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
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Hamlin committed to making "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" into a musical stage play to publicize the novel. The play "The Wizard of Oz" debuted on June 16, 1902. It was revised to suit adult preferences and was crafted as a "musical extravaganza", with the costumes modeled after Denslow's drawings. Hill's publishing company became bankrupt in 1901, so Baum and Denslow agreed to have the Indianapolis-based Bobbs-Merrill Company resume publishing the novel. Baum's son Harry Neal told the "Chicago Tribune" in 1944 that L. Frank told his children "whimsical stories before they became material for his books". Harry called his