Barbie: The Musical

Dec. 5, 2005 — -- Barbie comes to life for the first time in a touring stage show called "Barbie Live In Fairytopia!" that will be staged in 80 cities across North America this spring.

The musical is a joint venture of Mattel and Clear Channel Entertainment and was inspired by a March 2005 direct-to-video movie "Barbie Fairytopia," in which Barbie plays a character named Elina.

"This exciting move into live entertainment is part of our long-term brand franchise plan for Barbie," said Mattel president Matt Bousquette. "It allows girls to experience Barbie in even more ways that are relevant to them."

Many potential Barbies came to "GMA's" Times Square Studio to audition for the musical directed by Eric Schaeffer, who directed the Los Angeles production of Disney's "Snow White" and the off-Broadway musical "Under the Bridge."

Schaeffer is looking for a Barbie who has "got to sing, dance and she's also going to be flying," he said. "There's acrobatics involved."

Barbie, who has been an icon for about a half a century, hails from Willows, Wis., and her first name is Barbie Millicent Roberts. Some of the dolls are so in demand that a 1959 doll is worth more than $25,000, and three Barbies are sold every second.

But don't expect Ken to show up in the new musical; he and Barbie broke up last year