Act 1

A teenage girl, Dorothy Gale, lives on a farm in Kansas with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and little dog Toto. Feeling unappreciated, she dreams of a far away place (“Over the Rainbow”). Miss Gulch, their unpleasant neighbor, serves Dorothy with a summons to take Toto away. Toto escapes from Miss Gultch’s bicycle basket, and Dorothy runs away from home with her dog. On the road, they find the showman, Professor Marvel, who urges her to return to the farm. Dorothy arrives home, just as a tornado touches down. She and Toto are locked out of the storm cellar. In her house, Dorothy is accidentally hit on the head.

The house is carried by the tornado to the Land of Oz. Dorothy meets the Munchkins and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (who resembles Aunt Em). Her house has fallen upon, and killed, the Wicked Witch of the East. This frees the Munchkins from the witch’s power, and they treat Dorothy as their heroine (“Come Out, Come Out”; “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead”). The Wicked Witch of the West (who resembles Miss Gulch) arrives to claim her sister’s magic ruby slippers and vows to avenge her death. Glinda has already put the slippers on Dorothy’s feet, further infuriating the witch. Dorothy wants to go home to Kansas. The Munchkins tell her that the wonderful the Wizard of Oz will know what to do (“Follow the Yellow Brick Road”). Dorothy starts off towards the Emerald City.

Dorothy and Toto meet three strange traveling companions, each of whom needs help: The Scarecrow’s head is full of stuffing (“If I Only Had a Brain”). The rusty Tin Man’s chest is empty (“If I Only Had a Heart”) and the Cowardly Lion is afraid of his own tail (“If I Only Had the Nerve”). Dorothy invites them all to join her to see if the Wizard can help them (“We’re Off to See the Wizard”). The Wicked Witch of the West threatens Dorothy, Toto and her new companions along the way but fails to intimidate Dorothy into giving up the ruby slippers. The witch creates a beautiful field of poppies, but their scent is poisonous. Glinda rescues the travelers by covering the poppies with snowflakes (“Optimistic Voices”). The travelers finally reach the Emerald City.

Act 2

The Emerald City’s Gatekeeper tries to discourage the adventurers, but they are persistent and gain entry (“The Merry Old Land of Oz”). They are washed, combed and buffed, but the Wizard refuses to meet them. The Wicked Witch makes another ominous appearance, and the lion wishes more than ever for courage (“If I Were King of the Forest”). Finally taken to see the fearsome Wizard, the four friends are given a quest to prove themselves worthy of the Wizard’s assistance: they must bring him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West, and the only way to do that would be to kill her.

The friends leave in fear and haste for the land of the Winkies (whom the Wicked Witch has enslaved and forced to serve in her army) and the witch’s castle (“March of the Winkies”). In a haunted forest, the jitterbugs make the travelers dance until they all collapse from exhaustion (“The Jitterbug”). The Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys then attack, swooping away with Dorothy and Toto. But the witch still does not have the power to take the ruby slippers off of Dorothy’s feet (“Over the Rainbow” – Reprise). Toto manages to escape and help the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion to find Dorothy. The three disguise themselves in Winkie uniforms and sneak into the castle. They find Dorothy, but the Wicked Witch foils their escape. The Wicked Witch attacks the Scarecrow with fire, and Dorothy throws a bucket of water at him, accidentally dousing the witch. The witch screams, steams and melts into nothing (“Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead” – Reprise). The friends take the broom back to the Emerald City.

The Wizard is again reluctant to meet Dorothy and friends. Toto pulls aside the curtain behind which the Wizard is reveals as an ordinary man (who resembles Professor Marvel) using a microphone to make his voice impressive. Nevertheless, the Wizard is able to help the adventurers. He conducts a graduation exercise, awarding to the Scarecrow a doctorate of Thinkology; appoints the Lion as a member of the Legion of Courage; and presents the Tinman with a heart-shaped ticker – a watch. Finally, he reveals that he is from the prairies himself and offers to give Dorothy a ride back to Kansas in a hot-air balloon. It takes off while Dorothy is distracted, and she is afraid that she missed her chance to go home, but Glinda arrives. She says that Dorothy has the power to transport herself and Toto by clicking her heels together three times and repeating “there’s no place like home”.

Dorothy wakes up in Kansas, with a bump on her head. The tornado has passed. Miss Gulch broke her leg when the storm blew down a telegraph pole – she won’t be riding her bicycle any time soon. Dorothy is overjoyed to see her family and friends, whom she appreciates more than ever.

Principal Characters

• Dorothy Gale – LORNA MCATASNEY
• Toto – HAYLEY
•  Scarecrow/ Hunk – MARTYN AGNEW
• Tinman/ Hickory – IAIN CONDIE
• Lion/ Zeke – ANDREW RODGER
• Glinda (Good Witch)/Aunt Em – JOCELYN NELSON
• Wicked Witch Of The West/ Miss Gultch – SAM MCCLELLAND
• Wizard/ Professor Marvel – NORMAN MACMILLAN
• Guard/ Uncle Henry – ROBBIE MENZIES

• Mayor – JORDAN STEVEN / DEAN WALKER
• Barrister – JENNIFER CARTY / LEESA TULLEY
• Coroner – SCOTT KERR / TOMMY GILLAN

Crows

• Jim Murray
• John O’Brien
• Ray O’Sullivan

 Poppies

• Anne-Marie Castro
• Valerie Goff
• Roslyn Hogg
• Gillian McGhie
• Paula Russell
• Claire Thompson

Snowflakes

• Gillian Dunn
• Ashleigh Fry
• Nicola Fry
• Jenny MacKay
• Angela Salgo
• Kirsteen Young

  Trees

• Ann Haldane
• Patricia Irwin
• Susan Kernohan
• Gillian McGhie
• Nicola Stewardson
• Claire Thompson

• Director:  Alasdair Hawthorn
• Musical Director: Andrew Salmond
• Choreographer:  Margaret Carr