The Wizard of Oz (1942 musical) his new rocket ship. "The Wizard of Oz" was first turned into a musical extravaganza by L. Frank Baum himself. It was a loose adaptation of Baum's 1900 novel that had no Wicked Witch, Toto, magic slippers or yellow brick road, but had several new characters and subplots. It first played in Chicago in 1902 and was a success on Broadway the following year. It then toured for seven years. Other early stage and film adaptations and versions of the novel followed, including a 1925 film. The 1939 film adaptation of the novel bore a closer resemblance to the novel's
His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz loosely based on Baum's book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", but in the screenplay Baum introduced many new characters and a large new story that later became the basis for the 1915 book "The Scarecrow of Oz". Similar to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", the Scarecrow's origin is revealed, although his life is now attributed to "the Spirit of the Corn", who appears as a conventional Hollywood depiction of a Native American. The Tin Woodman is found rusted stiff and oiled, but he is already Emperor of the Winkies. Dorothy is a slave to Mombi (Wells) who looks like W.W.