The Wizdom of Oz on DVD

Mama Bear

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 10:22 am

Personally - I think this is Zir Chemed's bet productin ever. I loved every single moment. The actresses were in top form, I Loved all the costumes and dances, my 2 1/2 y.o. son loved it too! Well worth the money, I recommend it! Anyone seen it live or on dvd?

chocolate moose

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 10:24 am

Is is different than the Wizard of Oz ?

Garden

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 10:39 am

I did'nt know if I should get it...I really liked the Annie one but not the miri pops in or oliver twist. Which one is it more like?

Mama Bear

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 6:42 pm

chocolate moose, it's an adaptation of the wizard of oz performed in EY by English speaking actresse.s.

Swimmer, it's not like any of them - it's extremely professional, but it's totally comedy, there's no real drama, it's not acting like annie or even the other ones, it's a lot of singing and dancing and silliness, I found it extremely cute, colorful and fun.

foreverhappy

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 6:45 pm

delete

Last edited by foreverhappy on Sun, Jul 10 2011, 11:24 pm; edited 1 time in total

Mama Bear

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 7:08 pm

mostlymusic.com

chocolate moose

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 8:18 pm

I have heard it said that the Wizard of Oz is christian.

justanothermother

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 8:25 pm

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (Chicago, 1900) is a parable about Money Reform and the 1890s Midwestern political movement led by William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925); three times candidate for President of the United States (see his poster at bottom of this page). From 1891-1895 Bryan served in the House of Representatives, where he advocated the coinage of silver at a fixed ratio with gold, in order to break the bankers' monopoly and manipulation of the gold-backed currency.

Bryan and his supporters accused Eastern banks and railroads of oppressing farmers and industrial workers. Bryan believed that a switch to silver-backed currency would make money plentiful. Although correct, Money Reformers today would argue that money need not, and should not, be backed by either silver or gold, but only by the people, their skills, and their resources.

In 1896 Bryan delivered the following words at the Democratic National Convention: "Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the labouring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their [I.e. the bankers'] demand for a gold standard by saying to them: 'You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.'"

Although only 36 years old, this speech resulted in his nomination for the presidency. He contested, and lost to, William McKinley. He stood again for the Democrats in 1900 and 1908, losing both times.

Carroll Quigley wrote about the 1896 Presidential election in Tragedy and Hope: A History of The World in Our Time (MacMillan, 1966, p. 74): "Though the forces of high finance and of big business were in a state of near panic, by a mighty effort involving large-scale spending they were successful in electing McKinley."

L. Frank Baum was editor of a South Dakota newspaper and he wrote the first of his Oz series on Bryan’s second attempt in 1900.

Oz is short for ounce, the measure for gold and silver.

Dorothy, hailing from Kansas, represents the commoner.

The Tin Woodsman is the industrial worker, rusted as solid as the factories shut down in the 1893 depression. The Scarecrow is the farmer who apparently doesn’t have the wit to understand his situation or his political interests. The Cowardly Lion is Bryan himself; who had a loud roar but little political power.

The Good Witches represent the magical potential of the people of the North and the South.

After vanquishing the Wicked Witch of the East (the Eastern bankers) Dorothy frees The Munchkins (the little people). With the witch's silver slippers (the silver standard), Dorothy sets out on the Yellow Brick Road (the gold standard) to the Emerald City (Washington), where they meet the Wizard (the President), who appears powerful, but is ultimately revealed as an illusion; the real Wizard being just a little man who pulls levers behind a curtain.

This can be interpreted in two ways: Either, the President himself is really just a little man who pulls levers to sustain an illusion of power, or, the real power of the President rests with the little men behind the curtains who pull the levers and create the illusion.

When the real Wizard is exposed, the now enlightened Scarecrow denounces him. Dorothy drowns the Wicked Witch of the West (the West Coast elite); the water being an allegory for the Midwest drought. The real Wizard flies away in a hot-air balloon, the Scarecrow is left to govern the Emerald City, the Tin Woodsman rules the West, and the Cowardly Lion returns to the forest where he becomes King of the Beasts after vanquishing a giant spider which was devouring the animals in the forest. Dorothy's silver slippers were changed to ruby in the 1939 film.

amother

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 8:32 pm

One little extra bit of trivia - William Jennings Bryan was the attorney who opposed Clarence Darrow during the Scopes Trial. He was a very outspoken opponent of Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

tweety99

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 4:58 pm

I say buy it! its totally diff from all the other ones...its more make believe. but its really good!

Garden

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 5:09 pm

Any actresses on this one from the Annie DVD?

Mama Bear

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 6:41 pm

sure! miss hannigan is the scarecrow, 'chicken' - or was rooster? is the wizard of oz, annie is one of the munchkins, Mommy Warbucks isnt on it.

mimivan

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 6:57 pm

justanothermother wrote:

Thanks for the history lesson Justanothermother.... I love this stuff...
I remember someone talking about this at the Shabbos table years ago in Crown Heights. I won't ask if that was you... Wink

none of my beeswax, I guess...

I was the one asking if Frank L. Baum was Jewish because I thought maybe OZ was based on the Hebrew word, as in Oz v'hadar...

the lady told me the story you just told...given the fact I was teaching U.S. history at that time, I found it quite interesting.

ChossidMom

Mon, Mar 03 2008, 2:09 am

I was at the performance.

It was AMAZING!!! I had never gone to any of the others so I have nothing to compare it to. All I can tell you is that it was almost on the level of a Broadway production. I was really blown away. I had no idea that frum women did such professional stuff.

The singing was (mostly) great. The dancing was also! The Scarecrow (who is a chiropracter irl) did a whole big tapdance and there were other tapdancing scenes. Dorothy was excellent. The tinman was just edible (my favorite character in this play) and Glinda was also extra special. The wizard was also very good. Oh yes! The lion - special, special, special!!! By the way, the makeup and costumes really were on par with a Broadway or West End production.

I wholeheartedly recommend purchasing the DVD.

Bsimcha

Wed, Apr 30 2008, 10:36 pm

I have We've got Annie and The sound of music one (forgot the name-too lazy to go check)! I love Annie but didn't like the sound of music that much.
Maybe my next treat will be the Wizdom of Oz!

flowerpower

Wed, Apr 30 2008, 10:38 pm

my aunt buys em all, maybe ill borrow it from her if u say its good