THE WIZARD OF OZ

A tornado sweeps Dorothy away into a strange world filled with witches, wonders, and unfulfilled desires. THE WIZARD OF OZ is our family production of the season: a grand adventure about friendship, courage, and the search for belonging.

Dorothy lives with her aunt, uncle, and her dog on the vast prairies of Kansas. When a tornado lifts her from the ground, she finds herself in the mysterious Land of Oz—a place radically different from home, a landscape of enchanting beauty. Yet despite its magic, and its inhabitants—Munchkins, good witches, and wicked ones alike—Dorothy knows immediately that she must find her way back. The only one who might be able to help her is the powerful Wizard of Oz. 

Dorothy sets off along the yellow brick road toward the Emerald City. Along the way, she meets new companions who join her journey, each driven by their own longing: the Scarecrow wishes for a brain, the Tin Woodman longs for a heart, and the Lion seeks courage.

Together, the group grows beyond itself through the trials of the journey. But when they reach the Emerald City, they are confronted with a condition: before the Wizard will grant any wishes, the Wicked Witch of the West must be defeated. The adventure continues …

Few stories have been as deeply embedded in popular culture as Lyman Frank Baum’s 1900 tale. THE WIZARD OF OZ is a fairy tale of homecoming and belonging, of courage and friendship. At the same time, it has repeatedly been read as a political allegory—an imaginative reflection on the rise of capitalism and growing social inequality. It has also been associated with questions of appropriation, American westward expansion, and environmental catastrophe. In this way, the story not only reflects the concerns of its own time, but continues to illuminate aspects of the world we live in today.

Nick Hartnagel, born in Stuttgart in 1987, studied directing at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts from 2008 to 2012. After graduating, he worked as an assistant director at Schauspiel Hannover from 2012 to 2014. Since then, he has worked as a freelance director, staging productions at several theaters, including Staatstheater Stuttgart, Staatstheater Hannover, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Theaterhaus Jena, Theater Magdeburg, and Deutsches Theater Göttingen. A central focus of his work is contemporary drama. His productions have been invited multiple times to the Heidelberger Stückemarkt and the Mülheimer Theatertage. Together with actor Henning Hartmann, he created the YouTube series Diary of a Dramaturg, Travel Diary of a Dramaturg, and Acting School XXL, for which he was responsible for camera, editing, directing, and screenwriting. He also completed the continuing education program »Theater and Music Management« at LMU Munich and, together with actress Karolina Horster, founded Horster/Hartnagel GbR, which produced its first feature film in 2021. From the 2026–27 season onwards, he will serve as resident director and join the artistic leadership team at Theater Baden-Baden.