The most obvious candidate for America’s favorite fairy tale might be The Wonderful Wizard of Oz– Author L. Frank Baum sets this novel, published in 1900, in a fantasy land that shares core American values such as self-reliance. Through personal reinvention and exploration of broader horizons, the book’s young heroine, Dorothy, is transported to Oz. where she befriends magical creatures, thwarts a witch, and uses her newfound strength and friends to return home. For Dorothy, this is a land of empowerment and possibility. For Baum, who perpetuates the twisted ideals of Manifest fate His other writings—and his many readers It represented the vast expanses of America in another world. A place they might want to see with their own eyes.
Baum’s novels and their sequels were important literary phenomena of their day. But Oz has endured primarily through the book’s many adaptations. which has made the series an enduring icon. Baum’s world is best remembered when it appears on screen. This is especially true in the 1939 musical starring Judy Garland as Dorothy, a place filled with songs like “Over the Rainbow” and imagery like the Yellow Brick Road. which became The franchise’s most memorable features, and with The Wonderful Wizard of OzEntering the public domain in 1956 brought new works. Unacceptable, successive generations have reiterated these features to tell their own Oz stories.
No change has been more important to Oz’s longevity. evilThe updated origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West. One of Baum’s most well-known villains is based on author Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel of the same name. evilThe uniqueness of this musical lies in its original text. and yesterday’s launch (The first part of the highly anticipated film adaptation of the musical It will undoubtedly make it accessible to a wider audience. The key to evilThe success—and ability to connect Oz’s past and future—is in its profound understanding of what makes that world work.
Artists across genres and media have discovered the great storytelling potential in Baum’s characters and sagas for decades. But the mode in which Oz continues to present itself best is the musical. It’s a genre that emphasizes the suspension of disbelief and is perfectly suited to convey Oz’s bizarre sincerity. The Wizard of OzThe musical’s first performance on Broadway in 1903 was a hit. This creates a need for more stories. This led to Baum writing 13 sequels to his book.
The Garland movie was inspired in part by the success of the musical. It makes Oz more connected to music. But that’s how it is. The Wiz which brought it back to theaters in 1974, the latter being the franchise’s first major revamped entry. a celebration of black culture that brought Dorothy’s story to the 1970s throughout its four-year run on Broadway. The Wiz Won by Tony many times. film adaptation (which received little response) It starred then-superstars Diana Ross and Michael Jackson as Dorothy and the Scarecrow, respectively. The Wiz It shows that Baum’s novel can be successfully reinterpreted within a contemporary framework. And the story and characters are updated accordingly. This transposition doesn’t sacrifice imagery and core themes. Dorothy continues to fight the flying monkeys and puts on her magic shoes to return home. Instead, they maintain and enhance their cultural power.
Oz doesn’t translate into much adult-focused drama. Despite the many efforts of the screenwriters and filmmakers, 1985 Disney movie Back to Oz It introduces a new world using lesser-known characters from Baum’s later books, although it also showcases Oz’s. Interesting characteristicsSuch as sentient furniture and a detached human head. It was a huge flop at the box office. which was considered too dark for younger viewers. Science fiction writers such as Robert Heinlein, Philip José Farmer, and even Stephen King wrote stories featuring Oz that received mixed reviews. Syfy miniseries Tin Man and NBC’s one-season flop. Emerald City Most still fail to reflect. Maguire’s only Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West—Stories filled with adultery, murder, and slavery—have captured people’s imaginations. evil has become at Oz’s contemporary text perhaps even supersedes Baum’s work: it offers the original novel’s mix of campy magic and violent spectacle. At the same time, it presents modern literary themes. Maguire’s biggest change was turning Baum’s enemy into an antihero. It rebrands a straight-up villain into a woman misunderstood by her co-workers. It is an experience that is more relevant to today’s readers than Dorothy’s simpler story about good and evil.
evil It uses the strangeness and idiosyncrasies of Oz to deepen Bom’s seemingly obscure world. It is a world that is strictly divided between right and wrong. The basic premise is powerful: What if the Wicked Witch of the West wasn’t so bad? And what if the wizard and the seemingly perfect society he takes for granted are a real threat? In his retelling, Maguire, who had been a fan of Oz since childhood, Named Elphaba Tropp, Bom’s one-dimensional green-skinned villain; He also gave her complicated parenting. Soapy romantic stories and rooms in dormitories She attends Shiz University alongside a group of colorful slang-speaking Ozians. and by developing a dark side to Bom’s fanciful creations. Maguire also gives Elphaba a political motivation for wreaking havoc on her homeland: enslaving her talking animals. But Maguire’s biggest takeaway is the college friendship between Elphaba and the good witch, Glinda. (One of the Wicked Witch’s arch enemies in Bom’s novels); The musical turns that bond into an emotional core.
The 2003 film adaptation of the Broadway play features Maguire’s story led by Garland. and make it suitable for audiences of all ages By foregrounding Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship, the musical highlights Baum’s topical interests in friendship and self-discovery. Theater viewers can relate to Glinda’s energy and desire to be popular. and Elphaba’s out-of-water awkwardness in the same way they do in viewing. The Wizard of Oz or read Bom’s novels Imagine yourself in Dorothy’s shoes. Searching for a house The musical could have better conveyed the fairy-tale feel of Baum’s novel by simplifying Maguire’s plot from its opening. Attraction has become universal—evil It became the second highest-grossing Broadway musical of all time.
Its success has also translated offstage in exceptionally creative ways. evil This episode was the starting point for a lot of fanworks. which is a meta development Because the show itself is a fanwork’s fantasy. Fan fiction based on musicals has become a genre unto itself. Many works imagine the bizarre relationship between Elphaba and Glinda, and performers such as Glinda’s song “Popular” and Elphaba’s song “Defying Gravity” are well-articulated about the basic nature of the show. which inspires both amateurs and professionals alike. Artists and passionate theatergoers often reconsider and come back to watch again and again. evilThe same goes for new Broadway lovers who haven’t seen the show in person: there are many bootleg recordings of the song. evil One of the most accessible entry points to musical theatre. It is also the gateway to the vast world of Oz. evil and repeating itself Including the long-awaited film adaptation. which has become a cultural event They work for the same reason that Bom’s original stories did: they conjure up a floating, accessible, and memorable world.
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