OZMA OF OZ
Of course, given the fact that MGM’s The Wizard of Oz is more deeply ingrained in the American psyche than the Constitution, it takes a certain courage to adapt any of Baum’s 14 Oz books. Every Dorothy will be compared to Garland’s Dorothy, every Oz compared to MGM’s Technicolor Oz, and few theater companies have the resources or pool of talent to compete with our fond memories of Bert Lahr, Ray Bolger, Margaret Hamilton, and the rest.
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But there is a difference between guts and gall, and what Zeder has is gall. Though she keeps a handful of characters from the original Ozma of Oz–Dorothy, her Uncle Henry, Ozma, a talking chicken named Bill, and a windup robot named Tic Toc–gone are the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion (Baum’s Ozma of Oz is something of a reunion novel). Also missing are the lesser-known Hungry Tiger (who refuses to eat because he’d only get hungry again), Ozma’s magic carpet (for crossing the great desert that surrounds Oz), and all but two of Ozma’s magnificent army of 27 soldiers.
One of Baum’s more charming qualities as a children’s storyteller is the way he never interrupts his playful inventions with any heavy-handed moralizing. His message, when he has one, is subtly woven into the story. Not so Zeder, who is never afraid to stop a story dead in its tracks to hammer down a point or two. What makes this habit all the more annoying is the way Zeder focuses on issues that are more likely to intrigue adults than kids. The big lesson of the play, that growing old and getting wrinkles is natural and nothing to be ashamed of, seems far more relevant to the parents.
But then, I knew we were in for a bad afternoon when someone from the theater began the show with the following short speech: “A lot of things are going to happen, and you’re going to enjoy them.” And then there was the director’s note, expressing the wish that the play would be thought-provoking. I was able to document only two thoughts. One was from a little girl who asked her mother during final bows: “Is it over?” The other was from a father in his mid-30s, who asked another father in the audience: “You ever wonder why, when you watch something like that, you get so tired?”
