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wicked_boy

The Wizard of Oz London / Broadway

I've tried Google, but nothing came up.

Can someone tell me if The Wizard of Oz was ever on Broadway or in the West End?

Also does anyone have any pictures if it was.

I can remember reading somewhere that the RSC did a production of it, a I correct?


And Salome, I can remember us argueing about this a while ago and on beyondtherainbow.com I found this:

Quote:
NOTE:
Tams Witmark allows cuts for as many scenes as you like in either version for time considerations, but do not "add" too much or you could be subject to additional royalty fees.
kitty17794

There was a National Tour of The Wizard Of Oz, but it was never actually a permanent fixture in NYC. It starred Jessica Grove, Eartha Kitt (and later Roseanne) and Mickey Rooney.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000DBWS/ref=nosim?tag=chuckygs80swebpa&creative=373489&camp=211189&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=B00000DBWS
kiwitechgirl

Re: The Wizard of Oz London / Broadway

wicked_boy wrote:

I can remember reading somewhere that the RSC did a production of it, a I correct?


Yep, the movie was adapted into the stage musical for the RSC by John Kane, and was presented at the Barbican (which of course used to be the RSC's London home) in 1988. It's very different to the MUNY version of the show and far more demanding technically (which you may expect, as it's much closer to the film). I've worked on both versions and I prefer the RSC version.
wicked_boy

Quote:
Yep, the movie was adapted into the stage musical for the RSC by John Kane, and was presented at the Barbican (which of course used to be the RSC's London home) in 1988. It's very different to the MUNY version of the show and far more demanding technically (which you may expect, as it's much closer to the film). I've worked on both versions and I prefer the RSC version.


I've worked on te RSC one and saw the MUNY one, RSC all the way.

Wasn't it originally perofrmed at the Barbican theatre or somethng like that? http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Oz-1988-London-Cast/dp/B00004SBPE/ref=sr_1_5/103-5954621-6590229?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1177762977&sr=1-5 With that cast?
pish123c

Yes.

I own a copy of the wicked "Grimmerie" and in it, it has a timeline leading up to "Wicked" and it says, and I quote:


January 20, 1903:
The Wizard of Oz opens on Broadway, an extravaganza prepared for the stage by Baum but vastly rewritten and reconfigured under the aegis of legendary director Julian Mitchell. Baums intended pantomime for children becomes instead a melange of tpical humor and vaudevillian performances, uproariously entertaining to both young and old;it's the seasons biggest hit. Fred Stone and David Montgomery rise to instant fame as the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, and Oz plays 293 New York performances, Thereafter, road companies tour the show for the next six years.



And also, the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, he dedicates it to the actors who played the Tin Man and Scarecrow in the OBC.
what_the_heck013

pish123c, look at the date you posted. January 20, 1903. That was long before the film was made.
pish123c

what_the_heck013 wrote:
pish123c, look at the date you posted. January 20, 1903. That was long before the film was made.



And your point?
The Wizard of Oz itself was still a Broadway show. It's not like the movie was the first the world ever heard of it.
what_the_heck013

You're 100% right, but I think wicked_boy was asking if the 1939 film had been turned into a stage musical.
Robinflamingo

what_the_heck013

That's tight, Robinflamingo.
wicked_boy

what_the_heck013 wrote:
You're 100% right, but I think wicked_boy was asking if the 1939 film had been turned into a stage musical.


I was asking about the MGM version (Muny or RSC scripts) but I already knew about the 1900's version of it. I should have made myself clearer.

Never mind, still good information.
broadwayfreak67

"The Wizard of Oz" (RSC)Barbican Theatre, London - 12 December, 1987
Revived - Barbican Theatre, London - 17 December, 1988. Transferred to Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon - 2 February, 1989.

http://www.nodanw.com/shows_w/wizardoz_rsc.htm

Hope that helps somewhat!
wicked_boy

On that site I read this :

Quote:
The Wicked Witch of the West vows vengeance on Dorothy and does all she can to stop the friends getting to the Emerald City. But they do reach it, and manage to see the Wizard. He will only help them, he says, if they kill the Wicked Witch of the West, an apparently impossible task. They do succeed, they get all their wishes and the Wizard accompanies Dorothy to Kansas in a rocket ship.


They have got their resources wrong, the Rocket Ship appears in the Muny version, where as the show was the RSC version, if you undertsand.
kiwitechgirl

Plus the Wizard never actually says "kill the wicked witch", he just says "bring me her broomstick". And yeah, in the RSC version the Wizard doesn't help Dorothy back to Kansas, because he's an incompetent balloonist!
Brother Marvin Hinten, S.

Fun fact: MGM producer Arthur Freed attempted to organize a Broadway staging of "The Wizard of Oz" based on the Judy Garland film, to have premiered in 1952. No one ever explained what came of the idea.
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