After two years on the road, Jessica Grove, the current Dorothy in Radio City Entertainment's The Wizard of Oz tour, will hang up the ruby slippers and return to the normal life of a seventeen year old in late 1999.

To fill her role, Radio City will hold open call auditions across the country. Potential Dorothys should be between the ages of 12-18 and able to sing 16 bars of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Equity and non-Equity actors are welcome. A minimum of one candidate per city will be chosen to face off in a semi-finals and finals to be held in New York City in mid June.

Auditions will also be held at the following locations:

April 13: Atlanta, GA, TBA
May 4: Des Moines, IA, Civic Center
May 4: New York, NY, The Theater at Madison Square Garden
June 8: Tempe, AZ, Gammage Auditorium
June 15: Los Angeles, Pantages Theatre

Finals will be held at a date TBA at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Two information hotlines have been set up as of March 29. For Detroit, call (313) 596-3288. For New York, call (212) 465-6773 (available after April 7).

Pictures, resumes and tapes can be mailed until June 1, 1999. Send them to: National Search for Dorothy, Madison Square Garcen PR Department, Attention: Cathy, 2 Penn Plaza, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10121.

For further information, visit the Wizard of Oz website at http://www.ozontour.com.

-- By Christine Ehren