Weather 
There’s no place like Las Vegas! At least that’s what The Wizard of Oz fans are saying when they exit the Sphere, the immersive entertainment arena just off the Strip that can seat over 17,000 people.
It’s been just more than a year since an immersive version of the 1939 Judy Garland classic began screening there in August 2025, but fans are still coming in droves to see the Emerald City in all of its 4D glory.
The film has been pared down from its original 102-minute version to fit a tight 75 minutes at the Sphere, so be warned — there are some iconic lines (and even a song) that have been cut from the film. But there are a lot of things that have been added, and going to see The Wizard of Oz in Vegas is quite the experience.
Since the action is happening all around you, there really isn’t a bad seat at the Sphere. Plus, for The Wizard of Oz, not all of the venue’s seats are being used. Audiences are primarily contained in the center sections, unlike concert engagements like the Backstreet Boys’ highly successful Into The Millennium residency.
Before the movie begins, the Sphere makes you feel like you’re actually at a classic theatre, with a projection of a proscenium stage. It sounds as though musicians are warming up, but don’t be fooled — the iconic score by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg was re-recorded by a live orchestra to be played at each performance, enhancing the sound to make Oz sound like it never has before.
Once the show begins, the entirety of the screen fills with the movie, so it feels like you’re immersed in an almost 360-degree experience. That said, parts of the 1939 film had to be filled out to allow for this expansion, so The Wizard of Oz has AI all over the place — and some of it is better than others.
Dorothy’s house is bigger and better, and audiences can see the roof, making them feel like they’re actually inside the Kansas farmhouse with Garland before she bumps her head and flies off to Oz. As the tornado inches closer, the Sphere uses its multi-sensory elements to make audiences feel like they’re swept up with Dorothy (and Toto, too!). Seats start shaking, fans blow air through the venue, and leaves begin to fall from the sky. It is definitely a highlight of the experience.
When Dorothy emerges from the house and finds herself in technicolor, Munchkinland is truly a sight to see. There are new flowers and additional yellow bricks (plus butterflies flying all around you!), and Glinda’s bubble bursts right onto the screen as though it popped right in front of your face.
However, additional munchkins are occasionally seen to your left and right, and it’s pretty obvious they are the work of artificial intelligence. Are they even looking directly at Dorothy? In true AI fashion, some of their flaws aren’t noticeable, but some of the filler simply looks sloppy.
There are similar AI additions in other scenes, such as when Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion finally arrive in the Emerald City. If you look closely, it seems some of the Ozians are looking (or, even in some cases, waving) in totally different directions and don’t have their focus towards the actual action.
But those things are easily forgivable when other scenes with AI additions enhance the experience, like when apple trees fill the screen on the road to Oz and foam apples fall from the sky for a few lucky audience members to leave with a souvenir. A few winged monkeys also fly through the air when the Wicked Witch demands they capture Dorothy and her friends.
The real disappointment at Sphere’s Wizard of Oz are the cuts. Though the film lost the Academy Award for Best Picture to Gone With the Wind, it is practically perfect as is. “If I Were King of the Forest,” Bert Lahr’s big number for the Cowardly Lion, was cut in its entirety — and there were quite a few lines or scenes that were removed to trim time off of the film.
A large chunk of Professor Marvel’s scene with Dorothy before the tornado takes shape has been cut from the film, and when she finally arrives in Munchkinland, bits and pieces were trimmed out to make the grand entrance to Oz just a bit tighter.
If you were hoping for Auntie Em to tell off Almira Gulch on the big screen, you’ll be disappointed. The iconic line Almira Gulch, just because you own half the county doesn’t mean that you have the power to run the rest of us. For 23 years, I’ve been dying to tell you what I thought of you, and now… well, being a Christian woman, I can’t say it! has been cut.
Don’t expect to hear the Lion say the line Put ‘em up, put ‘em up!. And before the Wicked Witch is melted to the ground, you won’t be hearing the line Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of spears. Thought you’d be pretty foxy, didn’t you?.
It was recently announced that even more magic will soon be coming to The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere. Audiences will see new animatronic winged monkeys flying over the audience, additional pyrotechnic fireworks and new scented apples that descend from the sky, plus more.
Following the film’s success at the Sphere, as BroadwayWorld previously reported, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is expected to open in 2027. But given that the magic of Rocky Horror relies so heavily on audience participation and callouts, let’s hope there aren’t too many cuts!
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sphere
