Be The Next Dorothy Talent Search Held at General Growth Properties Malls 7/31

Those looking to be the next Broadway star need to look no further than the Yellow Brick Road. The Harold Arlen Foundation is sponsoring a nationwide talent search to Be The Next Dorothy, which will be held exclusively at General Growth Properties (GGP) malls.

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.

This national, grassroots competition will be held exclusively at 11 of GGP's shopping centers across the country. Be The Next Dorothy kicks off at Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California on Saturday, July 31st and the winners will be announced on September 3rd at the South Street Seaport in New York City. For complete contest rules and registration visit: www.wizardthemusical.com.

Additional audition cities 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. Tony nominee producer Tom Gregory (Guys & Dolls) will emcee all 11 auditions. See below for tour dates.

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 New York show. "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.'"

Once the judges have narrowed down the contestants to the final three, America decides who will Be The Next Dorothy. Besides the coveted role of Dorothy in "WiZaRD;" there also will be a "People's Choice" component to the contest, where the winner will receive 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 entire 11-city run.

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.

Be The Next Dorothy Tour Dates

Mall
Date
Market
Glendale Galleria
July 31 & August 1
Glendale, CA (Los Angeles)
Fashion Show
August 2 & 3
Las Vegas, NA
Park Meadows
August 5 & 6
Littleton, CO (Denver)
Stonebriar Centre
August 11 & 12
Frisco, TX (Dallas)
Northbrook Court
August 14 & 15
Northbrook, IL (Chicago)
Saint Louis Galleria
August 17 & 18
St. Louis, MO
Regency Square Mall
August 23 & 24
Jacksonville, FL
North Point Mall
August 25 & 26
Alpharetta, GA (Atlanta)
Natick Collection
August 28 & 29
Natick, MA (Boston)
Paramus Park
August 30 & 31
Paramus, NJ
South Street Seaport
September 1 - 3
New York, NY

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. www.bookitinvegas.com

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 at one of his 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 New York 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 Songbook and 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 to 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 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.

About GGP
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. www.ggp.com.

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