The Woggle-Bug (musical)
Encyclopedia
The Woggle-Bug is a musical
based on The Marvelous Land of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
, with book and lyrics by the author and music by Frederic Chapin
that opened June 18, 1905 at the Garrick Theatre in Chicago
under the direction of Frank Smithson, a Shubert Organization employee. The musical was a major critical and commercial failure, running less than a month. Chapin, however, had proven quite saleable to the publisher, M. Witmark and Sons
, and many of the songs were published. The music director was Frank Pallma. The surviving sheet music was published by Hungry Tiger Press
in 2002.
in 1903, Baum set out immediately to write a sequel, The Marvelous Land of Oz
; Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow
and the Tin Woodman
, which was published in 1904. The book was dedicated to the stars of the musical, Fred A. Stone and David C. Montgomery, who had been made majors stars by the show. However, The Wizard of Oz was still running, and Montgomery & Stone refused to leave it to do an untested sequel.
As a result, the story had to be heavily overhauled to eliminate the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, as the novel had excluded Dorothy Gale
and the Cowardly Lion
, neither of whom were major draws in the stage show. The Woggle-Bug is made the driving force of the story, when he had been introduced fairly late in the novel (Chapter 12 of 24), and did not make a major contribution to plot, only to characterization. His introduction is moved to the beginning of the play, and he is given a subplot about chasing after a checked dress with which he has fallen in love. The Scarecrow is replaced with a Regent named Sir Richard Spud, and the Emerald City
is renamed "the City of Jewels," although it is still stated (if only in the lyrics) to be set in Oz
. Glinda
is replaced with Maetta from The Magical Monarch of Mo
, as she had appeared in several versions of the earlier musical.
Unlike The Wizard of Oz, no songs were subsequently interpolated, although the show did not have a long enough run for that to be likely. Two of the songs were not originally written for the musical, "Sweet Matilda" and "Soldiers." They were songs that Chapin had composed with lyricist Arthur Gillespie prior to his collaboration with Baum. Gillespie, however, was denied credit, and Baum is credited as lyricist for both songs.
It was apparently retooled at several points. The program printed in the Hungry Tiger Press sheet music collection comes from late in the run--"The Equine Paradox" is not mentioned, and the play is presented in two acts rather than three.
The novel was later adapted as The Marvelous Land of Oz
in 1981 with a book by Thomas W. Olson, lyrics by Gary Briggle, and music by Richard A. Dworsky
.
Tip exits Mombi
's hut, dragging a wooden form of a man behind him, props him up on a central shock of corn, and begins carving a face upon it. (He is unfamiliar with Jack O'Lanterns and does not open or empty the pumpkin, but came to the idea himself.) When he realizes that Mombi is coming, he hides behind a large shock of corn. Mombi is at first frightened, as Tip intended, but then she decides to test a box of Powder of Life. The Pumpkinhead comes to life, and the Harvest Sprites bow to him, and while Mombi dances with glee that the Powder works, Tip takes the Pumpkinhead by the hand and leads him away.
The schoolchildren enter the classroom of Professor Knowitt and do their introductory exercises and school song, "My Native Fairyland". The Professor finds a Woggle-Bug on the floor and the children all want to see him. With a magic magnifying glass, the Professor projects the Woggle-Bug onto a screen, from which he steps down and introduces himself as "MR. H.M. WOGGLE-BUG T.E." Professor Knowitt is frightened and tries to get him to go back up on the screen. The Woggle-Bug tries to impress the Professor with his knowledge, but delivers such malapropisms as "patties" for "patois
," following each with a pun.
Mombi enters and inquires if anyone at the school has seen Tip. The Woggle-Bug says no. She mistakes him for a masquerader, but he introduces himself and says that he is at her service. She asks him for help, telling him Tip has run away with the Pumpkinhead, which he mistakes for a romance. She tells him that they have stolen the Powder of Life, worth a million dollars an ounce, because it can bring anything it touches to life. The Woggle-Bug suggests trying it on the Democratic Party
. The Professor then insists that the Woggle-Bug is his property to prevent him to go, and the Woggle-Bug retorts that if he is held after school that his parents will bite the Professor.
Five peasant women, who speak as ungrammatical hick
s (e.g., "You bet we is."), Prissy, Jessica, Flinders, Melinda, and Bettina enter looking for General Jinjur
. The Woggle-Bug falls immediately in love with Prissy's checked dress. The Professor and the Woggle-Bug try to dissaude the girls from war, the Woggle-Bug saying that "it is better to be a Maud Muller
than a Carrie Nation
." He tries to take the dress from her, and when Mombi reminds him that he promised to help her find Tip and the Pumpkinhead, he tells her that that was before he "knew the pangs of love."
Jinjur enters, and all bow to her. She asks Mombi to join her Army of Revolt, which is encompassed "of gallant milkmaids and scullery ladies" who seek to wrest power from the men who run the City of Jewels. Mombi refuses, but says she will use her magic to aid them in exchange for getting Tip back when the conquest is over. She asks who else will assist them, and Professor Knowitt agrees. The five peasant ladies beg to join her army, Prissy promising to defend her "till death, then I'll resign." Unsure that they will make a contribution, Jinjur calls them the "Awkward Squad" and names Prissy their captain.
Knowitt and Jinjur reminisce about how they attended that very school. Jinjur remembers how Tommy Bangs courted her and called her "Sweet Matilda", and Knowitt reminds her that he attempted to court her, too.
