Toto

Everyone thinks Dorothy is the hero of The Wizard of Oz, but the true hero is here to set the record straight. The snarky terrier, Toto, who is mostly a Good Dog but sometimes a Bad Dog, tells his side of the story in Hackwith’s (The God of Lost Words) reimagining of L. Frank Baum’s beloved story. While Dorothy finds herself in the middle of an ongoing feud over shoes between witchy sisters, befriends questionable citizens of Oz, and tries to return to Kansas, it’s up to Toto to keep her safe. As they head toward the Emerald City, they are joined by a scarecrow who used to be a hedge witch, a lion whose cowardice is pure artifice, and a tin man and his sister. These characters and others are given intriguing backstories and different personalities from The Wizard of Oz, allowing for discussions of good and evil, identity, and loss. Narrator André Santana shines as the irreverent little dog with a big mission. Santana’s narration adds humor to the already punchy one-liners, providing many laugh-out-loud moments.