THEATER:

Were he still among us, L. Frank Baum might be surprised, even tickled, to find out that “so much happened before Dorothy dropped in,” as the tag line for the new musical “Wicked” informs us.

Baum, of course, created the land of Oz in a series of children’s books over a century ago, inspiring one of the most memorable of all movie musicals, “The Wizard of Oz,” not to mention Judy Garland’s whopping bit of understatement: “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

Few, if any, local theatergoers are unfamiliar with that particular flick and its indelible characters. But “Wicked,” arriving next week at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, gives us the back story from the perspective of the green-hued witch who later pursued Dorothy and her odd trio of cronies in a futile attempt to secure our heroine’s magical ruby slippers.

Long before that young girl from Kansas arrived in Munchkinland and followed that yellow brick road, two girls met in the land of Oz. One — born with emerald green skin — is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular.

In Costa Mesa, the green gal, Elphaba, will be played by Julia Murney, while her sweet sidekick is Kendra Kassebaum. How Elphaba got her name, in the original book by Gregory Maguire, is a bit of theater trivia — it was taken from pieces of the name of the original creator, L. Frank Baum.

How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch, respectively, is what “Wicked” is all about. When the show bowed in on Broadway three years ago, it won 15 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony awards.

When the show the New York Times dubbed “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” touches down in Costa Mesa next week, to play through Aug. 20, there will be a day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra-level seats.

Each day, 2½ hours prior to show time, people who arrive at the plaza level entrance to the center will have their names placed in a lottery drum. Thirty minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of orchestra level seats at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in person at the plaza level entrance to the center, with a limit of two tickets per person.

Performance times are Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 and Sundays at 2 and 7:30. If you’re not among the lucky lottery winners, tickets will run from $28.50 to $74.50.

The show is officially a sellout, but tickets do become available from time to time. You’ll have to call the center at (714) 556-2787 to check it out.