Casting Planned for Barbie Fairytopia Musical Tour

By: Jul. 10, 2005
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Barbie, having conquered the worlds of toys, advertising, and video, will now star in a musical.

Casting will soon be in progress for the show, which would be produced by Mattel, Inc. in collaboration with Clear Channel Entertainment. Based on Mattel's high-selling (1.3 million units) direct-to-video movie, Barbie: Fairytopia, the musical will play 80 North American cities next spring. Fairytopia, which features mermaids, trolls, pixies and an animated Barbie princess in its video version, will tour for 60 weeks of shows and 80 performances for 1,500 to 3,000 ticket-holders.

The tour is geared towards "reviving (Mattel's) top-selling doll, which saw sales slip 15 percent in the first quarter." The Fairytopia line of Barbies "tends to appeal to a younger demographic. It was one of the strongest performers in the substantial Barbie stable of brands," according to the OC Register. "It's sort of, 'I can be in the Barbie world with them, won't that be great?' said Richard Dickson, senior vice president of Mattel Brands consumer products. 'It's a nice conduit to give mom and daughter a way to spend more time with the brand.'"

Producers are looking for "an actress with athletic capabilities and singing and dancing skills," in addition to the requisite physical attributes. An open casting call will be held, although details have not yet been finalized.

A cultural icon since 1959, Barbie is owned by 99% of all girls in the US between the ages of 3 and 10, with the average girl having 8, according to recent statistics. Barbie is sold in over 140 countries, and over one billion of the dolls have been purchased.


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