ALW's The Wizard of Oz broadway — Page 3

Aside from the lack of quality of Webber's "new" material, which is plainly recycled - like much of his cannon, and aside from the fact that they neglect to include some of the more iconic moments that the audience wants and expects to see and feels let down without, the fact remains that it is apparently in the writing, let alone in the interviews he granted, that Webber has contempt and disrespect for the source material, the film and, utmost, the characters. His writing clearly comments on those feelings. You can not do an honest and heartfelt adaption coming from that mindset.

(I can have a lengthier tirade later.)

That stupid song where the Witch twirls the Dorothy doll around has got to go. (It's a very weird song-and that is not a good thing.)

There oughta be a law...

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I thought the show was campy. However, they might as well have pushed it more. It wasn't campy enough. I was also quite disappointed by the "melting" effect. While simpler, Wicked had a more creative execution.

The Lion is referred to as "a friend of Dorothy".

The Yip Harburg lyrics in the MGM film have several "gay" jokes about Bert Larhr's lion: "Oh, it's sad, believe me, missy, / When you're born to be a sissy" or "I'm afraid there's no denyin' / I'm just a DANDY-lion..."

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Yes, they were. He even gestures with a limp wrist when he says that "dandy-lion" line.

And that's the way Yip Harburg spelled the name of the flower in the lyrics: dandy-lion.

And some people have said that the phrase "friend of Dorothy" was first used to mean a gay person in reference to Lion in the movie.

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Updated On: 10/4/13 at 12:20 AM

Andrew Lloyd Webber's cannon.

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"And some people have said that the phrase "friend of Dorothy" was first used to mean a gay person in reference to Lion in the movie."

The reference first was attributed to Doroty Parker. She had parties where gays and lesbians could be put and proud.

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"The reference first was attributed to Dorothy Parker. She had parties where gays and lesbians could be put and proud."

TheatreDiva you are right.

A friend of Dorothy or FOD is someone who identifies as homosexual or queer; the term can encompass a range of people in the queer community, from transsexuals to asexuals. This euphemism came into common use in the gay community in the middle of the 20th century, when people needed to be discreet about their sexual orientation. Although the gay community is increasingly "out" today, the term endures, especially to describe closeted people in the queer community.

There are several theories for the origins of this term. The most likely reason is that it is named for Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967), a famous gay rights ally and icon who inspired a variety of slang terms within the queer community. Parker's witty, trenchant writing was often littered with euphemisms which were later adopted by the gay community, making it easy for people to identify each other without explicitly stating their orientation. People have been describing themselves as friends of Dorothy since the 1930s, lending credence to this theory.

After digging around years ago on this to find the source, I'm of the opinion that it started with Dorothy Parker as well, because I doubt anybody would have said or thought to say this in connection with a 16-year-old actress in an MGM fantasy. And the phrase goes back to the 1930s when Garland was a teen, even pre Oz (and pre 1939).

But I also think this phrase didn't really catch on and become widely known or used until the '50s and '60s. That's because of Garland and her "gay icon" status and the decades of love for her and that movie.

So it may have started with Dorothy Parker, but it was perpetuated as a common term by the Garland/Oz connection.

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I saw the show in London and found it quite enjoyable--definitely not a "theme park, bubble gum, hybrid mess."

I didn't get a lump in my throat when Dorothy left her friends, but I definitely did get a throat lump in the last scene when Dorothy is back in Kansas, alone in her room, and a cabinet door is rocked open and she sees....something reminiscent of the iconic spotlight-on-the-Phantom-mask at the end of Phantom of the Opera---only very appropriate for the Wizard of Oz. We are left with the "knowledge" that everything that happened was NOT just a dream.

The show did only moderately well in London and not great in Toronto. I rather doubt they will bring it to Broadway.

Oh, and ALW can be criticized for many things, but did someone say he couldn't write good melodies? Nonsense.

Webber writes good meoldies in that they are tuneful. Bad melodies in that they have NO connection or relationship to the film score play as far inferior. He also hasnt written a new melody line in 30 years.