Me and Charlie are off to see the Wizard again today!!! It's very early (6:10am) and we are about to leave and get the train for London to see today's Matinee of Wicked. We'll be back to tell you about our lastest Oz advernture soon though!!!!
A very excited Lillian!
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Thursday, 10 September 2009
What is this feeling?
In February 2006, our year at school was offered the chance to go on two different school trips. One was to Belgium, this was to visit battlefields and other various war-affiliated places, the other was to London. On this London trip the price of £120 included one night in a hotel, a visit to Hampton Court Palace, where Henry VIII lived, a guided tour of London with access to the Tower of London and a visit to a West End musical. It was called ‘Wicked.’
Being a fan of musicals, I had heard of all of the “oldies” such as ‘Oklahoma’ and ‘The Sound of Music,’ but not ‘Wicked.’ The day we received the letter I immediately “googled it” on the internet to find out it was about Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North’s uncanny friendship. I can’t remember my exact emotion at that moment but I am sure it was just like Stephen Schwartz’s at that time.
“I was on a fishing trip with my friend, a folk-singer called Holly Near and she said to me ‘I’m reading this really interesting book. It’s called ‘Wicked’ and it’s the Oz story from the Wicked Witch’s point of view.’ At that point my jaw just dropped” He said in an interview when asked about when he first heard of ‘Wicked.’
His jaw dropped when he first heard of it. So did mine. I thought it was one of the best ideas that has ever happened.
I found out it was a musical based on Gregory Maguire’s novel. My birthday was in May. For my birthday I received a book token worth £10. I immediately spent the token on the novel that inspired Schwartz’s musical.
I realised that if the musical is anything like the novel then the school would never allow a trip to go and see ‘Wicked’ again. It wasn’t.
We had to be at school for 7:15 am to catch the coach for London. Before we checked into our hotel, we went to Hampton Court Palace. It was where Henry VIII lived along with other various members of his ancestors. Although it was a beautiful building, it was not quite the Emerald City.
Once we had eaten our meals we walked around the corner to the theatre.
On 20 October 2006 I walked into, for the first time, the Apollo Victoria Theatre. It was like time Emerald City from the 1939 film of ‘Oz.’ It was very busy. People were rushing about to get memorabilia and get to their seats via the numerous amounts of entrances to the auditorium. I opened the program and read the cast to find out that the Original Elphaba was our main cast member.
When the music for the opening of ‘No One Mourns the Wicked’ I knew instantly, there is going to be something different about this. It is not quite the same musical as ‘The Wizard of Oz.’
By the time Idina had finished a fantastic rendition of ‘The Wizard and I.’ I knew I was right. ‘Wicked’ is different to other musicals. It expresses itself in a way that no other musical does. Through not only the songs, but also design aspects of the show. The dancing during Dancing through life was somewhat magically non-naturalistic. It was in a way bringing the whole theatre from it's seats onto the stage and dancing with the cast. 'One Short Day' showed a fantastic mixture of set, costume and lighting all working together to create an element that causes every member of the audience's jaw to drop. The head of the Great-and-Powerful Oz is another extra-ordinary part of the play. It caputures the imaginations of the audience and they imagine they are in the room with Glinda and Elphaba meeting the not-so-wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The finale of Act I requires extra help for description. The sudden contrast between the 'I hope you're Happy' section and the first verse of 'Defying Gravity.' These two parts show the anger of Glinda and Elphaba after she ran away from the Wizard. Then Elphaba tells Glinda her emotions about how she wants to get away by 'Defying Gravity,' just like the way she caused the monkeys to. For the final duet 'I hope you're happy' Glinda is not longer angry with Elphaba and just wants her to be happy. The pianissimo effect builds up to the crescendo of the final verse of 'Defying Gravity' when Idina is belting out and the crowd are watching her at 30ft in the air before the final note, orchestra hit and lights down. Unfortunately, I was sitting in Row U of the Dress Circle and with the Apollo Victoria seating 2,208; I was literally with the Gods.
