Believe in Yourself

Over the years I’ve read several stories from actresses (and novelists) who were inspired by seeing some version of Dorothy Gale at a young age. But I hadn’t seen a remark like this:

Watching Stephanie Mills in “The Wiz,” I thought, “I want to play that part” — which, obviously, being white and male, was not going to happen very easily.

That’s from actor Evan Handler, telling the New York Times about how he got interested in acting.

IMDB.com says Handler shares a birthday with Ray Bolger, but of course his closest brush with Oz stardom was his memorable experience with the Return to Oz Nome King.

Personally, I think Handler might do a good job as a well-written Wizard.