PARK MEADOWS RETAIL RESORT PARTNERS WITH HAROLD ARLEN FOUNDATION FOR “BE THE NEXT DOROTHY” TALENT SEARCH...Thursday, August 5 and Friday, August 6, 2010
The Park Meadows Retail Resort rolls out the Yellow Brick Road for the Be The Next Dorothy talent search competition on Thursday, August 5 and Friday, August 6, 2010.
If you are between the ages of 16-21 and can sing and act, then this is your chance to be cast in the musical, "WiZaRD,” which opens at New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center in December 2010. The musical, “WiZaRD," was created, written and directed by singer/crooner George Bugatti and is produced by the Harold Arlen Foundation.
Auditions for the Be The Next Dorothy competition will be held at Park Meadows Retail Resort on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 and is open to the first 400 contestants. Doors open at 6:00 am. Registration will occur from 8:00 am – 10:30 am with auditions starting at 11:00 am. On Friday, August 6th, 2010 call backs will be held, followed by the announcement of the local winner later that afternoon. Tony nominee Tom Gregory (Guys & Dolls) will preside over the auditions as emcee. The grand prize winner of the nationwide Be The Next Dorothy talent search will be announced during the contest finale at the South Street Seaport in New York City on September 3rd.
Barbara Brooks, Senior Marketing Manager at Park Meadows said, “The center is honored to be one of the only venues in the nation – and the only one in Colorado, to host the auditions. With the amazing talent our state has to offer, we’re anticipating a full house of young ladies trying out to become the next Dorothy – and wouldn’t it be great if the next Broadway star comes from right here in Colorado? ”
Once the judges have narrowed down the contestants of the nationwide search to the final three, America will decide who will Be The Next Dorothy. Besides the coveted role of Dorothy in “WiZaRD;” there also will be an online "People's Choice" component to the contest with the winner receiving a GGP Shop Etc. gift card. The entire competition will be filmed for an online reality series where America can follow all the contestants during the 11-city run.
For complete rules and registration visit: www.wizardthemusical.com. Be The Next Dorothy is sponsored by The Harold Arlen Foundation and the contest will be held exclusively at shopping centers owned by affiliates of General Growth Properties (GGP).
It’s personal for Sam Arlen, son of the legendary WIzard of OZ composer as to why he is co-producing this talent search and the forthcoming musical production. “We wanted to create a wholesome family contest and a show that would give us all a break from what seems to be a relentless assault on our innocence, just like my father did as composer of “The Wizard of Oz.’”
In addition, director Michael Bay’s production company, The Institute, signed on to bring Be The Next Dorothy to television. “Family entertainment on television is sorely needed in the marketplace and I believe this project can be huge”, said Bay’s Co-Founder and Executive Producer Scott Gardenhour.
About the Harold Arlen Foundation
The Harold Arlen Foundation is the Sponsor of the Be the Next Dorothy contest. The man behind the curtain for both Be The Next Dorothy and “WiZaRD” is Harold Arlen Foundation Co-Founder George Bugatti. A protégé of the late great Steve Allen, Bugatti is an acclaimed singer whose first CD was produced by the television legend. As a performer, George has also attracted the attention of another great icon, Tony Bennett, who recently invited him to perform in one of Tony's concerts. Bugatti remains in demand as a performer, having recently opened for Don Rickles and Brad Garrett.
A graduate of The High School of Performing Arts in NY and an attendee of The Julliard School, George is not only the torch carrier of the Great American Songbook, but is the leading voice today of the Arlen Songbookand has single handedly spearheaded, with the blessing of Sam Arlen, a number of Arlen projects including Be The Next Dorothy and “WiZaRD” which he has written and directed. "George is to Arlen what Michael Feinstein is with the Gershwin Songbook," says Sam Arlen. www.georgebugatti.com
The Harold Arlen Foundation was founded in 2008 by the composer’s son Sam Arlen, and business partners George Bugatti and Mary Shriver. Sam Arlen, being the publisher of his father’s catalogue, and George Bugatti, a noted singer, and Mary Shriver with a background in marketing, make for a robust team. Together they pledge to preserve the American Jazz Pop Standard songbook and the music of Harold Arlen, who not only wrote the score to the “The Wizard of Oz”, which earned Arlen an Academy Award for the song “Over The Rainbow, but composed some of America's most beloved songs including: "I've Got The World On a String," “Come Rain or Come Shine," "Old Black Magic," "One For My Baby,” “Stormy Weather” and “Accentuate The Positive.” It is also the Foundation’s mission is to provide free music classes and theater tickets to the under-served children of public school systems across America. www.haroldarlenfoundation.org
“WiZaRD” is a musical centered on the works of the 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.
Bookitinvegas.com is an official sponsor of “Be the Next Dorothy.” Bookitinvegas.com is the premier and only Destination Management Company dedicated solely to booking corporate and social events in Las Vegas for all size groups.
About Park Meadows Retail Resort
Park Meadows is owned and/or managed by an affiliate of General Growth Properties, Inc. GGP currently has ownership interest in, or management responsibility for, more than 200 regional shopping malls in 43 states, as well as ownership in planned community developments and commercial office buildings. GGP’s portfolio totals approximately 200 million square feet of retail space and includes more than 24,000 retail stores nationwide. GGP’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GGP. For more information visit www.ggp.com