However, with what I could see I knew it was brilliant and by the time the Act I climax with ‘Defying Gravity’ I was brought to tears as I realised that there is a bit of Elphaba in me. There is a bit of Elphaba in everybody and I try to think of things from other peoples points of view and judge them not by who they are but their feelings for how they respect themselves, others and the environment around them.
Act II opens with the introduction to the music of Defying Gravity. However, it then reverts to a minor key. It signifies the worry of the Ozians as the 'Wicked Witch' is flying throughout the sky. The next song stole the show for me that night. Helen Dallimore did a fantastic job her dynamics and texture during the song made knowing her ideas, emotions, thoughts and feelings. In this segment of the musical Glinda has to be the public figure. She has to guide the Ozians through their frightful time by celebrating. She has to show them that beyond the Wicked Witc hthere is a world full of love, happiness and joy. She has to bring out the heart, soul and spirit from them. By the end of the song she brings the life and colour back to them whilst hitting a top C. During the next song, Wicked Witch of the East, Nessarose and Elphaba team together to try and save Boq in a fantastic Sondhiem-esque duet of chanting and lyrics. No Good Deed shows Elphaba expressing her powerful emotions in a race against time to save her beloved Fiyero.
Another one of the most heart-rending songs of the show is ‘For Good.’ This song means an awful lot to me. If you read on into part two, you will find out why it means so much to me.
When Act II was over I knew that I had been changed for good. I knew that I would look back at ‘Wicked’ not only as a spellbinding musical but also as a lesson, a lesson which has been taught for years. Don’t judge a book by its cover. In this case, if you go right into the storyline it is filled with darkness, racism. Overall, Elphaba is ‘Wicked’ because of the colour of her skin. What did she do wrong? When was she ‘Wicked?’
Elphaba is misunderstood for doing things right. All she ever wanted to do was to make things right. When she tried to make a stand people started to blame her for the situation. However, Glinda, who was her friend, could have made a stand when she was an encouraging public figure to look at Elphaba as not a ‘Wicked’ witch but as a friend who has tried to help making everything go terribly wrong.
I would then start to be an avid ‘Wicked’ fan.
I would return not only once, but four times. Including a fantastic trip to New York and seeing Kerry Ellis on Broadway.
Being a fan of musicals, I had heard of all of the “oldies” such as ‘Oklahoma’ and ‘The Sound of Music,’ but not ‘Wicked.’ The day we received the letter I immediately “googled it” on the internet to find out it was about Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North’s uncanny friendship. I can’t remember my exact emotion at that moment but I am sure it was just like Stephen Schwartz’s at that time.
“I was on a fishing trip with my friend, a folk-singer called Holly Near and she said to me ‘I’m reading this really interesting book. It’s called ‘Wicked’ and it’s the Oz story from the Wicked Witch’s point of view.’ At that point my jaw just dropped” He said in an interview when asked about when he first heard of ‘Wicked.’
His jaw dropped when he first heard of it. So did mine. I thought it was one of the best ideas that has ever happened.
I found out it was a musical based on Gregory Maguire’s novel. My birthday was in May. For my birthday I received a book token worth £10. I immediately spent the token on the novel that inspired Schwartz’s musical.
I realised that if the musical is anything like the novel then the school would never allow a trip to go and see ‘Wicked’ again. It wasn’t.
We had to be at school for 7:15 am to catch the coach for London. Before we checked into our hotel, we went to Hampton Court Palace. It was where Henry VIII lived along with other various members of his ancestors. Although it was a beautiful building, it was not quite the Emerald City.
Once we had eaten our meals we walked around the corner to the theatre.
On 20 October 2006 I walked into, for the first time, the Apollo Victoria Theatre. It was like time Emerald City from the 1939 film of ‘Oz.’ It was very busy. People were rushing about to get memorabilia and get to their seats via the numerous amounts of entrances to the auditorium. I opened the program and read the cast to find out that the Original Elphaba was our main cast member.
When the music for the opening of ‘No One Mourns the Wicked’ I knew instantly, there is going to be something different about this. It is not quite the same musical as ‘The Wizard of Oz.’
