Todrick wrote his own musical, called...wait for it...Oz: The Musical.

Some of it is on YouTube. Here's Tordick singing:

"Change of Heart"

Non-Oz, but he out-melisma'd Madam singing this same song @ graduation.

Oh, look who played parts in the touring company!:

Season 3-er

Curtain Never Rises On Children's Chance At Stardom

Posted: Jun 20, 2009 1:02 AM

It was their shot at stardom. More than a 100 kids auditioned and planned to dance in a nationally touring production that was supposedly making a stop at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

But consumer investigator Jennifer Kraus discovered the show isn't coming to town.

Producers claimed the show lost a key sponsor - leaving parents wondering if they'll ever see the money they paid for so their children could be in the show.

McKenzie Edwards, 9, thought it was a dream come true when she heard that a show called "Oz the Musical" was coming to Nashville and looking for kids to be munchkins. McKenzie's mom, Kimberlee, said, "When she heard there was an audition for a role as a munchkin, she lost her mind and said, 'Oh, yes, I have to do it.'"

Kimberlee said she checked out the show's web site, which claimed the director of Oz had been on Broadway in Oprah's "The Color Purple" and the star of the show was Diana DeGarmo, a former American Idol contestant.

"It all looks pretty legitimate, but it's not apparently," Kimberlee told NewsChannel 5.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates discovered that show producers charged each family anywhere from $50 to $75 to perform in what they billed as an updated musical version of the "Wizard of Oz." After collecting the money from parents, the producers suddenly canceled the tour.

"I think it's bad business," said Jenny Belsito, owner of the Green Hills School of Dance.

Belsito had opened her studios to the company for auditions. "I thought it was legit," she said.

Looking back, Belsito said she realizes there were a lot of red flags. When McKenzie auditioned at the Nashville Convention Center, every child who tried out was accepted.

"I screamed...very, very loud," McKenzie recalled.

After making auditions, McKenzie's mom and all of the other parents were told they had to pay for costumes and to rent the rehearsal hall.

"We paid $75," Kimberlee said.

Come to find out later, dance studio owners told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that they'd already agreed to let Oz producers use their studios for free. So far as costumes, at least when the tour started, the munchkins in other cities simply wore t-shirts.

Show producers told some parents that the Nashville performances would be at the Grand Ol' Opry, while other parents were told the shows would be downtown.

"They said it would be performed at TPAC," Belsito remembered.

Both the Grand Ol' Opry and TPAC told NewsChannel 5 that the show was never booked at their theatres.

"We've told her friends, her teacher - had everybody excited for her. Grandma's excited for her," Kimberlee said.

Parents like Kimberlee said they started to worry when they hadn't heard anything from the company in weeks. Then just days before the scheduled show, producers finally contacted parents telling them in an email that the tour was canceled.

Todrick Hall, the show's writer and director, told NewsChannel 5 that they just didn't have enough money. He said the kids' performance fees were supposed to help cover the cost of the tour across the country.

"We got close to 3,000 kids to do the show, but that wasn't enough cause we have over a 100 shows. When you divide 3,000 kids by 100 shows, it's not enough kids to be able to pay - to help pay for the venues," Hall said.

Dance studio owners like Belsito said that's no way to run a show.

"I think they need to be held accountable," Belsito said.

"Shame on you for doing this, not only to my daughter, but to all of the other little children that auditioned and their parents," Kimberlee said.

Show producers said they are willing to refund the performance fees, but they also admitted that they ran out of money. The producers also said they're hoping parents will NOT ask for their money back, so they can instead roll it into a new show they claim to be working on with the same director.

Many dance studio owners also said that it's unusual for parents to have to pay for their kids to be in a show like "Oz the Musical." Parents should not be expected to pay for something that was billed as a national touring show. In fact, the dance studio owners told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that if anything, the kids should be receiving some sort of compensation.

Also, Diana DiGarmo, the former American Idol contestant and Nashville resident who was featured prominently on the show's Web site and promotional materials, said she was never a part of the national tour that was supposed make a stop in Music City.

When this guy was mentioned at mjs, some of the posters brought up his shady history. He 's ripped off parents of kids who wanted to perform as extras in his show, he misrepresented the Equity Union status of his show to cast members, Diana DeGarmo left the show after an early 2009 run in Texas because of the shady behavior by Hall, and the summer 2009 incarnation of the "national tour" ended with him leaving the cast unpaid and out of a job --abruptly. Do a VFTW investigation on this guy if he's a chosen one. It seems there might be ex cast members willing to spill the dirt.

