Rhino Theatre holding auditions for The Who's TOMMY on May 25th and 26th from 7-9pm. Performances The first three weekends in August.
Character Breakdown / Project Needs
*Roles listed are representative. Exact casting will be determined at callbacks. Please note we have included vocal ranges below the character descriptions.
CAPTAIN WALKER: A former soldier with lingering guilt. He murders his wife's lover after coming back from a POW camp, resulting in Tommy's trauma-induced blindness, deafness, and dumbness. Father to Tommy and husband to Mrs. Walker.
COUSIN KEVIN: A bully with sadistic tendencies. Tortures his cousin, Tommy, when they're young and later seizes the opportunity to profit from Tommy's success.
ACID QUEEN: A brazen drug dealer and prostitute. Tommy's parents bring him to the Gypsy to experiment with unusual cures.
MRS. WALKER: A weary middle-class woman. Mrs. Walker is tired and frustrated from trying to care for and cure Tommy. Tommy's mother and Captain Walker's wife.
SALLY SIMPSON: A bold, sensitive, and excitable teenybopper. Sally develops a fan crush on Tommy and rushes the stage to be close to him.
THE SPECIALIST: A doctor with modern ideas about how to cure Tommy. Tommy's parents hire him in their desperation to find any cure for their son.
TOMMY/NARRATOR: An embittered young genius stricken deaf, dumb, and blind after a childhood trauma. Tommy discovers that he is a natural master of pinball, and later becomes a cult-like hero figure to masses enthralled by his story. Captain Walker and Mrs. Walker's son.
UNCLE ERNIE: A lecherous, drunken bachelor. Ernie molests a young Tommy and later runs a children's camp seeking to profit from Tommy's popularity. Mrs. Walker's brother and Tommy's uncle.
ENSEMBLE (SOLDIERS; NURSES; HARLOTS; LADS AND LASSES; GUARDS; REPORTERS)
YOUNG TOMMY (under 18) We will be casting two young boys total.
VOCAL RANGES:
1. Mr Walker: F3- C#5.
2. Mrs walker: G3 - E5.
3. Lover/harmonica player/guard 5:
B-flat 4 - B5.
4. Tommy 4-year old: C#4 (optional, preferred E3) - A5.
Tommy 10-year old: E-flat 4 - A5.
5. Tommy/Narrator: F#3 - B5.
6. Uncle Ernie: F3 (G2 optional) - B-flat 5.
7. Cousin Kevin: C3 - B5.
8. Acid Queen / Doctor: F3 - G5.
9. Sally Simpson / Ensemble: F#3 - D5.
10. Hawker/Ensemble/Guard 4: D3 - A5.
11. Officer 1/Barristan/Guard 3: D3 - G4.
12. Nurse 1/Specialist: G#3 - C#5.
13. Nurse 2/Assistant: D3 - A5.
14. Nurse 3/mrs Simpson: A4 - C5.
15. Minister/mr Simpson: A4 - G4.
16. Lad 1: B4 - C5.
17. Lad 2: B4 - A5.
18. Tenor solo/DJ: G4 - D5.
Ensemble is In four-part Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass.
PLEASE NOTE: If these look high, it's because they are - men especially. All vocal approaches will be considered - a healthy mix is fine - some of these extreme ranges can be worked in various stylistic ways. 10-year-old tommy must be boy soprano.
Audition Requirements:
Please prepare a song in the style of Tommy or from a contemporary show that demonstrates range and acting ability.
Videos
