The Wizard of Oz (1902 stage play)
Encyclopedia
The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 extravaganza
Extravaganza
An extravaganza is a literary or musical work characterized by freedom of style and structure and usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody. It sometimes also has elements of cabaret, circus, revue, variety, vaudeville and mime...

 based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...

by L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

, which was originally published in 1900. Much of the original music was by Paul Tietjens
Paul Tietjens
Paul Tietjens was an American composer of the early twentieth century. He is best known for composing music for The Wizard of Oz, the 1902 stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, one of the great popular hits of its era.Tietjens was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri...

 and has been mostly forgotten, although it was still well-remembered and in discussion at MGM in the late 1930s, when the classic film version of the story
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...

 was made.

The 1902 show premiered in Chicago and later moved to Broadway in 1903, where it ran for 293 performances from January 21, 1903 to December 31, 1904, followed by travelling tours of the original cast. It starred Anna Laughlin as Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...

, Fred Stone
Fred Stone
Fred Andrew Stone was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act on vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Biography:He was particularly famous for appearing...

 as The Scarecrow and David C. Montgomery as the Tin Woodman
Tin Woodman
The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...

 (who is called Niccolo Chopper in the musical [in the books, he had begun life as human Nick Chopper]). Arthur Hill (no relation to the Canadian actor) played the Cowardly Lion
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....

, but in this version, his role was reduced to a bit part. An element from the show — the snowfall caused by the Good Witch, which defeats the spell of the poppies that had put Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion to sleep — was later used in the famous 1939 movie
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...

. Other major characters in the piece are King Pastoria
Pastoria
King Pastoria is a fictional character mentioned in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He was the rightful King of the Land of Oz, but was removed by an evil witch named Mombi, and his throne was taken by the Wizard of Oz...

 II and his girlfriend, Trixie Tryfle (a waitress), Cynthia Cynch (A Lady Lunatic), Sir Dashemoff Daily, the poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...

; Sir Wiley Gyle, and General Riskitt. Dorothy Gale's surname was introduced in this piece. It was not mentioned in the original novel, though it is mentioned in Ozma of Oz
Ozma of Oz
Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Tiktok, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein published on July 30, 1907, was the third book of L....

(1907).

The main plot of the show, as recounted in newspapers of the time, is Pastoria's attempts to regain the the throne from the Wizard of Oz. The original protagonists' search for the Wizard puts them on the wrong side of the law.

Act One: The Storm

A little girl named Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...

 lives in the midst of the great Kansas prairies with her Aunt Em, her Uncle Henry and her little dog, Toto. One day, whilst she is playing with her pet cow Imogene, things are broken up by a fierce whirlwind. Dorothy and Toto take shelter in the farmhouse, which is carried far away into the clouds.

Meanwhile in the hamlet of Center Munch, the little Munchkins dance around their maypole not noticing that Dorothy's house has fallen to earth and killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy opens the front door and marvels at the strange Land of Oz. The Good Witch of the North awards Dorothy with a magic ring, good for three wishes and can summon the Good Witch of the South at any time. The Good Witch then waves her wand and a pair of beautiful shoes appear on Dorothy's feet, she tells Dorothy that if she wants to get home, she must ask the Wizard of Oz
Wizard (Oz)
The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...

 to help her.

After a while, everyone exits and Dorothy is left alone with a Scarecrow, hung on a pole. She wishes she had someone to talk to, and the Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace 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...

 comes to life. He gets down off his pole and complains that he has no brain. Dorothy suggests that she join him on the road to the Emerald City and he sings "Alas for the Man Without Brains". Dorothy and the Scarecrow come upon the Tin Woodsman, who has rusted playing his piccolo. As it turns out, the Woodman's real name is Niccolo Chopper. He explains that the Wicked Witch of the West took his heart, so he cannot love Cynthia, who is his girlfriend. He joins the others in the hope of receiving one from the Wizard, and return to Cynthia.

