Yet Another Opening Night Review

The following review of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz was published in the Los Angeles (CA) Record, April 1, 1913.

DRAMA

Majestic

The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, produced at the Majestic for the first time Monday night, has so many striking features that one is puzzled which to choose for description, since space forbids featuring them all.

As a spectacle it is beautiful and impressive, dazzling and enchanting, by turns, while the music fits skillfully into the situations. There are catchy airs enough and a few are decidedly pleasing; but it is in the descriptive passages that Louis F. Gottschalk, the composer, has scored most heavily.

So far as the lines are concerned they are the lines of an extravaganza of a Baum adaptation of fairy tales to operatic ends. The Tik-Tok Man has no plot, no brilliant lines; it has laughs aplenty, but one wonders afterward what caused them, and is compelled to admit that they were a tribute to the clever work of good comedians. Fred Woodward, as Hank, the mule; Frank F. Moore, as the Shaggy Man, and Jas. C. Morton, as Tik-Tok, did valiant service and were rewarded by laughter and much applause.

Before we proceed, be it known that there is no special story told in the Tik-Tok Man. There is a great storm, beautifully portrayed in scenic and light effects, ably seconded by the orchestra. A ship is seen to go down and shortly thereafter Betsy Bobbin and her pet mule are discovered drifting shoreward on a raft. They land in a strange country and their  adventures are as varied and as absurd as those of Alice in Wonderland. Lenora Novasio is a delightful Betsy, who flits and dances, smiles and sings, is everywhere and nowhere, and always welcome. Dolly Castles, as Polychrome, daughter of the rainbow, is a bit of beauty to make the heart glad. She contributes some of the best songs and dances as charmingly as a sunbeam.

The only really fine female voice is that of Vera Doria, Princess Ozma of Roseland. She has several solos which she sings with taste and understanding.

The wonderful deep voice of Eugene Cowles of Bostonian fame is heard to advantage in “Work, Lads, Work,” and again in the interpolated number, “Forgotten.”

In the last analysis, the extravaganza owes its success in large measure to work of Robt. Brunton, who designed and executed the eight scenes of the play. The conception and execution are the work of a true artist, and one is sadly puzzled to decide which of the lovely pictures is most beautiful.

In the enumeration of attractions we must not overlook Charlie Ruggles, the only private of the army of Ooogaboo, [sic] nor the dozens of pretty girls in multi-colored tights; but in the end it is Betsy Bobbin, Polychrome, the scenery and the comedians that stick in the memory.

As a spectacle, perhaps, the Tik-Tok Man is worth what it cost, $40,000. Most of us are still children at heart and we love the atmosphere of fairyland, flowers and music.

As for the man who enjoys tights, he is in the land of heart’s desire. 

For more about The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, read my book about the show, All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz.

 Copyright © 2026 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.

Mystery of the Fragmentary Script

All Wound Up, my book on the history of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, contains the complete script of the show, published for the first time. As I detailed in the book, I transcribed the published script from two sources: one original full script and one photocopied fragment of a slightly revised original script, both from 1913. The full script was uncovered in the British Library in 2023. The source of the fragmentary script was a mystery.

My husband, theatre historian David Maxine, obtained a photocopy of the fragmentary script in the 1990s. That's the copy I consulted in my research and used as the basis for my 2014 reconstruction of the show. On the left, you can see the first page of that copy. That photocopy had come into the possession of its previous owner in the early 1980s. But that owner could not recall where it came from. While I was researching for All Wound Up, I asked several long-time Oz and Baum collectors about the fragmentary script, but none of them knew anything. All Wound Up had to go to press without a full provenance for the fragmentary script of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz.

A few weeks ago, my husband David was looking through material he's collected for his planned book on the history of the 1903 Broadway Wizard of Oz. He ran across a letter that solves part of the mystery of the fragmentary script.

