.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

very enjoyable

just the thing for a wet and windy weekend.

Dorothy had just a little snarck and wasn't too whiny.
A clever brainless scarecrow is always worth a listen and a tin woodsman who is a bit full of himself but usually very helpful is just about bearable as he is quite comical in a dry way.
The rest of the cast were good and I also liked the Queen of all the Mice, she was just brilliant.

Also as I haven't read this story since my children were small, which was a long time ago now, it brought back some very fond memories for me. Thank you to Audible and the cast for those moments too.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Surprisingly messed up but otherwise good

Of course, I knew the story in a general sense but I was surprised listening to the story how messed up it is! Possibly adult eyes on a children’s story- they’re all very dark when you think about it- but yeesh.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

So much more to it than I thought

We all know the story, but this telling was so much fun!

The actors were fantastic in dialling up the humour and I flew through it.

Shockingly I didn't realise it went beyond the balloon so very glad to hear this version.

Wonderful production.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

brought the story to life

I was engaged from beginning to end. all the characters were spot on! Great work to the cast!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

the best

it was good and the story
was very very interesting when dorothy met wereid people

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A good listen

Normally I don’t like performances of books and prefer to have the unvented text out. Usually in a production directors add unnecessary assumptions and end up talking down to the audience, imho.

However this performance was an exception, with some good performances, and on the whole not over acted. There were some amusing additions too. At one point, for example, the scarecrow said, “ if only there was a song we could sing while we’re on our way (to see the Wizard of Oz)….Oh well…”

The production follows the book more accurately than the film ever did too, and was better because of it. With a lively pace that kept one wanting to hear more.

In short, a good listen!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Kids love it

A great adaptation with enough added bits to flesh the story out. Has been the staunch favourite in the car on long drives.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Can't even finish it

The voice acting and sound effects are too much. I can't even finish it. Such a shame, was looking forward to this.

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