Act Two: The Emerald City

The Keeper of the Gates patrols outside the Emerald City. Sir Wiley Gyle enters. He is a mad old inventor who scorns all magic ever since his mother died. After being sent to prison for killing his wife, the travelers enter the Emerald City.
The Wizard gives the Scarecrow a brain and the Tin Woodman a heart. He declares this the greatest of all his achievements and calls for a celebration. The Ball of All Nations is thrown, in which anywhere up to twelve songs are song by various characters. The Wizard performs a basket trick in which Pastoria is the mark. In the middle of the trick he claims his right to the throne and overthrows the Wizard. A great commotion breaks out, with the Wizard escaping in a hot air balloon. Dorothy, still longing for home, sets off with her companions to the castle of Glinda the Good Witch of the South. End of Act Two.

Act Three: Glinda's Palace

Dorothy and her friends arrive at the palace and are welcomed. There are great celebrations, with Glinda promising to send Dorothy home. The whole cast rushes out from the wings and sings the finale. Romayne Whiteford portrayed Glinda early in the run as well as Doris Mitchell and Ella Gilroy, but the character appears to have been written out in subsequent productions.

Conception and script

The origin of the idea of dramatising The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...

on stage is debatable. L. Frank Baum claimed once that a woman walked up to him on the street one day and suggested that the book be adapted to the stage. This, however, is unlikely. But for whatever reason Baum, his friend Paul Tietjens
Paul Tietjens
Paul Tietjens was an American composer of the early twentieth century. He is best known for composing music for The Wizard of Oz, the 1902 stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, one of the great popular hits of its era.Tietjens was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri...

 and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz illustrator W. W. Denslow got together to attempt to bring the novel to the stage. They had a basic formula worked out: Baum would write the stage script, Tietjens would write the songs and Denslow would design the costumes and sets, which he would pattern after his illustrations. Baum completed the script, Tietjens completed the songs and Denslow completed the costume and set designs. This was completed in 1901, with a script that stayed fairly close to the original novel (the script was submitted as an appendix for Frank Joslyn Baum
Frank Joslyn Baum
Frank Joslyn Baum was a lawyer, soldier, writer, and film producer, though his attempts to continue the legacy of his father brought him lawsuit and estrangement from his family. Nonetheless, he became the first president of The International Wizard of Oz Club.He is best known as the author of To...

's biography of his father, To Please a Child, but not published there out of copyright concern). They submitted this package to producer Fred R. Hamlin in hope he would accept it. Hamlin liked it, and approached Julian P. Mitchell
Julian P. Mitchell
Julian P. Mitchell was a noted stage director and producer best remembered for directing The Wizard of Oz . Other productions he directed include Babes in Toyland, Franz Lehar's Eva, Oh! Oh! Delphine, Ziegfeld Follies of 1912, Ziegfeld Follies of 1925, The Blue Kitten at the Selwyn Theatre, and...

 to be director.

Mitchell received the script and read it. He did not like it, criticizing its lack of spectacle, calling it too subdued and small-scale. However, he sent a wire to Hamlin with the message 'Can see possibilities for extravanganza'. Thus, Mitchell accepted the project. However, he brought in new songwriters to write a new set of songs, keeping only one or two of the original Tietjens numbers. He totally rewrote the script, introducing new characters, exploits, giving the Cowardly Lion
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....

 a smaller part and deleting the character of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

 entirely. Baum was anxious about this, but went along with it, hoping Mitchell's experience in directing and the casting of comedy team Fred Stone
Fred Stone
Fred Andrew Stone was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act on vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Biography:He was particularly famous for appearing...

 and Dave Montgomery as the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman
Tin Woodman
The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...

 would make the show a hit. It was, luckily, a roaring success and broke records in almost every theatre it played at.

Production

The play was written by L. Frank Baum himself, though after producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...