Jack Pumpkinhead
awakes to the sound of an alarm clock, tries to mess with it in denial, then wakes Tip, who grudgingly accepts that Jack calls him "Papa." Tip says that he dreamed that he was once the Princess Ozma
who ruled over the City of Jewels that they now sit before. He explains to Jack why he can't just go to the city gates and claim that he is Princess Ozma, because he isn't just now, having been enchanted by Mombi. They exit to search for an entrance to the city less grand than the one they are before, and as they leave, the morning workers enter delivering their song, "Ting-a-Ling-a-Ling". Unable to find another entrance, they decide to steal into the city by climbing over a wall, making use of a nearby saw-horse
. Jack convinces Tip that since they are both made of wood, and Tip has the Powder of Life, that the horse should be alive, too. Tip sprinkles the Saw-Horse, who springs immediately to life, but Tip has to carve him ears and put them on so that the horse can hear him. Jack suggests that having the horse will help Tip become a princess, but laments that she will get married and leave him when that happens. Tip says that when he was a princess, he had lots of lovers, one of whom almost won her, in spite of "mamma's watchfulness" and tells the story in "My Little Maid of Oz".
The Regent and Lord Stunt enter, followed by guards and courtiers. The Regent longs for simplicity and is immediately charmed when Tip addresses him with, "Hello, Mr. Regent," rather than by some grand address and says that he and Jack must be disciples of "the great Vogner
." Tip explains to the Regent that he was Princess Ozma, and the Regent, eager to retire, promises to find Mombi and force her to change Tip back into Ozma. Until then, the Regent invites Tip to share the palace, leaving Jack behind to meet the arriving Woggle-Bug. After comic banter and an unidentified song and dance, Mombi enters wearing the checked dress, and the Woggle-Bug begins to woo her. He then exits to aid the conquest, the two blowing kisses at one another. Mombi can't remember when anyone ever loved her before. She says it makes her feel naughty just thinking of it, as if she were caught writing letters to Beatrice Barebacks. She then laments that "The Hobgoblins" would stop associating with her were she to get married, then exits.
Prissy enters with the soldiers, and Jack thinks that fighters are married people when Prissy explains what they are doing. Mombi re-enters and tries to catch Jack, promising not to hurt him. The Regent, Stunt, Tip, Woggle-Bug, and Saw-Horse enter. The Regent pushes the Woggle-Bug away from Mombi and commands her to restore Tip to his proper form. She calls him a fool because it will cause him to lose his job. He threatens her with execution, but the Army of Revolt enters and begins its conquest of the city. Prissy, "in an absurd uniform," carries a banner declaring "Give us Victory, or Give us Fudge," while other women have more straightforward, if ungrammatical, banners of protest. Professor Knowitt wheels in a commissary cart filled with huge packages of fudge. "Soldiers". The Regent tries to talk Jinjur and Prissy out of war, to no avail. The Woggle-Bug retreats from the charge along with the Regent, Tip, and Jack, and after the battle, the city burns, the four are taken prisoner, and the soldiers chant "The Paean
of Victory".
Jinjur sits on the throne with her feet stretched out on a stool. Servants pass chewing cum to the soldiers who now play games. When a fight breaks out among the girls, she orders them to stop fighting, and to put away their games if they cannot play them without fighting. The women sing the chewing gum song, "To the Victors Belong the Spoils". Jinjur scolds Prissy for hooking her uniform from the back, calling her a turncoat. Prissy then realizes that she can't remember which house she has chosen as her own and sings "I'll Get Another Place". Prissy complains that she tried to bathe in champagne as advised by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
, but the Saw-Horse pulled the plug and she had to bathe in mineral water instead. Jinjur gives Prissy a medal, then orders the soldiers to clean up their games. The men then enter sweeping, dusting, and wheeling baby carts and sing "The Household Brigade".
Bettina admits the Regent, now a slave, whom Jinjur fancies to marry, but he wants a retiring life in the country, and would not be interested in her unless she resumed being a milkmaid. She decides to lock him up in a luxurious room until he is willing to be hers. Jack and Tip enter, Jack having been made a baker's man, and the two sing "Patty-Cake, Patty-Cake, Baker's Man" and exit. Mombi enters and demands Jack and Tip from Jinjur, insisting that she is responsible for their victory and that Jinjur is her slave. She threatens to change Tip back into Ozma and lose Jinjur the throne. Jinjur repeatedly calls Mombi beautiful to get her to destroy Tip, Jack, and the Woggle-Bug. Mombi does not want to kill Tip, but finally agrees. Jack enters, and Mombi promises to spare him if he obeys her. She orders him to stay put, and when she leaves, he sings "Jack O'Lantern", then exits.
When Mombi returns with Jinjur, she promises to feed the Regent a love potion. At Jinjur's command, the Army brings in Tip and the Woggle-Bug, and the Awkward Squad brings in Jack. Mombi says that she will transform Tip into a marble statue to prevent him from further declamations that he is Ozma, have the pumpkinhead turned into a pie and served to the army with cheese, then orders in Aunt Dinah, the cook (a mammy
caricature played by a man), and demands the Woggle-Bug to be cooked Newberg
style on toast. When Dinah arrives, she is wearing the dress, and the Woggle-Bug makes his move. Dinah thinks that he is a lobster and rejects him, and he sings his lament, "There's a Lady-Bug A'Waiting For Me", and all exit.
Prissy and Knowitt enter and begin romancing, when they are interrupted by Woggle-Bug complaining that he is lost without the love of his life. Prissy wants Knowitt to squash the bug, but he refuses, and offers to save him from Dinah by reducing him. He refuses. Prissy says that to save himself from heartbreak, he should cut a piece of the dress with shears and wear it by his heart. After the Woggle-Bug leaves, Knowitt asks Prissy to marry him, and they sing "The Doll and the Jumping-Jack" (a song about lovers forced to part by outside circumstances) and exit.
