The Wizard of Oz | |
---|---|
Music | Harold Arlen; Herbert Stothart |
Lyrics | E. Y. Harburg |
Book | John Kane |
Basis |
|
Productions | 1987 Barbican Centre (North London) 1989 The Wizard of Oz Live! Arena Show 1993 U.S. Tour 1997 Madison Square Garden 2008 US Tour 2017 US Tour |
The Wizard of Oz is a musical with a book by John Kane, music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E. Y. Harburg. It has additional background music by Herbert Stothart. [1] It is based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 film version written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf.
Successful musicals based on the Baum novel were created in 1902 (for Broadway) and in 1942 (for St. Louis Municipal Opera), the latter of which, using songs from the popular 1939 film, is still frequently revived. Seeking to more closely recreate the 1939 film on stage, the Royal Shakespeare Company adapted the film's screenplay, also using the songs from the film, and produced a new version at London's Barbican Centre in 1987. This was also a success and has been given many revivals in various formats. It also had extensive tours the U.S. from 2008 to 2020. The musical has become a popular musical for community theatres, schools and children's theatres in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Wizard of Oz was first turned into a musical extravaganza by L. Frank Baum himself. A loose adaptation of Baum's 1900 novel (there is no Wicked Witch, magic shoes or Toto, and there are some new characters), it first played in Chicago in 1902 and was a success on Broadway the following year. It then toured for seven years. [2] The 1939 film adaptation bore a closer resemblance to the storyline of Baum's original novel than most previous versions. It was a strong success, won the Academy Awards for best song and best score, and has been frequently broadcast on television. This was followed, in 1942, by a musical theatre adaptation presented at the St. Louis Municipal Opera (MUNY). [3] The script was adapted by Frank Gabrielson from the novel, but it is influenced in some respects by the motion picture script and uses most of the songs from the film. A new song was added for Dorothy to sing in the Emerald City, called "Evening Star", and the Wizard goes home in a rocketship instead of a hot air balloon. The MUNY version continues to receive frequent revivals. [4]
According to Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) director Ian Judge, the company's 1987 adaptation "came about when Terry Hands, artistic director of the company, asked for a show that could be performed annually over the Christmas season, as a revival of J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan had been previously. ... Judge obtained the rights to the [1939] film. ... An additional verse has been put back into the Academy Award-winning song 'Over the Rainbow,' as well as an entire number, 'The Jitterbug,' that was cut from the movie. Every word of the screenplay has been left in. 'We've just fattened it out a little bit because you need a few more words in the theater than you need in the movies.'" [5] In 1986, John Kane was asked by the company to write the book for the adaptation. [6] This version hews even more closely to the film's screenplay than the 1942 MUNY version and attempts to recreate the film's atmosphere and some of its special effects. [4] It also involves more singing for the chorus. [7]
This synopsis describes the first version of the show, licensed as "The Wizard of Oz (RSC Version)", currently being licensed by Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark Music Library.
Dorothy Gale, a young girl living on a Kansas farm with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, dreams of escaping her mundane life ("Over the Rainbow"). The family's mean neighbor, Miss Gulch, threatens to impound Dorothy's cherished dog, Toto, so Dorothy and Toto run away. They meet up with kindly Professor Marvel, who subtly convinces Dorothy to return home. Suddenly a cyclone hits, and Dorothy and Toto, seeking shelter in the house, are transported to the Land of Oz.
In Oz, Dorothy meets Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Apparently, Dorothy's house has landed upon - and fatally stricken - the Wicked Witch of the East. The Munchkins, now freed from the Wicked Witch of the East, celebrate and hail Dorothy as their new heroine ("Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead/Munchkin Musical Sequence"). Suddenly, the Wicked Witch of the West appears, interrupting the celebration and seeking vengeance. Unable to reclaim her sister's shoes, which are now on Dorothy's feet, the Witch vows to return and disappears in a cloud of smoke. Dorothy, seeking a way back home to Kansas, sets off to see the Wizard of Oz ("Follow the Yellow Brick Road").
Along the way, Dorothy meets three new friends, each of whom bemoans the lack a crucial characteristic: The Scarecrow ("If I Only Had a Brain") the Tinman ("If I Only Had a Heart") and the Lion ("If I Only Had the Nerve"). Together, the four new companions make their way towards Oz ("We're Off to See the Wizard"). The Witch attempts to sedate the travelers with a poisonous field of poppies, but Glinda reverses the spell with healing snowflakes ("Poppies" (Act One Finale)).
