Author: Brian Tivol

The big hint from the story is that Dorothy is playing four-square.
The answers each have four letters, and they can be arranged into six
squares known in the business as "progressive squares".

Sorting the answers into their proper order, you wind up with the
following six squares:

APER Mimic
PERI Kelsey's co-star
ERIN Gray, eg
RING Special group or band

NOVA WGBH production
OVAL Type of office
VALE Seat of Malheur County
ALEE Protected

SAID He did it, she did it
AIDE Senator's right hand
IDEA Creator of lightbulbs
DEAN Rosalind, Margaret, or Kip

WEST Wayne portrayer
ESTA She is in Spain?
STAR Judy Garland, for one
TART Strumpet

EVIL Wicked
VILE Acme rival
ILEA Jejuna followers
LEAL Loyal to the Scottish

ROFL Even funnier than LOL :-)
OFLA Separates a Man from his Mancha
FLAN Custard
LANE Sheindlin's rival

The letters that aren't overlapped at all are where the action lies.
The squares above are already sorted by their upper-left corner to
spell ANSWER.  The lower-right corner, sorted in the same way, yields
the answer, GENTLE.