In the show, Matilda’s ghost is depicted as a nod to magical realism, creating what Davis called a musical fantasia about Baum.īaum and Maud’s courtship is described through song, as is how Matilda embraced Frank despite him whisking Maud away from Cornell University. Baum’s mother-in-law was a famous suffragette.īaum’s wife, Maud Gage, was the daughter of Matilda Joslyn Gage, a suffragette who fought for rights alongside Susan B. “Over time, he gained this different love and appreciation for that accomplishment in his life,” Davis said. In the end, he wrote a total of 14 Oz books. In the show, the character of Dorothy is Baum’s muse, periodically urging him to return to Oz. Denslow on “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is explored through the song “On the Same Page (The Page),” which is immediately reprised to tell the story of the adaptation into a stage musical in 1902. Those letters are read by actors in the show, accompanied by projected vintage photographs of children.īaum’s collaboration with illustrator W.W. “He had a complicated and sort of beautiful, and in many ways prescient, relationship with his creation that I think has … only become more relevant to current events and where we find ourselves.But after he wrote “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” letters from child fans poured in, begging for more stories about the magical Land of Oz. The whole Land of Oz, really, because he wrote many books set in Oz. Frank Baum’s relationship with his most famous creation, The Wizard of Oz. Watson in Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville (March and April), and the season closes in June and July with the long-awaited debut of Oz, with book by Davis and songs by freeFall musical director Michael Raabe. James.ĭavis and McGee will team up as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, it stars Jennifer Christa Palmer and L. A story about the enduring but tempestuous friendship of Susan B. 28, is Mat Smart’s historical drama The Agitators. “And financially, and also from a long term sustainability perspective, theaters working together more to present more of their work, to more audiences, is good,” Davis says. (This partially explains why the seating configuration is different for every freeFall show.)Īudiences should expect to see more theater-to-theater partnerships in the future, such as those last season with California’s Ebony Rep ( Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill) and Sarasota’s Urbanite ( A Skeptic and a Bruja).ĭavis praised the collaborative nature of these partnerships – sharing ideas for the good of the show is always a win/win – plus, it’s easier to get grants. And I think that people will see that at freeFall.” “I’ve directed many of those, and I love that, but I also like to pierce that veil, even in those type of productions. ![]() That’s not to say he’s gone off traditional, proscenium-type stage plays. That can’t happen in those other mediums.” There is an immediacy and a kind of spatial interaction that’s happening in real time, right now in real space, that can happen in the theater. “For instance TV, film, but also interactive gaming, things like virtual reality, et cetera. ![]() “That’s a big part of, to me, what the theater can currently do compared to other forms of media that are similar that employ other technologies. A formidable creative force, Davis is asked what makes him most want come to work every day: “I’m very much interested in how the audience’s experiences interact with the play,” he declares.
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