By the time Idina had finished a fantastic rendition of ‘The Wizard and I.’ I knew I was right. ‘Wicked’ is different to other musicals. It expresses itself in a way that no other musical does. Through not only the songs, but also design aspects of the show. The dancing during Dancing through life was somewhat magically non-naturalistic. It was in a way bringing the whole theatre from it's seats onto the stage and dancing with the cast. 'One Short Day' showed a fantastic mixture of set, costume and lighting all working together to create an element that causes every member of the audience's jaw to drop. The head of the Great-and-Powerful Oz is another extra-ordinary part of the play. It caputures the imaginations of the audience and they imagine they are in the room with Glinda and Elphaba meeting the not-so-wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The finale of Act I requires extra help for description. The sudden contrast between the 'I hope you're Happy' section and the first verse of 'Defying Gravity.' These two parts show the anger of Glinda and Elphaba after she ran away from the Wizard. Then Elphaba tells Glinda her emotions about how she wants to get away by 'Defying Gravity,' just like the way she caused the monkeys to. For the final duet 'I hope you're happy' Glinda is not longer angry with Elphaba and just wants her to be happy. The pianissimo effect builds up to the crescendo of the final verse of 'Defying Gravity' when Idina is belting out and the crowd are watching her at 30ft in the air before the final note, orchestra hit and lights down. Unfortunately, I was sitting in Row U of the Dress Circle and with the Apollo Victoria seating 2,208; I was literally with the Gods.
However, with what I could see I knew it was brilliant and by the time the Act I climax with ‘Defying Gravity’ I was brought to tears as I realised that there is a bit of Elphaba in me. There is a bit of Elphaba in everybody and I try to think of things from other peoples points of view and judge them not by who they are but their feelings for how they respect themselves, others and the environment around them.
Act II opens with the introduction to the music of Defying Gravity. However, it then reverts to a minor key. It signifies the worry of the Ozians as the 'Wicked Witch' is flying throughout the sky. The next song stole the show for me that night. Helen Dallimore did a fantastic job her dynamics and texture during the song made knowing her ideas, emotions, thoughts and feelings. In this segment of the musical Glinda has to be the public figure. She has to guide the Ozians through their frightful time by celebrating. She has to show them that beyond the Wicked Witc hthere is a world full of love, happiness and joy. She has to bring out the heart, soul and spirit from them. By the end of the song she brings the life and colour back to them whilst hitting a top C. During the next song, Wicked Witch of the East, Nessarose and Elphaba team together to try and save Boq in a fantastic Sondhiem-esque duet of chanting and lyrics. No Good Deed shows Elphaba expressing her powerful emotions in a race against time to save her beloved Fiyero.
Another one of the most heart-rending songs of the show is ‘For Good.’ This song means an awful lot to me. If you read on into part two, you will find out why it means so much to me.
When Act II was over I knew that I had been changed for good. I knew that I would look back at ‘Wicked’ not only as a spellbinding musical but also as a lesson, a lesson which has been taught for years. Don’t judge a book by its cover. In this case, if you go right into the storyline it is filled with darkness, racism. Overall, Elphaba is ‘Wicked’ because of the colour of her skin. What did she do wrong? When was she ‘Wicked?’
Elphaba is misunderstood for doing things right. All she ever wanted to do was to make things right. When she tried to make a stand people started to blame her for the situation. However, Glinda, who was her friend, could have made a stand when she was an encouraging public figure to look at Elphaba as not a ‘Wicked’ witch but as a friend who has tried to help making everything go terribly wrong.
I would then start to be an avid ‘Wicked’ fan.
I would return not only once, but four times. Including a fantastic trip to New York and seeing Kerry Ellis on Broadway.
Monday, 10 August 2009
We're all goin' on a summer holiday!
Unfortunately Charlie and I will be unavailable for the next couple of weeks, we are both going on holiday. Sorry for any unconvenience caused.
Lillian
Lillian
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Costume
Hello everyone!Sorry I haven't been available recently as I have been away. Here, I am going to talk about the costumes of the show 'Wicked.'