The travelers, arriving at the Emerald City, are delayed by a stubborn Gatekeeper, but Dorothy's tears convince him to relent and let them in ("Merry Old Land of Oz"). As the group awaits its audience with the Wizard, the Lion boasts he is "King of The Forest". Finally, they meet the imposing and irritable Wizard, who demands the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West.
The four friends travel deep into the haunted forest. Suddenly, they encounter jitterbugs, who make them dance until they collapse from exhaustion ("The Jitterbug"). The Wicked Witch's flying monkeys swoop down, capturing Dorothy and Toto. At the castle, the Witch vows to take Dorothy's life. Meanwhile, the Lion, Scarecrow and Tinman infiltrate the castle disguised as Winkie guards. The foursome and Toto are reunited, but the Wicked Witch interferes, threatening the Scarecrow with fire. Dorothy, dousing the flames with a bucket of water, accidentally strikes the Witch, who smolders and melts into nothing ("Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead" (reprise)). The four friends, triumphant, take the Witch's broom back to the Wizard.
The Wizard remains imperious and imposing, but Toto pulls aside a curtain to reveal a meek and ordinary man speaking into a microphone. The Wizard, revealed to be a "humbug", nonetheless grants each traveler's request, giving the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Lion each a token of his newly-acquired ability. The Wizard offers to take Dorothy back to Kansas in his hot-air balloon, but the balloon accidentally takes off, and Dorothy is left alone and crestfallen. Glinda appears and explains that Dorothy has always had the power to return home. All she has to do is close her eyes, tap her heels together three times, and repeat to herself, "There's no place like home."
Back in Kansas, Dorothy awakens, confused, with a bump on her head. Reunited with all her loved ones, and relieved to learn the storm has left Miss Gulch incapacitated by a broken leg, Dorothy shares the tale of her miraculous journey, celebrating the joy and healing power of home.
Act One
~Includes "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead" | Act Two
~Includes "Optomistic Voices" |
In the Tams-Witmark Music Library licensed version, "Jitterbug" occurs between "March of the Winkies" and Reprise: "Winkie March". "Over the Rainbow" (reprise) occurs after "March of the Winkies" (reprise).
The RSC premiered the musical over Christmas 1987 at the Barbican Centre; it based its costumes on a combination of the book's original artwork and the style of the then-popular musical The Wiz . The original cast featured Imelda Staunton as Dorothy Gale; Bille Brown (in drag) as Miss Gulch/the Wicked Witch of the West; Dilys Laye and later Joyce Grant as Aunt Em/Glinda, the Good Witch of the North; and Trevor Peacock as Zeke/the Cowardly Lion and Sebastian Shaw as The Wizard of Oz/Professor Marvel. When the same production was reproduced in 1988, Gillian Bevan played Dorothy. The production was an immediate success in London when it opened at London's Barbican Theatre. The Times reviewer wrote: "This is, to come out with it immediately, the most marvellous show." [8]
The RSC revived the show the following season, again with Gillian Bevan as Dorothy, and recorded a cast album of the show. The staging has been repeated frequently by musical theatre companies in the United Kingdom.
The RSC version's first outing in the U.S. was in 1988 in a production starring Cathy Rigby as Dorothy (she had made her musical debut in the role in a 1981 MUNY revival) and Lara Teeter as the Scarecrow. [4] This was presented by the Long Beach Civic Light Opera (Long Beach, California) from July 14 to July 31, 1988. [9] [10]
In 1989, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the film, the RSC script and score were adapted into an arena-style touring production in the U.S. According to USA Today, the show was "Built to play about 70 stadiums across the country, the $5 million production opened Wednesday at Radio City Music Hall." [11] The production, with many dramatic and, according to critics, ill-advised design features, was not well received and had a short run, closing quietly in 1990. [4]
The RSC production had its Australian premiere at the State Theatre, Melbourne in January to February 1991. [12] The production played in December 1991 in Brisbane [13] and January to February 1992 in Adelaide. [14] The cast included Tamsin West as Dorothy, Cameron Daddo as Hunk/Scarecrow (replaced by Brian Rooney in Brisbane and Adelaide [15] ), David Whitney as Hickory/The Tinman, Pamela Rabe as Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch and John Gaden as Professor Marvel/The Wizard (replaced by Bert Newton in Brisbane and Adelaide [16] ). [12]
In 1992, the Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey, produced the Royal Shakespeare Company's version. Eddie Bracken was featured as a Guard and the Wizard. [6] The New York Times review noted that "Robert Johanson and James Rocco, sharing credit for direction and choreography, are attempting to relive the movie with up-to-the-minute stage effects. Ergo. Comes the cyclone, the cow flies. The farmhouse zooms over the first rows and lands back on stage, in the manner of the Phantom's crashing chandelier. Dorothy is suspended, Peter Pan-like, on high wires. All manner of creeping, crawling creatures augment the ascending ones; monkeys levitate, spookily; everyone, it appears, sooner or later, ascends, over and over." [17]
