The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum,
which was originally published in 1900. Much of the original music was by Paul Tietjens 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 was made. Although Baum is the credited
bookwriter, Glen
MacDonough was hired on as jokewriter after Baum had finished the
script.
The 1902 show premiered in Chicago and later 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,
Fred Stone as The Scarecrow
and David C. Montgomery as the Tin Woodman (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, 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.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hamlin_Wizarsd_of_Oz.jpg
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