My Introduction to Oz

In the midst of reading The Chosen, which is a wonderful book, I've decided to attack a Wizard of Oz project as well. I have one week before summer classes begin and I will be bogged down with the reading of educational materials. With this week, I want to examine as much of L. Frank Baum's Oz as I possibly can, ending the week with a rereading of Gregory Maguire's Wicked from a new perspective. It's one thing to read the Maguire and love it, it's another to know the story he draws from. For example, I listened to the first five chapters of the first book this morning only to find that there is a Munchkin character Dorothy stays with for a night called Boq. In the Maguire, Boq was a Munchkin who had a thing for the "Wicked Witch of the East," Nessarose. He was turned into, I believe, the Tinman by the Wicked Witch of the West (fondly called Elphaba... now where did Maguire come up with that name, I wonder).

Now I can't get Kristin Chenoweth's voice out of my head. I've seen the stage version of Wicked and let me tell you that Chenowith and Idina Menzel are mind-blowingly fantastic.

Anyway...

I want to conclude the week with a viewing of The Wizard of Oz (both with and without Pink Floyd, which I've never done before), and a viewing of Tin Man, starring Zooey Deschanel, who I love (her sister, too. Hooray for Bones.)