The Wizard of Oz (1987 musical)

The Wizard of Oz
Poster from the original 1987 RSC production
Music	Harold Arlen; Herbert Stothart
Lyrics	E. Y. Harburg
Book	John Kane
Basis	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum The Wizard of Oz, screenplay by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf
Productions	1987 Barbican Centre (North London) 1989 The Wizard of Oz Live! Arena Show 1993 U.S. Tour 1997 Madison Square Garden 2008 US Tour 2017 US Tour

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.^[1] It is based on the 1900 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 in 1942 (for St. Louis Municipal Opera), the latter of which, using songs from the popular 1939 film, is still frequently revived. Seeking to more closely recreate the 1939 film on stage, the Royal Shakespeare Company adapted the film's screenplay, also using the songs from the film, and produced a new version at London's Barbican Centre in 1987. This was also a success and has been given many revivals in various formats. It also had extensive tours the U.S. from 2008 to 2020. The musical has become a popular musical for community theatres, schools and children's theatres in the United States and the United Kingdom.