I'm pre-disposed to like any production of "The Wizard of Oz," and not just because I read most of the books in L. Frank Baum's series when I was a kid, or because I can practically recite the 1939 film version line by line. When I was in third or fourth grade I was cast as a Munchkin in my local high school's production of the play. Not just any Munchkin, actually. I was the Munchkin Farmer. I had lines and everything. Although I don't remember much about the play, it remains one of my favorite stage experiences, and it started a life-long love of the theater.

There is no Munchkin Farmer in the Rochester Broadway Theatre League's production of the "Wizard of Oz," but if you're a fan of the iconic MGM film musical, this is the show for you. This adaptation (originally for the Royal Shakespeare Company) is almost slavish to the film, seemingly lifting entire scenes' worth of dialogue, the actors often aping the vocal delivery of the stars of the movie. There are some differences - some additional humor thrown in for the adults, a couple of new dance sequences, the incorporation of the "Jitterbug" number, which was famously cut from the film - but if you or your kids have grown up entranced by Judy Garland's take on Dorothy and her adventures, there's much here to enjoy.

One of the tricks with a stage version of "Oz" is that the story is loaded with special effects. It's tough to summon a believable tornado localized in the Auditorium Theatre, after all. But this touring show is loaded with bells and whistles that do a good job bringing the most familiar version of the story to life, including a large screen backdrop that plays CGI scenes of dusty Kansas farmland, a floating bubble carriage for Glinda that looks suspiciously like the version used in "Wicked," and a multi-screen 3D projection sequence that calls up that troublesome twister. There are fire-casting, magic mirrors, and flying monkeys, well, flying - this show has the works. The only thing missing is the Horse of a Different Color, but I think we're a few decades away from resorting to Technicolor livestock to entice audiences to a Broadway-type show. Note that there is a real, live Toto, and his portrayer, Snickers, got the loudest applause of the night. Oh, Rochester...

The effects are nice and all, but ultimately, a strong cast is needed to keep the show moving forward. And unfortunately, it drags a bit. It runs about two and half hours but feels closer to three. I'm not sure whose fault that is - it may in fact be a story or scene-change issue - because the leads are generally good. As Dorothy, Cassie Okenka (a contestant on the MTV reality series that cast the lead in "Legally Blonde: The Musical") does a fine job acting like an over-active little girl trying to make her way in the strangest of strange lands, although she noticeably backs off the mannerisms during her musical numbers. Noah Aberlin's Scarecrow excels at the physical pratfalls, while Chris Kind's Tinman specializes in a subtler kind of humor (I'm glad they put his frankly terrifying origin back in this version; it gives his character a more sympathetic slant), and Jason Simon's Lion is predictably, gloriously hammy. Pat Sibley has lots of fun as the Wicked Witch - here infused with much more comedy, as she delivers self-aware cracks left and right - and Caitlin Maloney shifts nicely from salt-of-the-earth Aunt Em to bubblehead Glinda.

Only Bruce Warren in the dual role of Uncle Henry and Emerald City Guard didn't work for me. The latter role is over-the-top in the movie, but Warren takes it over the rainbow, for lack of a better term, and his bizarre featured bit during the "Merry Old Land of Oz" number was a mess. As Uncle Henry, he employed a misguided attempt at a Southern accent that made him sound alternately slow and lecherous.

Most of the scenery is spectacular, although a couple of sets disappoint. Munchkinland features something like two tiny, vaguely Seussian houses on a backdrop, plus a Hollywood-like marquee spelling out the town's name. The forest is composed of a few clusters of cut-out bushes and a few straggly trees. This is where a stage show, even one as technically advanced as this one, simply cannot live up to the majesty of the film it's deliberately calling to mind.

Which raises the question: If what you want to see is the movie version, why not just stay at home and pop in the DVD? For one thing, this "Wizard" provides a great way to introduce kids to live theater. There were markedly more children in the audience on opening night than I have ever seen at an RBTL production, and that can only be a good thing. For another, there are a few notable additions that make this show stand on its own. Getting to see the previously mentioned "Jitterbug" scene in all its 30's-inspired glory is a treat, and the dancing in that number is impressive. And lastly, hey, it's "The Wizard of Oz." It's an enduring, fantastical classic, and I'll take it however I can get it, Munchkin Farmer or not.

An "Oz"-related aside: For hardcore "Oz" fans, Marvel Comics is currently in the midst of publishing an eight-issue series that adapts the L. Frank Baum's original "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" into graphic novel format. It's a stunning work, and the collected version should be available sometime this fall, making it a great holiday gift for kids. (My 3-year-old niece loves looking at the single issues.) Note that this is a very faithful take on the book, which features the same characters as the movie version, but tells their story in a very different way. For instance, Dorothy's slippers aren't made of ruby, they're silver. Did I just blow your mind or what?