WiZaRD, a musical tribute to Oz and Broadway and jazz composer Harold Arlen that will open at Jazz at Lincoln Center in December, is searching for a young star between the ages of 16 and 21 in its “Be the Next Dorothy” contest. The contest kicks off at Glendale Galleria in Glendale, CA, July 31 and will be held at ten other General Growth Properties malls throughout the country this summer.
Other planned audition cities and malls include Las Vegas (Fashion Show); Denver (Park Meadows); Dallas (Stonebriar Centre); Chicago (Northbrook Court); St. Louis (Saint Louis Galleria); Atlanta (North Point Mall); Jacksonville (Regency Square Mall); Boston (Natick Collection); New Jersey (Paramus Park); and New York City (South Street Seaport), where the final auditions will be held. The winner will be announced Sept. 3.
WiZaRD, according to press notes, “is a musical centered on the works of ‘Wizard of Oz’ composer Harold Arlen. The show unfolds in the mythical radio studios of W-Z-R-D. Wendell Owens, host of the radio show Absolutely Arlen, weaves stories through production numbers, with the help of WZRD’s in-house radio players. Audiences are taken on a journey from the golden age of Hollywood, to the Broadway stage, through the Cotton Club years and then to the land of Oz! WiZaRD premiered in the summer of 2008 at the Ford Amphitheater in Los Angeles and has since been work-shopped at performing arts centers across the country.”
Arlen received an Academy Award for the classic ballad from the film of “Oz,” “Over the Rainbow.” Broadway credits include Life Begins at 8:40, Hooray for What!, Bloomer Girl, St. Louis Woman, House of Flowers, Jamaica and Saratoga. He also wrote several film scores and jazz/pop standards.
WiZaRD was created and written by singer and Arlen champion George Bugatti. The Harold Arlen Foundation, which Bugatti founded with Arlen’s son Sam and Mary Shriver to preserve Arlen’s musical legacy, is sponsoring the contest.
For more information and to register, visit wizardthemusical.com.
— Thomas Peter