During the late 1950s, Frank Joslyn Baum, eldest son of L. Frank Baum, and Russell P. MacFall, a Chicago journalist, co-authored the first major biography of L. Frank Baum, To Please a Child. They corresponded a lot. In a letter dated 6 October 1958, Frank J. Baum wrote the following to Russell MacFall:

As to [The] Tik-Tok [Man of Oz], I was present at the opening in Los Angeles. For a time I had a script of that show, but Lou Gottschalk, the composer, asked me for it to use for a time as he thought he had a chance to get it re-produced. I loaned it to him and he soon died. I waited a few weeks to give his widow time to recover[,] then asked her for the script. She told me it was in an old trunk which she gave to the Salvation Army! When I contacted them they said all old papers had been burned! No script--except that I have about twenty of the first pages of the first act.

I have little doubt that what I call "the fragmentary script" is what Frank J. Baum's letter refers to as "about twenty of the first pages of the first act." The fragmentary script consists of the first twenty-nine pages of the first act of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Where Frank J. Baum's pages are now and who photocopied them for the copy I consulted remain unknown--for now. The letter doesn't establish an unbroken chain of possession. But I believe it establishes a Baum family source for the fragmentary script.

The letter also reveals why no copy of the full script of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz survived in the Baum family. What a shame Marie Gottschalk wasn't a little more conscientious about returning the full script her husband borrowed. At least a copy of the full script survived elsewhere for me to include for all to read in All Wound Up.

Copyright © 2026 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.

Another Opening Night Review of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz

The following review of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz was published in the Los Angeles (CA) Express, April 1, 1913.

‘TIK-TOK MAN’ DELIGHTS

Great Audience at Majestic for Premiere of Extravaganza—Magnificent Stage Pictures, Good Music and Girls, Girls, Girls

“The Tik-Tok Man” will prove to be no mere eight-day mechanism; it is wound up for a long run.

It was an auspicious occasion, the premiere, last night at the Majestic theater, of a musical extravaganza that promises to take a conspicuous place among the foremost productions in the country of the lighter form of musical and theatrical entertainment; a production starting in a blaze of splendor on the last American way to be kissed by the setting sun, and likely to shine quite as effulgently on the great thespian Broadway to greet the smile of Old Sol as he gets his first morning peep at the New World.

Everything contributed to a successful premiere of the Baum-Gottschalk fantasy last night. The audience, limited only by the capacity of the theater, was representative of the wealth and culture of the city and was enthusiastically responsive; the performance was so adequately prepared that it proceeded with the smoothness of a time tried production, and the creators of and sponsors for the offering were, each and everyone of them, present to acknowledge the demonstrative manifestations of approval showered upon “The Tik-Tok Man.” After the first act, in response to these insistent marks of favor from the audience, L. Frank Baum, author of the book and lyrics, made a few apt remarks and called upon Manager Oliver Morosco, the man responsible for the unstinting elaborateness of the beautiful production. After a neat expression of thanks to the audience and paying a high tribute to the others concerned in the making of “The Tik-Tok Man,” not even forgetting the chorus or the stage carpenters, Mr. Morosco introduced the composer of the music, Louis F. Gottschalk, Frank Stammers, who staged the play, Robert Brunton, who is artistically responsible for the gorgeous scenic representations, and others concerned in the making of the attraction.

The story of “The Tik-Tok Man of Oz” is as fantastic as that of an extravaganza is expected to be—that is, it is about as far distant from pictured realities as are the realms of Dreamland, to which the Sandman takes one after a bounteous repast of Welsh rarebit.

Suffice to say, Betsy and her mule, Hank—and Hank is a wonderful mule, too—become shipwrecked on the island of Oz, where flowers and things are living beings. Here they meet the Shaggy Man, the princess of Roseland, the Rainbow’s daughter, and the Tik-Tok Man, a marvelous mechanical fellow who thinks and acts after properly being wound up. These form a party who search for the Metal Kingdom to release the Shaggy Man’s brother, imprisoned there by the Metal King.

On this hangs the string of entertaining features of the production.

“The Tik-Tok Man” is essentially a scenic production, and the magnificent scale on which it is built will figure large in its probable success. From the rise of the first curtain, on the beautifully effective shipwreck scene to that of the last curtain[,] it is a series of wonderfully attractive, artistic and gorgeous stage settings. As part of these beautiful scenes, the unusually large chorus of shapely and fine-looking young women in many changes of tasty and elaborate costumes, figures intimately in the visually delightful stage pictures.