The RSC version was used in the first U.S. stage touring production based on the film, beginning in 1993. The Boston Herald reported that the show was "complete with all the beloved songs by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg. It's well-acted and extremely well-sung by a cast that draws on the movie classic's indelible characterizations of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, etc." [18]
This version used the RSC version and was filmed for television by the TNT network with an all-star cast, including Jewel as Dorothy and Joel Grey as the Wizard. Jackson Browne, Roger Daltrey and Nathan Lane played the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion, respectively. Debra Winger played the Wicked Witch. A cast album was made that includes more of the music from the show than the 1989 RSC recording as well as some dialogue. [4]
The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York production opened in May 1997 for 48 performances. Co-produced by the Paper Mill Playhouse, it used a shorter version of the show, 90 minutes long, and a score designed for younger audiences. Directed by Paper Mill artistic director Robert Johanson, the cast included Roseanne Barr as the Wicked Witch of the West and Ken Page, Lara Teeter, and Michael Gruber as the Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man, respectively. [19] [20]
This production was repeated in May 1998 at Madison Square Garden. It featured Mickey Rooney as the Wizard and Eartha Kitt as the Wicked Witch of the West. [21] Most of the 1997 cast returned, and it was this cast that made the cast recording associated with this version. [22] [23] While the show went on tour across the country, Liliane Montevecchi replaced Kitt as the Wicked Witch. [24] Jo Anne Worley later played the role. [25] [26] The US tour ended in 1999. [21] [27]
From November 2001 to February 2002, a production directed by Nancye Hayes was staged at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia. This version followed the movie version very closely in design. [28] [29] The cast included pop-star Nikki Webster as Dorothy, Delia Hannah as Aunt Em/Glinda, Kane Alexander as Hunk/Scarecrow, Doug Parkinson as Zeke/Cowardly Lion, Pamela Rabe as Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch, and Bert Newton as Professor Marvel/The Wizard. [29] The following year, the production transferred to the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, [30] and then to the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane, where Patti Newton (the wife of Bert Newton) and Derek Metzger, respectively, played Aunt Em/Glinda and Hunk/Scarecrow. [31]
A touring production of the show ran in cities across the U.S. from October 2008 to January 2012. [32] [33]
Another touring production began running across the U.S. in October 2017. It features new scenic design, costumes & choreography. [34]
A production from Pittsburgh CLO played at Acrisure Stadium (then known as Heinz Field) from July 8–10, 2021 with Jessica Grové reprising the role of Dorothy, which she had played in the Madison Square Garden production. [35]
A production from the American Conservatory Theater played in San Francisco from June 1–25, 2023. Sam Pinkleton directed, with costume and scenic design by David Zinn. [36]
Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by the American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his Oz novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels. She is also the main character in various adaptations, notably the 1939 film adaptation of the novel, The Wizard of Oz.
Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his Oz novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country South of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) in the context of contemporary African-American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974, at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, and moved to Broadway's Majestic Theatre with a new cast on January 5, 1975.
Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He first appeared in his 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappeared in many other subsequent Oz books in the series. In late 19th-century America, men made out of various tin pieces were used in advertising and political cartoons. Baum, who was editing a magazine on decorating shop windows when he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was inspired to invent the Tin Woodman by a figure he had built out of metal parts for a shop display.
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). An adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left production to take over the troubled Gone with the Wind. It stars Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, while others made uncredited contributions. The music was composed by Harold Arlen and adapted by Herbert Stothart, with lyrics by Edgar "Yip" Harburg.
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator W.W. Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely naïve. Throughout the course of the novel, he proves to have the brains he seeks and is later recognized as "the wisest man in all of Oz," although he continues to credit the Wizard for them. He is, however, wise enough to know his own limitations and all too happy to hand the rulership of Oz to Princess Ozma and become one of her trusted advisors, though he typically spends more time having fun than advising.
