Todrick Hall may have mentioned his experience in The Color Purple while trying out for American Idol, but he didn’t mention his experience in a few other musicals that left people fuming. Turns out Todrick helmed productions where kids paid to be a part of the company. But many kids were left without a spot in his play while their parents were left without a refund. So what happened? Since Todrick is a rumored top 24 contestant, we’ve compiled the entire story for you to judge.

Todrick created Oz: The Musical. The play toured the country, and local kids were picked to play the part of the Munchkins in each city. Every child who auditioned was allowed in, according to dance school owner Jenny Belsito. According to some parents who wrote to Vote for the Worst, after the money was paid, in many instances the parents heard nothing until a few days before the performance when they got an e-mail saying that the show was cancelled. The show did go on in many parts of the country, but when things didn’t work out, it seems the staff didn’t issue any refunds. Cancellations started occurring in February of 2009 and continued through the summer.

American Idol 3 runner up Diana DeGarmo was originally cast as the lead in Oz, only to leave the show soon after. Diana doesn’t say much about her experience, but rumors suggest that she left the show due to shady behavior behind the scenes, calling the way the show was handled “interesting.”

Parent Kimberlee Edwards was quoted as saying she paid $75 for her daughter’s inclusion in the play. This money was described as a fee for costumes and rehearsal space. But News Channel 5 in Nashville found out that the rehearsal space in their town was given to the production free of charge and the costumes consisted of T-shirts. Another parent is quoted on WSMV-TV in Nashville as saying that the $50 fee she paid was promised back to her once the show was over, to be used merely as a deposit. So it seems that different towns were promised different things. A parent who wrote to Vote for the Worst tells us that the venue where the show was supposed to take place in her town changed multiple times. When she finally got around to calling the various locations where the play was supposed to take place, none had even heard of the production.

One parent who wrote to Vote for the Worst said the checks were supposed to be written to Mr. Money at Magic Money Productions, which is also mentioned in the comments in a Lubbock Avalanche-Journal article. Who runs Magic Money Productions? And why would this person go by the nickname Mr. Money rather than a real name? After some research, we've found out that the guy's name is Greg Money. Ozthemusical.com is registered to todrick.hall@pisolutions.net. And Pisolutions.net is registered to Greg Money in Dallas, Texas. Todrick's use of an email address through Greg's website seems to imply a close relationship.

A closer look at Greg Money also brings out some interesting information. VFTW received a list of the companies that he's recently worked for. Partnership Therapy Services, Wellquest Development, Sun Healthcare Group, Wellquest Operating Company, Search One Inc, and Staff Solutions Inc are all listed as having a forfeiture of business license by the state or abandonment of office location. Greg has 2 businesses that don't fall into this category, but 6 companies that all had their business license taken away or had their office abandoned? Things start to look shady. 

When Todrick, as the show’s writer and director, was confronted about the cancellations, he stated that the company ran out of money and had to close the show. Todrick said, "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.” So apparently the show’s entire budget was contingent upon the kids’ money? That doesn't seem right, especially since parent Laura Ferrante says that 3000 kids in Tennessee alone (not counting the rest of the country) paid to be in the show. Todrick continues, “We don't want to quit the process, but unfortunately three or four of the cities of the 30 had to be canceled." He also stated in another article that the cancellations were “due to the economy.”

First of all, four cities? The “I Love Oz: The Musical” Facebook group has some angry posters who want refunds in two cities. Lisa Gordon Hobby from Muskegon, Michigan says her show was cancelled and she didn’t get a refund. Diana Messner from Pittsburgh didn’t get one either. The show was also obviously cancelled in Lakeland and Nashville, since articles were written about those locations. We also found a closed show in Indianapolis. And a comment from a poster in Waco, Texas says the same thing happened there. That’s six already without even breaking a sweat. How many more can we dig up?

To be fair, some of the shows did get off the ground. Todrick has promised to pay back the kids who originally lost money with the profit from these shows. But even still, not everyone got what they paid for even when the show did take place. AStarsDad posted on Lubbock Avalance-Journal article comments that he paid for a sweatshirt and was supposed to be given a scholarship promised by Todrick. Neither items were received and no refunds were issued.

So is this Todrick’s fault? Maybe Todrick just made a bad decision with the business partners of Oz? The musical was produced by Drama’l productions. Drama’l is Todrick’s middle name, and he has stated in numerous locations that he owns the company. So while it's unclear what the difference between Drama'l and Magic Money is, multiple companies were running portions of the business end. Vote for the Worst was informed via an e-mail source that Todrick's mother was put in charge of the money for Oz because Todrick felt he wasn't responsible enough to do it. Understandable, but then why would you put on a nationwide tour of a show if you don't feel you have the necessary training and responsibility? The same source also tells us that a friend of the family was the producer of the show and that family friend exclusively collected the money. We were told that Todrick never asked any questions about it until it was too late. Again, that's possible, but as someone whose name is plastered all over posters, don't you think it's a good idea to keep up with the money kids are paying to be in your show? Or at least check in every now and then?

So let's assume that there's a possibility that Todrick was not at fault for the Oz debacle. Things get a little dicey though when Todrick's next production is brought into the picture. In between runs of Oz, Todrick set out to start a new show called Cinderella Rock. The show was described as a musical theatre class for kids that was supposed to end in a performance. And this time, Todrick calls himself a co-producer. One poster at MJ’s Big Blog states that once his money was collected, Todrick cancelled the show and disappeared. The Cinderella Rock website now simply says “Cinderella ROCK TOUR CANCELLED.” Folks forked out about $60 to be in Cinderella Rock according to a story on Connect Amarillo, and those people haven't received refunds either. This means Oz wasn't an isolated incident, and that doesn't look good for Todrick. Todrick is quoted in the Connect Amarillo article blaming the producer again and saying, "as of now there are no intentions of paying those kids back." But wasn't Todrick one of the producers? So which one was it? Todrick is certainly under the impression that he's untouchable in all of this, as he says in an Indy Channel article, "No one can legally do anything to me."

Todrick is quoted in many articles as saying that he wants to get money back to the people. Oz is back in production and is apparently making money. Well, give the parents their money then. Now you’re parading around on American Idol trying to launch a career, singing about how you're wearing $300 jeans. Instead of wasting that money, you could've paid back 6 parents. Many children are angry and upset due to his numerous shows. It’s sad. So no matter who's at fault, it's your reputation on the line, Todrick. Figure out a way to give the people back their money.

• Add new comment