Finale Lyrics – Wizard Of Oz, The

Song Overview

“Finale” closes the 2011 London Palladium recording with Dorothy’s homecoming - Glinda’s simple instruction, three heel taps, and the mantra that frames the story: there is no place like home. On the album you hear principal voices from the company, including Danielle Hope and Michael Crawford, gather for the curtain glow. It is short, direct, and purpose-built to land the show’s thesis without fuss.

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Album closer on The Wizard of Oz (2011 London Palladium Recording), track 25.
2. Function: seals Dorothy’s arc with Glinda’s guidance and the home refrain.
3. Arrangement: brief spoken set-up into a compact reprise-touch of the signature melody and an ensemble cadence.
4. Featured voices on the commercial audio include principals from the London company.
5. Runs roughly three and a half minutes on the CD master.

As a listening experience, the cut plays like a slow exhale. Spoken lines frame the moment, then the orchestra lifts a last shimmer of the show’s melodic DNA. No bloat, no encore vamp - just a gentle fade to daylight. According to a common cast-album practice, the mix keeps the diction forward so the text reads cleanly on record, even without visuals. It feels like a hand on your shoulder guiding you to the door.

Creation History

The 2011 production combined the classic Arlen and Harburg material with new numbers elsewhere in the score; here, the finale leans on the film’s core ethic - home as compass - and returns Dorothy to Kansas with spoken and sung fragments that audience members know by heart. The cast album presents that sequence in a studio-polished snapshot, collapsing bows into a narrative button.

Song Meaning and Scene Notes

Plot

Glinda cues Dorothy: close your eyes, tap heels three times, speak the wish. Dorothy wakes in Kansas, flooded with relief. The family gathers, and she names the lesson plainly - home was in her heart all along. Toto barks, the world steadies, the journey resolves.

Song Meaning

It is the tale’s thesis set to music. Adventure expands Dorothy’s world, but belonging grounds it. The finale affirms that wonder and home are not rivals - they complete each other. The gentle reprise color shifts the mood from peril to gratitude and lets the curtain fall on warmth instead of spectacle.

Instrumentation and pacing

Strings carry a soft halo, winds add breath, and brass stay restrained until the final cadence. The tempo sits just under a walking pulse - enough space for the lines to land and the emotion to settle.

Key Facts

• Artist: The Wizard of Oz 2011 UK Cast
• Featured: Company principals including Danielle Hope and Michael Crawford
• Composers/Lyricists referenced: Harold Arlen; E. Y. Harburg
• Producers (recording): Nigel Wright; Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Release Date: May 9, 2011
• Album: The Wizard of Oz (2011 London Palladium Recording) - track 25
• Label: Polydor; ? LW Entertainment Limited (2011)
• Genre: Musicals
• Length: 3:35
• Instruments: orchestra with strings, woodwinds, subdued brass, ensemble voices
• Mood: reflective, tender
• Language: English
• Music style: reprise-inflected closing tableau
• Poetic meter: conversational iambs; lullaby phrases on sustained tones

Canonical Entities & Relations

Questions and Answers

Where does “Finale” sit in the album’s structure?

Track 25 - the closer after “Already Home.”

Is this a new song or a reprise collage?

It is a brief reprise-touch anchored by spoken text and the familiar home refrain, arranged as a curtain button.

Who do we hear most prominently?

Glinda and Dorothy lead the dialogue; ensemble and principal voices round the cadence.

How long is the recording?

About three and a half minutes on the CD master.

Does the finale quote “Over the Rainbow”?

Yes - a short lyrical fragment surfaces as Dorothy resolves to return, then the music settles into the closing cadence.

Any distinctive production choices?

Close-miked speech for clarity, restrained orchestration, and a clean tail to avoid post-curtain applause artifacts on record.

Awards and Chart Positions

Production milestone: The London Palladium production that generated this album was nominated for Best Musical Revival at the 2012 Olivier Awards. No single-track chart placements are documented for “Finale.”

Additional Info

The cast album’s UK release date is logged as May 9, 2011, with Polydor credited for the CD and LW Entertainment Limited listed for the phonographic copyright. Several storefronts and databases list “Finale” at 3:35. The YouTube “Provided to YouTube” audio credits company principals alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber, reflecting how ensemble finales commonly aggregate billing. As stated in the 2012 nominations coverage, the production stood shoulder to shoulder with other revival heavy-hitters that season.

Sources: Apple Music, MusicBrainz, Official London Theatre, Whatsonstage, Universal Music Group YouTube, Discogs.