{"id":533,"date":"2024-07-10T01:19:09","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T01:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/?p=533"},"modified":"2024-07-10T01:19:09","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T01:19:09","slug":"ha-ha-ha-ho-ho-ho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/07\/10\/ha-ha-ha-ho-ho-ho\/","title":{"rendered":"Ha-Ha-Ha! Ho-Ho-Ho!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

And a Happy, High-Spirited History of Last Month\u2019s Magic (Or: Oz-Stravaganza\u00ae 2024 <\/strong>😊<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by John Fricke<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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Above: Adapted from original illustrations by W. W. Denslow, the Fab Four \u2013 plus Toto and an apparently welcome compatriot to the Scarecrow \u2013 serve as a constant \u201clogo pictorial\u201d for the All Things Oz Museum in Chittenango, New York. That hamlet was the birthplace of L. Frank Baum, author of THE WIZARD OF OZ, and the Museum there is not only open year-round but serves as one of the primary focal points of the town\u2019s annual Oz-Stravaganza\u00ae, traditionally held the first weekend in June. To read about (and see striking proof of) this year\u2019s rapturous blow-out, please keep slowly scrollin\u2019 down!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

After 46 prior and virtually annual jubilations, what can be said about Oz-Stravaganza\u00ae #47 that hasn\u2019t been gratefully and proudly \u201csung out\u201d before? Perhaps the most grandiose AND accurate declaration is that the weekend of May 31st<\/sup>-June 2nd<\/sup>, 2024, may well rank among the top five or six Ozzy excitements in Chittenango history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somehow, it all specially coalesced this spring with a combination of energy, joy, and relaxation unique to these impossible-to-rehearse and pretty much spontaneous presentations. It\u2019s no exaggeration to say that (once again) the crowd of approximately 30,000 participants contributed a major share of the exhilaration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather gods contributed as well, with alternately sunny, partly cloudy, or overcast days and evenings, but nary a drop of Gene Kelly (that\u2019s \u201cshow biz\u201d for precipitation!) until an hour or so after the 4 p.m. Grand Finale in Oz Park on Sunday. Otherwise \u2013 and naturally — the special guests were among those providing rainbow moments across all three days. This year, OZ-Strav! hosted two \u201cnewbies\u201d (Robert Welch and Irma Starr) and four returnees (Jane Lahr, Gita Dorothy Morena, Steve Margoshes, and Gabriel Gale); the six of \u2018em offered a diversity of presentations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As everyone must by now be aware, 2024 marks the 85th<\/sup> anniversary of the release of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer\u2019s iconic musical film version of THE WIZARD OF OZ. Jane Lahr returned to Chittenango for her third visit in honor of the occasion, and the anecdotal and illustrated m\u00e9lange she offered about her father, Bert Lahr \u2013 THE Cowardly Lion of the movie (and for all-time) \u2013 warmed hearts and generated emotions ranging from guffaws to quiet tears:<\/p>\n\n\n

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A fresh and singular view of the film was captivatingly shared by someone unusually well-equipped for the job. The grandson of A. Arnold \u201cBuddy\u201d Gillespie, Robert Welch excitingly entertained the capacity audience with amazing behind-the-scenes film clips, stills, paperwork, and anecdotes about how the screen sorcery of OZ was achieved by Buddy \u2013 head of the M-G-M Special Effects Department across five decades. His creations (and those of his staff) were all invented, devised, and produced, employing chicken wire, muslin, crayon matte paintings, flash powder, rear projection, real smoke and fire, elevator platforms, miniature sets, and assorted other (literally) handmade constructions. All of this still-astounding visual wizardry, mind you, occurred many years before CGI (computer generated imagery) was barely a dream. Robert shared his grandfather\u2019s accomplishments with elan, knowledgeability, and energetic humor.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Another OZ-Strav! first-timer was living legend Irma Starr, whose handmade ceramic art creations are treasured and housed everywhere from museums and private collections to the White House and Smithsonian Institution. Irma\u2019s Oz craftings were an overwhelming hit with the Chittenango crowds \u2013 including several Ozzy denizens who found themselves well represented:<\/p>\n\n\n

