the wizard of oz is going back on tour!

Well, that's not the same logo as the 1998 tour, but I hope it's true. I loved that production. Eartha Kitt and JoAnne Worley were two wonderful wicked witches.

I saw the show when I was a child (my first show) and was in shock. I would watch the movie every day, so to see it on stage was thrilling...I was in awe. I really hope that this is true.

Yeah, this was one of my my first shows on stage as well. I remember getting a creepy little Lion action figure after the show that I still have.

Thanks, CATSNYrevival

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This is the production that played in Southampton last christmas, and hate to say it, it was pretty poor. However they did try to 'panto' it up, and as the USA doesnt have Panto it may be a slightly better production. Pretty minimal sets and cheap costumes, was a huge seller, but audience feedback wasnt strong.

This is coming to the Fayetteville AR where I live next week -- was curious to see that Cassie O (ala Legally Blonde, the first one kicked off) is Dorothy. I can post my impressions if anyone is curious.

Is Cassie O. from the Legally Blonde reality show playing Dorothy?

I have no idea why the witch was played by a man. In this show the witch is played by a woman, Pat Sibley, with green makeup.

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This is all too weird for me.
First Cassie O is Dorthy
Then the Witch is played by a man???
What has this tour come to?

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Yeah, in the British production the Witch was played by a man. They seem to have fixed that for the American tour.

I still don't get why they wouldn't give the Witch green skin, another thing they did in the British production. What would be the point? Were they trying to avoid comparisons to a certain other show about the Wicked Witch?

Neverandy,
I was suprised as well.. for numerous reasons. It's a bizzare day when Non-Eq companies play stints in major New York venues.

From all I have seen of Cassie as Dorothy, she seems fine in the role and I would like the chance to see.



"The Wicked Witch was played by a man (Matthew Kelly)? And they didn't even give him/her green skin?
Why???"
"Then the Witch is played by a man???
What has this tour come to?"
"Yeah, in the British production the Witch was played by a man. They seem to have fixed that for the American tour.
I still don't get why they wouldn't give the Witch green skin..."

Those quotes kind of sum up why I think this tour is a creative disaster on the part of Networks. In Britian, reinventing Oz is not very hard. It happens all the friggin time. Here in the US, however, people INSIST that MGM's Oz is the only Oz, so when you deviate too far, people hate it. It's an incredibly challenging and fine line to walk here when doing that show. A British director simply can not understand that. I do applaud them for the risk though. They also did take steps to "Americanize" it in a few ways.. ie the New Witch, the new Tinman costume, etc.

But seriously people, there is NO reason that the Witch HAS to be green - she certainly wasn't in the book, and it's never mentioned in the film. It is only of consequence in Wicked.. which this is not. If a person can't distinguish between cannonical Oz work and the MGM product and Wicked, then the person needs to ask the Wizard for a brain, because their's isn't working.

There is also NO reason that the Witch can not be a "Dame" role. It was ocnceived as such by the Royal Shakespeare Company when they created the stage adaption!

As far as the tour quality, the tornado intrigues me, the "Delirious Escape" animation at the end is great Dorothy clicks the heels and you see the plot happen in reverse, with set pieces whirling through the air and the Yellow Brick Road being sucked into a vortex, brick by brick). The Kansas animations annoy me and the production is diffinately done on the cheap. You can expect the animals to be wonderful though - trained by Bill Berloni and each haveyears of time in Oz productions.

Updated On: 1/3/09 at 01:39 PM

Yep it is Cassie O. Here are a few pictures from the NETworks site.

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