Chances are you’ve seen Todrick Hall sometime in the past eight years and may not have even realized it. From season nine of American Idol, to the Virgin America pre-flight video, to over 403.5 million views of videos on his YouTube channel, you’ve probably seen Todrick around.
At the Thrasher-Horne, we’ve known about Todrick for a while. Executive Director Denton Yockey remembers hiring him for one of his first stage gigs, long before his meteoric rise to fame had begun. When he was still a relative newcomer to show business, Denton cast a young Toddy as the Doormat in a Ft. Worth, Texas production of Beauty & the Beast. Now a full-fledged star, he owes much of his fame to people like Denton who took a chance on him early in life. As a result, Denton was able to reach out to Todrick’s people and arrange a performance of his brand new, fully updated version of Straight Outta Oz especially for all the Toddlerz in Northeast Florida.
Todrick has an infectious sort of personality that seeps out into everything he involves himself with, whether it be music, movies, television, or stage. This personal brand is all over Straight Outta Oz. His YouTube signature style involves re-imagining fairy tales into modern mini-Broadway extravaganzas, replacing their tried and true musical standards with arrangements that speak more directly to today’s pop charts. So it’s no surprise that his first large scale musical outing takes the classic story of The Wizard Of Oz – one of the most well known and revered Broadway creations of all time – and spins it into a tale of Todrick’s journey from Plainview, Texas to the bright lights of Los Angeles, California (cast in Straight Outta Oz as Oz Angeles).
Todrick Hall is one of those names that isn’t going away any time soon. Since landing in Los Angeles, he’s found representation with Scooter Braun at UTA (aka Justin Bieber’s agent), co-starred in videos with Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, and can count folks like Beyonce among his growing roster of Hollywood friends and collaborators (the Queen Bey herself recorded a video segment featured in Straight Outta Oz).
This tour represents a turning point for Todrick. His star is headed to the stratosphere, catapulting him to fame at a level equal to the very musicians and stars he’s spent the first part of his career both parodying and idolizing. And with his recent stint as the lead in Kinky Boots on Broadway, this should be the last time Northeast Florida is asking itself, “How do I know Todrick Hall?”
Tickets for Todrick Hall presents: Straight Outta Oz are available to the general public TODAY. Prices range from $29 to $39 with all fees included. Tickets and more information are available at (904) 276-6815 or online at THcenter.org.
The Thrasher-Horne Center is a not-for profit performing arts venue and conference center owned and operated by St. Johns River State College. It is located on the Orange Park campus at 283 College Drive in Orange Park, Florida.
