Description
A lovely little gem of a Wizard of Oz collectible–an original program from the Chicago Grand Opera house, where the first Wizard of Oz musical play opened in 1902. L. Frank Baum was a theatre aficionado and wrote the play after the great success of his book in 1900. Composer Paul Tietjens wrote the music and Julian Mitchell directed. Heavily modified from Baum’s original work, the play premiered at the Grand Opera House in Chicago on June 16th, 1902. Very successful, it only played 14 weeks at the Grand, then toured in the midwest before moving to the Majestic Theatre in New York in Jan 1903 and playing for years. This April 6, 1902 program has a full-page ad for the upcoming “annual summer production” of the Wizard–and little did they know then what a phenom it would become! The Oz article is full page and describes the plot synopsis and mentions some of the main players (Baum, Mitchell, Tietjens). Describes the “feminine contingent” as up to the “highest standard of choral pulchritude”. Original material from the Wizard of Oz stageplay is scarce.
About 50 pages, ~7″ by 9″ in size. In good condition with some staining and writing to upper corner of first two pages. Lots of great ads as well–there is one with a tiny folder handkerchief that is still present! See also my other Grand program, with even more Wizard content!
