ABC Muppets in Oz Press Realease

[Lady Holiday]

I'm sorry Lady Holiday, but I'm married to my life as a puppeteer trying to make it big in this little city I call home. Nuff said.

Well Horace, I thought we had a "real" rainbow connection going here, but I guess that was just the lover and dreamer in me!

 

[robinthecrow]

I take it Eric is "performing" Piggy and Fozzie rather than "voicing" them? ala Muppets in Space?

 

[Iggy35]

I think his Fozzie sounds too much like piggy, especially when out of breath in VMMC, he needs to get deeper but thats another thread!

I, for one, can't wait to see what they do with this one.
I foresee another hit for Pepe, I can just picture him tottering alongside dorothy.

They need to dig out the old Muppet Show episodes out the vault, watch em 24 hours a day for 2 whole weeks...THEN let em carry on!
Maybe that way the writers will get a refresher on the characteristics of each member.
Maybe the puppet builders can build more classic characters from the show days,..even the guys that never had speaking parts, certain audience members for example....They gotta build puppets for in the background anyway, so why not build ones that'll make us go "HEY, I remember that guy!"

Its been so long since I watched wizard of oz, I can't think of a single scene!
Apart from the witches, the tinman, scarecrow & lion, dorothy & the munchkins,...oh and the wizard...Who else is there??

IGGY35

 

[McFraggle]

Its been so long since I watched wizard of oz, I can't think of a single scene!
Apart from the witches, the tinman, scarecrow & lion, dorothy & the munchkins,...oh and the wizard...Who else is there??

IGGY35

Flying Monkeys!

 

[Lady Holiday]

Its been so long since I watched wizard of oz, I can't think of a single scene!
Apart from the witches, the tinman, scarecrow & lion, dorothy & the munchkins,...oh and the wizard...Who else is there??

IGGY35

Well there is Uncle Henry and Auntie Em of course! Plus with the addition of two more witches, the various groups of munchkins (i.e. the Lollipop Guild), and the citizens of Emerald city I think this production is going to be a lot of fun.

 

[GelflingWaldo]

Based on the book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum, the Muppets version gives the story a couple of twists and tweaks without ever losing the central meaning of the classic story.

Apart from the witches, the tinman, scarecrow & lion, dorothy & the munchkins,...oh and the wizard...Who else is there??

Below is a compleate list of all the characters that appear in the 1900 book "The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz", the book this production is based off. I've listed the confermed characters and actors above, and then all the other unknowns below. The Muppet version may leave characters out (just like the MGM versions did), and they may add character not found in the book. But it looks like their is pleanty of room for more Muppets to fit

Dorothy - Gale Ashanti
Aunt Em - Queen Latifah
Toto - Pepé The King Prawn
Munchkins - The Muppet Rats
Scarecrow - Kermit the Frog
Tin Woodman - The Great Gonzo
Cowardly Lion - Fozzie Bear
Glinda, the Good Witch of the South - Ms. Piggy
Good Witch of the North - Ms. Piggy
Wicked Witch of the East - Ms. Piggy
Wicked Witch of the West - Ms. Piggy


Boq
China Clown
China Milkmaid
China Princess
Gayelette
Gillikins
Green Soldier
Guardian of the Gates, the doorman
Hammerheads
Joker
Kalidah
King of the Beasts
King of the Winged Monkeys
Lame Ozite
Lame Ozite's Wife
Mayor of Munchkin Land
Princess of the North
Quadlings
Queen of the Field Mice
Quelala
Stork
Talking Trees
Uncle Henry
Wild People
Wildcat
Winged Monkeys
Winkies
Wizard of Oz

 

[GelflingWaldo]

Here are some hopes of mine, these are not facts, just wishes of where I see other Muppets fitting in to the story. These are of some of the more popular and larger characters in the book (and even later movie versions) that are still unannouced.


Guardian of the Gates, the doorman - Scooter
King of the Winged Monkeys - Animal
Mayor of Munchkin Land - Rizzo the Rat
Talking Trees - Statler and Waldorf (in tree form)
Uncle Henry - Some other human actor
Wizard of Oz - Dr. Bunson Honeydew (with assistant Beaker)

 

[Dr. Bombay]

Yay for Pepe being Toto!!!

Pepe: "Bark! Bark! okay...."

 

[Randlev]

hopefully pepe will wear some black dog costume with just his face showing and his little strands of hair stuff sticking out from under it....thatd be pretty awesome and funny

 

[GelflingWaldo]

Toto does not need to be a dog. Although the book (and movie) have Toto as a dog, the character has been other species. In the 1902 stage production, Toto was replaced by Dorothy's pet cow Imogene, probably because it was easier to fit an actor inside a cow costume than a little black dog costume. But this animal change was approved by the original author of the book. So Dorthy having a pet prawn, rather than a dog, would work just as well.