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Wizard of Oz redux— …and some casting questions…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
24 Aug 2022
🖨️ Print Article
Wizard of Oz redux—  …and some casting questions…

                                                                                                                     Wizard of Oz redux—

                                                                                                            …and some casting questions…

Suppose Hollywood hits you up
‘bout this big budget redo of
The Wizard of Oz? What if they
say it’s all your call…’cept this?

They say you must shoot in Uvalde
using locals. No big name stars. Do you say
“OK” when they say, “And you must cast the
Cops?” Or, do you ask—“What as?”

Angry Apple Tree? Crows in the Corn
Field? Ozmites? Tin Polishers? Horse
of Another Color? Almira Gulch’s bi
cycle?

Lullaby League? Lollipop Guild? Scare
crow? Sleepyheads? Munchkin Fiddlers?
Munchkin Soldiers? Munchkin Barristers?
Munchkin Mayor? Munchkin Coroner?

Hunk? Uncle Henry? Hickory? Toto?
Dorthy Gale? Aunt Em? Almira Gulch?
Professor Marvel? Tin Man? Glinda?
Wizard? Wicked Witch? Ruby Slippers?

Winged Monkeys instructed: “Take your Army
to the Haunted Forest and bring me those boys
and girls! Do what you want with the others—
They'll give you no trouble I promise you that?”

Winkies chanting, “O-Ee-Yah! Eoh-Ah!” into
radios in the school hallway? Hearing, “Poppies,
poppies, poppies” instead of some shooter’s
Pop-pop-pop-pops for some 70 minutes?

Are we leaving any characters out?

© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at: GoFundMe and PayPal.

Uvalde

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