Andrew Lloyd Webber to Write Six New Songs for Wizard of Oz Musical

Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced plans to write six new songs for a forthcoming stage adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Casting for the roles of Dorothy and Toto will take place via a BBC reality series, and Lloyd Webber, speaking on a video blog posted on September 15, will be one of the judges. “Any Dorothys out there please get your act together,” the composer declared, adding that Wizard is aiming for a London bow in late 2010 or early 2011.

Speaking of his forthcoming additions to a score written for the screen by Harold Arlen, Lloyd Webber said, “Of course all the favorites will be there—‘Over the Rainbow,’ one of the greatest songs ever, ever written. I’m not even going to try to challenge that.”

The composer of Cats gave a tongue-in-cheek aside about auditions for Dorothy’s pet: “I, as a cat man, might not see the dogs.” Noting, however, that his daughter has a terrier named Dolly, Lloyd Webber added, “Even this ‘cats’ man sometimes can be softened in his heart by a really lovely dog.”

The busy composer, who is putting finishing touches on his Phantom of the Opera sequel, Love Never Dies, posted the video from an airport en route to checking out a Canadian production of The Boys in the Photograph, his musical originally known as The Beautiful Game. Meanwhile, Phantom, Broadway's longest running show, is set to play its 9,000th performance on September 16 at the Majestic Theatre.