How did L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, create the stage show called The Tik-Tok Man of Oz? How did Louis F. Gottschalk, celebrated Broadway conductor, agree to compose the score? Who were the cast members? How did The Tik-Tok Man of Oz challenge powerful Broadway producers? All Wound Up gives the answers to these questions—and much more. In 1913, playwright Baum and composer Gottschalk set out to astound the theatrical world with a stage extravaganza. They planned stupendous special effects, such as the storm at sea and the Ro ..read more

  On this date, January 21, 1903, The Wizard of Oz premiered on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on Columbus Circle.  As most of the United States has been suffering through very cold winter weather this last week, I hope the Snow Queen and her Snow Boys and Girls will bring a little winter cheer to our frigid reality. For those curious, those pictured are (left to right) Anna Fitzhugh, Albertina Benson, Georgia Baron, And I think the next is Mabel DeVere, the line ending with Lillian DeVere. I believe they were sisters.  While the icy girls were frigid enough to kill the popp ..read more

Bessie Wynn as Sir Dashemoff I just ran across a splendid new performance of "The Moon Has His Eyes on You" on Youtube — a link to the video is shared below. The song was originally performed by Sir Dashemoff Daily in Act I of The Wizard of Oz on the tour in the 1905 season. The song was also recorded by Ada Jones on both cylinder and disc during that year. Her Edison cylinder recording can be heard on my 2 CD set Vintage Recordings from the 1903 Wizard of Oz. The song features music by Tin Pan Alley composer Albert Von Tilzer (1878-1956) and lyrics by African-American lyricist Billy ..read more

Anna Laughlin as Dorothy Gale with a Dorothy Doll Happy New Year from VintageBroadway.com! In December 1902, actress Anna Laughlin was back in Chicago, playing Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. She had created the part six months earlier in the world premiere, played to sold-out houses all summer, toured the eastern United States and Canada during the fall, and the show was now back in Chicago, playing to sold-out houses for the holidays. She had just turned 19 in October. Anticipating the show's big move to Broadway a few weeks hence, Anna Laughlin wrote a short note for the holidays ..read more

I much enjoy when I run across a contemporary audience reaction to The Wizard of Oz. One assumes there is no bias, such as an official reviewer or critic might have. Alas, most mentions of the show, like the one below, are usually lacking in detail.   Today's blog is a brief look back in time via a letter I recently acquired, in which a young man named Herbert Jarvis wrote to his mother in Burlington, Iowa, on February 11, 1904, from Lafayette, Indiana: Click to Enlarge Dear Mother —      Did you think I'd forgotten all about you? Well I haven't by a go ..read more

I am delighted to report that in the latest issue of the Thurston County Historical Journal, I have an article published, entitled "Luther J. Wyckoff: The Frolicsome Heifer of Oz." Wyckoff joined The Wizard of Oz company in fall 1902 for the post-Chicago tour, where he played one of the Wizard's wisemen, among other chorus parts. In the summer of 1903, he took over the role of Imogene, after both Ed Stone and Joseph Schrode were left exhausted from playing Dorothy's devoted little bovine. Wyckoff went on to play Imogene for almost two years with company two. You can read all about the "frolic ..read more

  A few weeks ago, I picked up another piano roll from The Wizard of Oz. The roll was produced by the Q-R-S Company and features "Just a Simple Little Girl from the Prairie" composed by Paul Tietjens. The immediate curiosity is that the title differs slightly from the published sheet music, "I'm Just a Simple Girl from the Prairie." This song, written by L. Frank Baum and Paul Tietjens for the original Chicago production of the show, is not listed in programs as having been performed. But that is because the song forms part of the seven-and-a-half-minute long finale of Act II. Julian Mit ..read more

One thing that had been hampering the completion of my book was a much-needed research trip to New York City. My husband Eric and I had been hoping to travel east a couple years ago, after I had finally gotten down to the actual writing of text. Then Covid hit, libraries shut down, travel became unsafe, and my access to much critical research was cut off. This past March, Covid infections hit a low point and the research facilities I needed to visit had all reopened. Eric and I were anxious for a road trip (any trip!) after two years of world lock-down. Eric said, "Let's go!" And after purchas ..read more

I am most sorry for the long time between blog posts, but much exciting work has been going on behind the scenes regarding my 1903 Wizard of Oz book project. I'll share more about that next post.  But in the spring and early summer, my energies are also split between work on the book and work in the garden. Lately, the 1903 Wizard of Oz has found its way into the garden, too. You might recall a blog post from early February about Luther Wyckoff, who played Imogene, the frolicsome heifer, on Broadway for a few weeks and then for two full seasons with Company No. 2. Wyckoff had begun his ..read more

Playbill from 1979 bus-and-truck For this final part in our Black History Month series, The BLACK Wizard of Oz, I want to share the story of how the ultimate all-Black version of Baum's story informed my career, first as a stage manager, then as a designer, and now as a theatre historian. You can read Part One and Part Two by clicking these links. One of the most influential events in my life was seeing the national bus-and-truck tour of the original Broadway production of The Wiz on February 24, 1979. I had just seen the film version starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson ..read more