Tree carved to honor Dorothy namesake

A tree in a cemetery in Bloomington is being carved into a likeness of Dorothy and Toto in honor of the girl L. Frank Baum named Dorothy after and dedicated The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to.

Baum named famous character from his stories after his niece, Dorothy Gage, who passed away at a young age shortly after contracting a pneumonia like illness. Baum picked the name in part to try and cheer up his wife.



The cemetery will host a dedication ceremony when the carving is complete and the tree will be part of the Dorothy Gage Memorial Garden.

You can find out more about the story here.

Ghanaian Virgil Abloh And Louis Vuitton menswear connection

Created in partnership with Warner Brother's to celebrate the 80th anniversary. 

I love the left jacket but these will likely cost a pretty penny.

Interview with Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West

Broadway World has a fabulous interview with Ashleigh Thompson and Emily Perzan, Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West, respectively, in the touring production of The Wizard of Oz.

On the difference between the movie and stage show:

Ashleigh: I think in many ways we're very true to the movie. But one of the things that's different is some of our takes on the characters. There are some modern spins, and the choreography is modern-especially in Oz. The energy of it is more accessible for a modern audience, whereas the film tends to evoke the time in which it was made. In many ways our production is very traditional and respectful and paints a good picture of the movie, but it has its own life and modern take.

Emily: I would add that when you watch something in a movie, you're outside of that world. With our show, you are really in Oz, and you can dive into the emotions of the characters. That's something we focus on as actors-trying to bring the audience into it with us.

On the backstory of the witches:

Ashleigh: One of the first things the director and I discussed was that he wanted Glinda to represent Dorothy's mother, since in Kansas she doesn't have a mother. So, he wanted Glinda to be representative of the magical, kind, nurturing mother that she didn't have. Kalie had decided for Dorothy that her mother passed when she was little, so it's her vision of what her mother would have been had she lived. The director also wanted Glinda to behave as though she has all the power in her interactions with the wicked witch, so basically I just smile at her all the time. 

Emily: It's interesting because in our only encounter on stage together, Glinda really does hold all the power-she could take me down faster than I could take her down which is the opposite of how it is in Wicked. One part of Wicked that I do play off of is the wicked witch being misunderstood. She's seen as this almighty, evil character, but if someone killed your sister, stole your magic, etc. you'd be kind of mad. She is certainly misunderstood. There's a fun little scene in the stage version where you get to see a little more of that side of her. It's a scene where you see her trying to plot her revenge on Dorothy, and you get to see more of her backstory and her relationship with her flying monkeys and the Winkies. There's a feeling of loss that I try to carry through the show in terms of her losing her power and her sister.

Wizard of Oz train ride thrills children and adults alike

Check out this cool video for a glimpse of what the Wizard of Oz train ride is like. The Daily Commercial has an article interviewing several of the cast members. Here are a few words from the Wizard himself, Bob Wright:

“It has been just a really terrific experience for me. I get to work with a lot of extremely talented young people and then, I get to interact with the guests on the train as well as in the Emerald City and that is so much fun. It is just awesome. The people seem to love it.”

The Wizard of Metal

Check out this photo of metal residents of Oz on top of a metal shop found in Juneau, Alaska!

 

There's even Munchkins! Find out more here.

A word from a Munchkin

Love them or hate them, TMZ seems to have done something right, at least by Oz fans. They posted a short video of an actress who appeared in Munchkinland in The Wizard of Oz. Joan Kenmore is not a little person though, but was a six year old when filming!

Beech Moutain Featured on ABC News

ABC News has a nice little write up about the Land of Oz Theme Park. See the video below and check out some photos at the link.

 

Melinda the Mean

There's a new character hitting the land of Oz...did you know Glinda is a twin? I've heard of that in some other adaptions of Oz stories, and she's soon to make an appearance in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. Check out the video!

In memory of Jerry Maren, rest in peace.

The Steam Engines of Oz available on Hoopla

The Steam Engines of Oz was released on Blu-ray yesterday, and if your library participates with the Hoopla app, you can stream it from them! You can also read the original comic and listen to the soundtrack score.

Find out more about Hoopla here.

Will you be watching this movie, and if you already have, what are your thoughts?

The Steam Engines of Oz reviews

Well, they aren't particularly magical:

Alienbee: "I liked the story and thought the voice cast did a good job with their characters but the computer animation was as basic as it gets. Everything has a minimalist look to it and I don’t know if that’s what they were going for."

Blu-Ray.com:  "The Steam Engines of Oz simply can't come close to capturing (and/or recapturing) the magic of the Oz universe, and its kind of weird animation style doesn't help to distract from some story and character deficits. Technical merits are fine for those considering a purchase."

And those were all I could find...would you be watching? I'm going to check it out...I enjoy seeing all different adaptions of Oz...

Wizard of Oz hits Ionia

If you're in Michigan you can visit an Oz festival next week!

Ionia is hosting a Wizard of Oz festival June 8 and 9, 2018. They will show the film in their historic downtown theater for 25 cents and are featuring a wide variety of activities for the whole family.

“There will be a lot of fun activities to make sure everyone has fun,” said Director of the City of Ionia Downtown Development Authority Linda Curtis. “It’s going to be a very fun weekend.”

Find out much more information here or by visiting the official Facebook page.