The Woggle-Bug, Tip, and Jack build The Gump to escape. Jinjur, Mombi, Prissy, and Knowitt enter as they leave by air, but none will follow Mombi's orders to stop them. Tip says they are going to the palace of Maetta the Sorceress. Mombi does an incantation around the cauldron, joined by other witches and followed by a dance of black cats.
s with the faces of the Army of Revolt, who move and block their path whichever way they go. The Woggle-Bug demonstrates that his father was a wizard and summons a flood to stop them. When the flood subsides, they see Maetta's palace in the distance outlined by electric lights.
Maetta's attendants bring in the prisoners, with Jinjur dressed as a milkmaid and Prissy wearing the checked skirt and a coat covered in medals. Maetta orders Athlos to cast Mombi into the dungeon, the latter spewing insults at the others as they drag her away. When Maetta takes away Jinjur for her punishment, Jack wishes that they all had Saw-Horses, and the Woggle-Bug works his magic, summoning six saw-horses for the number, "The Equine Paradox" (Tip, Woggle-Bug, Jack, Regent, Prissy, Professor).
Maetta returns, and orders Prissy to become a housemaid, and her military honors stripped. Maetta's attendants do so forcefully, as Prissy screams and struggles, then they march her off. Maetta disbands Jinjur's army and forces her to become a milkmaid. Jinjur protests that Tip can't be queen, so Maetta has him rest his head on her lap, singing "The Sandman is Near" to him, and Ozma emerges during the second chorus. The Regent, seeing Jinjur as a milkmaid, wishes to marry her, and she agrees. Ozma promises to make Jack her prime minister
. When the Professor announces that he and Prissy are to be married, Maetta decides this is sufficient punishment for them. The two go off, but the Woggle-Bug seizes Prissy's skirt, demanding it be his. She tears it off and throws it in his face. He then puts it on as a vest under his coat and sings a reprise of "Mr. H.M. Woggle-Bug, T.E." with the ensemble. As the song concludes, an attendant places a large tin can, labeled "Canned Pumpkin" over Jack's head.
Gleaners who join the Army as the "Awkward Squad":
Harvest Sprites
School Girls
School Boys
Ice Men
Milk Men
Messenger Boys
Postmen
Courtiers:
Hobgoblins
The Army of Revolt
Household Brigade
Lady-Bugs
Dolls
Jumping-Jacks
Chrysanthemums
Black Cats
Witches
Hungry Tiger Press
published the complete sheet music in 2002 with an introduction, notes, and appendix by David Maxine, along with four songs from Chapin and Guy F. Steely's The Storks, the 1902 show whose popularity led Witmark to publish so many songs from such an unsuccessful production. This is not the complete score, only a complete collection of published sheet music from Witmark. Numbers 1, 2, 5, 9, 13, 14, 18, 19, and 21 are not included, as they were not published as song sheets and are not known to survive. Witmark claimed to have published a complete piano score, but there is no evidence that this was ever done. Although the script survives, Hungry Tiger Press elected not to include it.
described the play as "entertainment pap for the little ones," and "smothered in a simplicity in which the child mind will revel, and before which the adult mind will nod." Like many critics, he found Mabel Hite to be the standout performance, calling her a "miniature Marie Dressler
." He found the screen projection of the rain of cats and dogs to look like corpses and lambasted the moment of toy balloons shot through a cannon. Illustrating his article with a head shot of Mace, he found him "as a comedian, hopelessly buried." He desrcibed Hal Godfrey as "a very fair imitator of Stone's scarecrow." He liked Blanche Deyo, describing her as "inspiringly graceful." He gave a sentence of light praise each to Helen Allyn, Sidney Deane, Sidney Bracey, Beatrice McKenzie, and Eddie Cunningham. His ultimate conclusion: "The Woggle-Bug, taken all in all, represents an earnest effort to provide an extravaganza free from objectionable feature. The music is an attractive virtue, and reawakens the hope that some day Composer Chapin will have a really good book to work with."
The 2009 film, Jekyll & Canada, written and directed by someone credited only as X, includes the song, "The Hobgoblins" on its soundtrack.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
based on The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published on July 5, 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This and the next...
by L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, with book and lyrics by the author and music by Frederic Chapin
Frederic Chapin
Frederic Chapin was an American composer and writer best known for his work with L. Frank Baum on The Woggle-Bug, a 1905 musical based on Baum's novel, The Marvelous Land of Oz. His popular work The Storks with Guy F. Steeley led to his work with Baum, as he was recommended by M. Witmark & Sons,...
that opened June 18, 1905 at the Garrick Theatre in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
under the direction of Frank Smithson, a Shubert Organization employee. The musical was a major critical and commercial failure, running less than a month. Chapin, however, had proven quite saleable to the publisher, M. Witmark and Sons
Tams-Witmark
Tams-Witmark is an American company that provides to professional and amateur theaters license to Broadway musical scripts and scores. Among the many notable properties handled by the company are Kiss Me, Kate; My Fair Lady; Gypsy; Bye Bye Birdie; Hello, Dolly!; Oliver!; Cabaret; Man of La Mancha...
, and many of the songs were published. The music director was Frank Pallma. The surviving sheet music was published by Hungry Tiger Press
Hungry Tiger Press
Hungry Tiger Press is an American specialty publisher of books, compact discs, comic books and graphic novels, focused on the works of L. Frank Baum, other authors of Oz books, and related Americana. Perhaps most notably, the Press has published rare, early, long-neglected dramatic and musical...
in 2002.
Background
After the success of The Wizard of Oz on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1903, Baum set out immediately to write a sequel, The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published on July 5, 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This and the next...
; Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
and the Tin Woodman
Tin Woodman
The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...
, which was published in 1904. The book was dedicated to the stars of the musical, Fred A. Stone and David C. Montgomery, who had been made majors stars by the show. However, The Wizard of Oz was still running, and Montgomery & Stone refused to leave it to do an untested sequel.