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This seems an appropriate moment for immediate homage to costume designer\/ constructionist\/\u201carchitect,\u201d Shawn Ryan, whose gifts are everywhere apparent in the recreations seen here of the incomparable Oz characters. A simultaneous doff of a tin funnel (or any Oz-centric chapeau) to Jeffrey Lane Sadecky, who aided, abetted, and wrangled the Emerald Citizenry with Shawn, so that they were able to fulfill the expectations of the all-ages festival attendees. As noted, this took place on the turf (or in the neighborhood thereof!) where Frank Baum was born on May 15, 1856; it\u2019s always fun to imagine how he might now react to seeing the individuals and oddities he discovered brought so vividly to life by Shawn and Jeffrey. (And huzzOZ, too, for Chittenango\u2019s merry band of players, their superlative performing abilities, and their spot-on vocal \u201cpersonations\u201d!) Note: Jeffrey\u2019s smiling out front in the photo below. In the background, Shawn\u2019s more wary \u2013 as if he\u2019s not sure he can trust either the pink or the green.<\/p>\n\n\n

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One person who is preeminently qualified to discourse on Frank and the Baum family is assuredly Gita Dorothy Morena, great-granddaughter of the \u201cRoyal Historian of Oz.\u201d She fascinated the festival audience with remembrances of the impact he had (and continues to have) on her and her family. Gita was joined onstage by a current Royal Historian, Gabriel Gale, whose AGES OF OZ fantasy books and THE ART OF OZ pictorial history of Baum\u2019s populace are currently delighting \u201cchildren of all ages.\u201d As with Frank himself, Gabe (at left below) is constantly asked by fans when they can expect another AGES OF OZ installment; Gita\u2019s own writing was well-represented at OZ-Strav! by her THE WISDOM OF OZ, which grows from and reflects her own remarkable career as a psychoanalyst. (We\u2019re all three laughing here during Friday night\u2019s presentation, so I\u2019m not sure which of us said something outrageous; there\u2019s generally plenty enough of that blame to go around:)<\/p>\n\n\n

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Meanwhile, it wouldn\u2019t be Oz without music, and after several years\u2019 hiatus, Broadway and pop composer, lyricist, orchestrator, and arranger Steve Margoshes was back to share the status of his ongoing and happily anticipated project, NEW SONGS FROM OZ. The completion of the melodies and words (the latter built on characters and adventures from the original Oz Books) is envisioned for early summer 2025, and it\u2019s hoped that the recorded works will debut at next year\u2019s fest. (Steve is creating this new material in conjunction with Chittenango\u2019s International L. Frank Baum and All Things Oz Historical Foundation; he poses here with longtime fest volunteer \u2013 and NEWS SONGS FROM OZ singer — Matthew Marc Baum)<\/p>\n\n\n

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The foregoing descriptions indicate only a percentage of the consistent joys at pretty much every festival turn. The aforementioned tenants of the \u201cCelebrity Tent\u201d were joined by a wondrous representation of other creatives in the traditional \u201cAuthors & Artists Alley\u201d on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons, and the honor roll for 2024 included (from left, below) Alan Lindsay, Tom Hutchison, Amber R. Duell, Julienne La Fleur, Cory Leonardo, and Jordan Riley Swan:<\/p>\n\n\n

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A little way up Genesee Street, the All Things Oz Museum was customarily crowded all weekend, whether the kids, parents, grandparents, relatives, or friends opted for formal tours or just plain awe-struck browsing. One of the new displays was unveiled during the annual pre-fest Thursday evening reception for members of the All Things Oz Museum. (Visit the All Things Oz Museum on Facebook for further information.) Those who gathered viewed a biographical placard for Betty Ann Bruno, as well as her freshly framed appearance costume, crafted after the one she wore as a seven-year-old \u201cMunchKid\u201d in the 1939 MGM movie. The garb in the frame is the outfit she had made for herself to don during her first appearance in Chittenango two years ago. At 90, Betty Ann was beyond indefatigable, beyond graciousness, beyond joy; she returned last year, and we\u2019d hoped for many more meetings to come. She passed, however, just two months after the 2023 festival, and her recreated Munchkin wardrobe from the movie was thereafter donated to the Museum by her husband, Craig Scheiner. He\u2019d accompanied her to OZ-Strav! both years and seen the joy she brought to everyone — all the while, I think, also witnessing the pleasure and recognition the event brought her. Below, you\u2019ll find the Betty Ann costume and poster, as well as a souvenir picture of the 2024 Museum festival window:<\/p>\n\n\n

