…but these are gorgeous.

Sample: Tina Tarantino’s The Wizard of Oz spread.

From this article.

What two things are synonymous with the Wizard of Oz, the yellow brick road and Dorothy’s infamous red slippers.

Sometimes, I really hate the MGM movie.

Whoa, the moment I post about one new adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, another one pops up, this one a “straight” modern day non-musical television reinvention, and I’m guessing with less fantastical elements than Tin Man.

Script follows the story of Dorothy, a girl from Kansas who tries to tackle modern-day Manhattan (her version of the Emerald City). Dorothy finds a job in the art world — and must deal with a wicked boss.

The article.

Okay, this did make me excited, even if it is Andrew Lloyd Webber at the helm. The Daily Mail reports that there’s yet another stage musical version of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the works, but this one will be based on the MGM musical and hence already have a leg up on its rivals in that audiences are familiar with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and ruby slippers.

The bit that got me excited is as follows:

‘It doesn’t have an opening number; it doesn’t have a song for the witch,’ the lyricist told me, adding that even the poor old wizard doesn’t have a number of his own. ‘It’s missing what it needs to become an actual theatrical piece.’

Oh my. YES.

The article.

I haven’t watched this yet, due to my internet connection being unreliable, so here is a placeholder for Diana DeGarmo’s video interview on the new Oz musical. Linky.

Hello, another stage musical adaptation of the Oz books? A “contemporary” version, no less? I’m intrigued and curious. How different will it be from, say, The Whiz or Tin Man in terms of conception? Link here: Playbill

There’s another big-budget The Wonderful Wizard of Oz adaptation on the way, but the first (I think) to be CGI animated. Here’s hoping it’ll be a straight adaptation instead of a reimagining or spoof.

Happy birthday, Wicked! May you have another 5 years on Broadway. I don’t think it’s fair that Hairspray’s leaving Broadway and West End while you still go strong, but your message resonates with audiences, and I give you props for that.

I particularly enjoyed this video covering the events of the anniversary celebration.

Role call post #2: The Japanese anime television series Oz no Mahōtsukai, which was dubbed in English and re-released as “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. The series continues after the end of the first book to take on three more of the following stories, “The Marvellous Land of Oz”, “Ozma of Oz” and “The Emerald City of Oz”.

Dorothy Gale.

Her silver shoes.

Scarecrow.

Tin Man.

Cowardly Lion.

The Wicked Witch of the West.

The Wicked Witch of the East.

Good Witch of the North.

Glinda the Good Witch of the South.

Toto.

The fake Wizard of Oz.

The actual Wizard of Oz.

The Emerald City.

Role call post #1: The classic MGM movie musical that continues to influence the way people think about L. Frank Baum’s world of Oz.

Judy Garland as Dorothy.

Her ruby slippers.

Ray Bolger as Scarecrow.

Jack Haley as Tin Man.

Bert Lahr as Cowardly Lion.

Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the West.

Billie Burke as Glinda the Good Witch of the North.

Toto

The fake Wizard of Oz.

Frank Morgan as the Wizard of Oz.

The Emerald City.