As a result, the story had to be heavily overhauled to eliminate the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, as the novel had excluded Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
and the Cowardly Lion
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
, neither of whom were major draws in the stage show. The Woggle-Bug is made the driving force of the story, when he had been introduced fairly late in the novel (Chapter 12 of 24), and did not make a major contribution to plot, only to characterization. His introduction is moved to the beginning of the play, and he is given a subplot about chasing after a checked dress with which he has fallen in love. The Scarecrow is replaced with a Regent named Sir Richard Spud, and the Emerald City
Emerald City
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
is renamed "the City of Jewels," although it is still stated (if only in the lyrics) to be set in Oz
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
. Glinda
Glinda
Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
is replaced with Maetta from The Magical Monarch of Mo
The Magical Monarch of Mo
The Surprising Adventures of the Magical Monarch of Mo and His People is the first full-length children's fantasy book by L. Frank Baum...
, as she had appeared in several versions of the earlier musical.
Unlike The Wizard of Oz, no songs were subsequently interpolated, although the show did not have a long enough run for that to be likely. Two of the songs were not originally written for the musical, "Sweet Matilda" and "Soldiers." They were songs that Chapin had composed with lyricist Arthur Gillespie prior to his collaboration with Baum. Gillespie, however, was denied credit, and Baum is credited as lyricist for both songs.
It was apparently retooled at several points. The program printed in the Hungry Tiger Press sheet music collection comes from late in the run--"The Equine Paradox" is not mentioned, and the play is presented in two acts rather than three.
The novel was later adapted as The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz (musical)
The Marvelous Land of Oz is a musical play by Thomas W. Olson , Gary Briggle , and Richard Dworsky , based on the novel by L. Frank Baum...
in 1981 with a book by Thomas W. Olson, lyrics by Gary Briggle, and music by Richard A. Dworsky
Richard Dworsky
Richard A. Dworsky is a pianist, a composer, and appears weekly on the A Prairie Home Companion public radio variety show from American Public Media as the resident pianist and band leader...
.
Prologue
A cornfield, with the profile of Mombi's hut at right, in a purple-tinted farm landscape filled with pumpkins.Tip exits Mombi
Mombi
Mombi is a wicked old witch from L. Frank Baum Oz Books. She appears in the book The Marvelous Land of Oz and is alluded to in other works. Of all the wicked witches in L...
's hut, dragging a wooden form of a man behind him, props him up on a central shock of corn, and begins carving a face upon it. (He is unfamiliar with Jack O'Lanterns and does not open or empty the pumpkin, but came to the idea himself.) When he realizes that Mombi is coming, he hides behind a large shock of corn. Mombi is at first frightened, as Tip intended, but then she decides to test a box of Powder of Life. The Pumpkinhead comes to life, and the Harvest Sprites bow to him, and while Mombi dances with glee that the Powder works, Tip takes the Pumpkinhead by the hand and leads him away.
Scene 1
Interior of a country school houseThe schoolchildren enter the classroom of Professor Knowitt and do their introductory exercises and school song, "My Native Fairyland". The Professor finds a Woggle-Bug on the floor and the children all want to see him. With a magic magnifying glass, the Professor projects the Woggle-Bug onto a screen, from which he steps down and introduces himself as "MR. H.M. WOGGLE-BUG T.E." Professor Knowitt is frightened and tries to get him to go back up on the screen. The Woggle-Bug tries to impress the Professor with his knowledge, but delivers such malapropisms as "patties" for "patois
Patois
Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant...
," following each with a pun.
Mombi enters and inquires if anyone at the school has seen Tip. The Woggle-Bug says no. She mistakes him for a masquerader, but he introduces himself and says that he is at her service. She asks him for help, telling him Tip has run away with the Pumpkinhead, which he mistakes for a romance. She tells him that they have stolen the Powder of Life, worth a million dollars an ounce, because it can bring anything it touches to life. The Woggle-Bug suggests trying it on the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. The Professor then insists that the Woggle-Bug is his property to prevent him to go, and the Woggle-Bug retorts that if he is held after school that his parents will bite the Professor.
Five peasant women, who speak as ungrammatical hick
Yokel
Yokel is a derogatory term referring to the stereotype of unsophisticated country people.-Stereotype:In the US, it is used to describe someone living in rural areas...
s (e.g., "You bet we is."), Prissy, Jessica, Flinders, Melinda, and Bettina enter looking for General Jinjur
Jinjur
Jinjur is the main antagonist of The Marvelous Land of Oz. She is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum and his successors. She first appears in The Marvelous Land of Oz as a self-appointed general leading an "Army of Revolt"—an all-woman force seeking to end the reign of the Scarecrow and...
. The Woggle-Bug falls immediately in love with Prissy's checked dress. The Professor and the Woggle-Bug try to dissaude the girls from war, the Woggle-Bug saying that "it is better to be a Maud Muller
Maud Muller
"Maud Muller" is a poem from 1856 written by John Greenleaf Whittier . It is about a beautiful maid named Maud Muller. One day, while harvesting hay, she meets a judge from the local town. Each is smitten with the other. The judge thinks that he would like to be a local farmer married to Maud,...
than a Carrie Nation
Carrie Nation
Carrie Amelia Moore Nation was a member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol in pre-Prohibition America. She is particularly noteworthy for promoting her viewpoint through vandalism. On many occasions Nation would enter an alcohol-serving establishment and attack the bar with a hatchet...
." He tries to take the dress from her, and when Mombi reminds him that he promised to help her find Tip and the Pumpkinhead, he tells her that that was before he "knew the pangs of love."
Jinjur enters, and all bow to her. She asks Mombi to join her Army of Revolt, which is encompassed "of gallant milkmaids and scullery ladies" who seek to wrest power from the men who run the City of Jewels. Mombi refuses, but says she will use her magic to aid them in exchange for getting Tip back when the conquest is over. She asks who else will assist them, and Professor Knowitt agrees. The five peasant ladies beg to join her army, Prissy promising to defend her "till death, then I'll resign." Unsure that they will make a contribution, Jinjur calls them the "Awkward Squad" and names Prissy their captain.