This is the dress that Elphaba wears during Act II. It appears that because she is living 'rough,' she has had her original dress, used for 'Defying Gravity' ruined and it would be too dangerous to return home to get a new dress. The dress has lots of different fabrics and material to add the 'destroyed' effect.
All of the different fabrics and textures used on this dress create different effects. For example, under the stage lights, parts of the dress that some shinier matrials have been used on catch the light better than others just like water. This again is to do with her living 'rough' in Oz.
Although the dress is beatiful, all the dark shades of greens, reds and blues used, mainly on the bottom half of the dress look like moss and other things from the forest have got caught on the dress and make it look a bit dirty.
On the top part of the dress and the sleeves, the strips of lace and net-like fabric that hang down give the effect that the dress is ripped and is fraying from the damage.
All of the different colours cross and interlink to create a very detailed dress suitable more for a close up, possibly a film, but not a stage show. The dress costs about $20,000 to make and is one of my favourite costumes in the whole show. It is definately my favourite Elphaba dress.
Lillian
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
*UPDATED* The Wizard and I
My new book is currently available at:http://www.unibook.com/unibook/site/bookdetail/?bookid=7048
However, this book is to be adapted and edited to be a more fluent and full book.
The book is no longer available as it is currently being edited and redeveloped for a future release.
SYNOPSIS
This book is a look at 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Wicked' from my personal point of view.
It may not appeal to you, but it is the way I have been changed. For Good.
This book follows my life and how it has been changed by the story and film 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' and the hit, Broadway musical 'Wicked' and how it has had a huge impact on my life and made me the person I am today.
"After watching and ruining the video of the under rated version of anime version of The Wizard of Oz, I was given a video of a recorded-from-the-television 1939 version of the Wizard of Oz. When it begun in the sepia tone I thought that this would be a very boring version of the animated film that I had been watching for the past six months, I was obviously wrong…"
Thanks,
Charlie
Monday, 27 July 2009
My Story
The ongoing post entitled "My Story" will be continued later on this year for you all to find out how Oz re-entered my life after I had grown out of it.
Charlie
Charlie
The Melting - My Story (continued)
As I started to grow older, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ became more and more irrelevant to me. It was for children. It is a children’s modern fairy tale. I was getting older and other things became apparent with my life. However, I still went to see it at the theatre and still listened to its songs and score. It was when I got older I started looking at the political interpretations of the story and film. L. Frank Baum and W. W. Denslow were both actively involved in the politics of the USA in 1890s. Many scholars have suggested that Oz is a metaphor of political, economic and social events of America of the 1890s. But, L. Frank Baum never stated the story was an allegory for politics although, he never denied the notion.
In the introduction of the Wizard of Oz Baum wrote it was “solely to please children of today.”
The old time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as "historical" in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer "wonder tales" in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incidents devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident. Having this thought in mind, the story of 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' was written solely to please children of today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out.
What did Baum mean by a “modernized fairy-tale?”
Besides the state of Kansas, there is nothing to suggest that the book is modern. Unless you focus on the political references inserted cleverly in every chapter. European fairy tales often contained political allegory disguised as a myth or a legend when in times of despotism when people were unable, sometimes even forbidden by law, to speak out about harsh, unfair treatment.
The 1901 musical version of the book, which was for adult audiences, contained numerous explicit references to current politics.
A First Edition
One thing I always wanted, and still want is a first edition copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. However, after searching the internet for a reasonable length of time, it became apparent to me that to have a copy of this book I would end up paying within the region of £50,000. When I had seen this price I decided that I was not going to buy this book as I would be in debt for the rest of my life.
I still had my Oz books, videos, DVDs, CDs and collectables when I really stopped enjoying Oz. It wasn’t until February 2006 when Oz entered my life in a different way thanks to Mrs. Garner, my history teacher.
In the introduction of the Wizard of Oz Baum wrote it was “solely to please children of today.”
The old time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as "historical" in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer "wonder tales" in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incidents devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident. Having this thought in mind, the story of 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' was written solely to please children of today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out.
What did Baum mean by a “modernized fairy-tale?”
