One of latest Oz productions that has created a loud buzz within the fandom is
The Chronicles of Oz, an audio play performed in episodes similar to a radio play platform (but for a 21st Century audience). Created by Crossover Productions, the play has had great success in its first season with its retelling of
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and is now on its second season tackling
The Marvelous Land of Oz.
I know what you're all thinking: "Erica, the first season has been out for a year. You're too late to write a review now." Well, guess what, cry babies, you're going to have to suck it up and sit through this one before I review MLoO because 1) I will be juxtaposing the two a bit, and 2) I just got around to listening to it last week when I started listening to podcasts all day while I work at my new job (it's mostly data entry, so I type along while listening to Oz plays and horror stories). So here it goes...
Warning: May Contain Spoilers!
I'm just going to get this out of the way first: It. Was. Fucking. Amazing. As I said before, the format reminded me of old-timey radio plays that utilized not only actors but also sound effects to help describe what is happening as well as to offer background noise, which gives depth to the story and makes you feel like you are listening to a memory or a recording that was done in the land of Oz. The storytelling alone was a unique spin on the familiar story, but the added modernized elements were what really made it for me.
For those of you who know me, I am very sarcastic, both verbally and in my writings. When I write my own Oz fiction, I include my sarcasm in it. The fact that this story was dripping with sarcasm made me want to cry with joy. The Tin Woodman alone spoke with so many sardonic witticisms that I started to worry that I was going to orgasm inside my office cubicle (given it was my second week on the job, I figured that would not be very professional). I'm getting wet thinking about him and his sexy British accent right now. Most of the time, the humor was so biting and engaged that when I wasn't worried about getting horny during the Tin Woodman's lines, I was worried about laughing out loud in the quiet office. While sarcasm was used generously throughout the six episodes, each character had their own style from the Guardians' quips at each other's expense to the Scarecrow occasionally having to tell someone to shut up when greeted with groans from his announcements about plans.
This brings us to the characterizations. The Dorothy Gale of this version is a teenager, but she is not the "Judy Garland"-type that you would expect her to be. Instead, she is cynical but strong. She serves as the first-person narrator of the story and retells the events that happened to her as well as what was happening in the Emerald City. While she uses an acidic attitude to get through Oz, she shows a more sympathetic side and adds more dimension to what we are used to seeing from the WWoO Dorothy. When escaping Munchkinland, she has an emotional breakdown the first chance she gets and (understandably) has a "what the fuck" moment where she is trying to wrap her head around what the hell just happened. This seemed particularly realistic to me since anyone would react the same way after literally dropping into the middle of a civil war (well, she was a catalyst but you know what I mean).
This contrast in Dorothy's character marks a significant difference in this retelling: portrayal. One of the things that made The Chronicles of Oz unique is how the characters are played. Not only is Dorothy more introverted and, for lack of a better word, teenager-y, but many other characters have had other dramatic transformations as well. The Tin Woodman is usually depicted as good-humored and warm; here, he is stubborn, annoyed, and most of the time hides his emotions behind sharp remarks (He's so cute when he gets like that! 😊). The Cowardly Lion remains cowardly for the most part, but his relationship with Dorothy is dramatically different than in the books. The Wizard is a bit more of a dick.
As opposed to Dorothy and a couple of the other characters, the Scarecrow is the same as he is in other versions of Oz retellings, just a little different. The Scarecrow happened to be one of my favorite characters in this adaptations. He is portrayed as a goofball and is often called an idiot by his companions. I compared the Scarecrow here to Caboose from the web series
Red vs. Blue, though while Caboose is an actual idiot, the Scarecrow is just scatterbrained. Frankly, I want to take this character, give him a hug, and then murder anyone who tries to hurt him. Other characters that remain true to their original forms (to some extent) include Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West.
One of the other major differences in this story is that it tells what was going on in the Emerald City while Dorothy was making her way there with her companions (can't really call them friends here). After the Wicked Witch of the East is "assassinated" (read as "had a house dropped on her"), a civil war breaks out in Munchkinland. The only thing missing was someone shouting, "VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!"
While Dorothy is getting the hell out of there, it turns out that the war has created a huge cluster-fuck in the Emerald City. The Guardians, consisting of Jellia (Pronounced Jel-I-ah, much to my annoyance), Omby Amby, and Faramant, are pretty much the Wizard's PR team and are running around to make sure the war doesn't come to the city. These three have very minor roles in the Baum books (they aren't even given names in WWoO), but here they are given important titles and roles so that the audience is given a look into the government that runs Oz. Their roles in the story add a layer of political intrigue as well as an explanation to how the Wizard ran Oz without being discovered as a humbug for so long.
The traditional story deviates in many other parts, but unlike
The Hobbit movie trilogy these deviations are there to enhance and not just for the sake of making the new version different. The one part I could complain about is the beginning of episode 5 where Quox the dragon appears and Dorothy has to figure out how to get rid of him. The point of this plot point was to introduce Dorothy's use of the Golden Cap, but since the Wicked Witch's former henchman, Ugu, explained how the cap worked, I feel that the dragon sequence was unnecessary.
My only other complaint is that the end seemed rushed. The Wizard is gone, the Cowardly Lion becomes the King of the Jungle at the same time they get rid of the Hammer-heads, and then Glinda basically said, "All the plot holes that happened were because of me". She also throws in a healthy amount of foreshadowing that would seem almost condescending to those who have read the books, but helpful to those who haven't.
By the end of the first episode, I understood why this audio play was so popular with Oz fans. It is a familiar story but it's also seems new. You know the overarching story but you still listen with anticipation for what will happen next. The humor will make you gasp for air, the and the new dimensions that have been added will make you think "This is not the Oz I'm familiar with, but it is at the same time."
If you haven't listened to the podcast yet or you want to listen to it again, here is the link:
http://chroniclesofoz.com/elementor-363/
Also, if you get through this whole review and want to add your thoughts or debate mine (please don't hesitate to do so as long as it's constructive), please write a comment!
And I promise that the next reviews for
The Chronicles of Oz will be shorter as I plan to go by episode.
