{"id":239647,"date":"2026-04-20T23:54:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T23:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/239647\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T23:54:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T23:54:07","slug":"broadway-palm-puts-out-casting-call-for-three-terriers-to-play-toto-in-wizard-of-oz-wgcu-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/239647\/","title":{"rendered":"Broadway Palm puts out casting call for three terriers to play Toto in ‘Wizard of Oz’ | WGCU News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre has enjoyed great success working with canine performers, such as the three dogs who played Sandy in last year\u2019s production of \u201cAnnie.\u201d [Read, \u201cThree dogs who play Sandy making their theater debuts in Broadway Palm\u2019s \u2018Annie\u2019.\u201d<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Now, the theater wants to cast two to three terriers to play the part of Toto in \u201cThe Wizard of Oz.\u201d So, the theater wants to hear from you if your terrier is calm, good with children and adults \u2013 not to mention scarecrows, tin men and cowardly lions \u2013 and is comfortable being held and walking on a leash. Any additional tricks or stage-friendly skills are a bonus.<\/p>\n

The theater is double- or triple-casting the role so that each canine superstar gets plenty of rest between performance dates.<\/p>\n

Rehearsals for \u201cThe Wizard of Oz\u201d begin on June 11. Performances run from June 26 through August 8. The selected dogs will be needed for some rehearsals, technical run-throughs, and scheduled performances.<\/p>\n

Photo submissions are due by May 17.<\/p>\n

MORE INFORMATION:<\/p>\n

This is a paid gig.<\/p>\n

During shows, each dog will be cared for by an assigned \u201cDog Handler,\u201d and owners are welcome to remain on site with their pets in a designated area.<\/p>\n

Owners who believe their dog has star potential are invited to submit photos of their pup(s) to casting@broadwaypalm.com by May 17. Additional details will be shared after submissions are received.<\/p>\n

\"Gritty<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre<\/p>\n

Gritty working onstage with Addie Jaymes during performance of ‘Annie’ at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre. <\/p>\n

In \u201cThe Wizard of Oz,\u201d Toto is always present, always alert, often the first to notice what others miss. He reveals the Scarecrow\u2019s vulnerability and exposes the Wizard\u2019s trickery. Within the context of Joseph Campbell\u2019s \u201cThe Hero\u2019s Journey,\u201d Toto represents Dorothy\u2019s intuition, guiding her into the adventure, providing insight along the way, and helping her negotiate the threshold guardians she encounters along the way.<\/p>\n

In the movie, Toto was played by a female Cairn terrier named Terry. She was adopted by Hollywood dog trainer Carl Spitz, who saw in Terry the potential for a film career because of her natural charisma and uncanny ability to understand what was expected of her in ways that astonished cast and crew alike.<\/p>\n

Prior to \u201cThe Wizard of Oz,\u201d Terry appeared in 20 films, including \u201cReady for Love\u201d with Ida Lupino and \u201cBright Eyes\u201d with Shirley Temple in 1934. Because she was expressive, obedient, and able to convey emotion without words, Terry was cast in the role of Toto even though she was a female and in the original book, the dog was male.<\/p>\n

Judy Garland, who was just 16 at the time, formed a special bond with her and asked Spitz repeatedly to adopt the dog.<\/p>\n

Terry died at the age of 11 in 1945, her film credits far more extensive than many of her human contemporaries. Despite being one of the most famous dogs in history Toto never received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That honor has been reserved, to date for just three dogs \u2014 Strongheart, Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.<\/p>\n

Following a campaign by fans and historians, a memorial for Terry was erected at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in 2011. It features a bronze statue and plaque, a fitting tribute to a dog who helped define one of cinema\u2019s most enduring classics.<\/p>\n

Toto has been played, of course, by other dogs in remakes and spin-offs, such as \u201cReturn to Oz\u201d (1985) and \u201cEmerald City\u201d (2017). Toto has returned to the land of Oz in \u201cWicked: For Good.\u201d His brief appearance has provoked considerable controversy. In the scene, Toto is on a leash as he walks alongside Dorothy on the yellow brick road. Fans have speculated in social media that this represents Dorothy and the Wizard\u2019s efforts to control, silence and manipulate animals, which is antithetical to L. Frank Baum\u2019s use of Toto to represent Dorothy\u2019s intuition. But in actuality, Toto was leashed for safety reasons as the yellow brick road in \u201cWicked: For Good\u201d was located near a body of water.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine Spitz needing or Director Victor Fleming tolerating a leash for Toto for any reason. Clearly, Terry remains the gold standard for the countless animal actors who have followed in her paw prints.<\/p>\n

Support for WGCU\u2019s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre has enjoyed great success working with canine performers, such as the three dogs who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-239647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}