Here is the discussion thread on Todrick Hall at MJ's:

http://mjsbigblog.com/season-9-preview-todrick-hall.htm#comments

More than one person said he ran several scams in up to 15 different cities. If it's true, then he's a moron. What kind of idiot would try out for a national television show after scamming so many people?

I actually worked on Oz: the Musical, and yes there were some issues. He NEVER set out to scam anyone...unfortunately due to lack of promotion and poor ticket sales, the show was just unable to continue. And since the initial cancellations, he has been working his butt off doing the show in other places, etc, to make the money back to enable him to pay back everyone that lost money due to the tour cancellations. Todrick is a good person, and would never set out to hurt someone, let alone groups of children.

Before you haters starts smelling blood in the water, be careful before you call someone a scam artist. Unless you know the whole story (and I'm sure you will if he makes it past Hollywood), don't be randomly tarnishing someone's image.

Todrick's a great talent and a great guy. He had trouble with a tour he put on, was once burned, twice shy, put on another tour sacrificing personal profit and doing his best to make things, that went wrong in the past, right. The recent tour of "Oz" The Musical" in December was a huge success, thrilling large audiences in many middle American cities. Everyone involved in the last incarnation of the Oz Tour had a ball and was treated fairly and professionally.

Aside from non-controversy, though it may be true that Todrick does a lot of runs for some people's taste, his voice is incredible and capable of countless styles. Hopefully this will be showcased in Hollywood.

You all should really calm down. Everyone always seems to thrash out at ppl after hearing just one side of a story. I too helped out with the musical, and know from being there that Todrick had nothing to do with the money side of the production. Infact, it was Todricks idea to allow the children to participate for free (an idea that clearly was not accepted by the producer). Long story short, the production did not sell near as many tickets to even ALMOST keep the musical a float. I also do know that Todrick (even tho it was not his fault that the production was canceled) is and has been trying to build up his own money to pay everyone back. Remember, this is one person trying to pay back a lot of families. Let us not forget that money does not grow on trees. It's not exactly going to be a quick under taking. Yes money is tight for everyone right now, including todrick I'm sure. So give the guy a break! The producer should be paying these families back and that apparently is not happening. There is a difference in "writer/director" then "producer." He did not have much say in the allocation of monies, and when the producer pulled the funding it not only stopped the tour, but also the ability to pay back the families (which he never wanted to take money from in the first place).

is going to bed finally, good night world. Tomorrow is a big day!

Todrick D. Hall (Bobby/Ensemble/u/s Harpo), Broadway debut. Hall has made his way around the world performing at Disney World and on cruise ships for Royal Caribbean and Holland America. Todrick would like to thank GOD, his mother, Sheena, his amazing family and Pat Carthel for their never ending love and support. He would like to dedicate this performance to Ethel, may she watch proudly from heaven above.

The guy is a scam artist. He was behind the Oz Musical and the entire cast, including none other than Diana DeGarmo got ripped off. There was a second leg of the tour supposedly to star Stacie Orrico that ended in controversy with parents of kid ?munchkins? reporting him to the media for stealing their money. The guy is trouble.

This guy ran another scam, called CinderellaRock. He presented it as a musical theater class for kids, ending with a performance. He collected money from the parents, and then ?canceled? the class/performance, and disappeared. He?s total scum.

Yes, parents asked for their money back. No, they didn?t receive it.

I just read the article about Oz the Musical. Hall did exactly the same thing in my town. He convinced a dance teacher to encourage her students to participate. She thought it was legitimate, and let him use her studio for ?auditions.? He did the same thing at about 15 cities in Texas.

He?s a con artist. Ask any of the members of the Oz cast, such as Michael Bojtos, Bradley Gale, Trisha Kelly, etc. Look them up on Facebook and ask them about their experience with Todrick Hall. He left a bunch of them high and dry in Texas after he ?ran out of money.? He misrepresented whether or not he had enough backers to put the show on the road. Diana DeGarmo left the show after she realized she was NOT going to get paid and chalked it up to a learning experience. He?s a slick talking con man.