Knowitt and Jinjur reminisce about how they attended that very school. Jinjur remembers how Tommy Bangs courted her and called her "Sweet Matilda", and Knowitt reminds her that he attempted to court her, too.
Scene 2
"Outside the Gates of the City of Jewels"Jack Pumpkinhead
Jack Pumpkinhead
Jack Pumpkinhead is a fictional character from the Oz book series by L. Frank Baum.-In Baum:Jack first appeared in The Marvelous Land of Oz. Jack's tall figure is made from tree limbs and jointed with wooden pegs...
awakes to the sound of an alarm clock, tries to mess with it in denial, then wakes Tip, who grudgingly accepts that Jack calls him "Papa." Tip says that he dreamed that he was once the Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and L...
who ruled over the City of Jewels that they now sit before. He explains to Jack why he can't just go to the city gates and claim that he is Princess Ozma, because he isn't just now, having been enchanted by Mombi. They exit to search for an entrance to the city less grand than the one they are before, and as they leave, the morning workers enter delivering their song, "Ting-a-Ling-a-Ling". Unable to find another entrance, they decide to steal into the city by climbing over a wall, making use of a nearby saw-horse
Sawhorse
A sawhorse is a beam with four legs used to support a board or plank for sawing. A pair of sawhorses can support a plank, forming a scaffold. In certain circles, it is also known as a mule.The sawhorse may be designed to fold for storage...
. Jack convinces Tip that since they are both made of wood, and Tip has the Powder of Life, that the horse should be alive, too. Tip sprinkles the Saw-Horse, who springs immediately to life, but Tip has to carve him ears and put them on so that the horse can hear him. Jack suggests that having the horse will help Tip become a princess, but laments that she will get married and leave him when that happens. Tip says that when he was a princess, he had lots of lovers, one of whom almost won her, in spite of "mamma's watchfulness" and tells the story in "My Little Maid of Oz".
The Regent and Lord Stunt enter, followed by guards and courtiers. The Regent longs for simplicity and is immediately charmed when Tip addresses him with, "Hello, Mr. Regent," rather than by some grand address and says that he and Jack must be disciples of "the great Vogner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
." Tip explains to the Regent that he was Princess Ozma, and the Regent, eager to retire, promises to find Mombi and force her to change Tip back into Ozma. Until then, the Regent invites Tip to share the palace, leaving Jack behind to meet the arriving Woggle-Bug. After comic banter and an unidentified song and dance, Mombi enters wearing the checked dress, and the Woggle-Bug begins to woo her. He then exits to aid the conquest, the two blowing kisses at one another. Mombi can't remember when anyone ever loved her before. She says it makes her feel naughty just thinking of it, as if she were caught writing letters to Beatrice Barebacks. She then laments that "The Hobgoblins" would stop associating with her were she to get married, then exits.
Prissy enters with the soldiers, and Jack thinks that fighters are married people when Prissy explains what they are doing. Mombi re-enters and tries to catch Jack, promising not to hurt him. The Regent, Stunt, Tip, Woggle-Bug, and Saw-Horse enter. The Regent pushes the Woggle-Bug away from Mombi and commands her to restore Tip to his proper form. She calls him a fool because it will cause him to lose his job. He threatens her with execution, but the Army of Revolt enters and begins its conquest of the city. Prissy, "in an absurd uniform," carries a banner declaring "Give us Victory, or Give us Fudge," while other women have more straightforward, if ungrammatical, banners of protest. Professor Knowitt wheels in a commissary cart filled with huge packages of fudge. "Soldiers". The Regent tries to talk Jinjur and Prissy out of war, to no avail. The Woggle-Bug retreats from the charge along with the Regent, Tip, and Jack, and after the battle, the city burns, the four are taken prisoner, and the soldiers chant "The Paean
Paean
A paean is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice...
of Victory".
Scene 1
"The Courtyard of the Royal Palace of Princess Ozma"Jinjur sits on the throne with her feet stretched out on a stool. Servants pass chewing cum to the soldiers who now play games. When a fight breaks out among the girls, she orders them to stop fighting, and to put away their games if they cannot play them without fighting. The women sing the chewing gum song, "To the Victors Belong the Spoils". Jinjur scolds Prissy for hooking her uniform from the back, calling her a turncoat. Prissy then realizes that she can't remember which house she has chosen as her own and sings "I'll Get Another Place". Prissy complains that she tried to bathe in champagne as advised by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. Her best-known work was Poems of Passion. Her most enduring work was " Soiltude", which contains the lines: "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone"...
, but the Saw-Horse pulled the plug and she had to bathe in mineral water instead. Jinjur gives Prissy a medal, then orders the soldiers to clean up their games. The men then enter sweeping, dusting, and wheeling baby carts and sing "The Household Brigade".
Bettina admits the Regent, now a slave, whom Jinjur fancies to marry, but he wants a retiring life in the country, and would not be interested in her unless she resumed being a milkmaid. She decides to lock him up in a luxurious room until he is willing to be hers. Jack and Tip enter, Jack having been made a baker's man, and the two sing "Patty-Cake, Patty-Cake, Baker's Man" and exit. Mombi enters and demands Jack and Tip from Jinjur, insisting that she is responsible for their victory and that Jinjur is her slave. She threatens to change Tip back into Ozma and lose Jinjur the throne. Jinjur repeatedly calls Mombi beautiful to get her to destroy Tip, Jack, and the Woggle-Bug. Mombi does not want to kill Tip, but finally agrees. Jack enters, and Mombi promises to spare him if he obeys her. She orders him to stay put, and when she leaves, he sings "Jack O'Lantern", then exits.
