Originally published in The Baum Bugle, vol. 65, no. 1 (Spring 2001), pgs. 42–47
Citations
Chicago 17th ed.:
Campbell, Bill. “Minneapolis Magic: Memories of The Marvelous Land of Oz.” Baum Bugle 65, no. 1 (2021): 42–47.
MLA 9th ed.:
Campbell, Bill. “Minneapolis Magic: Memories of The Marvelous Land of Oz.” The Baum Bugle, vol. 65, no. 1, 2021, pp. 42–47.
(Note: In print, this article was supplemented with photographs that have not been reproduced here. However, typographical errors have been left in place to accurately reflect the printed version.)
(Nearly forty years after its recording, the VHS tape of CTC’s The Marvelous Land of Oz is no longer available for purchase. Fortunately, you can watch the full 145-minute contents of the video on YouTube! Make a big bowl of your favorite snack, dim the lights and enjoy an evening at the theater. Watch the show at: https://tinyurl.com/CTCOzVHS.)
I first read The Wizard of Oz at a very young age; I don’t know how young I was, but I do know it was the first chapter book I read, and I was quite proud of finishing such a large book on my own! It wasn’t until several years later that I ran across another Oz story, this time The Marvelous Land of Oz. It quickly became another favorite, and I grew just as attached to the new characters as I was to the original crew of adventurers.
In the Spring of 1981, the Children’s Theater Company of Minneapolis (CTC) presented a new, full-scale musical stage production of The Marvelous Land of Oz. At the end of the show’s run, the performance was filmed on video to be broadcast on cable television and sold in videocassette form. Thanks to the internet, it can still be seen today as one of the most faithful stage adaptations of an Oz book. The show is available to license for performances and has been mounted in different productions, primarily by various high schools and colleges.
At the time, my partner Irwin and I were attending the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, which was part of the same complex as the theater and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. As a part-time job, we worked as ushers and house managers at the theater, leaving when we graduated from college; consequently, we saw many performances of the various shows presented during that period. Since I had a strong Oz interest, we sat in on several rehearsals of Marvelous Land and even devised a lobby display for the show. This consisted of various Oz books, some from my own small collection, with others that were borrowed from the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota. This began a collaboration between the Kerlan and the theater that was to continue for many years, with a display case showing various editions of whatever story was being presented on stage.
Irwin and I recently sat down with Gary Briggle, who played the Scarecrow and wrote the lyrics for the songs in the show, and we compared memories of the production. The idea of doing an Oz show had been in the works at CTC for some time. Oz wasn’t unfamiliar territory; years earlier, in 1964, the Moppet Players, forerunner to the Children’s Theater, did a production of Ozma, Ruler of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum’s third Oz book. For the 1981 production, the director of the theater didn’t want to compete with the well-known MGM film, so The Wizard of Oz was not chosen for adaptation. However, at the same time, it was felt that any Oz show needed to pay homage to that film version, as a musical production. To this end, recruiting began for some company members who were stronger singers, such as Gary Briggle and Stephen Boe—who ultimately played the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. Briggle began working at the theater in the 1977–78 season, and he split his time between CTC and the Minnesota Opera. Boe was well-regarded as a local singing actor. Kathleen Wegner-Humphrey, who played Glinda, was another strong voice brought in for the production—she was not a company member, but she went on to perform in a number of shows at the theater.
The show was originally intended to have a different director/designer at the helm. However, as the piece evolved, it became apparent that to produce the kind of production that was desired, John Clark Donahue, the head of the theater, would need to direct. This assured the availability of top-notch actors, musicians, costumers, etc., who would all be eager to work with a prestige production.
The scenic aspect of the show was designed by Jack Barkla, who worked on a number of memorable productions at the theater. In a conversation I had with Jack, he admitted he did not really have any recollections of designing the show. Looking at a photo of the reunion of the Scarecrow and Tin Man, he bemusedly remarked “I designed that – but I just don’t remember it!” The sloped set was rather dark, allowing for various black-on-black special effects. This also allowed the bright colors of the costumes and set details to pop against the darkness.
