Biographies

Eduard Cao, Reggie Hutchins, Laura Bueno, Dillon Rendo.

 

Biographies of the cast of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz are now online. To see them, click the BIOS link on the menu bar above or click here.

I had gathered bios and headshots to print in a handsomely designed program for the performance on August 9, 2014. But time slipped through my fingers. The night before the show I whipped out a minimal program that would suffice, but bios and photos didn't make it in. I promised myself to publish them all on the website, so here they are.

Original Production Performance Schedule

This partially reconstructed list of the performance schedule of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz during its original ten-month production in 1913-14 is expanded from research begun by Evan McCord and Patrick Maund. The following list incorporates additions and corrections to the list of touring dates for the show included as a sidebar to my article "Guaranteed for a Thousand Years" in The Winkie Con 50 Program Book. Further additions and corrections are welcome. I'll add them as I receive them.

UPDATE: The schedule has been supplemented according to  research by Scott Cummings.
Citation: Cummings, S. "The Tik-Tok Man of Oz 1913-14 Tour Dates" in The Baum Bugle, vol. 58, no. 3 (Winter 2014). San Francisco: The International Wizard of Oz Club, Inc., p. 40.

UPDATE: Seattle and Sacramento dates and theaters added. 

UPDATE: Performances added, some corrections made.

UPDATE (August 1, 2023): Performances added, some corrections made.

March 31-April 19, 1913 – Los Angeles, California – Majestic Theater

April 21-May 10 – San Francisco, California – Cort Theater

May 25-August 23 – Chicago, Illinois – George M. Cohan’s Grand Opera House

August 24-30 – St. Paul, Minnesota – Metropolitan

August 31-September 6, 1913 – Minneapolis, Minnesota – Shubert

September 8-13 – Indianapolis, Indiana – Murat Theatre

September 14-20 – Cincinnati, Ohio – Lyric Theater

September 21-27 – St. Louis, Missouri – Shubert

September 28-October 4 – Kansas City, Missouri – Shubert Theater

October 6 – St. Joseph, Missouri – Tootle

October 7 – Lawrence, Kansas – Bowersock Theatre

October 8 – Topeka, Kansas – Grand Theater

October 9 – Beatrice, Nebraska – New Paddock

October 10-11 – Lincoln, Nebraska – Oliver Theatre

October 12-15 – Omaha, Nebraska – Brandeis Theater

October 16 – Sioux City, Iowa – Grand

October 17-18 – Des Moines, Iowa – Berchel

October 19 – Burlington, Iowa – Grand Opera House

October 20 – Davenport, Iowa – Burtis

October 21 – Moline, Illinois – Moline Theatre

October 22 – Rock Island, Illinois – Illinois theater

October 23 – Joliet, Illinois – Joliet Theatre

October 24 – Rockford, Illinois – Grand Theater

October 25 – Janesville, Wisconsin – Myers Opera House

October 26-November 1 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Davidson

November 2 – Sheboygan, Wisconsin – Opera House

November 4 – Madison, Wisconsin – Fuller Opera House

November 5 – La Crosse, Wisconsin – La Crosse Theater

November 6 – Winona, Minnesota – Opera House

November 7 – Mankato, Minnesota

November 8 – Mason City, Iowa

November 9 – Fort Dodge, Iowa – Princess Theatre

November 10 – Waterloo, Iowa – Waterloo

November 11 – Marshalltown, Iowa – Odeon Theater

November 12 – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Greene's Opera House

