Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Political interpretations of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" include treatments of the modern fairy tale (written by L. Frank Baum and first published in 1900) as an allegory or metaphor for the political, economic, and social events of America in the 1890s. Scholars have examined four quite different versions of Oz: the novel of 1900, the Broadway play of 1901, the Hollywood film of 1939, and the numerous follow-up Oz novels written after 1900 by Baum and others. The political interpretations focus on the first three, and emphasize the close relationship between
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (musical) Baum/Wizard and the Cowardly Lion), presented highlights of this musical as well as of many other Oz musical incarnations at the International Wizard of Oz Club's Winkie Convention at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California, on July 9, 2011 as part of a concert entitled "Songs in the Key of Oz" which is also available on CD. The show is to be presented again from November 29 to December 10, 2017 at the Zion Cultural Centre, Toronto featuring members of the original 2000, 2002 and 2010 casts (including Cascone and Haines) along with several newcomers to the various roles.