The idea here is to revitalize the piece. If you notice by looking at the original London cast production photos they were trying to get as far away from the movie as possible. The costumes looked very much like costumes actors might wear in THE WIZ. The Wicked Witch was played by a man for crying out loud!
What one would need to do is seamlessly combine elements from the film and elements of classic stage techniques, with all the magic and technical wizardry that we are capable of now and turn it into a musical theatre piece that can be enjoyed by all. The only good things that the MSG production helped out with is that, one: it's possible for an actress to properly portray the character of Dorothy, and two: it's okay if the Witch sings a little something... i.e. "The Jitterbug".
What no one has even begun to comprehend at this point is that the score is so majestic and so marvelous it's as if it was written and intended be a stage production. If not purposely, subconsciously. The grandeur of these songs and how Arlen and Harberg were able to use these songs to forward the plot (which is something that is really not seen as much today... i.e. MAMMA MIA!) shows that they knew exactly what they were doing. They were writing for the musical theatre.
The book needs to be redone. That's a given. When it works, it's magic and when it doesn't it's practically unbearable. Example:
Crows: Bye Scarecrow! Bye Scarecrow! (etc.)
Crow 1: I'm really gonna miss that old hay bag.
Crow 2: You said he was a stuffed shirt!
Crow 3: But, now that he's down off that pole, he aint nearly so stuck up!
All Three: caw! caw! caw!
Someone needs to sit down a rewrite that shlop and since Peter Stone is gone, I have only one person on my list: Thomas Meehan. But who can afford him??? lol.
The potential is clear... it just needs to be done right.
Updated On: 8/14/04 at 04:16 PM