The costumes, designed by Barry Robison, were remarkably faithful to John R. Neill’s original book illustrations; that was a CTC specialty. Using a “page to stage” philosophy, they captured the look of a book, or an illustrator, like no other theater at the time. The theater’s scene shop, prop shop and costume shop were continually presented with unique challenges in the attempts to bring the pages of a book to life; the primary goal was always to fulfill a child’s expectations of a story. In that same season, Babar the Little Elephant was brought to the stage with faithful renditions of Jean de Brunhoff’s artwork, as well as Tomie dePaola’s The Clown of God. The scripts for both shows were written by Thomas Olson, who also wrote the script for Oz.
The costumes were sturdy but remarkably uncomfortable. Stephen Boe’s Tinman costume was made of metal, lined with felt. Similar to the experience of Jack Haley while making the MGM film, Boe was unable to sit and had to rest against a leaning board between scenes. The Scarecrow costume was heavy sailcloth muslin, created as one piece that was entered from the back. According to Gary Briggle, the hot costume would be drenched by the end of his very physical performance. As there were no duplicate costumes, on days when there was a 10 A.M. and a 1 P.M. show, the costume would simply be tossed through a dryer. By the end of the run, Briggle recommended burning it—and was unpleasantly surprised to find he’d have to put up with it a bit longer, through the filming of the show!
Rather than auditions, the roles in the show were cast by the director. Gary Briggle remembers his surprise at finding that not only was he playing the Scarecrow, he was also requested to write the lyrics for the show. This was the first time he had attempted anything of the sort, but he found that the writing came rather easily. Working with the composer Richard Dworsky, he attached lyrics to music that had already been written, as well as joining forces to create the final songs. The music for the Emerald City sequence was modeled after the Munchkinland and Emerald City segments of the MGM film, with male and female choruses, introduction of the Emerald City Mayor, and general swirling activity, choreographed by Myron Johnson. The reunion of the Scarecrow and Tinman evolved into a mix of barnyard hoedown and metallic percussion, to reflect the personas of the two characters. Glinda’s second act song, “Look to Your Own Heart,” was written to stand alone, in the manner of “Over the Rainbow.” As an usher, my memory of that song primarily concerns the number of patrons who used the slow number to run to the restrooms!
Wendy Lehr, who played Mombi, was the doyenne of the theater and created many memorable roles over the years. She knew how to work with the energy of an audience that might be largely children; using the enthusiasm to support her performance, she also had the ability to squelch a disruptive audience of toddlers. After all, no one wanted to have Mombi tracking them down after the show! She was also a talented bird impersonator and provided the crow calls heard in the background of her opening scenes. In the tradition of Scarecrow/Wicked Witch romance, she and Gary Briggle eventually married, and both are still very active on local stages.
Julee Cruise, a strong singer, played General Jinjur. At the time, she was experiencing some health issues, as well as the possibility of various other career opportunities. Several years later, she would collaborate with composer Angelo Badalamenti and director David Lynch on several projects, including creating the role of the bar singer in Twin Peaks (1990–92 and 2017). During the latter part of the run of Oz, she took a break from the show and was replaced by Lesley Moore, a production assistant. At the same time, there was an opening in the women’s army, which was taken by chorus member Gary Costello. It was important for the staging to have the correct number of army members, and Gary, who was able to sing in a strong falsetto, already knew the show—so one of the women in revolt was a man. He continued in the army through the end of the run. Julie Cruise returned to play Jinjur for the filming—and Gary remained a woman in revolt!
Tip was played by Christopher Passi, a newcomer to the theater. This was his first featured role with the company, and he went on to play a number of other leads, including Bartholomew Cubbins and Peter Pan. Originally, a girl was cast to play Princess Ozma, but by the time rehearsals reached that point of the show, it was felt that the switch in actors would be distracting to the story. Chris Passi was given the choice of whether or not to play Ozma, and he agreed it was important to continue his role through the end of the show, rather than breaking the flow of the story by introducing a new face and voice. In the program for the production, the cast list coyly states that Ozma is played by “Herself.”
