The Tik-Tok Man of Oz Performance Script

The complete, full-length script, intended to accompany the piano-vocal score for The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Betsy Bobbin and her pet mule, Hank, are shipwrecked on the shore of the Rose Kingdom. They meet the Shaggy Man, who's searching for his enchanted, long-lost brother, prisoner of the Metal Monarch. With the help of Ozma the Rose Princess, Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter, Tik-Tok the Clockwork Man, Queen Ann of Oogaboo, and Private Files of the Army of Oogaboo, amid songs and dancing, they challenge Ruggedo the Metal Monarch in his underground kingdom.

A Prelude and Six Scenes in Two Acts. Included are notes on staging and a selection of photographs from both the original 1913 productions and the 2014 revival. Generous margins provide space to write notes.

Intended for 6 females, 5 males, 3 roles of any gender, plus chorus.

L. Frank Baum, writer of the book and lyrics for The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, was the author of the American children's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and thirteen sequels. Baum published many other books and short stories during his prolific career. He was born in Chittenango, New York, in 1856, where his writing and publishing career got off to a start with a self-published home newspaper printed on his own press. Baum's aspirations led him to the theater. His first commercially successful production of note was The Maid of Arran in 1882, which Baum produced, directed, and starred in. Baum's greatest theatre work was his script for The Wizard of Oz, which opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theater in January 1903. This smash show was produced by Fred Hamlin, directed by Julian Mitchell, and made stars of Fred Stone as the Scarecrow and David Montgomery as the Tin Woodman. Hoping to repeat the great success of The Wizard of Oz, Baum brought his script for The Tik-Tok Man of Oz to producer Oliver Morosco. The Tik-Tok Man of Oz opened at the Majestic Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 1913, and toured the USA and Canada through 1914. Baum then embraced the new industry of motion pictures and, through his Oz Film Manufacturing Company of Hollywood, California, produced four feature films and several shorts based on his stories. Baum died at his home, Ozcot, in Hollywood in 1919.

Eric Shanower is the award-winning cartoonist of the graphic novel series Age of Bronze (Image Comics), retelling the story of the Trojan War. He's written and drawn dozens of Oz projects, including writing New York Times best-selling graphic novel adaptations of six of L. Frank Baum's Oz books (Marvel Comics). Shanower has illustrated for television, stage, magazines, and children's books, two of which he wrote himself. He lives with his husband in Portland, Oregon.