When Mombi returns with Jinjur, she promises to feed the Regent a love potion. At Jinjur's command, the Army brings in Tip and the Woggle-Bug, and the Awkward Squad brings in Jack. Mombi says that she will transform Tip into a marble statue to prevent him from further declamations that he is Ozma, have the pumpkinhead turned into a pie and served to the army with cheese, then orders in Aunt Dinah, the cook (a mammy
Mammy archetype
The mammy archetype is perhaps one of the best-known archetypes of African American women. She is often portrayed within a narrative framework or other imagery as a domestic servant of African descent, generally good-natured, often overweight, very dark skinned, middle aged, and loud...
caricature played by a man), and demands the Woggle-Bug to be cooked Newberg
Lobster Newberg
Lobster Newburg is an American seafood dish made from lobster, butter, cream, cognac, sherry, eggs, and Cayenne pepper. The dish was invented by Ben Wenberg, a sea captain in the fruit trade. He demonstrated the dish at Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York City to the manager, Charles Delmonico, in...
style on toast. When Dinah arrives, she is wearing the dress, and the Woggle-Bug makes his move. Dinah thinks that he is a lobster and rejects him, and he sings his lament, "There's a Lady-Bug A'Waiting For Me", and all exit.
Prissy and Knowitt enter and begin romancing, when they are interrupted by Woggle-Bug complaining that he is lost without the love of his life. Prissy wants Knowitt to squash the bug, but he refuses, and offers to save him from Dinah by reducing him. He refuses. Prissy says that to save himself from heartbreak, he should cut a piece of the dress with shears and wear it by his heart. After the Woggle-Bug leaves, Knowitt asks Prissy to marry him, and they sing "The Doll and the Jumping-Jack" (a song about lovers forced to part by outside circumstances) and exit.
The Woggle-Bug, Tip, and Jack build The Gump to escape. Jinjur, Mombi, Prissy, and Knowitt enter as they leave by air, but none will follow Mombi's orders to stop them. Tip says they are going to the palace of Maetta the Sorceress. Mombi does an incantation around the cauldron, joined by other witches and followed by a dance of black cats.
Scene 2
Dumped in a pasture by The Gump, the three, deciding that they are safe for the moment, reminisce about "The Things We Learned at School", then exit hurriedly when a storm begins. Soon after, they are intimidated by a chorus of chrysanthemumChrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
s with the faces of the Army of Revolt, who move and block their path whichever way they go. The Woggle-Bug demonstrates that his father was a wizard and summons a flood to stop them. When the flood subsides, they see Maetta's palace in the distance outlined by electric lights.
Act III
Maetta the Sorceress is seated on the throne. Her talisman tells her that strangers have arrived. She has her favorite page, Athlos, admit them. Tip kneels before Maetta, pleading to be restored to his true form. After Tip reiterates the plot, Maetta has Athlos send fairies to bring Jinjur, Mombi, Prissy, and Knowitt to the palace. Maetta asks what the others want from her, and Jack says that he wants a way to preserve his head, and the Woggle-Bug, the dress. The Saw-Horse then chases the Regent into Maetta's palace. The Regent says says that he escaped from Jinjur aboard the Saw-Horse, who then tried to kick his brains out for suggesting he teach him about the Simple Life. He explains that he would have Jinjur as Mrs. Spud, but not with himself as Mr. Jinjur.Maetta's attendants bring in the prisoners, with Jinjur dressed as a milkmaid and Prissy wearing the checked skirt and a coat covered in medals. Maetta orders Athlos to cast Mombi into the dungeon, the latter spewing insults at the others as they drag her away. When Maetta takes away Jinjur for her punishment, Jack wishes that they all had Saw-Horses, and the Woggle-Bug works his magic, summoning six saw-horses for the number, "The Equine Paradox" (Tip, Woggle-Bug, Jack, Regent, Prissy, Professor).
Maetta returns, and orders Prissy to become a housemaid, and her military honors stripped. Maetta's attendants do so forcefully, as Prissy screams and struggles, then they march her off. Maetta disbands Jinjur's army and forces her to become a milkmaid. Jinjur protests that Tip can't be queen, so Maetta has him rest his head on her lap, singing "The Sandman is Near" to him, and Ozma emerges during the second chorus. The Regent, seeing Jinjur as a milkmaid, wishes to marry her, and she agrees. Ozma promises to make Jack her prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
. When the Professor announces that he and Prissy are to be married, Maetta decides this is sufficient punishment for them. The two go off, but the Woggle-Bug seizes Prissy's skirt, demanding it be his. She tears it off and throws it in his face. He then puts it on as a vest under his coat and sings a reprise of "Mr. H.M. Woggle-Bug, T.E." with the ensemble. As the song concludes, an attendant places a large tin can, labeled "Canned Pumpkin" over Jack's head.
Cast
- OzmaPrincess OzmaPrincess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and L...
, Princess Royal of the City of Jewels, who has been transformed by the witch into a boy known by the name of "Tip"...Blanche DeyoBlanche DeyoBlanche Lillian Deyo was an American Broadway actress and vaudeville dancer of the early 20th century. -Family:... - MombiMombiMombi is a wicked old witch from L. Frank Baum Oz Books. She appears in the book The Marvelous Land of Oz and is alluded to in other works. Of all the wicked witches in L...
, the witch...Phoebe Coyne - Jack PumpkinheadJack PumpkinheadJack Pumpkinhead is a fictional character from the Oz book series by L. Frank Baum.-In Baum:Jack first appeared in The Marvelous Land of Oz. Jack's tall figure is made from tree limbs and jointed with wooden pegs...