Hood Helper: Todrick Hall of Oprah's "The Color Purple" on Broadway

* Posted by Randy C. Bonds on November 29, 2009 at 8:30pm

Todrick Hall is living his dreams and helping others in the hood live theirs, which is why he?s a perfect example of a Hood Helper. At the young age of 24, Todrick is a singer, actor, choreographer, and the director of his own production, ?Oz? The Musical, which he wrote at the age of 17. Not only does he cast familiar faces such as Orlando Brown from ?That?s So Raven? &;; ?Major Payne?, Andrea, formerly known for being a member of Bad Boy's female group, Danity Kane, and American Idol?s Season 4 2nd runner up, Vonzell Solomon, but he also cast local kids from each community that the production visits during it's tour, which is why he?s considered a Hood Helper. He?s given more than 3,000 kids the chance to stride toward their dreams by being in a live production on stage with accomplished entertainers.

Todrick himself is no stranger to the stage, by far. He was in Oprah?s Broadway production of ?The Color Purple? in 2007 starring American Idol, Fantasia Barrino, and Chaka Khan, and he also got the opportunity to understudy Bebe Winans in the roll of Harpo. So as you can see, he?s been given the chance to live his dreams, and that?s why he wants to see to it that he give other young people the chance to live theirs as well. To support his cause, make sure you go check out Todrick?s contemporary version of ?The Wizard of Oz?, ?Oz? The musical on December 12, 2009 at the Olympic Theater here in Chicago, where those who attend will get the chance to meet the cast, take photos, ask questions, etc. in a Meet &;; Greet immediately following the show. For ticket information, check out http://ozthemusical.com and if you?d like to hear more about Todrick and his production company, Drama'l Musicals, check out http://www.myspace.com/todrick_hall.

My name is Todrick Drama'l Hall and I am a 22 year old actor, singer, dancer from TEXAS!!!! I started dancing and performing in the church when I was 9 and since then my gifts have led me across the United States performing for Disney, Cruise Ships, National Tours and last year I had my Broadway debut in Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple on Broadway. It was such a life changing experience for me that I started a company called Drama'l Musicals (How Ironic that my middle name has Drama in it) and produced a tour of an original musical that I wrote called "Oz, the musical." It's a contemporary version of The Wizard of Oz, which was my favorite childhood story. I have now introduced over 3,000 kids across America to the performing arts and am now auditioning kids all across America to kick off my first National Tour. YAY!!! Check out www.ozthemusical.com and come see the my show if it comes to a city near you. You'll absolutely love it! .. .. ..

Who I'd like to meet:

I'd love to meet Beyonce, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston....Relationship wise I would love to meet someone who is respectable, understanding and spontaneous. I like to be around people who are funny and like to laugh.

General Dancing, Singing, Acting and working with kids. I love that kids!!!

Music BEYONCE, Jazmine Sullivan, Rascal Flatts, Elliot Yamin, Katharine McPhee, Gavin Degraw, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Maroon 5, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Brandy, Michael Buble, Jojo, David Archuleta, Sara Bareilles, Pink, Stacie Orrico, Usher, Justin Timberlake, High School Musical, India Arie, Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Shoshana Bean just to name a few.

Films The Wizard of Oz, The Cure (AMAZING), Slumdog Millionaire, High School Musical, The Prestige, The Lion King, Shawshank Redemption, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Sister Act, Sister Act 2, Dreamgirls! *gay*

Television Prison Break IS THE BEST SHOW EVER!!!, That's so Raven, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Martin, Heroes, Making the Band, American Idol, So you think you can dance!!!

Books Harry Potter, Wicked, Son of A Witch, Twilight (Haven't read it but I thought it'd be cool to put that on here for some reason, Charlotte's Webb and the Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

todrick hall "Visit www.ozthemusical.com" support my show!

Male

22 years old

Los Angeles, New York

United States

Last Login: 26/01/2010

View My: Pics | Playlists

Contacting Todrick

Todrick's Interests

General Dancing, Singing, Acting and working with kids. I love that kids!!!

Music BEYONCE, Jazmine Sullivan, Rascal Flatts, Elliot Yamin, Katharine McPhee, Gavin Degraw, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Maroon 5, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Brandy, Michael Buble, Jojo, David Archuleta, Sara Bareilles, Pink, Stacie Orrico, Usher, Justin Timberlake, High School Musical, India Arie, Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Shoshana Bean just to name a few.

Films The Wizard of Oz, The Cure (AMAZING), Slumdog Millionaire, High School Musical, The Prestige, The Lion King, Shawshank Redemption, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Sister Act, Sister Act 2, Dreamgirls!

Television Prison Break IS THE BEST SHOW EVER!!!, That's so Raven, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Martin, Heroes, Making the Band, American Idol, So you think you can dance!!!

