Dorothy Gale, an orphaned farm girl, longs for "a place where there
isn't any trouble", rather than her mundane Kansas farmhouse
existence. She longs to be somewhere over the
rainbow.
After being knocked unconscious during a
tornado, Dorothy, her dog Toto and the farmhouse are transported to
the magical Land of Oz. There, the Good Witch of the North, Glinda,
advises Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City
and meet the Wizard of Oz, who can help return her to Kansas.
During her journey, Dorothy meets a Scarecrow, a Tin
Man and a Cowardly Lion, who join her, hoping to receive what they
lack themselves (a brain, a heart and courage, respectively). All of
this is done while also trying to avoid the Wicked Witch of the West
and her attempts to get the ruby slippers.
"The Wizard of Oz" is based upon a book by L. Frank
Baum. The stage adaptation is by Frank Gabrielson, and includes
Music and Lyrics from the MGM motion picture score by Harold Arlen
and E. Y. Harburg.
There are two versions of "The Wizard of Oz" licensed
for community theater by Tams Wittmark, and Little Theatre on the
Bay is proudly producing the RSC version which includes the Poppies
("Optimistic Voices"), "The JitterBug" and of course, "If I Were
King Of The Forest".
Made as a film musical in 1939, and boasting several
songs which became very popular, The Wizard of Oz became widely
embraced with "Over the Rainbow" which received the Academy Award
for Best Original Song. Other familiar songs include: "Follow the
Yellow Brick Road/We're Off to See the Wizard", "If I Only Had a
Brain", "The Merry Old Land of Oz", and "Ding, Dong! The Witch is
Dead".
The Director for this upcoming LTOB production of
"The Wizard of Oz" is Byrell Justice, thrice recipient of LTOB's
prestigious Ralph Moe "Best Director" award. Assistant Director will
be Jim Thornton. The Musical Director will be Steve Simpkins and
Janice Kendall will serve as the Vocal Director. Choreography will
be under the supervision of Mary Schroeder.
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