Bailiwick Chicago Theater Hosts CHICAGO CASTING AUCTION Today

Anyone can be a star - for a price! The annual CHICAGO CASTING AUCTION is a unique opportunity for non-professionals to experience the thrill of being on stage in a professionally produced Chicago stage production. Bailiwick Chicago Theater will be auctioning off more than 35 roles for this season's musical production, The Drowsy Chaperone, today, November 2, 2013 at the Dank Haus German American Cultural Center Grand Ballroom, 4740 N. Western Ave. in Chicago.

THE CHICAGO CASTING AUCTION will also feature live entertainment, a silent auction, delectable hors d'oeuvres, an open bar with signature cocktails and a professional photo booth to ham it up! Doors open at 6 pm and the Live Auction Event begins at 7:30 pm. Tickets for the Live Auction, priced at $75, are available at www.castingauction.com.

At the Live Auction Event, a professional auctioneer starts the bidding for leading roles and major supporting roles. Anyone can make an opening bid, either for themselves or on behalf of someone else. Once all the contenders for a given role are onstage, the bidding begins! Friends, family and supporters bid to win the role for their contestant of choice! Be advised, contenders are often edged on by the crowd to show off their vocal talents - resulting in the ultimate sing off! Supporting roles and chorus roles are bid on in the silent auction throughout the night.

The Sponsor Drive is a unique opportunity for contenders to maximize their chances of winning a role at the Live Auction Event. After signing up online at www.castingauction.com, contenders receive a free, customized "Players Page," where they can raise money in advance from family, friends and colleagues. The money, in turn, is used for bidding at the Live Auction Event - the ultimate edge!

After casting is complete and five weeks of rehearsals, all the fun culminates in a public production of the musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone directed by Managing Director Geoff Bleeker with music direction by Robert Ollis. The Drowsy Chaperone will be presented February 4 - February 8 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Tickets for The Drowsy Chaperone go on sale January 1, 2014 at castingauction.com.

With book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, The Drowsy Chaperone, a "musical within a comedy," debuted on Broadway in 2006 and was an instant hit, winning five Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards. To chase his blues away, a modern day musical theater addict known simply as 'Man in Chair,' drops the needle on his favorite LP, the 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone. When the record begins to play, the musical magically bursts to life on stage, telling the tale of a pampered Broadway starlet who wants to give up show business to get married, her producer who sets out to sabotage the wedding, her chaperone, the debonair groom, her Latin lover and a pair of bumbling gangsters.

Last year's CHICAGO CASTING AUCTION, which culminated in a sold-out public run of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, raised $75,000 to support Bailiwick Chicago programming.

Bailiwick Chicago is a non-profit professional company with a mission to produce contemporary musicals and plays, reinvent classic musicals and develop new work, while sharing a powerful and authentic Chicago theatrical experience. The company celebrates and engages our community through diverse programming, artistic partnerships and outreach opportunities. In its first three seasons Bailiwick Chicago has garnered 44 award nominations, including 10 Non-Equity Jeff Award Nominations in its first Jeff-Eligible season (2011-12). For additional information, visit www.bailiwickchicago.com.