 Fred R. Hamlin and director
Theatre direction
A theatre director or stage director is a practitioner in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production by unifying various endeavours and aspects of production...

  Julian P. Mitchell
Julian P. Mitchell
Julian P. Mitchell was a noted stage director and producer best remembered for directing The Wizard of Oz . Other productions he directed include Babes in Toyland, Franz Lehar's Eva, Oh! Oh! Delphine, Ziegfeld Follies of 1912, Ziegfeld Follies of 1925, The Blue Kitten at the Selwyn Theatre, and...

 rejected his 1901 spec script
Spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....

, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which held close to the novel, he wrote a completely new script based on their desires. He hired the librettist of Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (operetta)
Babes in Toyland is an operetta composed by Victor Herbert with a libretto by Glen MacDonough , which wove together various characters from Mother Goose nursery rhymes into a Christmas-themed musical extravaganza. The creators wanted to cash in on the extraordinary success of The Wizard of Oz,...

, Glen MacDonough
Glen MacDonough
Glen MacDonough was a US American writer, lyricist and librettist. He was the son of theater manager Thomas B. MacDonough and actress/author Laura Don...

, to add topical humor he felt himself incapable of writing. He referred to McDonough as "a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 joke writer", in a letter to the editor responding to a claim that he had put "wild and woolly Western humor" into the piece. In an open letter to The Chicago Tribune published June 26, 1904, Baum decried rumors that he was "heartbroken and ashamed" with the final product of the musical: "I acknowledge that I was unwise enough to express myself as dissatisifed with the handling of my play on its first production...few authors of successful books are ever fully satisfied with the dramatization of their work. They discern great gaps in the original story that are probably never noticed by playgoers." He admitted to protesting several innovations, but ultimately concluded, "The people will have what pleases them, and not what the author happens to favor, and I believe that is one of the reasons why Julian Mitchell is regarded as a great producer is that he faithfully tries to serve the great mass of playgoers--and usually succeeds."

Most of the original songs were written by Paul Tietjens
Paul Tietjens
Paul Tietjens was an American composer of the early twentieth century. He is best known for composing music for The Wizard of Oz, the 1902 stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, one of the great popular hits of its era.Tietjens was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri...

 on Baum's lyrics, but three, "The Guardian of the Gate" (also attributed to Tietjens) which was cut after only a few performances, "The Different Ways of Making Love" (which sounded less risqué at the time) and "It Happens Every Day" were composed by Nathaniel D. Mann
Nathaniel D. Mann
Nathaniel D. Mann was an American composer best known for his work with L. Frank Baum. He composed at least two songs with Baum, "Different Ways of Making Love" and "It Happens Ev'ry Day," and another with John Slavin, "She Didn't Really Mind the Thing at All," for The Wizard of Oz stage musical...

, who later wrote the score for Baum's 1908 film/theatrical presentation, The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays was an early attempt to bring L. Frank Baum's Oz books to the motion picture screen. It was a mixture of live actors, hand-tinted magic lantern slides, and film. Baum himself would appear as if he were giving a lecture, while he interacted with the characters...

. Most of Baum's songs related to the story in some way, as in operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...

, but as performed, the play was more like vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

, and new songs by other songwriters were frequently substituted. In fact, the first song interpolated into the musical was "The Traveler and the Pie", a major number for the Scarecrow, a song Baum and Tietjens had intended for a play called The Octopus; or the Title Trust, which was never produced and possibly never completed. This was to be an exception in that it was written by Baum and Tietjens, but it was a classic of the time and stayed in the show. James O'Dea and Edward Hutchinson wrote one of the show's most celebrated songs, "Sammy", which was sung by Tryxie Tryfle about a lost love before Pastoria, though the only contemporary recording of the piece was sung by a man (Harry Macdonough
Harry Macdonough
John Scantlebury Macdonald was a Canadian singer and recording executive. Under the pseudonym Harry Macdonough, he was one of the most prolific and popular tenors during the formative years of recorded music....

