The Wizard of Oz (RSC version)

ACT ONE

Dorothy Gale, a young girl, rushes home with her dog, Toto. Toto has just been threatened by a mean, nasty woman, Miss Gulch, who lives nearby. Dorothy arrives home to her aunt and uncle’s farm, desperate with anxiety over Toto, but Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are too busy with farm work to pay her any attention. She appeals to three of the farmhands - Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke - but they too brush Dorothy aside. Feeling unappreciated and ignored, Dorothy dreams of escaping to a magical faraway place (“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”).

Miss Gulch triumphantly arrives at the farm. Earlier, Toto bit her leg; now, she wants retribution. She brings an order from the sheriff with her, demanding that Toto be taken away. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em like Miss Gulch no more than Dorothy does, but are unable to fight an order from the sheriff. Desperate, Dorothy turns to Hunk, Zeke, and Hickory, but they too are no help. Miss Gulch puts Toto in her bicycle basket and leaves. Dorothy is utterly