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To attract tens of thousands of attendees each year, there are many other fascinations presented by the all-volunteer festival board and staff. The parade unquestionably takes pride of place, and the preponderance of rainbows never abates.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The special guests specifically ride forth as part of the joy-oz procession. In order below, you\u2019ll find Jane (doing a fine impression of her father\u2019s \u201cPut \u2018em up! Put \u2018em up!\u201d from the OZ motion picture); musician supreme Margoshes; \u201cRoyal Historian\u201d Gale; Gita (actually photographed on Sunday in the act of waving a genuinely fond farewell to the Ozian adulators); and Robert. The latter also served as Grand Marshal of that aspect of the weekend:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Not at all incidentally: One of Robert\u2019s many gracious contributions to the merriment was his sharing of a legitimate Academy Award \u201cOscar.\u201d Fans were invited to \u201cclutch\u201d the statuette in true, enviable Hollywood fashion; the recommended $5 donation collected per picture (per family) was then donated by Robert to the All Things Oz Museum. (Incidentally, no one was turned away –donation or not.) Posing here is the gleeful and eminently worthy Marc Baum, currently secretary to the Baum\/Oz Museum Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The festival\u2019s yearly competitions once again inspired enormous interest. More than 30 books were presented to winners of (and participants in) the all-ages \u201cRoyal Historian\u201d writing contest, and the costume contest saw virtually all THE WIZARD OF OZ characters on-hand in multiples! \u2013 plus Jack Pumpkinhead and others from Baum\u2019s later books. Here, from left, are a Lollipop Guild member (and escort), Dorothy, the Wizard himself (accompanied by the traditional State Fair\/Omaha balloon), the Cowardly Lion, another Dorothy, and Glinda the Good.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Popular and revered Buddy the Clown \u201cinaugurated\u201d a new area of fun on Saturday by setting up shop in Stickles Park at the head of the parade route. His antics delighted the audience, and he had Oz costume characters and diverse edible treats on hand to augment his own special theatrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And otherwise? Well (among everything else), people enjoyed a wide range of food, live music and performances, rides, vendors, craft booths, exhibits, Oz souvenirs and memorabilia, a mass of highly desirable items to attract bids across three different silent auctions (one per day), a Saturday pancake breakfast, and a \u201cMunchkin Mile Fun Run\u201d for kids and a \u201cToto\u2019s Toddler Trot\u201d for those even younger!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before saluting the two surprises that wrapped up the weekend, I very much want to say a blanket thank-you: to the thousands who made everything worthwhile \u2013 to the village and populace of Chittenango and its environs \u2013 AND to the scores and scores of men and women of all ages who (as mentioned above) VOLUNTEER to plan, plot, assemble, oversee, and make possible each year\u2019s Oz-Stravaganza\u00ae. A personal appreciation goes out to my current \u201cambassador,\u201d Judy Thompson Waite, who trundles me from and to the airport (the latter at 3:30 a.m.), as well as everywhere else in between. Her company is nonpareil!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was also fun \u201coff-campus\u201d across three days of promotional appearances for local media. Individually or semi-collectively, we special guests made appearances on two editions of the morning BRIDGE STREET television show; on Dinosaur radio with John Carucci; and then again onsite with John for a special half-hour podcast. Here\u2019s the ever-trusting Carucci (second from the left), flanked by Welch, Lahr, and Fricke on the latter occasion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And I also want to thank two genuinely splendid friends, whose companionship and audio\/visual tech support bolstered me in action (this year and in ages past), through three days of meet-and-greet-and-autographing, as well as three stints of evening programming. This photograph shows them three weeks after the festival, but — as they put up the new photograph backing in the Museum — they\u2019re obviously still giving their all for the . . . er, \u201cC\u2019Oz.\u201d (Ouch . . . .) Anyway, I cherish you, Colton Baum and Connor Ball:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Finally, the weekend was capped by Sunday afternoon\u2019s Grand Finale, which was made WICKED-ly splendid by two superior and virtual (or as we used to put it in my day, \u201cby remote\u201d!) surprise guests \u2013 exclusive to Oz-Stravaganza\u00ae this year. One of them is a Chittenango native, born and bred, and he grew up with the festival, meeting many of the MGM Munchkins when he was just a little \u201clocal-er.\u201d He had a very good reason for not being present in-person; while we screened his pretaped video, Ryan Mac was onstage at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City where he’s appearing in Broadway\u2019s WICKED eight times a week. He\u2019s been featured as Fiyero both there and on the road, as well as working in the ensemble and playing and \u201ccovering\u201d several other roles. Ry\u2019s past participation in the festival and his hometown greeting were both much appreciated, and he ardently commented on the effects Oz has had on his life and career. He\u2019s shown here in full WICKED regalia:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not much could top that, but one final video clip managed it \u2013 to the max. Delivering his personal message to the Oz-Stravaganza\u00ae crowd (much as he did last year), we were gratified and proud to present the Oscar, Grammy, and special Tony Award-winning composer\/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, whose songs in WICKED first began delighting theater audiences all over the world more than two decades ago. His \u201clive\u201d appearance at OZ-Strav! in 2018 is still regarded as the pinnacle of entertainment, and his 2024 video was a genuine and warming \u201cwave\u201d to all . . . while reminding us that the WICKED movie (Part One) opens in November!<\/p>\n\n\n

