The Wizard of Oz (1902 stage play)

Infobox Musical
name = The Wizard of Oz
subtitle = Fred R. Hamlin's Musical Extravaganza

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image_size = 200px
caption = One of the many promotional posters for the show, this one featuring The Scarecrow, Dorothy Gale, the Tin Woodman (dressed in what looks like a Scottish kilt and minus his funnel hat), and some Poppies
music = Paul Tietjens
Nathaniel D. Mann
A. Baldwin Sloane
Edward Hutchinson
Robert J. Adams
Albert
Harry Freeman
Charles Zimmerman
Gus Edwards
Gustave Kerker
J.B. Mullen
Vanalstyne
Jean Schwartz
Frank Leo
Benjamin M. Jerome
Theodore F. Morse
Maurice Steinberg
Bruno Schilinski
George A. Spink
Bert Brandford
Edwin S. Brill
Will R. Anderson
Seymour Furth
Medor
Leo Edwards
Joseph E. Howard
Byrd Dougherty
lyrics = L. Frank Baum
James O'Dea
Weslyn
Harry Freeman
John Slavin
Vincent Bryan
Will D. Cobb
Hugh Morton
Bryan
William Jerome
Frank Leo
Matt C. Woodward
Maurice Steinberg
John W. West
Glen MacDonough
Henry M. Blossom, Jr
Harry Boden
David C. Montgomery
Ed Gardenier
Will R. Anderson
Edward P. Moran
Brackett
Frank Keesee
Hollister
Frank R. Adams
Will M. Hough
George Totten Smith
book = L. Frank Baum
Glen MacDonough
basis = "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum
productions = 1902 Chicago
1903 Broadway

awards =

"The Wizard of Oz" was a 1902 musical play extravaganza based on "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900. It premiered in Chicago and later moved to Broadway in 1903, where it ran for nearly 300 performances from January 21, 1903 to December 31, 1904, followed by travelling tours of the original cast. It starred Anna Laughlin as Dorothy Gale, Fred Stone as The Scarecrow and David C. Montgomery as the Tin Woodman (who is called Niccolo Chopper in the play). Arthur Hill (no relation to the Canadian film, theatre and TV actor) played the Cowardly Lion, 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 finally kills the spell of the poppies that had put Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion to sleep - was later used in the famous 1939 movie.

The play was written by L. Frank Baum himself, though after producer Fred R. Hamlin and director Julian Mitchell rejected his 1901 spec script, "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", Glen MacDonough to add topical humor he felt himself incapable of writing. Most of the original songs were written by Paul Tietjens on Baum's lyrics, but three, "The Guardian of the Gate" which was cut ofter 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, who later wrote the score for Baum's 1908 film/theatrical presentation, "The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays". Most of Baum's songs related to the story in some way, as in operetta, but as performed, the play was more like Vaudeville, 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!

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 appears to have been written out, as she does not appear in the Broadway cast list, although she does appear on another one. Toto, Dorothy's dog, has also been replaced, by a cow named Imogene.

New characters in the script include King Pastoria 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, which was the subject of one of her songs, and he is shown playing a piccolo in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", which, the first Oz film made without Baum, was highly influenced by the popular play. The Wizard was presented as various ethnic stock character stereotypes, depending upon who played him. He was assisted by Sir Wiley Gyle and General Riskitt. David L. Greene and Dick Martin 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 tradition. Although the lion costume was realistic, far more so than Bert Lahr'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, 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 (for which many at MGM thought this show's classic songs should be utilized, though they were outvoted), 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" 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, "".

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 routine and a football routine, the latter parodying the level of violence in the sport, which had recently been lessened due to new regulations.

equel

The success of the play led Baum to write "The Marvelous Land of Oz" 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", eliminating the Tin Woodman, replacing the Scarecrow with Regent Sir Richard Spud, replacing Glinda with Maetta from "The Magical Monarch of Mo" and renaming the Emerald City 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'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 Theatre in Chicago and opened to reviews panning Baum's script and praising the score by Frederic Chapin. No songs were interpolated, 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 play was performed in a concert version in New York City in the 1980s. And it has been revived in Tarpon Springs, Florida by the New Century Opera Company in 1998 and, most recently, July 2006. Hungry Tiger Press 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. There have been several new recordings of the songs, though none have had major distribution.

Music

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

*Just a Simple Girl from the Prairie (Dorothy Gale)
*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, and Dorothy Gale)
*Poppy Song (Poppy Chorus)
*When We Get What's A'comin to Us (Dorothy Gale, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman)
*The Wizard Is No Longer King (Ensemble)
*The Traveler and the Pie (Scarecrow)

by L. Frank Baum and Nathaniel D. Mann

*The Guardian of the Gate (Guardian of the Gates) (cut after first few Chicago performances)
*The Different Ways of Making Love (Dorothy Gale and Cynthia Cynch)
*It Happens Every Day

by John Slavin and Nathaniel D. Mann

*She Didn't Really Mind the Thing at All (Wizard)

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)

by Edgar Smith and A. Baldwin Sloane

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

by Weslyn and Albert

*The Witch Behind the Moon

by Harry Freeman

*I'll Be Your Honey in the Springtime (Dorothy Gale and Chorus)

by James O'Dea and Edward Hutchinson

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

by Matt C. Woodward and Benjamin Jerome

*Bloomin' Lize (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)

by James O'Dea and Robert J. Adams

*When the Circus Comes to Town (Tryxie Tryfle)
*Gooda-bye Fedora (O'Dea credited as Harry J. Williams)
*Pimlico Malinda (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)
*The Sweetest Girl in Dixie (Dorothy Gale)

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 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 Negro")

by Vincent Bryan and Theodore F. Morse

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

by Henry M. Blossom, Jr. and George A. Spink

*Honey, My Sweet (Dorothy Gale)

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

*Must You? (Tin Woodman, with Scarecrow)

by Ed Gardenier and Edwin S. Brill

*Things That We Don't Learn at School

by Vincent Bryan and J.B. Mullen

*Down on the Brandywine (Trixie Tryfle and Pastoria)
*'Twas Enough to Make a Perfect Lady Mad (Cynthia Cynch)
*Under a Panama (Dorothy Gale)
*The Nightmare (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)

by Will R. Anderson

*I Love You All the Time (Sir Dashemoff Daily)

by Edward P. Moran and Seymour Furth

*Mary Canary (Sir Dashemoff Daily)

by Williams and Vanalstyne

*Johnnie Morgan

by Charles Zimmerman and Frank Keesee

*Only You (Sir Dashemoff Daily)

by Charles Zimmerman and Hollister

*When the Heart is Sad (Sir Dashemoff Daily)

by Vincent Bryan and Charles Zimmerman

*Marching Thro' Georgia (Scarecrow and Tin Woodman)
*Sitting Bull (Scarecrow)
*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 Frank R. Adams, Will M. Hough, and Joseph E. Howard

*Julie Dooley (Wizard) (originally from "Her Highness the Bey" (1905))

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

*The Tale of a Stroll (Tryxie Tryfle) (originally from "The Royal Chef" (1904))

by James A. Brennan

*Fraidy Cat (Dorothy Gale) (introduced in 1911 stock production)

ee also

*The Wizard of Oz (adaptations) — other adaptations of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060806034111/http://mywebpages.comcast.net/scottandrewh/woz.htm cast and crew information]
* [http://www.ibdb.com/show.asp?ID=9434 Internet Broadway Database]