Before Dorothy

This reimagining of beloved characters from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz explores the life of Emily Kelly both before and after she becomes Auntie Em to Dorothy. Life in early 1920s Chicago is not easy for Irish immigrant sisters Emily and Annie, but a city bursting with life leads to opportunities and a chance at love for both. Emily and her new husband, Henry Gale, depart Chicago to farm in Kansas, but relocating means leaving behind her beloved sister and her newborn niece. Nearly a decade later, tough economic times get tougher. In the wake of Annie’s death, Em brings Annie’s daughter Dorothy to Kansas, where drought and devastating dust storms threaten to destroy everything. When the past and present collide, and old secrets resurface, Em fears she just might lose what she cherishes most, Dorothy.