Mr. Gottschalk’s music for this piece was written by a man thoroughly familiar with popular taste and with the ability and inclination to meet it. I say this advisedly, for the composer has written things of much more musical value than that in “The Tik-Tok Man,” but he has here consistently kept within the limits of what he knew was suitable for a vehicle of light entertainment.

Much of the music is strongly reminiscent of other things, and for that matter what music of popular character is not? Yet, the composer beautifies the work here and there with attractive bits of composition, of which the orchestral part of the rain scene in the prologue is a notable instance. The music in “The Tik-Tok Man” contains much that is “catchy” and bound to become popular.

The performance by the admirably selected cast is worthy more extended notice than well can be given here.

James Morton as the Tik-Tok Man is immense, Frank Moore is a close second as the Shaggy Man, and if anyone believes that actions do not speak louder than words, he will be quickly converted by seeing the eloquent mule, Hank, as played by Fred Woodward.

Leonora [sic] Novasio is a bewitching little Betsy, Vera Doria is a stately and vocally delightful Princess Ozma and Dolly Castles dances and sings into the favor of all.

Josie Intropidi is a capital suffragette general and Charles Ruggles a model Private Files, constituting the army of Oogaboo. Eugene Cowles shines vocally in the bass solo of the Metal King, who wants to love but can’t. Then there are girls, girls and girls, a veritable army of youthful, comely femininity to dazzle the eye by their gorgeous raiment and please the ear by their fresh, young voices. The officers of the army of Oogaboo make up a creditable male chorus.

F. H. COLBY

For more about The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, read my book about the show, All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz.

Copyright © 2026 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.

Dolly Castles as Polychrome

Here's another photo that doesn't appear in All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Dolly Castles took the role of Polychrome, Daughter of the Rainbow, during nearly the entire run of the show.

This image, I assume, was taken at a photo shoot during the rehearsal period in March 1913. The Los Angeles Daily Tribune published it on April 11, 1913.

 

Copyright © 2026 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.

 

Review of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz

This opening night review of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz was published April 1, 1913, in the Los Angeles Evening Herald. The "Maud" that Mr. Price, the reviewer, refers to at one point was the animal star of the then-popular comic strip And Her Name was Maud by Frederick Burr Opper.

TIK TOK [sic] SHOULD RUN LONG TIME

New Musical Play Sparkles in Gorgeous Beauty

By Guy Price 

Dolly Castles and Charles Ruggles.

Oliver Morosco’s $40,000 “Tik Tok [sic] Man of Oz” was exposed to public scrutiny at the Majestic last night. And if the approval of a first night audience counts for anything, and theatrical history tells us it does, the local manager stands a good chance to make a big fortune with this first musical comedy venture.

The Majestic was packed long before the performance began, the demand for seats being greater than the supply, resulting in hundreds being turned away. The audience not only was large and enthusiastic, but probably was the most fashionable that ever has turned out to witness the premiere of a play here. It was a beautiful foreground for the biggest event to occupy the local stage in its period of remarkable advancement. And Los Angeles should be proud.

The play, as all undoubtedly know by now, is a musical fantasy by L. Frank Baum and Louis Gottschalk. Mr. Baum wrote the book and lyrics and Mr. Gottschalk the music. The story is a continuation of the author’s famous Oz books and, although resembling in many ways “The Wizard of Oz,” it is built on entirely different lines. All the scenes are laid in fairyland and the theme as worked out is a tale of wondrous charm and beauty.

But the piece needs a lot of fixing before it will be ready for Chicago or New York, or even San Francisco. In its present embryonic form it lacks the polish and glitter that come only after the process of weeding is gone through. The comedy lines need strengthening—very few of them got over effectively last night—and Mr. Baum can greatly improve upon his book by exterminating several sections that impede rather than accelerate the action of the play. The physical and mental strain to which the players have been subjected in the past week, with rehearsals morning, noon and night, can be blamed for the lack of ginger on the part of some of the principals. Their spirits seemed to lag and at times the spirits of those sitting out in front suffered likewise; anyway, that is the way I felt. The players were trained to so fine an edge that they became “stale,” but it is to be hoped—and there is no doubt it will be done—that another rehearsal or two will eliminate the soggy defects.