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If all of the foregoing doesn\u2019t convey the Ozziness, glee, and fellowship, I guess all I can offer is the traditional \u201cI guess you had to be there!\u201d 😊<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And THAT comes by way of saying that Oz-Stravaganza\u00ae 2025 is set and scheduled for June 6th<\/sup>-8th<\/sup>. Next year marks the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of the original Broadway production of THE WIZ \u2013 and we\u2019ll also be midway between the theatrical releases of the WICKED motion picture, Part One and Part Two. Meanwhile, there\u2019s a whole lot of other Oz news currently percolatin\u2019, and we hope that\u2019ll be sharable by next year at this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So please mark those calendars, prep the ruby slippers or the silver shoes, and plan to \u201cease on down the\u201d Yellow Brick Road(s) that permeate Chittenango, NY \u2013 where L. Frank Baum and (as a result) OZ all began!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many thanks, as ever, for reading!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

——-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P.S. The photos shown above were taken and provided by CaraMariePhotography (Official Oz-Stravaganza! Photographer) and \u2013 alphabetically! — Marc Baum, Carol Fargo, Julie Groder, Lindsay Morgan-Arnold, and Leah Schriber. My heartfelt gratitude to them for so-immortalizing this year\u2019s great, good fun — and magic. 😊<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P.P.S. Okay . . . one more picture, because it\u2019s my personal favorite. Several of us bozos (!) do our best to grab a photographic souvenir every year. These kids are people who travel miles and miles to volunteer, to aid, and to \u201cplay Oz,\u201d and they are marvelous personal and professional constituents. This year, it took us until the wrap party on Sunday night to all be in the same place at the same time — and find a leisure moment — but here we all are, with my heart \u00e0 them. (From left: Julie Groder, Louis Berrillo, Lindsay Morgan-Arnold, yours truly, and Leah Schriber!)<\/p>\n\n\n

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And a Happy, High-Spirited History of Last Month\u2019s Magic (Or: Oz-Stravaganza\u00ae 2024 😊) by John Fricke After 46 prior and virtually annual jubilations, what can be said about Oz-Stravaganza\u00ae #47 that hasn\u2019t been gratefully and proudly \u201csung out\u201d before? Perhaps the most grandiose AND accurate declaration is that the weekend of May 31st-June 2nd, 2024, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Ha-Ha-Ha! Ho-Ho-Ho!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27,3,8,21,30,29,2],"tags":[14,12,13,9,11,31,4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":564,"href":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533\/revisions\/564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allthingsoz.org\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}