)!

The witches are largely absent in this version; The Good Witch of the North appears, named Locasta, and The Wicked Witch of the East is a special effect. The Wicked Witch of the West does not appear, and Glinda
Glinda
Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

 was written out, as she does not appear in the original Broadway cast list, although she does appear on another one. The reason for her omission was because she appeared only in Act Three, and in 1903 the whole of Act Three was rewritten by Julian Mitchell and revolved around the Borderland that divides Oz and Glinda's Domain, and Dorothy and her friends trying to escape Pastoria. Toto, Dorothy's dog, has also been replaced, by a cow named Imogene.

New characters in the script include King Pastoria
Pastoria
King Pastoria is a fictional character mentioned in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He was the rightful King of the Land of Oz, but was removed by an evil witch named Mombi, and his throne was taken by the Wizard of Oz...

 II, Oz's true king working as a Kansas motorman and his girlfriend, Trixie Tryfle, a waitress. His return takes up a bit more of the story than Dorothy's desire to return home. Another subplot includes Cynthia Cynch, the Lady Lunatic, a prototype for Nimmie Amee, in that she is the Tin Woodman's girlfriend. Niccolo Chopper was renowned for his ability to play the piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...

, which was the subject of one of her songs, and he is shown playing a piccolo in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 film)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1910 silent fantasy film and the earliest surviving film version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, 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 first Oz film made without Baum's input, which was highly influenced by the popular play. The Wizard was presented as various ethnic stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...

 stereotypes, depending upon who played him. He was assisted by Sir Wiley Gyle and General Riskitt. David L. Greene and Dick Martin
Dick Martin (artist)
Dickinson P. Martin was an artist from Chicago who illustrated a number of books related to The Oz books series, most notably, Merry Go Round in Oz , the 40th and final title in the regular series, as well as many other children's books. He wrote and illustrated The Ozmapolitan of Oz, published...

 erroneously captioned a picture of General Riskitt as "Sir Wiley Gyle" in The Oz Scrapbook, and Donald Abbott carried this mistake over into his illustrations for How the Wizard Saved Oz.

The animals in the play, including the Cowardly Lion, did not speak, based on pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...

 tradition. Although the lion costume was realistic, far more so than Bert Lahr
Bert Lahr
Bert Lahr was an American actor and comedian. Lahr is remembered today for his roles as the Cowardly Lion and Kansas farmworker Zeke in The Wizard of Oz, but was also well-known for work in burlesque, vaudeville, and on Broadway.-Early life:Lahr was born in New York City, of German-Jewish heritage...

's in the MGM film, his main purpose was a bit of comic relief and scaring off the villains on occasion. His quest for courage is completely omitted, much as the other characters' quests are deemphasized in favor of various comic routines. Ultimately, though, their desire to seek the Wizard's aid gets them caught on the wrong side of the revolution, jailed and ultimately scheduled for execution. In a deus ex machina
Deus ex machina
A deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.-Linguistic considerations:...

, another tornado arrives to sweep Dorothy home from the chopping block.

Many new plot twists are virtually pointless. In addition to a kiss of protection, Dorothy gets three wishes, one of which is wasted on a triviality. The second is used to bring the Scarecrow to life, and the third is used so she can learn the song Sir Dashemoff Daily (a trouser role) has written to his girlfriend, Carrie Barry. This song was written by Baum and Tietjens, but some programs credited the song to Glen MacDonough and A. Baldwin Sloane to make their connection to the play look greater.

Probably the biggest influence on the 1939 MGM film, aside from making the story into a musical (but not using the score created for the stage version), is the Poppy Sequence that ended Act I. In the novel, Baum imaginatively has a legion of field mice pull a cart with the Cowardly Lion out of the poppy field. This was deemed unfeasible (though the stage version of The Wiz
The Wiz
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 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...

created a variation, with the mice as anthropomorphic vice cops), and Baum, though he included it in the 1901 script, replaced the scene with that of the Snow Queen creating a storm that destroys the poppies, much as Glinda does in the 1939 movie. This concluded Act I with an elaborate dance known as "Winter Jubilation", which James Patrick Doyle plays on synthesizers on the album, Before the Rainbow: The Original Music of Oz.

Because there were no cast albums in those days, productions of the musical often exceeded four hours in length because of multiple demands for encores, since many of the attendees knew they would never get to attend again, and these encores were responded to. Popular songs were often sung multiple times and this was often used to gauge whether a song should be retained or dropped. Two popular routines that were worked in include a sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

 routine and a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 routine, the latter parodying the level of violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...

 in the sport, which had recently been lessened due to new regulations.

The second theatre to house the production was the New York Theatre
New York Theatre
Several theatres in New York City have been called New York Theatre at various times during the building's life. They include the following:*Bowery Theatre*Olympia Theatre *Church of the Messiah...

.

By 1905, the production had been moved to the Academy of Music at 14th and Irving Place. Montgomery and Stone remained in the cast, but Dorothy was now played by Mona Desmond. Joseph Schrode, later to appear in The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays was an early attempt to bring L. Frank Baum's Oz books to the motion picture screen. It was a mixture of live actors, hand-tinted magic lantern slides, and film. Baum himself would appear as if he were giving a lecture, while he interacted with the characters...

, was Imogene, and George Ramza played the Cowardly Lion. Marion Stanley took over the role of Trixie Tryfle, Leona Stevens Locasta, George B. Field
George B. Field
George B. Field is an American astrophysicist.- Education and career :Field became interested in astronomy at an early age, but at the urging of his father he studied chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Disliking engineering, he later switched to astrophysics...

 as Sir Wiley Gyle, Charles E. Mitchell
Charles E. Mitchell
Charles Edwin Mitchell was an American banker whose incautious securities policies facilitated the speculation which led to the Crash of 1929...

 as the Wizard, Harold T. Morey as General Riskitt, and Maxwell Sargent as the Army of Pastoria. The Snow Queen was played by Bert Dean in travesty, who also played the captain of the Phantom Patrol. Belle Robinson played Alberto, Glinda's Officer of the Day, although Glinda no longer appears, althoujgh Act III remains set on "The Borderland dividing the Kingdom of Oz from the Dominion of the Good Witch."

It was prodcued as late as 1934, with Charles H. Pinkham
Charles H. Pinkham
Charles H. Pinkham was born in Grafton, Massachusetts in 1844. In 1895, President Grover Cleveland presented him with the Medal of Honor for his service in the American Civil War...

 in the role of the Scarecrow.

Reception

Leone Langdon-Key loved the scenery, but found Baum's script commonplace, citing that many lines start with, "Well, wouldn't that---" and deplored Tietjens's "fondness for a lack of contrast and rhythms. She also claims that the story of PAstoria trying to regain the lost throne from the Wizard to be "as readers of the story remember.

One critic described the show as "big and Belasco
David Belasco
David Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...

-ly."

Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Czar Alexander II of Russia and a first cousin of Czar Nicholas II. He followed a military career and was a Major General in the Russian Army. He took part in the Russo-Japanese War and...

 gained considerable notoreity by drinking champagne from the satin slipper of one of the chorus girls during a 1902 trip to Chicago.

Sequel

The success of the play led Baum to write The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published on July 5, 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This and the next...

after four years of demand for a sequel to the novel. He dedicated the book to Montgomery and Stone, and made the roles of the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman prominent, with the roles of Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion reduced to a reminiscence. After the team balked at leaving Wizard for a sequel, Baum wrote the stage musical, The Woggle-Bug
The Woggle-Bug (musical)
The Woggle-Bug is a musical based on The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum, with book and lyrics by the author and music by Frederic Chapin that opened June 18, 1905 at the Garrick Theatre in Chicago under the direction of Frank Smithson, a Shubert Organization employee. The musical was a...