The word “perfect” describes the music to an absolute nicety and Mr. Gottschalk’s direction of the orchestra proves him an artist of no uncommon ability. Here and there one discovers a familiar chord, but for the most part it is new, sparkling and melodious. The song numbers, written by Mr. Baum and set to tinkling music by Mr. Gottschalk, are the kind that send you away happy and whistling.

With due respect for the work of both author and composer, the feature of the play that attracts most is the scenic and electric effects. These never have been approached in this city before. Each scene is a picture of exquisite beauty and the color schemes are so entrancing to be beyond all description. The costumes are brilliant and delicious to the eye.

The best acting, in my opinion, is done by the mule, named Hank, played by Fred Woodward. He is working at top speed all of the time, and on no occasion does he overdue [sic] the part. Mr. Woodward came to us heralded as a wonderful portrayer of animal characters, but I will go even farther and pronounce him the “best mule in captivity,” not excepting his near kin, Maud, of funny section fame.

Speaking of Hank, naturally brings to mind Miss Lenora Novasio, who appears as Betsy, the girl from Oklahoma, who with her mule playmate is shipwrecked and rescued from a raft. Miss Novasio is, in my opinion, the real bright spot of the play. She is full of life and she rescues the performance from an almost comatose state. She sings two or three rollicking songs and, though not blessed with a strong voice, does exceedingly well. The only fault that could be found with her entire performance is the plainness of her costumes. A few more frills, I believe, would add to her attractiveness.

Morton and Moore, impersonating Tik Tok [sic] and Shaggy Man respectively, are the pricipal [sic] comedians and, of course, they are good. The former is a clever dancer, fair singer and speaks his lines so that he can be heard by those in the rear of the theater. His agility is extraordinary and his make-up and facial expressions are as funny as they are grotesque. Moore has greater opportunity for comedy and he makes the most of it. Both are clever and should be better with a few more rehearsals.

Eugene Cowles handles the role of the Metal King in his usual perfect style and in several songs further proves his ability as a basso of power and wide range. Dolly Castles is demurely sweet as Polychrome. In her duet with Charles Ruggles she is especially pleasing. Mr. Ruggles, cast as Private Files, plays his small part well. Miss Josie Intropidi gives an ingenious character portrayal of Queen Anne, [sic] while Mlle. Vera Doria sings beautifully as Princess Ozma.

The most skillful dancing seen here in some time, with the possible exception of Genee, is executed by Burns and Fulton. The dance is entitled “The Whirlwind,” and it certainly is true to its name. Their performance is lightning fast and one to marvel at.

“The Tik Tok [sic] Man of Oz” after a little repairing should make Chicago and New York jump up and gaze on in amazement, but one thing is certain—if play, music and everything else fail to impress, that chorus of beauties, some thirty girls strong, well-figured and as sprightly as birds in the light of a new morning’s sun, will command attention. A bigger, better galaxy of maidens never lent charm to a stage production. And they are mostly California product, too.

Manager Morosco, Author Baum, Composer Gottschalk, Director Frank Stammers and Artist Robert Brunton were called before the curtain between the first and second acts. The author and manager made short speeches in which they thanked the audience for their appreciation and expressions of good will.

Copyright © 2026 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved. 

Some Sonnets of a Super

Dancer Lenore Peters's theatrical credits include her stint in the chorus of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz during it's entire 1913-14 run. She eventually became director of the influential Peters Wright Dance Studio in her native San Francisco, California. She occasionally wrote verse, including the following sonnets, originally published in The Playbill of San Francisco's renowned Alcazar Theatre, in August 1912.

("Super" is short for the theatrical term supernumerary, meaning someone who takes the role of a minor character, usually unnamed and without dialogue, filling in the background of a scene.)