Besides the state of Kansas, there is nothing to suggest that the book is modern. Unless you focus on the political references inserted cleverly in every chapter. European fairy tales often contained political allegory disguised as a myth or a legend when in times of despotism when people were unable, sometimes even forbidden by law, to speak out about harsh, unfair treatment.
The 1901 musical version of the book, which was for adult audiences, contained numerous explicit references to current politics.
A First Edition
One thing I always wanted, and still want is a first edition copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. However, after searching the internet for a reasonable length of time, it became apparent to me that to have a copy of this book I would end up paying within the region of £50,000. When I had seen this price I decided that I was not going to buy this book as I would be in debt for the rest of my life.
I still had my Oz books, videos, DVDs, CDs and collectables when I really stopped enjoying Oz. It wasn’t until February 2006 when Oz entered my life in a different way thanks to Mrs. Garner, my history teacher.
Off to See The Wizard - My Story (continued)
I was still in nursery, well – pre-school as we learned how to read, write and count. So, I was one step ahead of the rest of my class when I began at Ursuline Catholic Primary School. I was given a “READ IT YOURSELF” book of The Wizard of Oz. It was a highly condensed version of the full, 259 page book. It ended up that I would read and remember the book to its entirety word-for-word. I recently found a used copy of the book on eBay for a single penny.
The 1939 version of the film was definitely a new sight in my eyes with the emphasis on the dreary, bleak Kansas plain and on the colourfully, excitement of the Land of Oz. I obviously thought that it was all in sepia when I first began to watch it but, when Dorothy opened the door into Munchkinland I was fascinated! I don’t think I have the words, even now, to describe the emotions than ran through my body at that very moment. It was as if time had stopped. As if there was only me in the world and only me watching this video as if I had gone to Oz with Dorothy and I was following the Yellow Brick Road with her. My favourite character of the film was initially Dorothy but then I grew to liking the Scarecrow, then the Tin man and then the Lion. After this I wasn’t sure. I loved it so much that after it had finished I watched it over and over again. When I was about five years old, about two months before Christmas, I was is KwikSave (now Somerfield) with my mum and I was looking at the DVD’s/Videos and in stock they had the Wizard of Oz on DVD but not on video. At this time DVD players were becoming increasingly popular. So, I asked Santa Claus for a DVD player and the Wizard of Oz DVD for my Christmas present, much to my parents delight. I did receive the DVD at Christmas and as a shared birthday present I also got a DVD player and we all sat down and watched it, all five of us, Mum, Dad, Josh, Toby, My Nana, Uncle Peter, Aunty Marg and I all watched in my backroom.
Not realising she was dead, I began to fall in love with Judy Garland and convinced myself that we were to be married as I did not know the film was sixty years old at this point. When I travelled to the Isle of Man with my family for my brother, Josh’s, football tournament, I was in the gift shop looking at all of the available items. I came across a Judy Garland CD and I bought it. It contained mainly songs from Musicals plus a few others including an unforgettable rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Every child’s dream when they are young is to go to Disneyland or Disneyworld. I begged for us to be taken to Florida for years and it wasn’t until I was in Year Four when we actually got to go I was eight and it was the February half-term. In England, the weather was, as usual, horrible and in Florida it was “Highs of 38 and lows of 36.” We went to all of the parks, starting with MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) in which my Mum had kept a surprise from me, The Great Movie Ride which finished with a section of The Wizard Of Oz. She had told me that she had a surprise for me and kept the secret from me until we got there. I was so, so excited until, we got there. The ride was closed for maintenance. I broke down into floods of tears. A lovely, young Disney worker came over with some popcorn to comfort me.
I simply respond with the exact words “I don’t even like popcorn.”
However, the next year we were “supposed” to be going to Spain for a holiday. In the September of the previous year, our next-door neighbour and friend won a substantial amount of money, £700,000. She had asked my parents if we would want to go to Florida with them next year and she would pay for it all. But they were not allowed to tell us. None of the parents of the children who were going knew. When we got to MGM studios I finally got my chance to go on The Great Movie Ride and it was spectacular. This time I was so happy I was not given popcorn for my emotions.