Books Harry Potter, Wicked, Son of A Witch, Twilight (Haven't read it but I thought it'd be cool to put that on here for some reason, Charlotte's Webb and the Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

Heroes

Todrick's Details

Status: In a Relationship

Here for: Networking, Dating, Serious Relationships, Friends

Orientation: Straight

Body type: Athletic

Ethnicity: Black / African descent

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Education: High school

Occupation: Dancer/Performer

Income: $75,000 to $100,000

Hey ya'll! What's up. Thanks for visiting my youtube page. I'm a singer/dancer/actor/stripper from Texas. (Just kidding about the stripper part) I'm using youtube to try to promote myself so if you like what you see tell your friends to check me out, and if you don't...keep it on the down low and keep the hateage to a minimum please. Thanks so much for checking out my youtube video and keep an eye out for me Toddyrockstar!

About Me:

I'm a singer, dancer, actor from Dallas Texas. I've been performing since I was 8 years old and I would like to pursue a career in the music industry.

I have traveled the world performing on cruise ships, Six Flags over Texas, Walt Disney World's MGM Studios, and Disneyland's California Adventure in High School Musical 2. This past Christmas I was a featured singer in the world famous Radio City Christmas Spectacular and last year I made my Broadway debut in Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple where I understudied Grammy Award Winner Bebe Winans and also worked with the legendary Chaka Khan and American Idol's Fantasia Barrino.

Please comment and let me know what you think of my videos, make request, subscribe, add me as a friend and follow me as I take this journey towards becoming the next big star.

Hometown: Plainview Texas

Country: United States

Movies: The Cure, Shawshank Redemption, The Wizard of OZ, PRISON BREAK (THE BEST) Heroes

Music: Beyonce, Jazmine Sullivan, Gavin DeGraw, Rascal Flatts, India Arie, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson

All-star cast to perform ?Oz, The Musical?

Submitted by Renee Tomell on November 30, 2009 - 2:01pm

?Oz, The Musical? is following the yellow brick road to Cicero for a single performance at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12. The show features an all-star cast including Aundre Fimbres from MTV?s ?Making the Band,? Ryne Sanborn from Disney?s ?High School Musical? (one through three), Orlando Brown from Disney?s ?That?s So Raven,? Thayne Jasperson from the Fox hit ?So You Think You Can Dance,? Ryan Knowles from Nickelodeon and Nathaniel Flatt of V Factory.

The show was written, directed and choreographed by Todrick D. Hall from Oprah Winfrey?s ?The Color Purple? on Broadway. It is a contemporary take on L. Frank Baum?s classic ?The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.? Complete with munchkins and flying monkeys cast in the Chicago area, Hall?s musical takes Dorothy and her friends to the streets where they learn more about life and friendship than they anticipated.

Todrick Hall holds open audition Friday in Plainview 07-15-09

By NICKI BRUCE LOGAN

Herald Lifestyles Editor

Published: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 2:11 PM CDT

Todrick Hall, who last year staged "Oz, The Musical" featuring hundreds of area children at Plainview's Fair Theatre, is back in town to hold an open audition for his new musical "CinderellaROCK."

Auditions for children between ages 6-18 will begin at 6 p.m. Friday at Comfort Suites, 3615 Grandview Drive. Hall will select 70 children to be in the Plainview production Aug. 24. For casting information, go to www.cinderellarock.com.

"CinderellaROCK" will make its national debut with a tour that will cover more than 30 cities across Texas this summer, Hall said.

It is the fourth original musical he has written and will include 13 original songs, a live band and more than 20 professional New York actors.

"The highlight of the show is that it involves local children who will get the opportunity to work one-on-one with professional actors," said Hall, who is a graduate of Plainview High School. SDLq 'CinderellaROCK'is a way for me to help make their dreams come true."

Hall added that "CinderellaROCK" is a fresh version of the classic fairy tale, "Cinderella," told from the perspective of the fairy godmother.

"It has been 100 years since she has made a wish come true, and to avoid getting fired by Mother Nature she has until midnight to make someone's -- anyone's -- dream come true," he explained.

Hall has been acting since he was eight. He performed with Ballet Lubbock, Texas Ballet, Lone Star Ballet, Six Flags Over Texas, Walt Disney's MGM Studios and Disney's California Adventure, Royal Caribbean and Holland America cruise lines and Fort Worth's Casa Manana.

He also has been in Radio City Music Hall's "Christmas Spectacular" and Oprah Winfrey's "The Color Purple" on Broadway.

