Copyright status of The Wizard of Oz and related works in the United States
"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was published in 1900, and was the first to enter the public domain in "1956". This allowed Reilly & Lee, the publisher of all the other Oz books (as well as Baum's other books) to issue their own edition of "The Wizard of Oz", which had previously been published by George M. Hill Company and later by the Bobbs Merill Company after Hill went bankrupt..
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (musical)
Joe Cascone, artistic director of the Toronto Civic Light Opera Company, had long wanted to stage a musical of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" that was truer to Baum's original intentions, and as such, was able to incorporate various influences from the many adaptations of the story produced throughout the 20th century, including the original 1903 musical, the famous 1939 MGM film, the musical "The Wiz" and several others. In writing the libretto for the new musical, Cascone made Baum a character in the play as a narrator, also doubling as the Wizard. Composer and lyricist James Patrick Doyle was a long time Oz admirer who restored some of the music from Baum's "The Maid of Arran", the 1902 "Wizard", "The Woggle-Bug", "The Tik-Tok Man of Oz", "Prince Silverwings", and "The Patchwork Girl of Oz", which had not been heard in recent decades. The production premiered in 2000 at the Toronto Civic Light Opera Company, directed by Cascone with choreography by Lesley Ansell. Two original cast albums were released. One by Hungry Tiger Music in 2000, and one by The Civic Light Opera Company in 2002, featuring the revised score.