November 13 – Dubuque, Iowa – Grand Opera House

November 14 – Clinton, Iowa – Clinton Grand Opera House

November 15 – Streator, Illinois – Plumb Theatre

November 16 – Racine, Wisconsin – Racine Theatre

November 18 – Wausau, Wisconsin – Grand Opera House

November 19 – Eau Claire, Wisconsin – Grand Theater

November 21-22 – Duluth, Minnesota – Lyceum Theater

November 24-29 – Winnipeg, Manitoba – Walker Theatre

December 1 – Miles City, Montana – Miles City Opera House

 December 2 – Billings, Montana – Babcock Theater

December 3 – Butte, Montana – Broadway Theatre

December 4 – Anaconda, Montana – Margaret Theatre

December 5 – Helena, Montana – Helena Theatre

December 6 – Great Falls, Montana – Grand Opera House

December 8 – Missoula, Montana – Missoula Theater

December 9-10 – Spokane, Washington – Spokane Theatre

December 11 and/or 12 – Seattle, Washington – Moore Theater

December 13 – Tacoma, Washington – Tacoma Theater

December 25-27 – Oakland, California – Macdonough Theater

December 28-29 – San Jose, California – Victory Theater

December 30-31 – Stockton, California – Yo Semite Theater

January 1-2, 1914 – Sacramento, California – Clunie Theater

January 3-4 – Reno, Nevada – Majestic Theater

January 5 – Chico, California – Majestic Theater

January 6-7 – Oakland, California – Macdonough Theater

January 8 – Fresno, California – Theater Fresno

January 9 – Bakersfield, California – Bakersfield Opera House

January 10 – Santa Barbara, California – Potter Theater

January 11 – San Luis Obispo, California – Elmo Theater

January 14 – San Bernardino, California – Opera House

January 15 – Pasadena, California – Clune's Pasadena Theatre

January 16-17 – San Diego, California – Spreckels Theatre

January 18-24 – Los Angeles, California – Majestic Theatre

These dates and theaters were originally scheduled and announced, then cancelled:

September 2, 1913 – New York, New York – Astor Theater CANCELLED

September 27(?) – Cleveland, Ohio – Colonial Theater CANCELLED

October 22 – Peoria, Illinois CANCELLED

October 24 – Quincy, Illinois CANCELLED

October 25 – Rockford, Illinois CANCELLED

November 16 – La Salle, Illinois CANCELLED

November 17 – Galesburg, Illinois CANCELLED

November 18 – Jacksonville, Illinois CANCELLED

November 19 – Lincoln, Illinois CANCELLED

November 20 – Bloomington, Illinois CANCELLED

November 21, 22 – Peoria, Illinois CANCELLED

November 23 – Decatur, Illinois CANCELLED

November 24 – Terra Haute, Indiana CANCELLED

November 25 – La Fayette, Indiana CANCELLED

November 26 – Logansport, Indiana CANCELLED

November 27 – South Bend, Indiana CANCELLED

November 28 – Goshen, Indiana CANCELLED

November 29 – Kalamazoo, Michigan – Fuller Theater CANCELLED

November 30 – Grand Rapids, Michigan CANCELLED

January 3, 1914 – Chico, California CANCELLED

January 4, – Marysville, California - Marysville Theater CANCELLED

Corrections to the Program Book Essay

For The Winkie Con 50 Program Book I wrote an article, “Guaranteed for a Thousand Years,” that covers the history of L. Frank Baum's 1913 musical The Tik-Tok Man of Oz from the earliest news reports in 1907 through rehearsals for Clockwork Productions's 2014 staging. The article appears on pages 113-72. It contains a number of errors. I've noted them below with corrections.

Frank F. Moore as the Shaggy Man and James C. Morton as Tik-Tok, 1913.

“Guaranteed for a Thousand Years” by Eric Shanower

Errata

Page 113, column two, line eight: for “1905” read “1906”

Page [114], column one, line sixteen: for “Del Coronado” read “del Coronado”

Page 115, line three: for “scenario--a” read “scenario—a”

Page 117, paragraph three, line six: for “1911” read “1910”

Page [121], line nineteen: for "hundred were assembled" read "hundred was assembled"

Page [123], line two: for "Fred C. Woodward" read "Fred Woodward"

Page [126], column one, line nineteen: for “tiger were added.” read “tiger were added—although a tiger appears in at least one photograph that seems to be from the earlier March 1913 rehearsal period.”