, who is not really a man, but just happens to be alive...Hal Godfrey - Professor Knowitt...Sidney BraceySidney BraceySidney Bracey was an Australian-born American film actor. After a stage career in Australia, on Broadway and in Britain, he appeared in 321 films between 1909 and 1942.-Life and career:...
- Mr. H.M. Woggle-Bug, T.E....Fred MaceFred MaceFred Mace was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 156 films between 1909 and 1916. Mace worked for Mack Sennett at Keystone Studios...
- Captain Prissy Pring, Aide-de-camp to General Jinjur...Mabel Hite
- General JinjurJinjurJinjur is the main antagonist of The Marvelous Land of Oz. She is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum and his successors. She first appears in The Marvelous Land of Oz as a self-appointed general leading an "Army of Revolt"—an all-woman force seeking to end the reign of the Scarecrow and...
, Commander of the Army of Revolt...Beatrice McKenzie
Gleaners who join the Army as the "Awkward Squad":
- Bettina...Anna Killduff
- Flinders...Grace Marshall
- Jessica...Mabel Lorena
- Melinda...Mabel Laffin
- Aunt Dinah, Chef in the Palace of the Regent...Walter B. Smith (travestyDrag (clothing)Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
role, probably in blackfaceBlackfaceBlackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
) - The Saw-Horse, carelessly brought to life my means of the Magic Powder...Eddie Cunningham
- Sir Richard Spud, Regent of the City of Jewels...Sidney Deane
- Lord Stunt...W.H.Thompson
- Queen Maetta, the Sorceress...Helen Allyn
- Athlos, her favorite Page...Jeanette Allen
Harvest Sprites
- Marie Grandpre
- Gertrude Tyson
- Gertrude Barnes
- Agnes Major
- Nell Irish
- Mabel Underwood
- Mabel Leichman
- Ethel Garland
- Lena Sonstoby
- Eva Carey
- Dorothy Wilson
- Eildeen Sheridan
School Girls
- Florence Cooke
- Ethel Wertley
- Lynda Nelson
- Gertrude De Mont
- Helen Hammond
- Isabel Gordon
- Eugenie Cochran
- Isabel Phelon
- Laura CunninghamLaura CunninghamLaura Cunningham is a 28 year old singer/journalist/stylist from Dublin, Ireland. Laura is probably best known for her role in Irish Traditional girl group Triniti. Triniti were signed to Universal Classics and Jazz in 2006 and released their self titled album a year later...
- Gertrude Wessell
School Boys
- Lillia Loraine
- Jeanette Allen
- Elayne Frohman
- Hattie Bayard
- Janet MacDonald
- Irene Calder
- Bessie Galardi
- Catherine Brooks
- Orrel Booth
- Charlotte ScottCharlotte ScottCharlotte Angas Scott D.Sc. was a British mathematician who spent the later part of her career in the United States and was influential in the development of American mathematics, including the mathematical education of women.Scott played an important role in Cambridge changing its rules for the...
Ice Men
- Lillia Lorraine
- Florence Cooke
- Dorothy Wilson
- Mabel Underwood
Milk Men
- Nell Irish
- Marie Grandpre
- Agnes Major
- Ethel Garland
Messenger Boys
- Charlotte Scott
- Elayne Frohman
- Bessie Galardi
- Irene Caulder
Postmen
- Gertrude Barnes
- Mabel Leichman
- Eileen Sheridan
- Lena Sonstoby
Courtiers:
- Horace G. De Bank
- Joseph Snyder
- John LoveridgeJohn LoveridgeSir John Warren Loveridge was a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament for 13 years, from 1970 to 1983...
- Johan Veltman
- Charles Dudley
- John BlackmanJohn BlackmanJohn Blackman is an Australian radio and television presenter. He is best known for his voice-over work for the comedy show Hey Hey It's Saturday from 1971 to 2010.-Biography:...
- H. Linke
- Fred HallFred HallFrederick "Fred" Lee Hall was a Republican lawyer and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Kansas, 1951–55 and the 33rd Governor of Kansas, 1955-57...
- John F. Purnell
- Arthur BennettArthur BennettArthur Shepherd Bennett MBE, LSM was an engineer in the British Merchant Navy....
- I.M. Flickinger
Hobgoblins
- Eugenie Cochran
- Charlotte Scott
- Janet MacDonald
- Marie Dahlgren
- Irene Calder
- Laura Cunningham
- Alma Dahlgren
- Helen Wilton
- Mabel Leichman
- Elsie Doyle
- Virginia Calvert
- and Calhoun [sic]
The Army of Revolt
- Florence Cooke
- Jeannette Allen
- Janet MacDonald
- Marie Grandpre
- Gertrude Tyson
- Isabel Phelon
- Dorothy Wilson
- Charlotte Scott
- Eileen Sheridan
- Ethel Wertley
- Elaine Frohman
- Laura Cunningham
- Mabel Underwood
- Nell Irish
- Helen Gordon
- Agnes Major
- Irene Calder
- Mabel Leichman
- Hattie Bayard
- Orrel Booth
- Gertrude Barnes
- Rose Leland
- Bessie Golardi [sic]
- Lillia Lorraine
- Helen Hammond
- Eugenia Cochran
- Gertrude De Mont
- Ethel Garland
- Neela Paddock
- Edith Walters
- Katherine BrooksKatherine BrooksKatherine Brooks is an American film writer and director. Brooks dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and ran away from her hometown to Hollywood, with dreams to pursue a career in television and film-making....