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character who appears in the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), created by American author L. Frank Baum. In Baum's subsequent Oz novels, it is the Nome King who is the principal villain; the Wicked Witch of the West is rarely even referred to again after her death in the first book.
Journey Back To Oz is a 1972 American animated adventure musical fantasy film produced by Filmation. It is loosely based on L. Frank Baum's second Oz novel The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904), although Baum received no screen credit.
The Wizard of Oz is a 1990 American animated television series produced by DIC Animation City to capitalize on the popularity of the 1939 film version, to which DiC had acquired the rights from Turner Entertainment, Co. The series aired for thirteen episodes and premiered on ABC, starting on September 8, 1990. The show presented a number of stories and characters from L. Frank Baum's original Oz series.
Aunt Em is a fictional character from the Oz books. She is the aunt of Dorothy Gale and wife of Uncle Henry, and lives together with them on a farm in Kansas. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, she is described as having been a "young, pretty wife" when she arrived at Uncle Henry's farm, but having been "grayed" by her life there, implying that she appears older than her years. Baum writes that when Dorothy came to live with her, Em would "scream and press her hand upon her heart" when startled by Dorothy's laughter, and she appears emotionally distant to her at the beginning of the story. However, after Dorothy is restored to her at the end of the book, her true nature is seen: she cries out, "My darling child!" and covers her with kisses.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, known in Japan as Ozu no Mahōtsukai (オズの魔法使い), is a Japanese anime television series adaptation based on four of the original early 20th century Oz books by L. Frank Baum. In Japan, the series aired on TV Tokyo from 1986 to 1987. It consists of 52 episodes, which explain other parts of the Oz stories, including the events that happened after Dorothy returned home.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, also known as The Wizard of Oz, is a 1910 American silent fantasy film and the earliest surviving film version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film was made by the Selig Polyscope Company without Baum's direct input. It was created to fulfill a contractual obligation associated with Baum's personal bankruptcy caused by the failure of his theatrical production The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays. It was partly based on the 1902 stage musical The Wizard of Oz, though much of the film deals with the Wicked Witch of the West, who does not appear in the musical.
The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Although Baum is the credited bookwriter, Glen MacDonough was hired on as jokewriter after Baum had finished the script, and the book was largely ghostwritten by a man named Finnegan. Much of the original music was by Paul Tietjens and has been mostly lost, although it was still well-remembered and in discussion at MGM in 1939 when the classic film version of the story was made. The original show was particularly popular because of its two comedy stars: Fred Stone playing the Scarecrow, and David C. Montgomery as the Tin Woodman.
The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True is a 1995 television musical performance based on the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The book and score of the film were performed on stage at Lincoln Center to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The concert featured guest performers including Jackson Browne as the Scarecrow, Roger Daltrey as the Tin Man, Natalie Cole as Glinda, Joel Grey as the Wizard, Jewel as Dorothy, Nathan Lane as the Cowardly Lion, Debra Winger as the Wicked Witch, and Lucie Arnaz as Aunt Em. The Boys Choir of Harlem appeared as the Munchkins, and Ry Cooder and David Sanborn performed as musicians.
The songs from the 1939 musical fantasy film The Wizard of Oz have taken their place among the most famous and instantly recognizable American songs of all time, and the film's principal song, "Over the Rainbow", is perhaps the most famous song ever written for a film. Music and lyrics were by Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, who won an Academy Award for Best Song for "Over the Rainbow."
The Wizard of Oz is a 2011 musical based on the 1939 film of the same name in turn based on L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with a book adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams. The musical uses the Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg songs from the film and includes some new songs and additional music by Lloyd Webber and additional lyrics by Tim Rice. It is the third stage musical adaptation of the film following the 1942 version for the St. Louis Municipal Opera and the 1987 version for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The Wizard of Oz is a musical commissioned by The Muny based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, using the film's songs by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg. The book of the musical is by Frank Gabrielson, who would later write an adaptation of The Marvelous Land of Oz (1960) for Shirley Temple.
Dorothy of Oz is a 1989 children's novel written by L. Frank Baum's grandson Roger S. Baum. The book details Dorothy Gale returning to the Land of Oz when a Jester has been using the wand of the Wicked Witch of the West to take over the Land of Oz. The book was adapted into the animated film Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return in 2014 by Clarius Entertainment.
The Wizard of Oz, subtitled Live Australian Cast Recording is a cast recording of the 2001 Australian production of the stage musical The Wizard of Oz, featuring Nikki Webster. It was nominated for the 2002 ARIA Award for Best Cast or Show Album.