1902 The WIZARD OF OZ Witch behind the moon 7" Brown Wax ZONOPHONE P 5628 inch

$

375

A series of great rare labels - from 1901 Victor Monarch and Climax Records through late 30s test and trial records:

Click this link for more great Jazz and Dance Records in my other listings!

The Wizard of Oz Fred R. Hamlin's Musical Extravaganza One of many promotional posters for the show, this one showing the Dance of All Nations Scene.

One of the First Zonophone 7" brown wax records, No P 5628

First Master 63, this was sold for less than three months, replaced by Master 757   in October 1903

Zonophone 63  Before Aug. 1903 
Zonophone 757  October 1903

First recording of the song from Frank Baum's 1902 Broadway Extravaganza

The witch behind the moon
The wizard of Oz
Weslyn; Albert


George Alexander (vocalist : baritone vocal) 
Description: Male vocal solo, with piano

Before Aug. 1903 New York, New York  Zonophone P 5628
Please see top of the page for condition


The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Although Baum is the credited bookwriter, Glen MacDonough was hired on as jokewriter after Baum had finished the script, and the book was largely ghostwritten by a man named Finnegan.[2] Much of the original music was by Paul Tietjens and has been mostly forgotten, although it was still well-remembered and in discussion at MGM in 1939 when the classic film version of the story was made.[3] The show's history is covered in more than 100 pages of the book Oz Before the Rainbow; L Frank Baum's 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' on stage and screen to 1939 by Mark Evan Swartz.[4]

The show premiered at the Chicago Grand Opera House[5] on June 16, 1902 and then went on tour throughout the upper Midwest before moving to the Majestic Theatre on Broadway on January 21, 1903, where it ran for 293 performances through October 3.[6] A second company was established, and the show went on tour from September 1903 through March 1904 [7] before returning to the Majestic with an updated "Edition De Luxe".[4] This version played through May and then moved on to the New York Theater for three weeks[6] before returning to Chicago for a five-week run to finish the season.

The two companies toured the country from August 1904 to April 1905, and again from September 1905 to May 1906. By this time, demand had slowed and the second company was disbanded on February 28, 1906. The main "Company A" had one final tour from August to November 1906 before the rights were sold to Hurtig and Seamon. The new production resumed the tour through May 1907, and continued for the 1907–08 and 1908–09 seasons. Finally, the show was released to stock theater companies in 1911