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The movie version of the musical "Wicked" is approaching $700 million in box office sales, both domestically and globally. Will that kind of buzz affect some of today's bids? One of the original pairs of Dorothy's ruby slippers from 1939's "The Wizard Of Oz" are being auctioned today. The shoes were stolen nearly two decades ago from the Judy Garland Museum in the actress's hometown, Grand Rapids, Minnesota. They were recovered several years later and, as member station KAXE's Megan Buffington reports, will now go to the highest bidder.
MEGAN BUFFINGTON, BYLINE: Walking through the Judy Garland Museum, executive director Janie Heitz points to plenty of memorabilia from the actress's career, and quite a few items are from "The Wizard Of Oz."
JANIE HEITZ: Original carriage from "The Wizard Of Oz." We have a Winkie spear from the witch's castle. We have a test dress that Judy Garland wore.
BUFFINGTON: And there's an empty pedestal where an original pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers were once on display. They were on loan from a private collector when they were stolen in 2005.
HEITZ: So they broke in through this back door, and there were some security breaches on our end that made it particularly easy for the intruder to get in.
BUFFINGTON: It wasn't until 2018 that the FBI recovered the slippers. Two men were later indicted for the theft. Heitz says earlier this year, the slippers' owner announced plans to auction off the famous shoes.
HEITZ: Was kind of a bummer because it would have been nice to just work with him directly. It was always in the sight of the board to try to get the slippers back here.
BUFFINGTON: So the museum started fundraising, asking people to help bring the ruby slippers home. And Minnesota state Senator Justin Eichorn requested money from the state's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
JUSTIN EICHORN: You cannot overstate the importance of Dorothy's ruby slippers. They are the most important prop in Hollywood history. Wouldn't it be cool if we could have that here in Minnesota?
BUFFINGTON: And back in the Midwest, since there's already a pair at the Smithsonian on the East Coast and at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in the West. The Minnesota legislature designated $100,000 toward the purchase. The highest amount reached late Friday in what's called proxy online bidding was more than $1.5 million. And the shoes, says Heitz, are expected to go for as much as 3.5 to 5 million at Saturday's in-person auction. Heitz won't share how much money the Judy Garland Museum has raised but does say it has been an uphill battle. She says she and a colleague will be at the sale in Dallas in order to meet other potential buyers and build connections in case the museum doesn't get the slippers.
HEITZ: We would love to have an opportunity to host them, even if it's for a summer, on loan with better security.
BUFFINGTON: Because there's no place like home for a pair of ruby slippers that are an important part of Garland's history.
For NPR News, I'm Megan Buffington in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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