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 Muppets' Wizard of Oz the initial script was written, ultimately deciding to adapt plot elements from Baum's original novel rather than the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film, "The Wizard of Oz". As with the preceding Muppet films, "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" became a musical, and included five new songs written and composed by Michael Giacchino. The special is the first Muppets special without the involvement of veteran performer Jerry Nelson following his 2004 retirement from physical performing. His characters of Lew Zealand and Floyd Pepper, were respectively performed by Bill Barretta and John Kennedy. Barretta also debuts as the new permanent performer of Dr.