{"id":385953,"date":"2025-11-17T20:19:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T20:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/385953\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T20:19:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T20:19:35","slug":"is-the-driehaus-museums-wizard-of-oz-exhibit-worth-it-a-full-review-of-the-land-of-oz-beyond-the-page","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/385953\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the Driehaus Museum’s Wizard of Oz exhibit worth it? A full review of “The Land of Oz: Beyond the Page”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Visiting \u201cThe Land of Oz: Beyond the Page\u201d<\/a> at the Gold Coast\u2019s Driehaus Museum<\/a> feels a bit like opening a very elegant jewelry box: beautifully crafted, lovingly arranged and also…surprisingly compact. Tucked away into two rooms on the museum\u2019s top floor, the film-inspired exhibit offers a curated peek behind the yellow brick road\u2014costumes, concept art, early editions of L. Frank Baum\u2019s original book and just enough memorabilia to spark a pleasant jolt of nostalgia.<\/p>\n

Open through March 15, 2026, this charming installation spans two small but immersive galleries dedicated to script writing, costume design and production. Curated by memorabilia expert Laura Woolley, the exhibit draws from Richard Driehaus\u2019s private collection and showcases gems like a replica of the Cowardly Lion’s medal of courage, a prototype flying monkey costume and a rare early draft of the screenplay.<\/p>\n

As someone who dressed up as Dorothy for multiple Halloweens, I arrived ready to be whisked into Oz and learn a thing or two about the film that shaped so many childhoods. Walking through, I found myself charmed in the way one might be charmed by a well-behaved dog donning a sweater: The sight may not be life-changing, but it\u2019s certainly pleasant, and you can tell someone put real effort into the endeavor.<\/p>\n

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\nPhotograph: Shannon ShreibakAn Emerald City townsman jacket featured in the exhibit. <\/p>\n

The exhibit’s highlights include a replica of Dorothy\u2019s slippers\u2014one of only 20 editions worldwide\u2014and a collection of \u201cmovie edition\u201d Wizard of\u00a0Oz books adjusted to better match the silver-screen adaptation. And if you want a deeper dive, spring for the museum’s guide-led tour<\/a>, which is a mere $5 on top of a general admission ticket. The snippets I overheard went well beyond the information on the exhibit panels.<\/p>\n

What struck me most, though, was how thoughtfully the exhibit uses the Driehaus itself as part of the experience. The mansion\u2019s ornate woodwork, florid wallpaper and gilded details lend the memorabilia an added sense of reverence, as if the items were always meant to live in a space that feels a little bit magical. The contrast between the Gilded Age architecture and the bright, Technicolor world of Oz is surprisingly effective; it reminds you just how downright modern the film felt in 1939.<\/p>\n

In the end, the Driehaus Museum\u2019s Wizard of Oz exhibit doesn\u2019t attempt to sweep you away in a tornado of spectacle so much as hand you a small, neatly labeled basket of curiosities. Its strength lies in details\u2014like early drafts of the film\u2019s script and a replica of the Cowardly Lion\u2019s courage medal, which was a departure from the book\u2019s bottle of courage the character drank. It\u2019s these little factoids that make the exhibit worth a visit.<\/p>\n

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\nPhotograph: Shannon Shreibak”The Wizard of Oz MGM Movie Edition” books on display at the exhibit. <\/p>\n

While the exhibition may leave devoted Oz scholars wanting more, it offers casual visitors a gentle, concentrated dose of nostalgia within the museum\u2019s ornate surroundings. You may not walk out feeling as though you\u2019ve traveled all the way to the Emerald City, but you will have enjoyed a tidy, thoughtfully assembled layover somewhere between fantasy and reality.<\/p>\n

“Land of Oz: Beyond the Page” is on view at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum until March 15, 2026. Tickets are $20 for adults; admission is free for children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Visiting \u201cThe Land of Oz: Beyond the Page\u201d at the Gold Coast\u2019s Driehaus Museum feels a bit like…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":385954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[1037,29645,960,5386,1818,29646],"class_list":{"0":"post-385953","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-art","9":"tag-categories-art","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-illinois","13":"tag-news-art"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115566895647973973","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}