National Tour of The Wizard of Oz Announces Woodbury’s 5 Star Dance Studio to Perform As Munchkins During Orpheum Run March 26-28

National Tour of The Wizard of Oz Announces Woodbury’s
5 Star Dance Studio to Perform As Munchkins During Orpheum Run March 26-28

MINNEAPOLIS–The national tour of The Wizard of Oz, touching down in Minneapolis for five performances March 26-28 at Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Orpheum Theatre, announced today that the 5 Star Dance Studio in Woodbury has been selected to perform the roles of “Munchkins” for all Minneapolis shows. The twelve children will learn choreography from The Wizard of Oz and sing the beloved classic “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” as part of the upcoming production. The children from the 5 Star Dance Studio selected to perform in the Minneapolis engagement are Lucy Bailey, Steffine Bailey, Stephanie Bird, David Blong, Jessica Hoveland, Jessica Jugovich, Sierra Klein, Elizabeth Richmond, Lauren Simon, Marina Tipler, Olivia Tolkinen and Syrena Vanchena. The Wizard of Oz is presented by Hennepin Theatre Trust as a special addition to its 2009/10 Broadway Across America-Minneapolis Season. Tickets for The Wizard of Oz are on sale now. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.HennepinTheatreTrust.org or call 1.800.982.2787.

The Wizard of Oz features memorable songs composed by Harold Arlen including “Over the Rainbow” and “If I Only Had a Brain.” The musical showcases Dorothy, Toto, the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow in their adventures in Munchkin Land, the Haunted Forest and Emerald City. This new musical, called “a lavish stage production” by the New York Times, will transport audiences from the moment the tornado sweeps into Kansas. For more information on the tour visit www.wizardofozontour.com.

NETworks Presentations, LLC (Producer) Founded in 1995 by Kenneth Gentry, Seth Wenig and Scott Jackson, NETworks has produced and managed over 70 national and international touring productions. Previous productions include Oliver!, Little Women starring Maureen McGovern, Jekyll & Hyde, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Cinderella starring Eartha Kitt and Deborah Gibson, Fosse starring Ben Vereen and Ruthie Henshaw, The Light in the Piazza, My Fair Lady co-produced with Cameron Mackintosh, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Baber of Fleet Street, among many others. Joining returning hits Annie, The Drowsy Chaperone, Hairspray and The Wizard of Oz this season are Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Young Frankenstein, and the Lincoln Center’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. Future titles include Joyful Noise’s production of Handel’s Messiah Rocks, Spring Awakening and Les Miserables.