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  • 1.  Wizard of Oz: RSC or MUNY???

    Posted 12-11-2015 07:51
    Any suggestions would be life savingly appreciated!! Doing a musical for the first time, and now...which is better? RSC is more like the movie and more familiar (I need familiarity as this is our first endeavor and my panic is setting in), MUNY is adapted to the stage.

    Does anyone know about either, and feel compelled to offer a recommendation in favor of one over the other?

    Are the songs the same?
    Characters?

    Heart palpitating in Florida,

    Lori

    Sent from my iPhone


  • 2.  RE: Wizard of Oz: RSC or MUNY???

    Posted 12-11-2015 13:55

    I am also doing The Wizard of Oz this spring and I have decided on the RSC version because it is so very similar to the movie, script and music.  The Muny version is quite a bit different.  The RSC version might be harder to adapt to the stage because you will run into some technical things that are harder on stage since it is so similar to the movie, but if you don't mind doing the extra thinking to make it work; it seems to be a good show. I saw it this summer and it was fabulous. Let me know if you have any cool ideas we can share... M.Broyles

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    Melissa Broyles
    Drama Teacher
    Chapel Hill TN

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Wizard of Oz: RSC or MUNY???

    Posted 12-12-2015 23:02

    Wizard of Oz is my all time favorite show & I've done several different versions. I HIGHLY recommend the RSC version. It is a real crowd pleaser and will be quite impressive for your first musical. Audiences come expecting to see the movie they know & love on stage and if you include the jitterbug number, it gives them a taste of something new since that number was edited out of the MGM movie. 

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    Jeana Whitaker
    Theatre Director
    Mesa AZ

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Wizard of Oz: RSC or MUNY???

    Posted 12-12-2015 05:25
    I'm doing the RSC version, currently, for the second time.  I haven't found it particularly difficult to produce or stage.  I definitely like the RSC version better (I was in the MUNY version in high school.)  Some of the songs are different, and some of the characters are different as well, in the MUNY version (I remember there is more than one evil witch?).  Hope that helps.....

    --
    Edmonds Heights K-12

    and

    Ballyhoo Theatre

    bal·ly·hoo  - To arouse interest in an
    entertainment; flamboyant displays;
    excited commotion.



    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Wizard of Oz: RSC or MUNY???

    Posted 12-13-2015 10:26

    The MUNY version does not have the most famous, important line at the end of the play: "There is no place like home." That was enough for me to pick the RSC version. I have directed the RSC version on two separate occasions, and I have never regretted that decision. There are MANY different locations indicated in the play, so that is tough to present, but the audiences loved each production. Best of luck.

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    Valerie Farschman
    Drama Director MLS Theatre Company
    Marion L Steele High School
    Amherst OH

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Wizard of Oz: RSC or MUNY???

    Posted 12-13-2015 11:01

    My decision was based on choosing the one that had "King of the Forest". I couldn't imagine doing Oz without it.

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    Rob Juergens
    High School Musical Director
    Windham ME

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Wizard of Oz: RSC or MUNY???

    Posted 12-31-2015 09:52

    Very late to this party, I know, but for what it's worth, I think you answered your own question in your original post! RSC will be more familiar for your audiences, and to date, this show has been our highest earning show (which might be because we threw 40+ elementary students into the mix with our 18 member high school cast).

    The MUNY version is wonderful, but it is different, doesn't have any of the familiar lines as the movie (which, depending on the sophistication/expectation of your audience, could be a good or a bad thing). I personally would have preferred to do the MUNY version as it WASN'T like the movie, but I also thought pragmatically that my students and my audiences were more than likely going to be miffed if they came to see 'The Wizard of Oz' and saw...well, not quite what they were expecting. 

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    Phillip Goodchild
    Theatre Arts Instructor/Assistant Department Head of English
    National Board Certified
    Ruskin FL

    Original Message