Wizard-of-Oz - West Michigan Youth Ballet

Wizard of Oz

The Story

A young girl who dreams of a land somewhere over the rainbow

Dorothy lived on a small farm with her Uncle Henry, Auntie Em, and her dog, Toto.

One day Miss Pitt (a wealthy landowner) stopped by to collect the mortgage payment but Uncle Henry didn’t have the money to pay her, so Miss Pitt threatened to take Toto, but instead settled for a basket of bread and vegetables. Dorothy thought Miss Pitt was mean and was going to take her home away from her family.

Suddenly, the sky turned gray and Uncle Henry warned everyone that a cyclone was coming.

Auntie Em motioned for Dorothy to get into the cellar but as Dorothy reached the open door, Toto leaped out of her arms and ran away, hiding under the bed. Dorothy chased after him, but it was too late. The whole house started to spin as it became engulfed in the cyclone.

After a time, Dorothy opened her eyes, the house was no longer spinning but she knew she wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

With Toto under her arm, she opened the door and was greeted by a group of curious people wearing brightly-colored clothing – the Munchkins. The Lovely Witch, Glinda, greeted Dorothy and explained that her house had landed on top of the Wicked Witch of the East, killing her. Dorothy said she just wanted to go home and Glinda suggested that the Wizard in the Emerald City may be able to help. Dorothy was given the Wicked Witch of the East’s shoes (which fit perfectly) and she was sent down the yellow brick road to Emerald City.

Dorothy and Toto came upon a field where a lone scarecrow was perched.

He wasn’t very good at scaring away crows because he did not have a brain to think. He asked if Dorothy would help him down and shared that all he wanted was a brain to be able to think for himself. Dorothy invited the Scarecrow to come with her to Emerald City so maybe the powerful Wizard could help the Scarecrow too! He was thrilled! Off they went down the yellow brick road together.

Dorothy, Toto and the Scarecrow heard something that sounded like a cry...

They came upon a talking, rusted tin statue that asked Dorothy to oil its joints and as she did, it began to move about. The Tin woodcutter told his story of his lost heart and Dorothy felt so bad for the Tin Woodcutter that she invited him to join her and the Scarecrow on their journey to Emerald City, because the powerful Wizard might help the Tin Woodcutter too.

The travelers continued on their way, down the yellow brick road...

Soon they entered a magical forest with pretty fireflies dancing about. Suddenly, they heard a noise from behind a bush and a Lion jumped out and chased Toto. Dorothy thumped the lion on the nose, and he cowered from fright because he was afraid of everything and just wanted to be a fierce, roaring Lion. Dorothy sympathized and thought that the powerful Wizard might be able to help the lion too. The Cowardly Lion was overjoyed to join them and they all continued down the yellow brick road.

Dorothy and her friends came upon a field of beautiful poppies that the Wicked Witch of the West, had cast a spell on, making them emit a poisonous aroma that made the travelers fall into a deep sleep. Glinda, watching from afar, realizes she needs to step in to save Dorothy and her friends before it was too late. Glinda cast a different spell that made snow appear, clearing the poppy poison from the air. As the travelers awoke, Glinda told them to continue on their journey to Emerald City.

Finally, at the gates of the Emerald City...

The gatekeeper greeted the travelers and gave each green glasses to wear. Dorothy asked to see the great and powerful Wizard. Once inside the Emerald Palace, each traveler made their request of the Wizard and he said he would grant their requests if they defeated the Wicked Witch of the West. With no other choice, Dorothy and her friends decided that they must go and defeat the witch.

The Wicked Witch of the West was watching them travel through the dark forest and knew they were coming to defeat her, so she decided to attack them first. She sent wicked ravens, a swarm of bees and finally her secret weapon— the golden staff that called the winged monkeys. Dorothy and the Lion could not fight off all the winged monkeys and were transported to the witch’s castle. The Wicked Witch of the West and Dorothy fought over the magic shoes, and just as the witch claimed one of them, Dorothy threw a pail of water at the witch. The witch shrieked in anguish as she melted into a puddle on the floor. She collected the shoe the witch had stolen along with the witch’s broom, and the golden staff. The winged monkeys took her and her friends back to Emerald City.

With Dorothy and friends safely back inside the gates of the Emerald City...

They were escorted into the Great Room of the Emerald Palace where the Wizard’s booming voice greeted them. The Wizard was revealed to be a fraud and was just a man who arrived from Omaha in a hot air balloon causing the Ozians to assume he was a great wizard. He gave each of Dorothy’s friend’s symbolic gestures that indicated the qualities they sought and offered to take Dorothy back to Kansas in his balloon.

As the Wizard and Dorothy were about to lift off, Toto jumped from the balloon...

Dorothy followed Toto to reclaim him. As she did, she realized that the balloon was too high to get back in to and the Wizard sailed away, waving goodbye. Dorothy began to cry hopelessly when Glinda placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She told Dorothy that all she needed to do was to click her heels three times, spin around and make her wish to go back to Kansas. As Dorothy does this, the wind begins to blow and swirl.

Upon returning to the farm in Kansas...

Dorothy was so excited to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em again that she threw herself into their arms, vowing never to complain about her simple life or how boring the farm was, ever again.