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The long-anticipated film version of the Broadway musical Wicked has been defying gravity at the box office this year, becoming one of the highest grossing movies based on a Broadway musical ever made and dominating pop culture media in the last few weeks of 2024.
The film, technically titled Wicked: Part I, directed by John Chu and starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, and Michelle Yeoh, is based on the Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and the musical adaptation that opened on Broadway in 2003. But the story of Oz dates back much further than that. For nearly 125 years, the fantasy world of writer L. Frank Baum’s children’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), has continued to capture the imagination of Americans, interpreted for the stage, silver screen, television, and streaming.
So what is it about the merry old land of Oz that still resonates with us through the decades? Let’s walk back down the yellow brick road to recount how we got here.
L. Frank Baum was a consummate American striver and an imaginative storyteller. Born into a wealthy family in upstate New York, he tried out a variety of careers including acting, storekeeping, and even breeding chickens before he began finding success as a writer. After his collection of Mother Goose nursery rhymes became a hit, he decided to focus on children’s literature, hoping to write modern fairy tales for children in a rapidly changing nation.
His 1900 book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, told the story of Dorothy, a Kansas farm girl who is transported to the magical land of Oz and must find her way back home, overcoming dangers and defeating the Wicked Witch of the West with her friends the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion. Granted a pair of magical silver shoes that once belonged to the Wicked Witch of the East by the Good Witch of the North, Dorothy seeks out the powerful Wizard of Oz for help. The book, with its colorful and comical illustrations by W. W. Denslow, became an immediate bestseller and kicked off an Oz craze. Baum wrote a sequel, The Marvelous Land of Oz, in 1904, and an additional twelve books expanding the Oz universe over the next 15 years.
In the meantime, Baum helped to produce the first stage adaptation: the 1902 musical extravaganza The Wizard of Oz, which toured the country after a successful debut in Chicago and New York. The plot expanded on the original story, introducing King Pastoria and his girlfriend, Trixie Tryfle, and their quest to regain the throne of Oz from the power-hungry Wizard. Fans of the book loved seeing the fantasy world brought to life, the catchy songs, and the additions to Oz lore, and they clamored for more.
Baum helped produce an early movie adaptation, The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays, that combined an innovative mix of film, magic lantern slides, and live actors — including Baum himself! — on stage. While that ambitious multimedia presentation failed soon after its 1908 debut, six other films set in the land of Oz were made from 1910 to 1938, including an adaptation of the stage show, an animated short, and a popular 1925 The Wizard of Oz featuring silent film stars Larry Semon and Oliver Hardy.
After the success of the groundbreaking 1937 Disney animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, executives at the major movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer saw an opportunity to make their own family-friendly adventure film focused on a young female hero: a new, high-budget remake of The Wizard of Oz that would combine the biggest stars, memorable music, spectacular sets and special effects, and the costly but amazing Technicolor film process. Casting the 16-year old acting and singing phenom Judy Garland in the role of Dorothy, the filmmakers reworked the 1925 film script to make her pursuit of her dreams — somewhere over the rainbow — the central motif of the film. Veteran vaudeville comedians played dual roles, both as Kansas farm hands and the Ozian Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and the humbug Wizard of Oz. To take advantage of Technicolor’s saturated hues, the silver shoes were changed to ruby slippers, the Wicked Witch of the West was given an unforgettable green skin makeover, and a jaw-dropping transition from sepia-toned Kansas to the colorful Munchkinland left audiences speechless. The film was a major hit in 1939, one of Hollywood’s most remarkable years, and has become one of the most-watched and best-loved films of all time, especially once it began airing on television annually in 1956.
While that film became an instant classic, it was far from the last word in Oz adaptation. In 1972, 32-year old radio DJ Ken Harper dreamed up a new interpretation of Baum’s story that would reflect African American life, starring an all-Black cast. With a book by William Brown and modern, Motown-style music by Charlie Smalls, The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" opened on Broadway in 1975. In 1978, Motown Productions adapted the popular musical for a motion picture and cast musical superstars Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, with comedians Nipsey Russell and Richard Pryor as the Tin Man and Wizard. The Wiz has gone on to become a classic in its own right, revived in countless productions on stage and live musical television, even inspiring the 2005 TV movie The Muppets' Wizard of Oz.
Meanwhile, author Gregory Maguire, fascinated by The Wizard of Oz and contemplating the nature of evil, wrote the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The book sought to examine the motivations and backstory of the witches of Oz, particularly the Wicked Witch of the West, whom Maguire named Elphaba in a tribute to author Baum’s initials (L.F.B.). The revisionist story thrilled critics and readers with its imaginative and psychologically complex exploration of the Oz universe, revealing allegorical and literary depth in Baum’s fantasy world.
That might have made it an unlikely candidate for musical adaptation, but Broadway legend Stephen Schwartz decided to write the music and lyrics to bring it to the stage (with a book by Winnie Holzman) in 2003. The Broadway production of Wicked, opening just over a century after the first theatrical production of The Wizard of Oz, has become one of the most successful works of theater in American history, winning three Tony Awards including Best Actress for lead Idina Menzel and a Grammy Award for best cast album. The extravagantly staged and musically memorable story of witches Elphaba and Galinda’s turbulent relationship and upbringing has been produced around the world, in touring productions, and now as a major motion picture.
What do all these adaptations have in common? They combine spectacle, catchy songs, popular stars, and an innovative embrace of technological wizardry to explore the memorable characters and fantastic universe of Oz. They also share the basic narrative DNA of the original story, examining the dreams, trials, and triumphs of young women overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds, navigating complicated relationships, exposing frauds and corrupt authorities, and learning about the power they have within themselves to make their dreams come true. The fundamental themes of Baum’s story have carried through the decades, making it relevant and resonant to Americans who continue to love Oz and find new ways to interpret and treasure the tale.
This article was produced with Made By Us, a coalition of more than 200 history museums working to connect with today's youth.