, eliminating the Tin Woodman, replacing the Scarecrow with Regent Sir Richard Spud, replacing Glinda with Maetta from The Magical Monarch of Mo
The Magical Monarch of Mo
The Surprising Adventures of the Magical Monarch of Mo and His People is the first full-length children's fantasy book by L. Frank Baum...

and renaming the Emerald City
Emerald City
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

 the "City of Jewels," though Oz is mentioned several times. The first appearance of the title character was moved from halfway through the novel to the opening scene, and his mentor, Professor Knowitall, name shortened to Professor Knowitt, was raised to the level of romantic lead with a girlfriend named Prissy Pring, a Captain in General Jinjur
Jinjur
Jinjur is the main antagonist of The Marvelous Land of Oz. She is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum and his successors. She first appears in The Marvelous Land of Oz as a self-appointed general leading an "Army of Revolt"—an all-woman force seeking to end the reign of the Scarecrow and...

's Army of Revolt. Jack Pumpkinhead and The Woggle-Bug became a comic team analogous to the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman. The play was performed at the Garrick Theater
Garrick Theater (Chicago)
The Schiller Theatre Building was designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler of the firm Adler & Sullivan for the German Opera Company. At the time of its construction, it was one among the tallest buildings in Chicago...

 in Chicago and opened to reviews panning Baum's script and praising the score by Frederic Chapin
Frederic Chapin
Frederic Chapin was an American composer and writer best known for his work with L. Frank Baum on The Woggle-Bug, a 1905 musical based on Baum's novel, The Marvelous Land of Oz. His popular work The Storks with Guy F. Steeley led to his work with Baum, as he was recommended by M. Witmark & Sons,...

. No songs were interpolated (although two were derived from an earlier source and erroneously credited to Baum), but the general consensus was that the play was a cash-in or rip-off of The Wizard of Oz rather than a sequel.

Revivals

The musical comedy was performed in a concert version in New York City in May 1982 by the New Amsterdam Theatre Company under the direction of Jason Buzas and musical direction of Evans Haile. The cast included Suzanne Murphy as Locasta, Marjorie Bowman as Cynthia Cynch, Joan Jaffe as Tryxie Trifle, Alan Abrams as Pastoria, Marina Chamlin as Dorothy Gale, Sandra Wheeler as Sir Dashemoff Daily, Lee Chew as the Scarecrow, and Marty Algaze as "Nic Chopper, a tin man."

It has been revived in Tarpon Springs, Florida
Tarpon Springs, Florida
Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 21,003 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 22,554....

 by the New Century Opera Company in 1998 and, most recently, July 2006. Hungry Tiger Press
Hungry Tiger Press
Hungry Tiger Press is an American specialty publisher of books, compact discs, comic books and graphic novels, focused on the works of L. Frank Baum, other authors of Oz books, and related Americana. Perhaps most notably, the Press has published rare, early, long-neglected dramatic and musical...

 announced several years ago that it would be publishing the complete libretto for the first time, but has been delayed years beyond the original announcement on claims of finding new material, though many suspect the sudden death of James Patrick Doyle was the major factor. However, Hungry Tiger press published a two-CD set of vintage recordings related to the musical in 2003. Lyrics were printed in the CD booklet. There have been several new recordings of the songs, though none have had major distribution.