Hall recently toured another self-written and directed play, "Oz the Musical," which featured several American Idol alumni including Diana DeGarmo, Vonzell Solomon and Scott Savol.

Growing up in Plainview, Hall said he was turned on to theater by his gifted-and-talented teacher while attending La Mesa Elementary.

"I was introduced to theater by Pat Carthel, and it changed my life," Hall said. "Now I wish to do the same for other creative children who may not otherwise have the opportunity to be a part of something like this."

Hall said he was just an ordinary child attending La Mesa in 1993 when his life was changed.

"Mrs. Carthel plucked me out of my regular classes and my life took a dramatic change," Hall said. "She took our entire GT class to go see 'The Nutcracker' in Amarillo. Later, my principal at La Mesa (Sharon Wright) took me to see 'Fiddler on the Roof' at the high school. Those two events are probably what changed my life the most . . . I was so intrigued by what the people were doing on stage . . . it started a spark inside of me that I had never felt before."

That was the beginning of Hall's interest in the stage. Later, while attending Plainview High School, Hall studied with PHS choir instructor Walter Wright.

"With his coaching, I was placed as first chair first tenor in all-region choir," Hall recalled.

Bottom line, Hall said he wants to open the door to a theatrical career to other children. So far, he has touched hundred of young lives through his original productions.

"My goal is to introduce theater to children who have never even considered the performing arts as an option for them . . . and maybe change their lives the way mine was changed," he said. "This always has been a dream of mine."

Hall will continue his dream Friday when he opens the local audition to area children.

Toddyrockstar!

You were set to hit Broadway in Godspell last year. Was it hard when that fell apart?

The economy bit us in the butt, didn?t it? The investors got scared, and who could blame them? But it sucked, and it still sucks. We all got together as a cast in July of last year and spent a whole week just hanging out, and it was?this is going to sound corny?magical. We had talent shows, played acting-class theater games and sang through the music for the first time. Two weeks later, the day before I was supposed to move to the city and start rehearsals, I got the awful phone call. It took about a month for me to buck up. I got busy doing little shows in Nashville and writing new songs for an album, and then the American Idol Christmas Tour called and I did that for the holidays. Then I signed on for a little touring show called Oz: The Musical, which was?well, it was interesting.

In what way?

Look, I was fortunate. I made fabulous friends. But there were issues with the production as a whole. I knew leaving [the tour] would be the best thing to do, but I didn?t want to let my cast members down. The good of the group is more important than how I?m feeling as an individual. I?m happy I stuck it out because we had a good time onstage, which balanced out the behind-the-scenes issues.

Families Upset, Play Canceled and No Refunds Were Given

Ken Amaro Taren Reed

Created: 8/3/2009

Advertisement

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Lauran, 9, and Ariel, 8, were excited about being part of the cast in 'Oz The Musical,' but that excitement has turned into disappointment.

"My daughter cried, she thought they did not want her," says Kathy Coucran.

Laura Ferrante says her daughter Ariel also felt dejected.

"It seemed like a reputable company," says Ferrante. She adds,"I'd like to see him held accountable, this is not right."

Todrick Hall is writer and director of Oz The Musical. He says the nationwide performance was canceled because the production lost its funding.

"It was due to the economy...I want to make it clear this is not a scam, we just did not have the money to meet the schedule." said Hall.

Hall says his producer was responsible for the budget, and Oz The Musical grew so fast the money wasn't there.

Coucran and Ferrante asked for a refund, but have yet to see it.

The children participating in Oz The Musical each paid $50 to $75 depending on their role. "I have yet to hear from anyone,"says Coucran.

Ferrante says,"If it was one or two shame on us, but in Tennessee there are 3,000 families that paid money."

Hall says he will put on another play this fall and the proceeds will be used to reimburse the families of 'Oz The Musical.'

Hall says any parent with questions can contact him at OZthemusical@yahoo.com.

This also happened in Waco, TX. I thought it sounded "hinky", and called the theatre where it was supposed to take place. He had called, but had never secured the location nor paid a deposit. The show was in three weeks. However, many people in the area did pay the $60 per child "audition" fee. My kids have been in performances before where there was an audition fee; so this is not unusual. But that production was done by a local dance company through the the local youth ballet. Not a drive through shmutz that says the production will be three weeks from the date of audition! He also had a family present that said they have been in his productions before and it was a wonderful experience. He's very good at his scam and should not be allowed to continue.