Page [127], caption, line three: for “reported in to consist” read “reported to consist”

Page [129], first caption, line two: for "comtemplates" read "contemplates"

Page [129], second caption, line three: for “Fies” read “Files”

Page 133, column one, line three: for "Fairyland Express" read "Fairyland Special"

Page [149], column one, lines nineteen and twenty: for “Mark Hartman” read “Brian De Lorenzo”

Page [150], column two, line twenty-five: for “Patricia Tobias” read “Richard Woitach”

Page [151], line twenty-five: for "fully-stage" read "fully-staged"

Page 153, column one, lines eleven and twelve: for “Sieze Her!, and supplementing it with musical themes from The Tik-Tok Man of Oz.” read “Sieze Her!”

Page 159, from the Dance Ensemble at the bottom of the page, eliminate: “Ana Mendoza”

Page 159, add to the cast list: “Pas de Deux – Alex Flores and Caley Hernandez”

Page 163, column two, lines seven and eight: for “composer--his first was Thomas Ince’s Civilization--and” read “composer—his first was Thomas Ince’s Civilization—and”

Page 166, column two, line two: for “Rogers” read “Rodgers”

Page [167], upper right caption, line two: for “Dunsmore” read “Dunsmure”

Page [167], column two, line four: for “Rogers” read “Rodgers”

Page 172, line fifteen: for "Hotel Del" read "Hotel del"

Page 172, line seventeen: for “1911” read “1910”

Eduard Cao as the Shaggy Man and Reggie Hutchins as Tik-Tok, 2014

Citation for the original article:
Shanower, Eric. "Guaranteed for a Thousand Years." The Winkie Con 50 Program Book. Ed. David Maxine. San Diego: Hungry Tiger Press, 2014. 113-172. Print.

Bottom photo copyright © 2014 Freddy Fogarty. All rights reserved.

The Music of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz

Cover of published "So Do I" sheet music.

One primary goal of reviving Baum and Gottschalk's vintage stage musical The Tik-Tok Man of Oz was to give audience members the chance to hear all the surviving musical numbers in performance. Fourteen songs for the show with lyrics by L. Frank Baum and music by Louis F. Gottschalk survive. One instrumental piece by Gottschalk survives. Three songs written for the show with lyrics by Oliver Morosco and music by Victor Schertzinger survive. One song written by Victor Schertzinger survives. These nineteen numbers were all part of the performance on August 9, 2014.

Two of the commercially released selections of Gottschalk music from The Tik-Tok Man of Oz were performed as well. The main "Selection" served as the Overture. The "Lanciers" served as the Entr'acte.

At least twelve musical numbers from the original 1913-14 production are not known to survive. Gottschalk's music for "A Storm at Sea" is one that's gone. To fill this hole, "A Roman Holiday" by Gottschalk from his unproduced score for Julius Sees Her! was substituted, modified by musical director Joseph Grienenberger to fit the action of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz Prelude.

Polychrome, Shaggy, Betsy, Ozma, and Hank listen to Tik-Tok sing "The Clockwork Man."

No finale survives for either Act One or Act Two. For the Act One finale, lyrics by L. Frank Baum in the earliest existing script for the show, a version from 1909, were slightly modified by Eric Shanower to fit a combination of music from "Ask the Flowers to Tell You" and "The Army of Oogaboo." For the Act Two finale, the chorus of "The Magnet of Love" was reprised by the entire company.

Cover of published "Ask the Flowers to Tell You" sheet music.

Beyond the fourteen surviving songs with lyrics by Baum, many other Baum lyrics survive in the 1909 version of the script. With one exception these do not have music and it's unclear whether any of them were used in the original 1913-14 production. They were not performed in this production. The one exception is "Fight for Oogaboo" with lyrics by Baum that clearly fit Gottschalk's music for "The Army of Oogaboo." Although "Fight for Oogaboo" was performed in the original production, it was not performed in this.

