As I sat next to a wide-eyed three year old squealing with glee last Saturday night, I couldn’t quite believe that I was having more fun than she at the opening night to The Wizard of Oz.  The musical had enough action to entertain a variety of ages of children, but also had those entirely adult overtones that leave the elders in the crowd no only snickering, but laughing aloud.

Dorothy and Toto are threatened by an evil neighbour and plan to run away from home.  Then up comes a tornado launching the team into Munchkinland and depositing their house on the Wicked Witch of the East, killing her.  This rouses her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, when Dorothy takes over the dead witch’s magic slippers.

Dorothy and Toto decide to head to Emerald City in order to ask the Wizard of Oz to send them home and meet up with a Scarecrow with no brain, a Tin Man with no heart and a Lion without courage.  Through the journey they encounter many misfortunes and spells cast on them by the wicked witch, but in the end all learn the lesson that there power was always there, all they had to do was believe.

Until January 6 at The Carousel Theatre Granville Island.