As a long time Friend of Dorothy’s and a film buff to boot I had assumed I knew all there was to know about Dorothy Gale, but this intoxicating new documentary film by Jeffrey McHale that premiered at Tribeca Festival proved me so very wrong.  Judy Garland‘s portrayal in the 1939 classic Wizard of Oz film still makes her the iconic Dorothy of all time, but McHale doesnt just investigate the significance and deeper meaning of her role, but he also looks at all the subsequent interpretations of Frank Baum’s original book that was published in 1900. 

He does this with the help of a very impressive list of contemporary cultural figues who are eager to testify how Dorothy has had such a profound effect on people, particulary in the queer community. They include singer/singerwriter Rufus Wainwright,  filmmaker John Waters, comedian and  activist Margaret Cho, comedian and actress Amber Ruffin and producer/actress Lena Waite.  Some of what they articulated was not necessarily new to this writer, but the entire list of different theatrical/movie/TV takes of Dorothy’s tale was quite an eye opener. Plus the fact that each production seemed seek to add yet another dimension to the story and its meaning, resulting in very different responses 

One of the more well known ones  was the 1978 film version of The Wiz with an all black cast that included Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow and Diana Ross as an adult version of Dorothy. Although it picked up Academy Award nominations for costume and scenicc design, it did not do well at the Box Office, after all could we ever imagine Dorothy all grown up like this   

McHale also interviewed so many Dorothys of other productions that I will admit to have never heard of let alone seen including  Fairuza Balk to Danielle Hope, Nichelle Lewis,  Ashanti and Shanice Shantay. And there was also clips of a rather bizarre TV reality show hosted by Graham Norton where Andrew LLoyd-Webber made girls compete to star in his stage version at The London Palladium in 2011. 

What however is most signifcant about The Wizard of Oz is it is totally unlike another of Garland’s films A STAR IS BORN which was remade as is, another three times.  Every new take of Baum’s original story has been reimagined in modern times but still remains a wobderful tale of courage , inclusion and love.

The next Screening for this film is Frameline