"If the wizard is a wizard who will serve" : the movical and shifting receptions of the St. Louis Municipal Opera and Royal Shakespeare Company's stage adaptations of MGM's "The Wizard of Oz"

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz has been seen in many forms throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. One ilmof the most recognizable forms is the 1939 MGM film. This notoriety has resulted in three different stage musicals having been written based on the film. These are examples of a trend known as the "movical"-- a stage musical based on a film. The movical has been an increasing trend in recent years, with the number presented on Broadway and in London increasing with each decade, but little scholarship has been devoted to this. Drawing from scholarship in Adaptation Theory and Reception History, this study uses a Cultural/Historical model to examine the development of two of these musicals, one staged by the Municipal Opera of St. Louis, one by the Royal Shakespeare Company. By examining how these works were adapted from the film, including the critical and audience reception, as well as the creators' interpretation over many years, this study serves as a model for a larger project, examining a broader range of film-to-stage musical adaptations, determining the key factors in their critical success or failure.