Two known interpolations to the original production—"Forgotten" with lyrics attributed to Flora Wulschner and music by Eugene Cowles, and "One, Two, Three, It's All Over Now," lyricist and composer unknown—were not included in this performance.

All the surviving Tik-Tok Man of Oz music was never included in a single performance of the original production. Songs came and went during its ten month run. But this production fit all the surviving songs into one performance. Over the course of the original production, songs were assigned to different characters. Our production generally assigned each song to the character or characters that primarily sang it in the original. Parts sung by a chorus in the original production were generally sung by principal characters in this.

Baum's lyrics for Tik-Tok's verse in "Folly!" are racially insensitive. Eric Shanower revised them for this production to eliminate mention of an African native eating a missionary.

Listed here are the musical numbers performed in Clockwork Productions's The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Joseph Grienenberger was the musical director and played keyboard for the performance. Unless otherwise noted, Grienenberger—working from piano/vocal sheet music—orchestrated the music for Michael Fowler (trumpet), Fred Allee (drums and percussion), and Rafael Estrada (double bass).

The Tik-Tok Man of Oz Musical Numbers 

OVERTURE (Gottschalk, arranged for orchestra by J. Bodewalt Lampe) 

Prelude 

“A STORM AT SEA” (Gottschalk, arranged by Joseph Grienenberger from manuscript) – Dance of WAVES and STORM-AT-SEA BETSY 

Act One 

“AN APPLE’S THE CAUSE OF IT ALL” (Baum/Gottschalk) – SHAGGY MAN

“THE MAGNET OF LOVE” (Baum/Gottschalk) – BETSY 

“OH MY BOW” with Dance (Baum/Gottschalk) – POLYCHROME; Dance of POLYCHROME and RAINBOW GIRLS 

“I WANT TO BE SOMEBODY’S GIRLIE” (Schertzinger) - POLYCHROME

“THE CLOCKWORK MAN” (Baum/Gottschalk) – TIK-TOK with BETSY, SHAGGY, OZMA, and POLYCHROME

“THE ARMY OF OOGABOO” (Baum/Gottschalk) – QUEEN ANN and PRIVATE FILES; Dance of ARMY OF OOGABOO

“THERE'S A MATE IN THIS BIG WORLD FOR YOU” (Morosco/Schertzinger) – OZMA

“ASK THE FLOWERS TO TELL YOU” (Baum/Gottschalk) – OZMA and FILES; Pas de deux 

“DEAR OLD HANK” (Baum/Gottschalk) – BETSY 

“FINALE” (Baum/Gottschalk) – POLYCHROME, FILES, ANN, TIK-TOK, SHAGGY, BETSY, and OZMA; Dance of FIELD FLOWERS 

Act Two 

ENTR'ACTE (Gottschalk) 

“IMPS MARCH” (Gottschalk) – Dance of IMPS 

“WORK, LADS, WORK” (Baum/Gottschalk) – RUGGEDO and IMPS

“WHEN IN TROUBLE COME TO PAPA” (Baum/Gottschalk) – RUGGEDO and POLYCHROME 

“RAINBOW BRIDE” (Baum/Gottschalk) – POLYCHROME with RUGGEDO, ANN, SHAGGY, BETSY, and TIK-TOK

Cover of published "My Wonderful Dream Girl" sheet music.

