Wizard of Oz

On January 21, 1903, The Wizard of Oz opened on Broadway at the brand new Majestic Theatre on Columbus Circle. It became the favorite of a generation. The audiences couldn’t get enough. The Tornado scene! Fred Stone’s boneless Scarecrow walking about on his ankles! The lovely all-girl poppy field! The glittering Emerald City! The audiences came back for seconds and thirds. They brought their kids. Everyone bought the sheet music, the phonograph records, the player-piano rolls, and Baum’s original novel! Oz had entered the American consciousness.  digitalgallery

The Wizard of Oz is one of the best-loved fairy tales and one of the best-loved films of all time. Yet few people know that it was a Broadway musical in 1903 that made Oz, Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman household names. ( Montgomery and Stone as the Tin Man and Scarecrow in Wizard of Oz.)             

Source:  digitalgallery |The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts / Billy Rose Theatre Division