Lenore Peters as a Daisy Girl

Some Sonnets of a Super 

I

The dressing-room above a flight of stair--
My destination early every night--
Is always long on girls and laughter light,
But very short on oxygen and chairs.
A plentiful supply of grease and paint,
Cold cream and towels and powder by the cake,
And countless kind of dope, that go to make
An ugly feature look as if it ain't,
Bestrew the shelf that runs around the room;
And, every time he passes by the door,
El Techelero, like a child of four,
Puts out the lights, enshrouding us in gloom.

But, then, there’s compensation, after all,
In chatting with the actors in the hall.

II

The men that take the most important parts—
When paroxysm No. 1 is o’er—
And draped around the window and the door
To set agog the flutt’ring maidens’ hearts
With all their fetching looks and charming ways:
Don Luis in his dashing Spanish red,
His brother’s bold blue eyes and wagging head,
And Charlie Gunn,—and David sings and plays;
There’s Harold Holland, desperado dire,
And Eddie Lowe, his makeup simply horrid—
One mass of grease and black from foot to fore’ead—
And last, the nut-brown Padre, worthy sire!

With these we chatter on in sprits high—
The leading man in silence passes by!

III

The curtain up, behind the scenes I sit,
Awaiting cues for shouts and laughter loud
And entrances along with all the crowd
Of other extra girls to make a hit
By casting cascaroni at the boys;
And, mounting stairs that tremble at each step,
Endeavoring to put a little pep
Into a scene that calls for lots of noise.
We turn away our faces at the kiss,
We dance, we flirt, and do our best to show
The surging of alternate joy and woe;
We hear Sunol lament and spit and hiss.

Then off we go to comfort one another—
The Rose is cursed by “loyal” Spanish mother!

IV

Oh, how I’ll hate to leave it Sunday night,
The airless, chairless dressing-room and all
The airy conversations in the hall!
And how I’ll miss the music and the light!
That first sonorous call of “half” and “hour,”
Jack’s velvet voice and ways and velvet suit,
The energetic stage director, cute,
Enthroned in his little prompter’s bower.
I never shall forget Kinkaid’s rough men,
The wild excitement of the first night rush,
The muffled offstage chatter and the “Shush!”
And in my memory I’ll hear again

The tinkling mandolins, the soft guitar,
And, with unceasing pleasure, watch the Star!

 

Copyright © 2026 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved. 

Opening Night Review of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz

Exactly one hundred and thirteen years ago today, the Los Angeles, California, Daily Tribune published the following review of the premier performance of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz:

RARE BEAUTIES OF “TIK TOK MAN OF OZ” [sic] ARE REVEALED

Most Magnificent Extravaganza Ever Seen Here; Broadway, N. Y., Show, Predicted

By J. Rex James

Oliver Morosco made good his promise to give Los Angeles the most magnificent production of an extravaganza ever seen here when last night at the Majestic theater the beauties of the “Tik Tok Man of Oz” [sic] were revealed for the first time to public view.

The production was found to answer even to the word “mammoth.” In lavish use of costly costumery, gorgeous lights and brilliant products of the scene painter’s art, no production has ever been offered here that in any wise approaches it.

In “The Tik Tok Man of Oz” [sic] we have a Broadway production in the commonly accepted sense of the term, only we have reversed the Broadways and the meaning still holds good.

I do not see why New York should not advertise this piece next fall “as originally produced by Oliver Morosco in the Majestic theater, Broadway, Los Angeles,” to give tone to the press matter. But whether this is done or not, “The Tik Tok Man of Oz” [sic] ought to delight that other Broadway as much as it pleased the first night audience at the Majestic.

Fairy Story Told

Frank Baum took three incidents in his fairyland stories of Oz and wove them together to make “The Tik Tok Man” [sic]; Louis Gottschalk set the piece in ticking with music that radiates vivacity and puckers the lips into a whistle; Frank Stammers came out from New York and stage directed the production, transforming a nondescript army of young women and men into a chorus of beings artistic; and Robert Brunton, scenic artist at Morosco’s Burbank theater, looked the Baum book over and turned out a series of magnificent and lavishly-painted settings.