“MY WONDERFUL DREAM GIRL” (Morosco/Schertzinger) – FILES

“FOLLY!” (Baum/Gottschalk) – TIK-TOK, BETSY, and SHAGGY; Dance of ENSEMBLE

“OH, TAKE ME” (Morosco/Schertzinger) – OZMA and FILES

“JUST FOR FUN” (Baum/Gottschalk) – OZMA and FILES; Dance of ROSES

Dance Music of “OH MY BOW” (Gottschalk) 

“SO DO I” (Baum/Gottschalk) – TIK-TOK and RUGGEDO with BETSY 

“WALTZ SCREAM” (Baum/Gottschalk) – ANN and SHAGGY; Dance of ENSEMBLE 

“THE MAGNET OF LOVE” Chorus Reprise (Baum/Gottschalk) – COMPANY

Finale of Act Two, with Betsy, Polychrome, Imps, Ann, Ugly Man, Ozma, Files, and Royal Gardener.

For complete cast information see this previous blog post.

Photos copyright © Freddy Fogarty 2014. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Tik-Tok Lives!

Finale Act I - Hank the Mule, Betsy, Polychrome, Queen Ann, Shaggy Man, Tik-Tok, Private Files, Ozma.

Clockwork Productions's presentation of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz performed on August 9, 2014, as the Saturday evening program of Winkie Con 50 at the Town and Country Hotel, 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, California, for an audience of about two hundred and fifty.

The Shaggy Man arrives in the Rose Kingdom, with Hank, Moss Rose, Jacque Rose, and Betsy.

Preparations continued up until the last moment—I was hanging mirror-ball fruit onto the metal forest trees for Act 2, Scene 2, just an hour before the performance began. The show was a triumph, due to the efforts of all involved. Appreciative comments from the audience afterward focused on the performance of ten-year-old Alyson Stein as the gymnastic Royal Gardener and on the beautiful voices of the principal singers—Tamara Rodriguez as Polychrome probably was mentioned most often. The audience took favorable notice of  Eduard Cao's comic timing as the Shaggy Man. Chris Boltz's lighting as well as Eric Shanower and David Maxine's costumes also garnered praise. Negative reaction was primarily reserved for L. Frank Baum's script.

Ruggedo and Polychrome.

Final credits for this production of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz:

Book and Lyrics by L. Frank Baum

Music composed by Louis F. Gottschalk

Additional songs by Oliver Morosco and Victor Schertzinger

Abridgement by Eric Shanower

Director - Chrissy Burns
Musical Director - Joseph Grienenberger
Lighting Designer - Christopher Boltz
Choreographer - Jennifer Solomon-Rubio
Set and Costume Designers - David Maxine and Eric Shanower 

Cast:
Betsy Bobbin, from Oklahoma - Laura Bueno
Hank the Mule - Dillon Rendo
The Shaggy Man - Eduard Cao
Ozma, the Rose Princess - Kendra Truett
Polychrome, Daughter of the Rainbow - Tamara Rodriguez
Tik-Tok, the Clockwork Man - Reggie Hutchins
Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo - Amanda Everett
Private Files - Vander Turner

Ozma, the Rose Princess, and Private Files

Ruggedo, the Metal Monarch - Danny Ingersoll

Storm-at-Sea Betsy, Royal Gardener - Alyson Stein
Moss Rose - Sydney Kerl
Jacque Rose - Taylor Schwartz
The Ugly Man - Eric Shanower

Dance Ensemble - Taylor Hamilton, Caley Hernandez, Sydney Kerl, Sydney Rei, Taylor Schwartz, Alyson Stein, and Carmina Vasquez

Pas de Deux - Alex Flores and Caley Hernandez

Orchestra:
Conductor and Keyboard - Joseph Grienenberger
Trumpet - Michael Fowler
Drums and Percussion - Fred Allee
Double Bass - Rafael Estrada

Assistant Director and Assistant Stage Manager - Nikki Jacquot
Make-up - Taylor Schwartz
Wardrobe and Props - J’nae Rae Spano, Lauren Ladley, Karen Ladley, and Danielle Stein
Lighting Assistant - Jim Keller

Queen Ann commands.

