The Wizard of Oz (1945 musical)
| The Wizard of Oz | |
|---|---|
| Music | Harold Arlen |
| Lyrics | E.Y. Harburg |
| Book | Frank Gabrielson |
| Basis | 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum |
| Productions |
St. Louis Municipal Opera, 1942 Starlight Theatre, 1963 Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, 1982, 1990 |
The Wizard of Oz is a musical commissioned by the St. Louis Municipal Opera (The Muny) based on the novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz and 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 for Shirley Temple (1960).
The musical was first presented in 1942 at The Muny and has been revived many times thereafter, both by The Muny and by other companies.
A teenage girl, Dorothy, lives on a farm in dreary Kansas with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em dreaming of faraway places ("Over The Rainbow"). One day the farmhouse, with Dorothy inside, is swept off by a tornado to Munchkin land in the Land of Oz. The falling house kills the cruel ruler of the Munchkins, the Wicked Witch of the East. The Munchkins and the Sorceress of the North greet Dorothy ("Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" and "Munchkinland"). The Sorceress tells Dorothy that she will have to go to the Emerald City to ask the great Wizard of Oz to help her return home. The Wicked Witch of the West, sister of the late Wicked Witch of the East, vows revenge upon Dorothy.
Dorothy meets the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. The Scarecrow wants to get a brain, and the Tin Woodman needs a heart ("If I Only Had a Brain"/"If I Only Had a Heart"). Dorothy suggests that the Wizard can help them too ("We're Off to See the Wizard"). They then meet the Cowardly Lion ("If I Only Had the Nerve"). The four friends travel down the yellow brick road, having been warned of the lions, tigers, bears and the fantastical jitterbugs who are controlled by the Wicked Witch. The three friends meet a lion who lacks courage, and they invite him to join them. When the jitterbugs attack, Dorothy appeals to the Sorceress of the North, who freezes the jitterbugs ("The Jitterbug").
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