New movie has ‘Wicked’ impact on Wamego museum

WAMEGO (KSNT) — The latest story from the world of the wonderful wizard is selling more than just movie tickets.

"Wicked" — a cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical — debuted in theaters last weekend and made $164.2 million globally. The most recent spinoff of the classic 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" is so popular folks from around the country are flocking to Wamego’s longstanding OZ Museum.

"We've seen about a 25% increase in visitors over the last 3 or 4 weeks," Caiti Roush, coordinator of the museum's gift shop said, "which is pretty significant."

A young woman from Hutchinson visiting the museum for the first time said she missed her chance to see it as a kid and watching the new movie inspired her to make the trip.

"I was in Girl Scouts, and they all got to take a trip here," Akyra Rush said, "but it was like a 90 to 100 degree day and the bus didn't have AC. And my mom was like 'I'm not going to let you ride on a bus in 100 degree heat.'"

Rush said after all these years, the wait was well worth it.

"I think it's really cool, they have a lot of stuff," Rush said. "I'm a little scared the scarecrow is gonna move and look at me, but other than that I like it a lot! I'm really looking forward to seeing the wicked forest."

Another first-time visitor from Junction City brought his family. He said they haven’t seen the new film yet.

"My mother-in-law is in town from Florida," Angel Medina said. "She was interested in Wizard of Oz and things like that and we knew this was close by and we've never gone ourselves, so we thought it was a good time to come today."

Roush, a Wamego native, said she wasn’t always a fan of tales from the world of Oz. She grew to appreciate the uniqueness and history. According to Roush, the story dates back to L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" novel which was published in the early 1900s.

"That story was never actually intended to be written down," Roush said, "and it actually became the first American fairytale with the first female heroine."

Kansans will likely never escape “follow the yellow brick road,” or, “you’re not in Kansas anymore,” references from out-of-staters as long as the fictional universe stays relevant.

But, love them or hate them – there’s no place like home.