Spotlight Operators - Stephanie Godoy and Meredith O’Gwynn
Sound Engineer - John Volk
Videographers - Bob Bates, Marilyn Bates

Polychrome’s dress constructed by Claudia La Rue
Tik-Tok’s clockwork chestplate constructed by David Maxine

Additional costume, prop, and set construction - David Kelleher, Reggie Hutchins, Claudia La Rue, Tina Fellows, Amanda Everett, Eduard Cao, Joe Phillips, Sandy Firestone, Lauren Ladley, Karen Ladley, Freddy Fogarty, Danny Ingersoll, Ted Abenheim, Joseph Fombon, and Rebecca Klein

House Manager - Chris Fowler
Ushers -  Robyn Segel Shifren, Laurie Painter McGuerty, and Rich Snyder

I'd also like to thank: Infinity Dance Arts, 1075 Broadway, El Cajon, California, for generously donating audition and rehearsal space and loaning some costumes and props; Ellen Joy Weber, Candice Hooper, and Christian Esquevin of the Coronado Public Library in Coronado, California, for loaning a prop; Freddy Fogarty for giving permission to publish his photos, for which he reserves all rights, on this post; and all donors who are listed here.

Curtain Call.

Sold Out!

Tik-Tok and Button-Bright by John R. Neill, The Road to Oz,  1909

Full Three-Day Memberships for Winkie Con 50, which include seats at the Saturday evening performance of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, sold out last Thursday. We'll be playing to a packed house. Woo-hoo!

Daytime Memberships are still available, but seating at the evening programs is not guaranteed. Nevertheless, there's still plenty to do and see at Winkie Con 50.

The Multiple Faces of Betsy and Hank

Dorothy and Toto by W. W. Denslow, 1900

Betsy by John R. Neill, 1914

L. Frank Baum’s characters of Betsy Bobbin and her mule Hank in The Tik-Tok Man of Oz are variations on Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto, who originally appeared in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Betsy from Oklahoma is simply Dorothy from Kansas with a new name and place of origin.

Hank by John R. Neill, 1914

Betsy’s genesis as Dorothy is most apparent in the storm at sea that starts Betsy on her way to Oz in Tik-Tok Man. Baum based this storm at sea on the one that sends Dorothy on her second Oz adventure in the book Ozma of Oz.

In the 1909 version of the stage script Betsy’s last name is Baker, but when the show reached the stage in 1913, she had attained her official last name of Bobbin—perhaps because she enters the story bobbin’ upon the waves.

It’s easy to see that Betsy is actually Dorothy in a different guise. But how in the world did Toto the dog become Hank the Mule? To understand the answer, you’ll need a little history.

Betsy and Hank, 1913

Soon after Baum’s first Oz book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was published in 1900, he set about turning it into a stage musical. The Wizard of Oz opened on Broadway in January 1903, directed by Julian Mitchell of later Follies fame, and produced by Fred Hamlin. The pantomime animal role of a cow was easier than that of a little black dog for an actor to play, so Toto was cut from the play and Imogene, Dorothy’s pet cow, was introduced. In the Broadway show Imogene accompanied Dorothy from Kansas to Oz. The cow’s antics of repeatedly trying to eat the Scarecrow’s straw evidently set the audience roaring with laughter.

Imogene, the Scarecrow, and Dorothy on Broadway, 1903

Ten years later in 1913 The Tik-Tok Man of Oz was one of Baum’s many attempts to repeat the success of the Broadway Wizard of Oz. The reviews of Tik-Tok Man in the Chicago newspapers in particular pointed out the glaring parallels between the two shows. Hank the Mule, as the pantomime animal role, was merely one more of those parallels.

So that’s how a dog became a mule. There was an intermediate step in between—a pet cow named Imogene.

The Evolution of the Rose Princess

Portrait of Ozma by John R. Neill, Ozma of Oz, 1907.

L. Frank Baum originally introduced the character Ozma, rightful ruler of the Land of Oz, briefly toward the end of his second Oz book, The Marvelous Land of Oz. In the third book in his Oz series, Ozma of Oz, published in 1907, Ozma takes a much larger role in the story. Baum originally based his stage musical The Tik-Tok Man of Oz on that third Oz book.

