The Wizard of Oz (1987 musical) The Wizard of Oz (1987 musical) The Wizard of Oz is a musical with a book by John Kane, music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It has additional background music by Herbert Stothart. It is based on the novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 film version written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf. Successful musicals based on the Baum novel were created in 1902 (for Broadway) and 1945 (for St. Louis Municipal Opera), the latter of which, using songs from the popular 1939 film, is still frequently
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.