The Wizard of Oz (1902 musical)
The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900. Much of the original music was by Paul Tietjens and has been mostly forgotten, although it was still well-remembered and in discussion at MGM in 1939 when the classic film version of the story was made. Although Baum is the credited bookwriter, Glen MacDonough was hired on as jokewriter after Baum had finished the script.
The Sea Fairies
Baum had decided to end the Oz series with "The Emerald City of Oz" in 1910, after six installments over the first decade of the twentieth century. "The Sea Fairies" was intended to be the first in a new series of fantasy novels, which Baum and Reilly & Britton continued the next year with "Sky Island." Unfortunately for author and publisher, the two volumes of the new projected series did not meet with the same success as the Oz books previously had. The first edition of "The Sea Fairies" sold 12,400 copies in its initial year on the market, where "The Emerald City of Oz" had sold 20,000. Even when Baum's books experienced a major resurgence in interest and sales in 1918, "The Sea Fairies" sold only 611 copies that year while the Oz books and even Baum's non-Oz works were selling thousands of copies.