The Canton Comic Opera Company in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, the only theatre company in the world dedicated solely to the preservation and performance of American operettas, has recently completed a restoration of the original 1903 Broadway version which will be performed in July 2010. Their production will be the first in over 80 years with full orchestra. The New Century Opera recorded the Baum/Tietjens music on CD, but the accompaniment was on piano and there was quite a bit of role doubling.

by Paul Tietjens

  • Prelude
  • Life in Kansas
  • Cyclone
  • Transformation
  • Maypole Dance
  • Death of the Wicked Witch
  • Locasta's Entrance
  • Invocation & Death of the Poppies
  • Transformation
  • Winter Jubilation
  • Hayfoot, Strawfoot
  • Phantom Patrol
  • Waltz & Grand March
  • Lanciers
  • Schottische

by L. Frank Baum and Paul Tietjens

  • Niccolo's Piccolo (sometimes attributed to MacDonough and Sloan) (Cynthia Cynch)
  • Carrie Barry (sometimes attributed to MacDonough and Sloan) (Dorothy Gale)
  • The Scarecrow (Alas for the Man Without Brains) (Scarecrow)
  • Love Is Love (Sir Dashemoff Daily)
  • When You Love, Love, Love (Scarecrow, Tin Woodman
    Tin Woodman
    The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...

    , and Dorothy Gale)
  • Poppy Song (Poppy Chorus)
  • The Guardian of the Gate (Guardian of the Gates) (cut after first few Chicago performances)
  • When We Get What's A'comin to Us (Dorothy Gale, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman)
  • Just a Simple Girl from the Prairie (Dorothy Gale)
  • The Wizard Is No Longer King (Ensemble)
  • The Traveler and the Pie (Scarecrow)

by L. Frank Baum and Nathaniel D. Mann

  • The Different Ways of Making Love (Dorothy Gale and Cynthia Cynch)
  • It Happens Every Single Day

by A. Baldwin Sloane and Glen MacDonough

  • In Michigan (Pastoria)
  • The Man Who Stays in Town (Pastoria and Tryxie Tryfle) (unconfirmed, uncredited attribution)
  • Star of My Native Land (Pastoria)

by William Jerome and Jean Schwartz

  • Mr. Dooley (Wizard) [written for A Chinese Honeymoon
    A Chinese Honeymoon
    A Chinese Honeymoon is a musical comedy in two acts by George Dance, with music by Howard Talbot and additional music by Ivan Caryll and others, and additional lyrics by Harry Greenbank and others...

    (1902)]

by Edgar Smith and A. Baldwin Sloane

  • Connemara Christening (Tin Woodman)
  • Spanish Bolero (Scarecrow)

by Weslyn and Albert

  • The Witch Behind the Moon (Cynthia Cynch) [replaced by There's a Lot of Things You Never Learn at School c. 1903]

by James O'Dea and Edward Hutchinson

  • Sammy (Tryxie Tryfle)
  • As Long as There's Love in the World (Sir Dashemoff Daily)

by Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards

  • Rosalie (Dorothy Gale and Cynthia Cynch)
  • I Love Only One Girl in the Wide, Wide World (Sir Dashemoff Daily)
  • The Tale of a Cassowary (Cynthia Cynch)
  • Johnnie I'll Take You (Tryxie Tryfle)
  • I'll Never Love Another Love Like I Love You (Sir Dashemoff Daily)

by Will D. Cobb and Harry Hoyt

  • Meet Me Down at the Corner (Wizard) [another Irish-themed song added c. 1907]

by Hugh Morton and Gustave Kerker

  • The Lobster Song (I Was Walking 'Round the Ocean) (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)

by Frank Leo

  • That's Where She Sits All Day (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman in "cockney
    Cockney
    The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...

     Negro
    Negro
    The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...

    ")

by Vincent Bryan and Theodore F. Morse

  • Nautical Nonsense (Hurrah for Baffin's Bay!) (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)

by Harry Boden, David C. Montgomery, and Bert Brantford

  • Must You? (Tin Woodman, with Scarecrow)

by Ed Gardenier and Edwin S. Brill

  • There's a Lot of Things You Never Learn at School (Cynthia Cynch) [replaced "The Witch Behind the Moon" c. 1903]

by James O'Dea and Robert J. Adams

  • Daisy Donahue (Pastoria) [replaced by "Down on the Brandywine"]
  • The Sweetest Girl in Dixie (Dorothy Gale) [added c.1904-05; written for Sergeant Brue (1904)]

by Vincent Bryan and J.B. Mullen

  • Down on the Brandywine (Trixie Tryfle and Pastoria) [replacement for "Daisy Donohue"]
  • 'Twas Enough to Make a Perfect Lady Mad (Cynthia Cynch)
  • Under a Panama (Dorothy Gale) [added c. 1904 also featured in Sergeant Brue (1904) and mentioned in Sally Benson
    Sally Benson
    Sally Benson was an American screenwriter, who was also a prolific short story author, best known for her semi-autobiographical stories collected in Junior Miss and Meet Me in St...

