One of the most beloved film musicals of all time, The Wizard of Oz represents an enduring family favorite and cultural classic. Yet there is much more to the story than meets the eye, and the MGM movie is just one of many ways in which it has been represented. In this lively and wide-ranging book, editors Danielle Birkett and Dominic McHugh bring together insights from eleven experts into the varied musical forms this great American myth has taken in the past century. Starting with the early adaptations of L. Frank Baum's story, the book also explores the writing, composition and reception of the MGM film, its importance in queer culture, stage adaptations of the movie, cult classic The Wiz, Stephen Schwartz's Broadway blockbuster Wicked, and the cultural afterlife of the iconic Arlen-Harburg songs. What emerges is a vivid overview of how music - on stage and screen - has been an essential part of the story's journey to become a centerpiece of American culture.
Industry Reviews
"The diversity of approaches, methodologies, and topics in Adapting 'The Wizard of Oz' makes it an excellent addition to film and musical theater scholarship." -- Notes
"The book as a whole is readable and useful to anyone interest in Oz, the discussed production, or theatre history more broadly." -- Elizabeth Sallinger, Popular Music
"Editors Danielle Birkett and Dominic McHugh have selected some first rate scholars to write about the many aspects of the book and its various stage and screen versions so that the book is full of fresh and little-known information." -- Thomas S. Hischak, Music, Sound, and the Moving Image
"With a variety of approaches represented throughout the volume, Birkett and McHugh's edited volume offers a valuable contribution to the study of musical adaptations. Additionally, the consistent accessibility of the collection and focus on a beloved film and related works makes this appealing for enthusiasts of the genre and The Wizard of Oz." -- Megan Woller, Journal of Film Music
"Birkett and McHugh have put together a package tour of the capacious land of Oz that leaves nothing to be desired. It has heart, brain, and nerve." -- Stephen Banfield, Professor Emeritus of Music, University of Bristol
"Through the wizardry of Birkett and McHugh and their team of scholars, readers of this wide-ranging collection can follow the yellow brick road with both relevant historical commentary and trenchant criticism." -- Geoffrey Block, author of Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber and Series Editor of Oxford's Broadway Legacies
"The famed 'Yellow Brick Road' has wound a devious path through U.S. political, social, and economic history from the first musical adaptation of L. Frank Baum's initial novel through Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman's Wicked and beyond. It became a cultural icon and a counter-cultural one by way of the 1939 movie, and this splendid set of essays maps its various twists and turns in search of what might still lie somewhere 'Over the Rainbow'. " --
Tim Carter, author of Oklahoma!: The Making of an American Musical and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel
