''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz'' is a

musical play Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

with book and lyrics by L. Frank Baum and music by

Louis F. Gottschalk Louis Ferdinand Gottschalk (October 7, 1864 – July 15, 1934) was an American composer and conductor born in St. Louis, Missouri. The son of a Missouri governor, also named Louis, he studied music in Stuttgart, Germany, where his father, a jud ...

that opened at the Majestic Theatre in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

on March 31, 1913. It is loosely inspired by Baum's book ''

Ozma of Oz ''Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Billina the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People Too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein'', p ...

'' (1907), incorporates much of the material from Baum's book ''

The Road to Oz ''The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz.'' is the fifth of L. Frank B ...

'' (1909), and was the basis for his 1914 novel, '' Tik-Tok of Oz''. It was promoted as "A Companion Play to The Wizard of Oz" and directed by Frank M. Stammers. The play is known from its advertising and published music, but survives only in earlier manuscript.

Genesis

The Shubert Organization The Shubert Organization is a theatrical producing organization and a major owner of theatres based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by the three Shubert brothers in the late 19th century. They steadily expanded, owning many theaters ...

expressed interest in an extravaganza based on ''Ozma of Oz'' in 1909. The play began as a collaboration between Baum and composer Manuel Klein, an employee of the Shuberts, which they worked on during February–April 1909, first under the title, ''The Rainbow's Daughter, or the Magnet of Love'', but eventually retitled ''Ozma of Oz, or The Magnet of Love''. It incorporated elements of ''

'', which was published that July, mainly in the inclusion of two of its new characters, the

Shaggy Man The Shaggy Man is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He first appeared in the book ''The Road to Oz'' in 1909. He is a kindly old wandering hobo, dressed in rags. His philosophy of life centers on both love and an aversion to material ...

and

Polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

, the Rainbow's daughter (which created some continuity inconsistencies when it was adapted to the novel), both of which were influenced by '' Prince Silverwings''. Betsy Bobbin was intended to be

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of it ...

, but the characters in '' The Wizard of Oz'' and ''

The Woggle-Bug The Mr. Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, Thoroughly Educated is a character in List of Oz books, the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He first appears in the book ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'' in 1904 in literature, 1904. He goes by the name H. M. Woggle- ...

'' were contractually unavailable to him—although "Ozma" remained from ''The Woggle-Bug'', she was a wholly different character renamed Ozga for the books. It also adapted the Rose Kingdom from the Kingdom of Mangaboos in ''

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz ''Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz'' is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by John R. Neill. It was published on June 18, 1908 and reunites Dorothy Gale with the humbug Wizard from '' The Wonderful Wiza ...

'', and Queen Ann was derived from General Jinjur in spite of the failure of ''The Woggle-Bug''. The show languished before 1912, when

Oliver Morosco Oliver Morosco (June 20, 1875 – August 25, 1945) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, film producer, and theater owner. He owned the Morosco Photoplay Company. He brought many of his theater actors to the screen. Frank A. Garb ...

agreed to produce it.

Adaptation

The musical play ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz'' was based on L. Frank Baum's 1907 Oz book ''Ozma of Oz,'' which in turn had incorporated material from Baum's unpublished manuscript ''King Rinkitink.'' The play incorporated material that Baum also used in his 1908 Oz book ''Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz.'' Baum used his characters of the Shaggy Man and Polychrome in both the play and his 1909 Oz book ''The Road to Oz,'' which he was working on at the same time. Newspaper accounts indicate that Baum began work on the play in late 1906 or early 1907, but it would take until March 1913 to be produced on stage. L. Frank Baum based two of his Oz stories, the novel ''Tik-Tok of Oz'' and the short story ''Tiktok and the Nome King,'' on this play. In the play, Ozma is a princess in the Rose Kingdom and is analogous to Ozga in the novel, who is Private Files's love interest, as is Ozga in the novel, there described as Ozma's cousin.

Michael Patrick Hearn Michael Patrick Hearn is an American literary scholar as well as a man of letters specializing in children's literature and its illustration. His works include ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz'' (1973/2000), '' The Annotated Christmas Carol'' (1977/20 ...

speculates that both names are in honor of Baum's wife, Maud Gage (MAud GAge). The play introduces several characters that will be familiar with readers of the novel, '' Tik-Tok of Oz'', such as Private Jo Files, who was portrayed by

Charles Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

during the beginning of his career, and Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo, who was ultimately played by

Charlotte Greenwood Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing almost six feet tall (some sour ...

near the end of the run.

Production

The musical was directed by Frank Stammers, with scenery designed by Robert Brunton. It was produced by

. The production opened at the

Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to: Australia * Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished * Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed ...

in Los Angeles on March 31, 1913. By September 1913 Morosco deemed it not successful enough to take it to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, even though he had inserted three songs of his own writing with music by

Victor Schertzinger Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include '' Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930), ''Something to Sing About'' (1937) with James C ...

. The show was extremely popular in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but it was greeted lukewarmly by critics in Chicago, who consistently compared it to the earlier 1902 play ''The Wizard of Oz''. Among the mixed to negative reviewers was Amy Leslie of the

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Doughert ...

, who described it as a "revival instead of a sequel," finding Gottschalk's music "delicious" but inconsequential to the spectacle of pretty girls and

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wo ...

. Leslie claimed that Baum "has no more sense of humor than one of his talking bats or mealy kittens." The show ran successfully through much of the summer in Chicago, despite critical boredom. '' The New York Review'' on October 18, 1913, noted that the play was to close for two weeks for practical reconstruction of the sets, and noted it was likely to open in winter in one of the three largest Eastern cities, but this was still up to Morosco. The article described it as "a Western production." Although ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz'' was still making money, Morosco decided it was too expensive to continue running or to risk the Broadway run that had been originally planned. After the Chicago run, it continued for five months on the road throughout the American midwest, Canada, and the American west, before closing once again in Los Angeles in late January 1914. Oliver Morosco would later cast

, the final Queen Ann, in '' So Long Letty'', a role he had commissioned for her that would make her a star. ''The Oz Scrapbook'' erroneously captions Josie Intropidi as Queen Ann with Charlotte Greenwood's name. Tik Tok

Revivals

An early draft of ''Ozma of Oz'', provided by

, has been performed in readings at conventions of

The International Wizard of Oz Club The International Wizard of Oz Club, Inc., was founded during 1957 by Justin G. Schiller, a then thirteen-year-old boy. The sixteen charter members, some of whom continue to make valuable contributions to the club, were garnered from the mailing ...

. It was performed with the Gottschalk songs (Klein was still assigned to the project when it had this title, but it is not known what, if anything, he composed) at the Ozmopolitan Convention (Holland, Michigan) in 1982 and the Munchkin (Wilmington, Delaware) and Winkie (Pacific Grove, California) Conventions in 1984. This production premiered at the Castle Club Theatre, June 19, 1982, and starred

Marc Lewis Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system ...

as Tik-Tok and Ruggedo, John Fricke as Private Files, Rob Roy MacVeigh as The Shaggy Man, and Robin Olderman as Betsy, Polychrome, Ozma, and Queen Ann. For the 1984 performances, Jeryl Metz joined the cast to play Polychrome and Dick Martin provided the promotional artwork. A fully staged revival prepared by

Eric Shanower Eric James Shanower (born October 23, 1963) is an American cartoonist, best known for his Oz novels and comics, and for the ongoing retelling of the Trojan War as '' Age of Bronze''. Early life Eric Shanower was born on October 23, 1963. Upon hi ...

from the surviving portions of ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz'' script supplemented by the earlier ''Ozma of Oz'' draft was performed on August 9, 2014, at Winkie Con 50 in San Diego, California. All nineteen of the surviving musical pieces were heard, along with commercially released "Selections" and music provided by Louis F. Gottschalk's daughter Gloria Gottschalk Morgan. Chrissy Burns directed a cast of nineteen, Joseph Grienenberger music directed, Jennifer Solomon-Rubio choreographed, Christopher Boltz designed the lighting, and David Maxine and Eric Shanower co-designed sets and costumes.

