L. Frank Baum Videos

Both Michael Crawford and Danielle Hope will both depart the West End production of THE WIZARD OF OZ on February 5, 2012. Both have been with the show since the beginning, and audiences had been following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Crawford (as the Wizard) and Danielle Hope (as Dorothy), winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, at The London Palladium. But before they leave, the cast celebrated Crawford's 70th birthday at a recent curtain call.

Today in 1903, The Wizard of Oz opened at the Majestic Theatre, where it ran for 293 performances. Based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900, much of the original music was by Paul Tietjens and has been mostly forgotten, although it was still well-remembered and in discussion at MGM in the late 1930s, when the classic film version of the story was made. The main plot of the show, as recounted in newspapers of the time, is Pastoria's attempts to regain the throne from the Wizard of Oz. The original protagonists' search for the Wizard puts them on the wrong side of the law. Since then, many new incarnations have been created, including the 1939 film, and the 2011 West End musical.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE WIZARD OF OZ, with new songs written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, is now playing at The London Palladium. Joining Danielle Hope (BBC TV's Over the Rainbow winner) in the cast are Michael Crawford (Professor Marvel/The Wizard of Oz), Edward Baker-Duly (Hickory/Tin Man), David Ganly (Zeke/Cowardly Lion), Paul Keating (Hunk/Scarecrow), Emily Tierney (Glinda), and Hannah Waddingham (Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West) will be joined by: Sophie Evans (Alternate Dorothy), Stephen Scott (Uncle Henry/Ensemble, first cover Professor Marvel/The Wizard of Oz), and Helen Walsh (Aunt Em/Munchkin Barrister/Ensemble).

Maine State Music Theatre (MSMT) closes it's season with the Tony Award-winning musical, THE WIZ, playing August 10 - August 27 at the Pickard Theater in Brunswick. THE WIZ brings a mix of soul, rock and gospel music to Brunswick and a twist on L. Frank Baum's iconic story 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.' MSMT alumni Donna Drake directs this production, with choreography by Mark Stuart, and starring multiple Broadway veterans: Gwen Stewart, LaQuet Sharnell, Eric B. Anthony, E. Clayton Cornelious, Nikkeili DeMone, Bobby Daye and Gayle Turner.

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. Dress Circle welcomed cast members from the production at the Covent Garden Store on Thursday 2nd June, where Danielle Hope, Michael Crawford, Hannah Waddingham and David Ganly signed the London Cast Recording. Click below for an inside look at the event!

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. We are very excited to present special footage from 'The Wizard of Oz' here on BroadwayWorld.com where we'll be looking at footage from the new production. Next up? 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'!

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. We are very excited to present 'The Wizard of Oz' week here on BroadwayWorld.com where we'll be looking at footage from the new production each day. Next up? One of the new songs -- 'The Wonders of the World'!

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. We are very excited to present 'The Wizard of Oz' week here on BroadwayWorld.com where we'll be looking at footage from the new production each day. Next up? 'Munchkin Land'!

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. We are very excited to present 'The Wizard of Oz' week here on BroadwayWorld.com where we'll be looking at footage from the new production each day. Next up? 'The Merry Old Land of Oz'!

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. We are very excited to present 'The Wizard of Oz' week here on BroadwayWorld.com where we'll be looking at footage from the new production each day. First up? 'We're Off to See the Wizard'!

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. We are very excited to present a 'first listen' to Danielle singing 'Over the Rainbow' from the show's upcoming cast album. Stay tuned for further news on that release shortly and click below to play!

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. Click below to watch coverage from opening night!

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. Click below to watch Hannah Waddingham singing 'Red Shoes Blues!'

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. Click below for a sneak peek at the production which just opened in London!

Audiences are following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, play Dorothy at The London Palladium, the capital's home of the family musical. Click below for a sneak peek at the production which just opened in London!

Earlier this week, Dorothy, Danielle Hope performed 'Over the Rainbow' at the Royal Variety Performance in London at the Palladium. Michael Crawford, who will play The Wizard, introduced the segment.

Check out this sneak peek of Lea Michele as 'Dorothy of Oz' in an Entertainment Tonight clip. In the film, the title and beloved role of Dorothy Gale will be played by Golden-Globe nominated actress Lea Michele, star of television's hit series 'Glee'. Also known for her acclaimed Broadway roles in Spring Awakening and Les Misérables, Lea makes her feature film and animation voice-over debut with 'Oz' and will also be providing vocals on several original musical numbers.

The Encores! Summer Stars production of The Wiz stars Ashanti, LaChanze, Joshua Henry, James Monroe Iglehart, Christian Dante White, Tichina Arnold and Dawnn Lewis.

Singer/songwriter, actor and author Ashanti will make her stage debut as Dorothy in the New York City Center Encores! Summer Stars production of The Wiz, June 12 - July 5 at New York City Center (W. 55th Street between 6th & 7th Avenues). The Wiz, the 1974 rock and soul musical based on the beloved L. Frank Baum story about Dorothy and her adventures in Oz, will be directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, with music direction by Alex Lacamoire, (the team responsible for the Tony-winning In the Heights).

Ashanti, joined by Thomas Kail and Alex Lacamoire, gave a special behind-the-scenes, sneak peek performance this morning, Tuesday May 19th, for the media and BWW TV was there!