Toy Theater Update

Last November I did a post about the toy theater I was starting to make, showing scenes from the 1903 Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz. I'm still working away at it, and have made progress - although there are still several scenes to go! It's a fun project, requiring some ingenuity and a good deal of patience, while trying to figure out the sets of the show from the handful of surviving black & white production photos.

 In my earlier post I showed the Poppy scene, which was my starting point of the project. This takes place towards the end of Act 1, and is followed by The Poppy Field in Winter. This was a transformation, with the poppy scene transitioning through a snowstorm, finally revealing the flowers vanquished by the Snow Queen, the travelers awakened and the end of the first act.

Act 2 takes place in a courtyard of the Emerald City, a bizarre architectural blend of East and West. This is a shot of the scene in its early stages, as I was starting to figure out the various panels. I roughed out the ideas on paper, before painting and cutting the final drops from canvas. The original sets for this show were extremely elaborate and complex, involving a number of drop curtains as well as flats and set pieces. For my purpose I've had to try and distill this into something a bit simpler and manageable in a small size; the backdrops of the toy theater are about 12" by 20", which limits the amount of detail presented. This scene required some freestanding set pieces, constructed of balsa and paper mache. 

Of course each scene also needs its cast of characters in appropriate costumes - the actors in the various scenes are approximately 4" tall.

Act 3 is set in The Borderland, with a color scheme primarily of lavender and white. The use of color changing LED lights provides the ability to enhance various colors in the different scenes. Once again, some freestanding set pieces were required, included a cage of wisteria vines which is used as a prison during the act - paper mache to the rescue!

The story presented on stage veered drastically from that of the original book, including an execution scene with the threat of death facing Dorothy and her companions. Fortunately a speedy resolution is achieved, and a happy ending!