The story was slightly expanded from the book to include Jellia Jamb in many of the adventures, which gave the theater the opportunity to make more use of another child actor. Rana Haugen, who played Jellia, was a young veteran of various other shows at the theater. Rana had a reputation of being hard on her costumes. She was a dancer and actress, and she had the philosophy that if the costume couldn’t handle it, there was something wrong with the costume! Smears of jam, as well as missing pom-poms and split seams, were not uncommon. Chris and Rana are prime examples of how the child actors could learn from the talents of the older performers surrounding them, and Gary Briggle also recalled how the firm belief of the young actors could inspire the veterans.
James McNee, who provided the voices of the Sawhorse, the Queen of the Field Mice, and the Gump, was a young intern at the theater and an enthusiastic Oz fan, very familiar with the books. As there wasn’t a major role appropriate for him, he was given the job of performing the various voice characterizations. He was also a help in keeping the tone of the show faithful to the book, as questions of Oz history could be directed to him for answers. In a similar vein, the Guardian of the Gate was played by Steve Huke, a well-regarded juvenile actor who was about to head off to college. The part was originally intended for an adult, but it was an opportunity to use Huke in a final show.
The extensive use of masks and prosthetics made acting difficult for the performers. Carl Beck, who played Jack Pumpkinhead, performed his role through voice and physical movement, as his head was concealed in an unchanging pumpkin that obscured his vision. Consequently, much of the bond between his character and that of Tip fell upon the young Chris Passi, who managed to establish the necessary connection by acting through the mask to the actor’s eyes; he also helped Carl navigate the sloped stage! Wendy Lehr objected to, but in the end was burdened with, a mask as Mombi, which meant she could do nothing through facial expression. Like Jack Pumpkinhead, her performance had to be brought to life through expression in the body and voice, something at which she excelled.
At the first dress rehearsal, Tom Dunn experienced difficulties in the role of the Wogglebug. His elaborate costume, complete with curled prosthetic fingers, made simple movements difficult. On his first entrance, during his introductory song, he was directed to hand his card to Tip while holding his cane. This proved impossible to do, and after several attempts, he pulled his fingers off in frustration, threw them to the ground and left the stage. In the end, the problem was resolved by attaching the card to the cane.
Very few changes were made to the show during the rehearsal period. In early rehearsals, there was a more extensive lesson from Tip to Jack Pumpkinhead, regarding the history of Oz. In the final show, this was cut to simplify the scene.
When the video version was filmed, bits and pieces of some scenes were cut, primarily shortening some of the musical numbers. A bit of video magic was added as well, along with details like the live mice used in the field mouse sequence. The biggest change in the video was the elimination of the battle between Mombi, in the form of a gryphon, and Glinda. This was originally enacted in silhouette against the side of Glinda’s tent.
At one point during rehearsals, someone was heard to say that the show had everything but the kitchen sink. A tradition at this time was to hold the final dress rehearsal as a preview for friends and family, and there was usually a prank of some sort pulled during the performance. This time it occurred at the end of the Emerald City number, when a green kitchen sink appeared in the arms of one of the chorus!
The show opened to a good review in the Minneapolis Tribune and a rather mixed review in the Minneapolis Star. The objections of the reviewer in the Star were primarily based on a dislike of the source material, rather than problems with the production itself. The Tribune review revealed a good knowledge of Oz history on the part of the reviewer, with references to earlier stage versions as well as Baum’s connection to Matilda Gage.
Ticket prices for the show were $6.95 for adults and $4.95 for children, with a cast of fifty-two and a twelve-piece orchestra. It was a unique opportunity to see such a massive production at such a reasonable cost!
The Marvelous Land of Oz ran from April 18 to June 5, 1981. For me, it was an exciting opportunity to see the story I knew so well brought to life on the stage. Feeling involved, however minimally, in the production helped to rekindle my interest in Oz and consequently spurred me on in my collecting of the original books and artwork. I think, after forty years, the show still captures a lot of the charm of the book.
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