    's novel Meet Me in St. Louis
    Meet Me in St. Louis
    Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...

    ]
  • The Nightmare (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)

by Vincent Bryan and Charles Zimmerman

  • Marching Thro' Georgia (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)
  • Sitting Bull (Scarecrow) [added 1904]
  • Football (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)
  • Marching Through Port Arthur (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)

by Vincent Bryan and Leo Edwards

  • The Tale of the Monkey (Cynthia Cynch)
  • My Own Girl (Sir Dashemoff Daily)

by Vincent Bryan and Seymour Furth

  • Budweiser
    Budweiser
    Budweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...

    's a Friend of Mine (Wizard) [added c. 1908 after its success in Ziegfeld Follies
    Ziegfeld Follies
    The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....

     of 1907]

by Frank R. Adams, Will M. Hough, and Joseph E. Howard

  • Julie Dooley (Wizard) (originally from The Horse and his Boy
    The Horse and His Boy
    The Horse and His Boy is a novel by C. S. Lewis. It was published in 1954, making it the fifth of seven books published in Lewis' series The Chronicles of Narnia. The books in this series are sometimes ordered chronologically in relation to the events in the books as opposed to the dates of their...

    (1904))

by George Totten Smith, Byrd Dougherty, and Benjamin M. Jerome

  • The Tale of a Stroll (Tryxie Tryfle) (originally from The Swedish Chef (1904)) [briefly substituted for "Sammy" when Marion Stanley took over the role of Tryxie Tryfle in 1905]

by Felix F. Feist and Harry Armstrong

  • Can't You See I'm Lonely (Tryxie Tryfle) [briefly replaced "Sammy" in in 1905, when Isabelle D'Armond, who had played Dorothy in the second touring company, took over the role of Trixie c. 1905-6]

by Alfred Bryan and Albert Gumble

  • Are You Sincere? (Tryxie Tryfle) [added c. 1908 as another "Sammy" substitute. It was parodied by Nat M. Wills
    Nat M. Wills
    Nat M. Wills , was a popular stage star, vaudeville entertainer, and recording artist at the beginning of the 20th century...

     as "Are Youse in Here?" on Victor
    Victor
    -Roman Catholics:Popes:*Saint Pope Victor I *Pope Victor II *Blessed Pope Victor III Antipopes:*Antipope Victor IV *Antipope Victor IV Bishops of Chur:*Victor I, Bishop of Chur, seventh century...

     5613.]

by Billy Johnson and Albert von Tilzer

  • The Moon Has His Eyes on You (Sir Dashemoff Daily) [replacing "Love Is Love" c. 1905]

by R.A. Browne and Gus Edwards

  • Come Take a Skate with Me (Dorothy Gale) [added c. 1907; written for His Honor, the Mayor (1906)]

by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...

  • I'll Take You Back to Italy (Scarecrow and Cynthia Cynch) [written for Jack O'Lantern (1917) where it was sung by Fred Stone, and known to have been interpolated into a 1918 production]

Show tour

The show toured from 1903 to 1909. It ran on Broadway from January to October 1903, and again from March 1904 to October 1905. It was released for stock and regional shows in 1911.

See also

  • The Wizard of Oz (adaptations)
    The Wizard of Oz (adaptations)
    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, which has been adapted into several different works, the most famous being the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland...

     — other adaptations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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