The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) adaptation of what L. Frank Baum envisioned. In 1995, Gregory Maguire published the novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West", which was adapted into the wildly successful Broadway musical "Wicked". The story describes the life of the Wicked Witch of the West and other events prior to Dorothy's arrival. For the film's 56th anniversary, a 1995 stage show also titled "The Wizard of Oz" was based upon it and the book by L. Frank Baum. It toured from 1995 to 2012, except for 2004. In 2005, The Muppets Studio produced "The Muppets' Wizard of
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.