- Lena Sonstoby
- Lynda Nelson
- Violet Reed
- Edna Mitchell
- Marie Dahlgren
- Anna Dahlgren
- Elise Doyle
- Virginia Calvert
- Queenie Wilson
Household Brigade
- Horace G. De Bank
- W.H. Thompson
- Joseph Snyder
- John Loveridge
- Johan Veltman
- John Blackman
- H. Linke
- Fred Hall
- John F. Purnell
- Arthur Bennett
- I.M. Flick [sic]
- Charles Dudley
Lady-Bugs
- Janet MacDonald
- Laura Cunningham
- Irene Calder
- Mabel Leichman
- Eugenie Cochran
- Helen Wilton
- Marie Dahlgren
- Elsie Doyle
- Virigina Calvert
- Charlotte Scott
- Queenie Wilson
- Alma Dahlgren
Dolls
- Gertrude Barnes
- Jeanette Allen
- Bessie Galardi
- Gertrude De Mont
Jumping-Jacks
- Katherine Brooks
- Elaine Frohman
- Eileen Sheridan
- Agnes Major
- Lillia Lorraine
Chrysanthemums
- Florence Cooke
- Jeanette Allen
- Marie Grandpre
- Gertrude Tyson
- Isabel Phelon
- Dorothy Wilson
- Charlotte Scott
- Eileen Sheridan
- Ethel Wertley
- Elayne Frohman
- Mabel Underwood
- Nell Irish
- Helen ? [sic]
- Agnes Major
- Hattie Bayard
- Orrel Booth
- Gertrude Barnes
- Rose Leland
- Bessie Golardi [sic]
- Lillia Lorraine
- Helen Hammond
- Gertrude De Mont
- Edith Walters
- Katherine Brooks
- Lena Sonstoby
- Lynda Nelson
- Violet Reed
- E. Wilson
Black Cats
- Marie Dahlgren
- Elsie Doyle
- Edna Mitchell
- Virginia Calvert
- Alma Dahlgren
- Dorothy Wilson
Witches
- Mabel Leichman
- Janet McDonald [sic]
- Eugenie Cochran
- Charlotte Scott
- Laura Cunningham
- Eva Carey
Musical numbers
- Instrumental Drama—The Creation of Jack Pumpkinhead
- Chorus of School Children
School Song: My Native Fairyland (Professor Knowitt and School Children)
The Capture of the Woggle-Bug - Mr. H.M. Woggle-Bug, T.E. (Woggle-Bug)
- Sweet Matilda (General Jinjur) (lyrics by Arthur Gillespie)
- Ting-a-Ling-a-Ling! (Postmen, Messenger Boys, Milkmen, and Icemen)
- My Little Maid of Oz (Tip)
- The Hobgoblins (Mombi)
- Soldiers (General Jinjur and Army of Revolt) (lyrics by Arthur Gillespie)
- Act I Finale:
The Bombardment of the City of Jewels
The Paean of Victory - To the Victors Belong the Spoils (Chewing Gum Song) (Jinjur and Army)
- The Household Brigade (Male Chorus)
- Patty-Cake, Patty-Cake, Baker's Man (Tip and Jack, according to the script; Tip and Regent, according to the program; Jinjur and Regent, according to the sheet music)
- I'll Get Another Place (Prissy Pring)
- Jack O'Lantern (Jack Pumpkinhead)
- There's a Lady-Bug A'Waiting for Me (Woggle-Bug)
- The Doll and the Jumping Jack (Prissy and Professor)
- The Equine Paradox (Sextette: Tip, Woggle-Bug, Jack, Regent, Prissy, Professor)
- The Things We Learned at School (Tip, Jack, and Woggle-Bug)
- Transformation:
The Storm—Rain of Cats and Dogs
Dance and Chorus of Chrysanthemums - The Sandman Is Near (Tip's Lullaby) (Maetta)
- Finale
Hungry Tiger Press
Hungry Tiger Press
Hungry Tiger Press is an American specialty publisher of books, compact discs, comic books and graphic novels, focused on the works of L. Frank Baum, other authors of Oz books, and related Americana. Perhaps most notably, the Press has published rare, early, long-neglected dramatic and musical...
published the complete sheet music in 2002 with an introduction, notes, and appendix by David Maxine, along with four songs from Chapin and Guy F. Steely's The Storks, the 1902 show whose popularity led Witmark to publish so many songs from such an unsuccessful production. This is not the complete score, only a complete collection of published sheet music from Witmark. Numbers 1, 2, 5, 9, 13, 14, 18, 19, and 21 are not included, as they were not published as song sheets and are not known to survive. Witmark claimed to have published a complete piano score, but there is no evidence that this was ever done. Although the script survives, Hungry Tiger Press elected not to include it.
Reception
Burns MantleBurns Mantle
Robert Burns Mantle was a well-known American drama critic. He founded the Best Plays annual publication in 1920.. , The New York Times...
described the play as "entertainment pap for the little ones," and "smothered in a simplicity in which the child mind will revel, and before which the adult mind will nod." Like many critics, he found Mabel Hite to be the standout performance, calling her a "miniature Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler was a Canadian-American actress and Depression-era film star. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930-31 in Min and Bill.-Early life and stage career:...
." He found the screen projection of the rain of cats and dogs to look like corpses and lambasted the moment of toy balloons shot through a cannon. Illustrating his article with a head shot of Mace, he found him "as a comedian, hopelessly buried." He desrcibed Hal Godfrey as "a very fair imitator of Stone's scarecrow." He liked Blanche Deyo, describing her as "inspiringly graceful." He gave a sentence of light praise each to Helen Allyn, Sidney Deane, Sidney Bracey, Beatrice McKenzie, and Eddie Cunningham. His ultimate conclusion: "The Woggle-Bug, taken all in all, represents an earnest effort to provide an extravaganza free from objectionable feature. The music is an attractive virtue, and reawakens the hope that some day Composer Chapin will have a really good book to work with."
Legacy
James Patrick Doyle included a suite of music from the show on his 1999 CD, Before the Rainbow: The Original Music of Oz.The 2009 film, Jekyll & Canada, written and directed by someone credited only as X, includes the song, "The Hobgoblins" on its soundtrack.