The earliest surviving version of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz is titled The Rainbow's Daughter; Or The Magnet of Love. It's a scenario by Baum dated February 23, 1909. Ozma in that scenario bears little resemblance to the Ozma readers know from the Oz books.

She also differs a bit from Ozma in The Tik-Tok Man of Oz as it was finally produced. In the musical Ozma, the Rose Princess, grows on the royal rose bush in the Rose Kingdom, but the rose inhabitants don't want a female ruler and refuse to pick her. In the Rainbow's Daughter scenario, Ozma instead grows on a bush in a vegetable kingdom, but the vegetable inhabitants refuse to pick her. In both versions Betsy and the Shaggy Man pick Ozma anyway.

Illustration by Neill, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, 1908.

Readers of Baum's 1908 Oz book Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz may find the episode familiar. In that story an unnamed royal princess of the Vegetable Kingdom of the Mangaboos grows in the Royal Gardens. But the Mangaboo Prince refuses to pick her. Dorothy and the Wizard pick the princess anyway. The similarity to The Tik-Tok Man of Oz is obvious.

As in the cases of the Shaggy Man and Polychrome, discussed in previous posts, it's unclear which instance of this "Picking the Princess" episode Baum wrote first. Baum conceived of what eventually became The Tik-Tok Man of Oz stage musical as early as 1907. The "Picking the Princess" episode might have been part of Baum's idea for the show before he used it in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz. Or Baum could have invented the episode for Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz and later incorporated it into The Rainbow's Daughter scenario. Or he may have used the "Picking the Princess" idea in both projects at the same time.

The Rose Princess, illustration by John R. Neill, Tik-Tok of Oz, 1914.

The Ozma who audiences watched on stage in 1913-14 was no longer the same Ozma from the Oz books. So when Baum turned The Tik-Tok Man of Oz stage musical into his Oz book for 1914, Tik-Tok of Oz, he changed the name of the Rose Princess from Ozma to Ozga and made her a distant cousin of Ozma, ruler of Oz.

You can see a fully staged production of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz by L. Frank Baum at Winkie Con 50, August 9, 2014, in San Diego, California. Everyone registered for a three-day membership to the convention will have a guaranteed seat at the show. For details and to register, click here.

The Rainbow's Daughter of Oz

Polychrome's first appearance by John R. Neill, The Road to Oz, 1909.

Polychrome, Daughter of the Rainbow, is in a situation similar to that of the Shaggy Man, which I discussed in my previous blog post. Polychrome's first published appearance was in L. Frank Baum's book The Road to Oz in 1909. But did Baum create Polychrome for that book or did he create the character for the stage musical eventually known as The Tik-Tok Man of Oz? 

In 1907 the planned stage musical had been titled Ozma of Oz, but the August 1909 issue of The Theatre Magazine printed an interview with Baum and quoted him as saying, "An extravaganza that will go either by the name of 'Ozma of Oz' or 'The Rainbow's Daughter,' will be put on the first week in October." Baum sometimes exaggerated in his publicity, and here it's clear he exaggerated the timing of this show. It would take until 1913, rather than October of 1909, for it to reach the stage. But Baum was correct in naming the two alternatives for the title of the work. His scenario for The Rainbow's Daughter--dated February 23, 1909, according to Michael Patrick Hearn in The Annotated Wizard of Oz--survives. The action it describes is similar to the stage musical known intermittently as Ozma of Oz and titled finally The Tik-Tok Man of Oz.

The title The Rainbow's Daughter makes it seem that for a little while at least Baum may have considered Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, as the main character in this stage musical. If her role was originally that important, perhaps this indicates that Baum invented the character early in his development of the show, even as early as 1907, and only later inserted her into his manuscript for The Road to Oz. Alternatively, Baum might have created Polychrome for The Road to Oz and been so taken with the character that he integrated her into the stage script, even going so far as to consider titling the show after her. Or maybe Baum simply came up with the character and used her in both projects at once.

