LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - MARCH 27, 2022 by Lynne Belluscio With the recent announcement that LeRoy’s own Broadway star, John Bolton, is appearing as the Wizard in the national tour of “Wicked,” it was serendipitous to find this program in the collection at Le Roy House. In the Le Roy High School performance of “The Wiz” Rick Blowers played the Wizard. John Bollton played the Scarecrow. There are some other familiar names – Jill Frost played Aunt Em; Sue Matthews was Dorothy: Chris Clark played Glinda. Theresa Frederick posted on LeRoy Then and Now that she still has the t-shirt in pristine condition. The story is based on the 1900 classic book by Frank Baum, “The Wizard of Oz.” The “Wiz” was a 1978 movie, with an all-black cast, starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Lena Horne and Richard Pryor. Dorothy was a shy schoolteacher from Harlem who is transported to the urban fantasy land of Oz – which is a dream version of New York City. Quincy Jones supervised the adaptation of Charles Smalls and Luther Vandross’ songs. Wicked is a musical based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” Wicked tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba and Galinda (whose name is changed to Glinda.) The two witches react to the Wizard’s corrupt government and ultimately, Elphaba falls fromgrace. Wicked premiered on Broadway in 2003. Its original stars included Joel Grey as the Wizard, Idina Menzel as Elphaba, and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda. The original Broadway production won three Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards. The original cast album received a Grammy Award. Interestingly, Frank Baum, author of the original Wizard of Oz, also wrote other Oz stories, which were published by Jell-O. The four books, if in good condition can command hundreds of dollars. The Historical Society has several in their collection: Tiktok and the Nome King; Osma and the Little Wizard; Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse; The Scarecrow and the Tinman. The books were published as part of Jell-O’s sponsorship of the short-lived Wizard of Oz radio program in 1933. The back cover of the booklet shows the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman carrying a plate of Jell-O and the last page includes a few Jell-O recipes. The booklets were available by sending in one Jell-O package front. The booklets were illustrated by John R Neill who succeeded W.W. Denslow as Baum’s illustrator. The recipes included “Emerald Fruit Cup” that was made with lime Jell-O. The radio show went off the air less than a year later and soon Jell-O became the sponsor for the Jack Benny show. The national tour of the international hit musical Wicked welcomes Lissa deGuzman as Elphaba, Jennifer Newberry as Glinda and LeRoy’s own John Bolton as the Wizard. Michael Genet returns to the role of Doctor Dillamond, having played the role on Broadway. Kimberly Immanuel joins the cast as Nessarose and Jake Pederson plays Boq. The show opens at the First Interstate Center For the Arts in Spokane on March 22. The closest to Le Roy that the tour will appear, is Boston or Washington, D.C. It will also play in Columbus, Ohio. The Wiz
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQ2MjM=