The 1939 version of the film was definitely a new sight in my eyes with the emphasis on the dreary, bleak Kansas plain and on the colourfully, excitement of the Land of Oz. I obviously thought that it was all in sepia when I first began to watch it but, when Dorothy opened the door into Munchkinland I was fascinated! I don’t think I have the words, even now, to describe the emotions than ran through my body at that very moment. It was as if time had stopped. As if there was only me in the world and only me watching this video as if I had gone to Oz with Dorothy and I was following the Yellow Brick Road with her. My favourite character of the film was initially Dorothy but then I grew to liking the Scarecrow, then the Tin man and then the Lion. After this I wasn’t sure. I loved it so much that after it had finished I watched it over and over again. When I was about five years old, about two months before Christmas, I was is KwikSave (now Somerfield) with my mum and I was looking at the DVD’s/Videos and in stock they had the Wizard of Oz on DVD but not on video. At this time DVD players were becoming increasingly popular. So, I asked Santa Claus for a DVD player and the Wizard of Oz DVD for my Christmas present, much to my parents delight. I did receive the DVD at Christmas and as a shared birthday present I also got a DVD player and we all sat down and watched it, all five of us, Mum, Dad, Josh, Toby, My Nana, Uncle Peter, Aunty Marg and I all watched in my backroom.
Not realising she was dead, I began to fall in love with Judy Garland and convinced myself that we were to be married as I did not know the film was sixty years old at this point. When I travelled to the Isle of Man with my family for my brother, Josh’s, football tournament, I was in the gift shop looking at all of the available items. I came across a Judy Garland CD and I bought it. It contained mainly songs from Musicals plus a few others including an unforgettable rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Every child’s dream when they are young is to go to Disneyland or Disneyworld. I begged for us to be taken to Florida for years and it wasn’t until I was in Year Four when we actually got to go I was eight and it was the February half-term. In England, the weather was, as usual, horrible and in Florida it was “Highs of 38 and lows of 36.” We went to all of the parks, starting with MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) in which my Mum had kept a surprise from me, The Great Movie Ride which finished with a section of The Wizard Of Oz. She had told me that she had a surprise for me and kept the secret from me until we got there. I was so, so excited until, we got there. The ride was closed for maintenance. I broke down into floods of tears. A lovely, young Disney worker came over with some popcorn to comfort me.
I simply respond with the exact words “I don’t even like popcorn.”
However, the next year we were “supposed” to be going to Spain for a holiday. In the September of the previous year, our next-door neighbour and friend won a substantial amount of money, £700,000. She had asked my parents if we would want to go to Florida with them next year and she would pay for it all. But they were not allowed to tell us. None of the parents of the children who were going knew. When we got to MGM studios I finally got my chance to go on The Great Movie Ride and it was spectacular. This time I was so happy I was not given popcorn for my emotions.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Apologies
Unfortunately over the next few days, Lillian will be unavailable for contact.
I apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please pass on any messages to myself for the time being.
Charlie
I apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please pass on any messages to myself for the time being.
Charlie
WonderfulWizardsOfVlogs Advert!
Here is the advert that will be featured on live television to advertise our blog.
My Story - continued
The inspiring words that Olivia has written as a comment to "Over the Rainbow - First Oz Experience" have made me want to carry on writing my story of Oz. Although I was initially going to do this anyway, I thought I would highlight the comments that Olivia has made and Thank Her publically for them.
Charlie
Charlie
Fanmail and Signed Photos
Recently, Charlie and I have written to many actors and actresses who have appeared in Wicked since its first production debuted on Broadway in 2003, such as Kerry Ellis and Kristin Chenoweth. Between us we have recieved many replies and signed photos and have each created a 'Wicked Wall' displaying all of these photos along with other Wicked memorabilia. We are continuing to send fanmail and waiting for more replies and are happy to help find any fanmail addresses for anyone who contacts us.
Best Wishes,
Lillian
Best Wishes,
Lillian
It's good to hear from me, isn't it?
Hi i'm Lillian and I'm the same age as Charlie, 15 (but 6 MONTHS OLDER!). We've been friends for a long time and are both obsessed with Wicked! We've been to see it 8 times between us, on Broadway and in the West End and are going to see it again together in September.