Plot

The plot, similar to the novel ''Tik-Tok of Oz'', but lacking Quox and the journey to the kingdom of Tititi-Hoochoo, deals with the Shaggy Man's attempt to rescue his brother, Wiggy (unnamed in the novel), from the Dominions of Ruggedo, the Metal Monarch. Meanwhile, Queen Ann Soforth seeks to lead an army against the world with every man (17 officers and one private) in her tiny kingdom of Oogaboo. Betsy Bobbin and her companion, a mule named Hank, are brought to the land in a shipwreck and storm not unlike the one in ''Ozma of Oz''. In the Rose Kingdom they meet the Shaggy Man and rescue Ozma, the Rose Princess. Later they meet Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, whom Ruggedo tries to keep in his kingdom to brighten it up. As Baum put it in the introduction of ''Tik-Tok of Oz'', "There is a play called ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz'', but it is not like this story of ''Tik-Tok of Oz'', although some of the adventures recorded in this book, as well as those in several other Oz books, are included in the play. Those who have seen the play and those who have read the other Oz books will find in this story a lot of strange characters and adventures that they have never heard of before."

Cast

* Tik-Tok— James C. Morton *

— Frank Moore * Betsy Bobbin— Lenora Novasio *Hank the Mule— Fred Woodward *Queen Ann Soforth— Josie Intropidi (later replaced with

) *Private Files—

(later replaced with Charles Purcell and then with Sydney Grant) *Ozma—

Vera Doria Vera Doria (born Veronica Eyton) was an Australian actress and opera singer active in Hollywood during the silent era. Biography Vera was born in Tasmania, Australia, to New Zealanders Robert Eyton and Maude Fosbery. She began singing opera i ...

(later replaced with Adele Rowland, Ilon Bergere,

Beatriz Michelena Beatriz Michelena (February 22, 1890 – October 10, 1942) was a Venezuelan American actress and singer during the silent film era, known at the time for her operatic soprano voice and appearances in musical theatre. She was one of the few La ...

, and Gipsy Dale) *

— Dolly Castles *

Ruggedo The Nome King is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is introduced in Baum's third Oz book ''Ozma of Oz'' (1907). He also appears in many of the continuing sequel '' Oz'' novels also written by Baum. Although the ch ...

—

Eugene Cowles Eugene Cowles (January 17, 1860 – September 22, 1948) was a Canadian operetta singer and actor. He began recording in 1898 and continued through 1921. He is most commonly associated with the ballad "Forgotten" which was recorded by a variety ...

(later replaced with

John Dunsmure John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

) * The Shaggy Man's brother—Thomas Meegan Harry Kelly, who had previously turned down the title role in ''

'', and Joe Whitehead replaced Morton and Moore in the leads while they vacationed.Hearn 1995, p. 11

Songs

All songs are written by Baum and Gottschalk unless otherwise specified. *The Magnet of Love *When in Trouble Come to Papa (Ruggedo and Polychrome) *The Waltz Scream *Dear Old Hank (Betsy) *So Do I *The Clockwork Man (Tik-Tok and Clock Girl Chorus) *Oh My Bow (Polychrome) *Ask the Flowers to Tell You (Files and Ozma) *Rainbow Bride *Just for Fun (Flirting Song) *Army of Oogaboo *March of the Imps *An Apple's the Cause of It All (Shaggy Man) *Work, Lads, Work *Folly *My Wonderful Dream Girl (Morosco/Schertzinger) *There's a Mate in this Big World for You (Morosco/Schertzinger) *Oh! Take Me (Morosco/Schertzinger) *I Want to be Somebody's Girlie (Schertzinger) Two

player piano A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...

rolls of suites and vintage recordings of "Ask the Flowers to Tell You" and "My Wonderful Dream Girl" can be found on Disc 2 of David Maxine's collection of ''Vintage Recordings from the 1903 Musical The Wizard of Oz'' (2003), while James Patrick Doyle performs a suite of many of the songs on synthesizer in his collection '' Before the Rainbow: The Original Music of Oz'' (1999), both released by Hungry Tiger Press.

References

External links

The Complete Book and Lyrics to Baum's Musical OZMA OF OZBrian De Lorenzo performs "My Wonderful Dream Girl"James Patrick Doyle performs "March of the Golden Imps"
(Act II instrumental)
MIDI recording of "The Clockwork Man"MIDI recording of "An Apple's the Cause of It All"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiktok Man of Oz, The 1913 musicals Musicals based on novels Musicals based on The Wizard of Oz Works by L. Frank Baum