The Wizard of Oz

[Words & Music by Kevin M Reese]

History:
The Wizard of Oz, as adapted by Kevin M Reese, was first produced by The Wichita Children's Theatre Professional Touring Company for its 1995-96 touring season. First performance was October 3, 1995 and ran for 103 performances. Produced by Monica Flynn, directed by John (JB) Boldenow, Kevin Reese was the Music Director, Barb Schoenhofer was Choreographer.

Production Length: 55 minutes. Recommended for Audiences Age 4 and up.

Characters: 
Dorothy (F)
Glinda, the Good Witch (F)
Scarecrow (M or F)
Tinman (M or F)
Lion (M or F)
Wicked Witch of the West (M or F)
Offstage Voice of The Gatekeeper
Offstage Voice of The Wizard of Oz

Original Cast: 5, 3 Men, 2 Women. (Glinda and Wicked Witch of the West doubled)

When Dorothy and Toto find themselves in the Land of Oz, they must find a way to get back to Kansas. After they meet the munchkins (who, by the way, resemble the children in the audience!), the Good Witch appears and tells Dorothy that her house has landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy is shocked, but not as shocked as when the Good Witch proceeds to give her the witch's shoes and sends her along the Yellow Brick Road to find the Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City. Along the way, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the cowardly Lion, and convinces them to join her in her journey to visit the Wizard.

The friends arrive in the Emerald City and are told to bring back the Witch's broom before the Wizard will see them. They proceed to find the Witch's castle and fulfill their mission. When they return to the City, they find the Wizard reluctant to see them. They finally get to see him (again, he suspiciously resembles one of the children in the audience!) and he gives the Scarecrow some brains, the Tinman a heart, and the cowardly Lion some courage. There is nothing in the Wizards bag of tricks to help get Dorothy back to Kansas, so the Good Witch (with the assistance of the audience) helps Dorothy get back home.

PRODUCTION NOTES:

The Setting
1> Munchkinland and Road to City
        Corner of house addition with witch feet
2> Wizard interior
3> Road to Witch Castle — Exterior of Oz
4> Witch castle interior
        Cauldron, platform to mask witch melting (trap door?)
5> Wizard interior

Costume Notes
In order to help the kids accept the difference between this adaptation and the popular MGM film, it's recommended that costumes be patterned after the original Denslow illustrations instead of the film. The major difference will be the look of the witch (her eyepatch is needed for "I Can't Believe My Eye").  Because the costumes of the film are so engrained into the minds of the audience, you may choose to find a "happy medium" between the two styles.  In the original production, we began our run with a Dorothy costume that was more like that found in the Dunslow illustrations, but due to audience polling, we decided to go with the traditional "Judy Garland" style costume.  The Wicked Witch of the West ended up being the only non-traditional costume.

Use of Child in Audience as The Wizard
The Preshow was used to get the kids in the proper frame of mind for the show (audience participation).  During the preshow, the actors also scoped out the kids to find one that might make a good "Wizard" for the final scene.  We had that child come up onstage (during the preshow) as an assistant for a magic trick and, after it was over, gave him/her a cardboard visor that had "Wizard of Oz" printed on the bill (they got to keep it as a souvenir).  Later, when the show calls for the Wizard to come onstage, the actors "discovered" the child wearing the visor and brought him/her onstage.  Once onstage as the Wizard, the child was treated with kid gloves by the actors so as not to put too much stress on them-- but usually the child did something cute or funny that made the bit pay off.

MUSIC:

#1: Dorothy's Song ("The Twister") - Dorothy
#2: Glinda's Song ("The Munchkins") - Glinda, Dorothy
#3: Yellow Brick Road - Dorothy
#4: The Scarecrow's Song ("Use It Or Lose It") - Scarecrow
#5: The Yellow Brick Road (Reprise #1) - Dorothy, Scarecrow
#6: Tinman's Song ("Tinman's Rap") - Tinman
#7: The Yellow Brick Road (Reprise #2) - Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman
#8: The Lion's Song ("I'm a Scaredy Cat") - Lion
#9: The Yellow Brick Road (Reprise #3) - Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion
#10: The Witch's Song ("I Can't Believe My Eye") - Wicked Witch
#11: Baby Steps - Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion
#11a: Scene Change into the Witch's Castle - Instrumental
#11b: The Witch's Chase Music - Instrumental
#12: Finale ("There's No Place Like Home") - Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion

Educational Study Guide Available

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