Hope you all keep reading and following us.
Lillian
Hope you all keep reading and following us.
Lillian
Over the Rainbow - First Oz Experience
In 1900, L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz was published by George M. Hill of Chicago as a children’s novel. Since then, the popular book has been reprinted countless times. It was the first of Baum’s fourteen Oz books. It followed Dorothy and her adventures in the Land of Oz.
Many adaptations of The Wizard of Oz have been produced. The first was a musical produced by Baum and W.W. Denslow. It was shown in Chicago in 1902. It moved to the New York stage a year later. However, unlike the original book, it was aimed at adult audiences. Before the 1939 movie, two other main films were made of the book. The first was released in 1910 and was based upon the works of the 1902 stage production of the book. The second, featuring Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy), and has virtually nothing to do with the original novel.
In 1938, Walt Disney wanted to produce an animated follow up to his hit animated movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and subsequently wanted Oz. However the rights to the book were bought by Samuel Goldwyn. Goldwyn wanted to star Eddie Cantor as the star of his ‘musical-comedy’ production of the book. However, Goldwyn ended up selling the rights to MGM.
The film was finally released by MGM as a musical-fantasy film. It was directed by Victor Fleming and based upon the 1900 novel. It made a star out of the young Judy Garland. She made famous the song ‘Over the Rainbow,’ which was to be cut from the film after it was said to ‘slow down the film.’ However, the film was a success after costing the studio nearly $3 million; the revenue came back at over $16million which today would be about $1billion. The songs were written by Harold Arlen and EY Harburg and are still widely sung around the world today. The Wizard of Oz is an icon of film and television history. Each year at around Christmas time it would be shown on the television. The first telecast was shown by CBS on November 3, 1956. In the early 1960’s colour televisions became more and more popular. Before these televisions people did not realise that the film went from sepia into colour and when it did it had a great impact on the viewers as it showed the contrast between the dreary, bleak Kansas plain and the colourful Land of Oz.
Oz was the last bit of light before World War II and is now a light in people’s eye’s across the world today.
When Judy Garland died the whole world was shaken and Oz in a way died with her. The last of the main characters, Ray Bolger, who played the Scarecrow, died in 1989.
The film had many differences to the original novel instead of the characters going individually going to the Wizard they went altogether for one visit to see the Great Oz. Another is the Ruby Slippers, in the original novel. The shoes are silver and play a significant part in both Oz and Wicked.
I first saw Oz when I was very young. On a trip to Crosby Village, about two miles from where I live. I was in the Help the Aged charity shop and I was looking at the books and the videos like a usual trip. I saw a video entitled: The Wizard of Oz, an animated feature. I asked my mum if she would buy it for me as I had no money with me and she did. When I got home after visiting all of the other shops, I immediately inserted the video into the VCR and watched it. The film was not the 1939 MGM version but a 1982 Japanese anime feature film. It was in English and followed the story of the book very, very well including the silver shoes and just three Munchkins. It also contained the vicious Kalidahs of the forest.
It contained songs such as “Strictly Up to You” and “Wizard of a Day.” These two songs in particular were the ones in which I remember vividly even after not singing them for at least ten years.
The voice of Dorothy was played by a young Aileen Quinn who later went on to play the title role in Annie. Kristi(n) Chenoweth auditioned to play the role of Annie at the same time as Quinn but narrowly lost out but got the role of Glinda in Wicked just over twenty years later. After watching and ruining the video of the under rated version of The Wizard of Oz, I was given a video of a recorded-from-the-television 1939 version of the Wizard of Oz. When it begun in the sepia tone I thought that this would be a very boring version of the animated film that I had been watching for the past six months, I was obviously wrong…
Hi There!
HI THERE! I thought that for my very first blog I would just simply introduce myself. I am Charlie and I am 15 and living in Crosby, Liverpool. I am currently in the middle of my GCSE years. This blog is dedicated to my obsession with 'Wicked' and 'The Wizard of Oz' but I will include other features on the website as well.
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