The Wizard of Oz — Page 3

I saw online that some productions had Glinda singing an "Over The Rainbow" reprise at the end...is this the usual case?
I believe our version has The Jitterbug in it so which script would that entail with which Glinda solos?
The cast list goes up Friday..obviously, I'm hoping for Glinda!! :x

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Emcee4ever-
Things like:

"Where is my sister? (Glinda points at the house) Allright, who's the smart alec who turned her into a house?"

(While threatening the 4 friends in her castle)
"What's the matter Scarecrow, don't you want to be my old flame?"

Etc, etc.

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In the RSC version:
If you are double cast as Aunt Em. You will have two nightmarish costume changes.

If you are not, the above does not apply. However, you will:
1) Do all the things written in the MGM movie.
2) You will sing "Optimistic Voices" during the Poppy Field sequence to close Act 1.
3) Some productions do use a reprise of "Over the Rainbow." Typically it is little more than the verse leading into it (As was used in the 1998 Nat'l Tour), sometimes it's portions of the main song. Typically she will lead the reprise during the curtain call if it's used.

That's really about all there is to it. Glinda is not that large a part.

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Updated On: 1/24/07 at 09:28 PM

It's still a good one, though. And, I've heard that you get a chance to enjoy being in it if you aren't one of the 4 principals.

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As a kid I worked on a simply gorgeous production of the show based on the Tams Whitmark version. There was a lovely ballad for Dorthy in the second act called "Evening Star" that sounded like the b-side of a Glenn Miller recording. All-in-all a wonderful show.

Our Wicked Witch appeared in a flash of pyrotechnic smoke which one night caught Dorthy's house on fire. The stage manager noticed the flames, grabbed the extinguisher and ran to the wings. He hit the button just as the Witch said "AND YOUR LITTLE DOG AS WELL" and there was a huge WHHHHHHOOOOSH of fire retardant which no doubt caused half the little kids in the audience to pee their pants.

We should have kept that in every performance.....

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Updated On: 1/24/07 at 11:39 PM

Allofmylife, I've heard about this song 'Evening Star'. I have been told how beautiful it is, but I've never heard it. Do you know of any good recordings of it.

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That does sound creepy. I can't remember the setting but it was in no way done like that in our version. The song itself is the flip side of "Over The Rainbow" and in a stage musical, makes a great deal of sense. It's a song of longing by a little girl who wanted to go 'over the rainbow' and now wants the Evening Star to guide her home. Nothing salacious there.

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In the RSC production, Glinda sings Optimistic Voices as well as...uhm...Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are.

So she sings more than her movie counterpart did.

The Wizard of Oz was the first ever musical I was in when I was 11, I played a munchkin(I had one line that the director added and gave me since we were using a real dog as Toto and he needed a leash throughout the show, so I said-"a gift from the munchkins for Toto!), and it was a blast. We had a separate Glinda and Auntie Em though, but Glinda was double cast, all the main roles were, except for the Wizard. It was a really great experience, and the cast was awesome. It was also at an outdoor theater, so we took advantage of the effects(the tornado was AWESOME). The Witch also went on the orchestra gazebo when she was shooting flames at the Scarecrow. Our yellow brick road extended out into the audience too. I was also a flying monkey, and I loved watching the Jitterbug scene before going on. It was really great, and the jitterbugs had awesome costumes that glowed in the dark. But the one dissadvantage in outdoor theater was one night we could have actually had a real tornado and we had to stop at intermission. All the munchkins(including myself) were crying hysterically and freaking out, and we looked like we were melting because all our crazy clown make-up smeared down. Still, it was a fun experience.