The cast recording of the 1998 Mickey Rooney/Eartha Kitt touring Wizard of Oz is scheduled for release on TVT Soundtrax Sept. 8. The 90-minute version of the show includes the entire Harold Arlen/E.Y. "Yip" Harburg score from the 1939 MGM film version, plus intros to many of the famous numbers and one song, "The Jitterbug," that was written for the film, but cut.
The production, which played at the Theatre at Madison Square in May 1998, is in the midst of a North American tour. Next stop: Aug. 6-16 at Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary, Canada.
Performers include Rooney as The Wizard, and Eartha Kitt as The Wicked Witch.
The production originated in NY in 1997 with comedienne Roseanne as the Wicked Witch. That cast was not recorded.
-- By Robert Viagas
