Published in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written by L. Frank Baum, with art by W.W. Denslow. Baum, who was born in Chittenango, N.Y., before moving to and attending high school in Syracuse, would see his greatest success come from the story of Oz. In the introduction to the book, Baum said that it was “written solely to pleasure children today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heart-aches and nightmares are left out.” His story was so popular that it would go on to see adaptations both for the stage, which Baum had shown an interest in from a young age, and the screen.
The Wizard of Oz Somwhere Over the Border is inspired by the story of The Wizard of Oz. Learn more about The Wizard of Oz and the many adaptations of this classic story.
It wasn’t quite smooth sailing for Baum to get to the iconic musical we know today. His 1901 spec script, which stuck close to his original novel, was rejected by producer Fred R. Hamlin and director Julian Mitchell, resulting in Baum writing a new script to accommodate their wants. This version replaces Dorothy’s dog Toto with a cow named Imogene and has the notable absence of the Wicked Witch of the West (though Locasta, the Good Witch from the North appears). The show would open in Chicago in 1902 before moving to Broadway the following year. Since then, the story from Oz has seen many interpretations and adaptations, including the 1939 MGM movie starring Judy Garland that most people think of today. Other notable adaptations include the all-Black Broadway and film hit The Wiz (1978), Kermit and Miss Piggy’s trip down the yellow brick road in The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005), the James Franco-starring prequel Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), and Wicked, the prequel telling the story of Elphaba, the soon-to-be Wicked Witch of the West, which opened on Broadway in 2003.
Fun Fact! Did you know Central New York is home to the longest running Wizard of Oz themed festival in the world! Learn more about Ozstravaganza by following the QR code! Syracuse Stage 8
