Andrew Lloyd Webber launches his bid to find his Dorothy

Andrew Lloyd Webber is on the hunt once again for a new West End theatre star for his revival of The Wizard of Oz.

The Chief judge has recorded a message setting out what he is looking for in his search for the perfect Dorothy.

The leading role, made famous by Judy Garland in the 1939 film, is up for grabs in the BBC1 prime time show.

“Dorothy is a kid, okay?” explains Lloyd Webber. “In the books she was probably only 9 or 10 years old, but in the movie, of course, she was played by Judy Garland and was that much older.

“But I want you to loose all thoughts of Judy Garland, just as I asked the Marias to lose all thoughts of Julie Andrews. I want to play Dorothy slightly differently.

“I just want to hear something which is contemporary… I want to hear something with a bit of edge,” he says.

In addition to his speech, the BBC website says: ‘Andrew Lloyd Webber is looking for a 2010 version of Dorothy, less Judy Garland, more Avril Lavigne. A girl with attitude willing to take on the Wicked Witch and a girl that can show that she can make the role of Dorothy their own.

So when you audition think carefully about your song choices; we want to see potential Dorothys singing modern songs from artists like Pink, Rihanna, Pixie Lott etc. as well as being able to demonstrate a musical number. As we are looking for a Dorothy with attitude you should think of popular well known musicals that can demonstrate your voice and show us that you are potentially Andrew’s thoroughly modern Dorothy.’

For more information and to watch the video, visit www.bbc.co.uk/dorothy/