Polychrome by John R. Neill, The Road to Oz, 1909.

First Appearance of the Shaggy Man of Oz

John R. Neill's illustration of the Shaggy Man in The Road to Oz, 1909.

What project did L. Frank Baum create the character of the Shaggy Man for? Was it for the script of the stage musical eventually titled The Tik-Tok Man of Oz? Or was it for the 1909 book in his Oz series, The Road to Oz?

The first published appearance of the Shaggy Man was certainly in the first chapter of The Road to Oz where he meets Dorothy Gale and Toto on their Kansas farm.

But the earliest surviving script for what became The Tik-Tok Man of Oz is titled Ozma of Oz: A Musical Extravaganza in Two Acts and dated April 15th, 1909. It's labeled "second writing" and the Shaggy Man is a principal character in this script.

Which came first, the book or the stage script, both dated 1909? There's probably no way to tell now, but most likely L. Frank Baum was working on both projects at about the same time.

It's possible that Baum created the Shaggy Man for the play and then inserted the character into his manuscript for The Road to Oz. I think the timing makes it unlikely that Baum first put the Shaggy Man into The Road to Oz then later transferred the character to his musical script--but he could have.

We'll probably never know the sequence for sure.

First Draft of the Script

According to this newspaper article, the first draft of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz was written by L. Frank Baum in 1907. It was based on his third Oz book, Ozma of Oz, and the stage show originally had the same title.

The book Ozma of Oz was published in 1907, so Baum seems to have written the first draft of the show about the same time he was writing the manuscript of the book. How detailed the earliest draft of the show was, however, is uncertain, since it doesn't seem to have survived. Baum might have produced no more than a general scenario. He often seems to have exaggerated the truth to make a good story for the press, so perhaps the show was actually no more than a few notes when this article was published in the San Diego, California, Evening Tribune on November 6, 1907. Similar articles about the show appeared in newspapers nationwide about the same time.

The article reads in part:

Friends of L. Frank Baum, the well known composer, have received word to the effect that within the near future the American Extravaganza company, composed of New York and Chicago capitalists, is to produce a new opera from the pen of the gifted Chicagoan.

The name of the new comic opera is "Ozma of Oz," and those who have read the manuscript predict for it an even greater success than attended the "Wizard of Oz," which was also composed by Mr. Baum.

San Diego and Coronado people will be particularly interested in the production of the new opera, inasmuch as it may be termed a Coronado product. Mr. Baum spends his winters every year at Coronado and it was while putting in the winter months here last winter that he composed the opera.

While some of the old "Wizard of Oz" characters, notably the scarecrow and tin man, are to appear in the new story, there are several others that are, Mr. Baum thinks, destined to supersede them, such as a clockwork man called "Tiktok," who thinks, speaks and acts by means of three separate mechanical appliances.

Clearly Tik-Tok seems to have been a prominent feature of the show from the very beginning. The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, stars of The Wizard of Oz, still touring in 1907 after its smash Broadway run, didn't reach the final version of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. In fact, little mention of Oz ended up in the show at all.

Baum had earlier adapted his first two Oz books to stage musicals. The first, The Wizard of Oz, was one of the biggest hits of the twentieth century's first decade and made Baum at the time far more famous as a playwright and composer than as a children's author. The show Baum adapted from his second Oz book was a failure, but that didn't stop him. This third Oz stage adaptation, based on his third Oz book, was destined to be another hit, although it would take a half dozen more years to reach the stage. The newspaper article calls these shows "operas," but they're what we'd call musicals today. 

I'm particularly delighted to be bringing The Tik-Tok Man of Oz back to its place of birth for Oz Con International. It will return to San Diego for one night only on Saturday, August 9, 2014, as part of Winkie Con 50.