This musical dramatization of the L. Frank Baum classic tale is designed as a full evening family entertainment. With original music and lyrics, it is structured along the same lines as the famous MGM film in that it follows Dorothy's being carried off to the Land of Oz by a cyclone and meeting three needy friends along the Yellow Brick Road on her way to the Emerald City where they hope to seek the aid of the fabled Wizard. It concludes with the Wizard being exposed as a fraud but still managing to satisfy everyone's wishes and Dorothy being able to return to her family in Kansas. Where this stage version differs from the film is the treatment of the Wicked Witch of the West. While still remaining decidedly "wicked", the Witch is the main source of comic fun for both the children and the adults in the audience. This is an eight actor piece (with doubling) and covers various locales: Dorothy's home in Kansas, Munchkin Land in Oz, along the Yellow Brick Road, the deadly Poppy Field, the Chamber of the Great Oz in the Emeral City, and the lair of the Wicked Witch. The sprightly music moves the plot along with songs and dramatic/comic underscoring. The song include: The Land of Oz", "Take One Step", "What I need is a Brain...A Heart...A Home..." and "Some Spunk", "Clap Hands for the Wizard of Oz" and even the Witch gets a number...."Ippy, Pippy, Zizzy Zazzy Zook!"
Copyright © 2008 Richard Kinter All rights reserved