These big five have produced a spectacle of Hippodrome proportions. Forty thousand dollars is the sum represented in their product—a $40,000 gamble on the vagaries of the public taste.

“The Tik Tok Man” [sic] is purely an extravaganza with its scenes laid as in Baum’s earlier work, “The Wizard of Oz,” on the mythical island of Oz.

Adrift on Island

Betsy and her mule, Hank, are the only persons from the outside world on the island and they are thrown adrift there during a storm. True, the Shaggy Man comes apparently from nowhere, explaining his presence in the hothouse of the rose kingdom by saying that he fell a great distance from an apple tree, whereupon Shaggy and the rose girls sing a song about an apple being the cause of it all. But Shaggy is in search of a long lost brother, the Ugly Man, hence he must be a native of the place.

The adventures of Betsy and Hank and the Shaggy Man, who discover the Tik Tok [sic] Man at the bottom of a well and haul him out, and the Tik Tok [sic] Man, who is wound up, form the plot of the story. And though the story is entertainingly told, one is willingly diverted by the beauty and brilliancy of the scenes, the piquant charm of the music, the comeliness of the sprightly costumed chorus, the catchy song numbers and the impressive military marches.

Realistic Storm

A storm at sea serves as the prologue to introduce Betsy and Hank. This storm is realistic enough to cause seasickness, but the ship sinks hurriedly and Betsy and Hank row triumphantly across the stage to the shore of the Rose Kingdom of Oz, a land without a ruler. A lot of roses are budding here and the old gardener explains that as soon as the roses grow a little larger one is to be picked as the ruler of the kingdom, and that it must be a man. After the arrival of the Shaggy Man so unceremoniously from his apple tree, Betsy makes so bold as to pick a rose. The fair flower is the Princess Ozma, but the other roses refuse to accept her as princess and all are driven from the garden.

Rainbow Shown

This only carries one to the end of scene one. The next scene shows a cross-roads, a rainbow, with the arrival of Polychrome, who is deserted by her rainbow fairies and left on earth, the arrival of Betsy and her wanderers and the discovery of Tik Tok in the well. One is also introduced to the army of Bugaboo [sic], consisting of Private Files and sixteen officers, commanded by Queen Ann.

The wanderers now have a definite destination in view—the land of the Metal Monarch, for it is he who has imprisoned the Shaggy Man’s brother and it was he who threw Tik Tok [sic] in the well. A group of chorus girls costumed as field flowers show them the way. The Metal Monarch is conquered by the magnet of love carried by the Shaggy Man, the Ugly Man is released and, though difficulty is threatened, all ends well, with the return of Polychrome to the rainbow.

Seven scenes and two acts are required to tell the story.

Author Baum has without doubt permitted his love of the artistic scene to intrude on his sense of comedy, for, though there are many clever situations in the piece, it is lacking in bright, snappy humor. Considerable old material likewise has been used, such as the magnet of love, but this is so artistically handled as to be excusable. And though it is “The Tik Tok Man of Oz,” [sic] there is nothing explanatory of Oz, so far as I can remember.

The cast is splendid, though I think Morton as Tik Tok [sic] could be much more effective. Moore gets a good deal of comedy out of the Shaggy Man. Dolly Castles is a picture as Polychrome and sings sweetly, but the favorites of last night’s audience were Leonora [sic] Novasio as Betsy and Fred Woodward in the disguise of Hank, the mule.

Mlle. Doria sang the part of Princess Ozma acceptably and Charles Ruggles gave a real characterization to the part of Private Files. Josie Intropodi [sic] did another good piece of character work as Queen Ann. Eugene Cowles use [sic] his magnificent bass voice to advantage as the metal king. Burns and Fulton dance a whirlwind, so named on the program. Morton and Moore, with Miss Castles and Miss Novasion, [sic] introduce some clever burlesque stunts. The army of Bugaboo, [sic] well trained both as to voice and step, had more ginger than some of the principals. But all in all, it went off well for a first performance and it should be a big winner.

Manager Morosco, Author Baum, Composer Gottschalk and Frank Stammers were called on last night and made brief responses.

Copyright © 2026 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.