My name's Jared (but you can call me Jay). I'm a writer, a fan of many things, and pretty weird.
The Little Wizards of Oz - Review http://dlvr.it/SvZ5k8
Ozma of Oz by the Toronto Civic Light Opera Company
The Civic Light Opera is back with one more Oz story, the third Oz book, Ozma of Oz, which they have decided will be their final entry. They’ve released (and I’ve reviewed) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz, so to avoid being an Oz company for a long time, they’re concluding with Ozma and going on to other stories.
The CLO is sticking with MP3CD to distribute their audiobooks. These are CDs that have MP3 files on them as a data track, allowing for a lot more audio than you’d get from a standard audio track on a CD. Modern CD players can play these, and you can also play them back in a computer with a disc drive or use it to copy the files to a portable device. Or you can do what I did and put it in a home theater DVD or Blu-Ray player, pull up the folder of MP3 files and just start playing.
Ozma of Oz goes back to the Outside World (our world), where we find Dorothy and Uncle Henry on a trip to Australia on a stormy night. While looking around for Uncle Henry, Dorothy goes on deck, only to be washed overboard, finding refuge in a chicken coop. She awakens outside of the Land of Ev with Billina, a talking chicken. On their way to find out the best course of action, they meet the mechanical man Tik-Tok, and Princess Langwidere who has thirty interchangeable heads in her boudoir. But soon Dorothy and her companions fall in with the visiting princess Ozma of Oz, who’s heading to the nearby Nome Kingdom to rescue the Royal Family of Ev from the Nome King.
If you’re familiar with my previous reviews, you’ll know what to expect. While the text is unabridged, the introductions and chapter titles are not read. Joe Cascone narrates with a full cast performing the dialogue, the cast returning from their roles in the previous two audiobooks.
To make it further stand out, classical music and sound effects are added. This is where I have to mention one thing. During the story, both Langwidere and the Nome King use bells to call for their subordinates or to be alerted. The same sound effect is used for all times, which is fine, it’s just that this sound effect is very familiar if you’ve ever seen a commercial for Taco Bell.
Audio quality is good. I was playing it back with the audio going through the soundbar and found it sounded best if I used the music setting.
Overall, it’s a great presentation of the story.
Again, we get a matching presentation in a jewel case, decorated with artwork by John R. Neill, photos of the cast, an introductory note from Joe, a cast list and a list of music used in the production. If you miss physical media, these are worth looking over.
To get a copy, Joe has it for sale on his website, along with the first two Oz books as well as music CDs and notices of his upcoming audio versions of A Christmas Carol and Animal Farm. http://dlvr.it/Ssd7Cx
The Royal Podcast of Oz: Wicked Movie Hype!
Jay, returning guest Angelo Thomas and new guest Tyler Varney discuss the upcoming two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked. They discuss the director, the cast, the decision to make two movies, the current state of Hollywood, the sneak peeks, the leaks, and where could we expect to see some original Broadway cast cameos?
Listen to the episode on Spotify. http://dlvr.it/SsGgLD
The Royal Podcast of Oz: The Movies of Oz - The Witches of Oz
Jay and Sam are joined by Angelo Thomas in breaking down the miniseries The Witches of Oz and its movie counterpart Dorothy and the Witches of Oz.
Angelo reveals behind the scenes details and gives us the scoop on the unrealized sequel. http://dlvr.it/SrBtgM
The Royal Podcast of Oz: Ozma is a Trans Icon
Jay talks with Zoe O'Hallin-Berne about how important Ozma’s story is to transgender Oz fans.
Reading from The Marvelous Land of Oz performed by Stephen Alexander Willis for Willow Audio Books, used with permission. http://dlvr.it/SqWxYj
The Royal Podcast of Oz: The Movies of Oz - The Wonderful Wizard of Ha’s.
Jay and Sam waltz up and down the produce aisle as they look at Veggie Tales' The Whimsical Wizard of Ha's as the parable of The Prodigal Son is mixed with a Wizard of Oz parody. http://dlvr.it/SpMTCg
I Grew Up In Mario Mania http://dlvr.it/SmBSgP
The Marvelous Land of Oz by the Toronto Civic Light Opera Company
The Civic Light Opera Company has released their second audiobook, following from their first, reading L. Frank Baum’s The Marvelous Land of Oz.
It’s currently only on MP3CD, allowing for a much longer runtime than a traditional audio CD. The production runs for nearly four hours. Some more modern CD players can play MP3CDs (if you’re not sure, check your manual or packaging, if you still have them), or you can play it on a home entertainment disc player, or play it on a computer with a disc drive or use the computer to copy the files to a device.
For my listen through, I used my home entertainment setup, popping it in my 4K disc player and playing it through my soundbar. (I did have to select the “music” profile on the soundbar’s remote to make it sound fine.) Wound up playing it from beginning to end.
I want to commend Joe Cascone and company for continuity. It’s quality narration by Joe Cascone, with a cast of performers hopping in to give their own interpretations of the characters. Cast members from the Wizard audiobook reprise their roles when available, and others pop up in new roles, for example, David Haines, the Cowardly Lion of the company of stage and audio, takes on Jack Pumpkinhead.
In addition, sound effects and classical music are used to enhance the experience. There were times that the sound effects sounded so realistic I had to check on my cat to make sure she wasn’t causing some sort of mischief.
I was pleased and entertained by the new production. Some of the casting made the characters sound older than I would personally want them to be, but it was all right. I was particularly pleasantly surprised that Mickey Brown as Mombi didn’t go for a cackling witch voice as many depictions often do. A lot of fans simply interpret Mombi as another witch like the Wicked Witches of the East and West, but I feel the character is more complicated than that, and making her sound like someone who could pass for an ordinary Gillikin woman plays into that.
Again, if you wanted a reading of chapter titles, the dedication and introduction, they aren’t here, allowing you to immediately get immersed in the story. The way I was playing it, the track names popped up on my TV’s screen.
So yes, I’d recommend this production.
Again, the CD is in a jewel case complete with a four-page booklet with some explanatory text about the story and images to illustrate the story. A cast list is in the tray card and photos of the cast are in the booklet.
The really cool announcement is that while you can buy a copy from an eBay listing, you can also buy it direct from Joe at his new website, which also offers the first one, copies of the Songs in the Key of Oz CD, the cast recording for his Wonderful Wizard of Oz musical and CD of him singing show tunes. Also teased is the upcoming audio book of Ozma of Oz and one for A Christmas Carol. http://dlvr.it/SfRmdM
The Wicked Movies Have Begun Filming http://dlvr.it/Sf90yB
