Inventing Oz is a fantastical exploration of how L. Frank Baum’s imagination was ignited during his years living in Chicago, leading to the creation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It illuminates how America’s most beloved fairyland was shaped by Baum’s life in Chicago, including the spectacle of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, how Oz’s good witches were inspired by Baum’s suffragist mother-in-law, and the way Dorothy’s search for home echoes that of her creator. Full of brains, heart and courage, Inventing Oz throws back the curtain to reveal a rapidly changing America, and one man’s struggle to find the right story.

Written by composer Stacy Garrop and librettist Sam Norman, Inventing Oz is projected to premiere in 2029. Audiences will have the opportunity to experience the work’s development firsthand through a piano-vocal workshop and concert of the work-in-progress, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of this exciting new opera while furthering COT’s commitment to expanding access to the artistic process.