Encores! 2010-11 Season – Equity Principal Auditions
New York City Center Encores! Agreement $1,108/week minimum.
Artistic Dir: Jack Viertel
Mus Dir (all shows): Rob Berman
Casting: Binder Casting
Equity Principal Auditions:
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 Actors' Equity Association Audition Center
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 165 West 46th Street, 2nd Floor
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM both days. New York City
Lunch from 1 - 2.
See audition-piece suggestions in each show’s listing below.
Please bring a picture & resume, stapled together.
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert presents fully staged concert versions of rarely produced American musicals. All performances, which included full orchestra and chorus, will be at City Center.
2010-11 Season. All roles are available (i.e. not yet offered and accepted) unless otherwise specified:
BELLS ARE RINGING Music: Jule Styne. Book/Lyrics: Betty Comden & Adolph Green. Concert Adaptation: David Ives. Dir/Choreo: Kathleen Marshall. 1st reh: 11/4/10. Runs 11/18–11/21.
First opened on Broadway in 1956. Cast included Judy Holliday, Sydney Chaplin and Jean Stapleton. Introduced the standards “Just In Time”, “The Party’s Over” and “I Met A Girl”. Setting: NYC, late 1950s.
Suggested audition material: Brief, classic “Golden Age” Broadway song, e.g. Comden & Green, Jule Styne, Cy Coleman, Frank Loesser, Charles Strouse, etc. For non-singing roles: Brief comedic monologue.
Ella Peterson:
Mid 20s-mid 30s. Attractive and charismatic, with charm and innocence. Switchboard operator for an answering service; meddles in all of her clients’ lives. Capable of transforming into a different character with each person she talks to on the phone. Without realizing it, she changes everyone’s lives for the better -- especially Jeff, a playwright she is in love with. Free spirit with a wacky sense of humor that hides her basic insecurities. Role for a comedienne. Strong chest-mix and belt.
Sue:
Late 30s-mid 40s. Ella’s cousin. Owns Susanswerphone. Forever telling Ella not to get involved with the clients. Naïve enough to fall in love with a seemingly suave character who turns out to be a bookie. Role for a character comedienne. Character soprano.
Jeff Moss:
Late 20s-late 30s. Charming, carefree, handsome leading man-type. Playboy. Playwright who is afraid to write without his partner, until Ella rescues him and gives him the security he needs to write his play. When they meet, she does not reveal her true identity. When he figures it out, his love for her only increases. Baritone.
Francis:
Late 20s-mid 30s. Could be on the round side. Barnes’s sidekick. Despite Barnes’s suspicions, believes that Ella is innocent. Character comic role. Non-singing.
Carl:
Early-mid 20s. Neighborhood delivery boy. Very smart, with a great knowledge of classical music. Inadvertently uncovers Sandor’s scam. STAR DANCER ROLE. Baritenor.
Larry Hastings:
Mid 50s. Producer of Jeff’s play. Typical Broadway type. Threatening when he needs to be, and suddenly the friendly, backslapping type when things go the way he wants them to. Actor should have authority and presence. Non-singing.
The following three roles are cast. Auditioning performers will be considered as possible replacements, should any become necessary.
Sandor:
CAST. Late 30s-late 40s. Presents himself as the suave European J. Sandor Prantz, president of the Titanic Record Company – but he is really using Susanswerphone as a front for a huge network of bookies. Role for a character comic. Character high baritone.
Dr. Kitchell:
CAST. Late 30s-mid 40s. Not-very-good dentist whose secret dream is to be a songwriter. Composes his songs on his air hose (a piece of dental equipment). Again, Ella tips him off about an upcoming audition for songwriters, and he fulfills his dream. Character comic role. Non-singing.
Blake Barton:
CAST. Man, mid 20s-mid 30s. Sexy Marlon Brando type. Out-of-work actor who has nothing but disdain for the commercial theatre. Tries to be a clone of Brando until Ella gives him the advice he needs to land a job in Jeff’s new play. Non-singing.
Inspector Barnes:
CAST. Man, mid-late 40s. Over-zealous inspector, determined to uncover Susanswerphone as a front for a “lonely hearts club for men”. Determined to get a promotion, and will stop at nothing. Character comic role. Non-singing.
LOST IN THE STARS Music: Kurt Weill. Book/Lyrics: Maxwell Anderson. Concert Adaptation: David Ives. Dir: Gary Griffin. Musical Dir: Rob Berman. Choreo TBA. 1st reh: 1/20/11. Runs 2/3–2/6.
Opened on Broadway in 1949. Based on the novel “Cry, The Beloved Country” by Alan Paton. Cast included Todd Duncan (the original Porgy). Setting: South Africa. One of the first dramatic explorations of apartheid.
Suggested audition material: Brief, legit theatre song, e.g. Weill, Bernstein, Blitzstein, Gershwin’s PORGY AND BESS. For non-singing roles: Brief monologue from a classic dramatic play written in the 1940s or 1950s, or an August Wilson piece.
Rev. Stephen Kumalo:
Black African. Mid-late 40s. Has great strength and presence. Man of great integrity and Christian moral responsibility. His world is shattered when his son is convicted of the murder of a white man’s son. Through much pain and grief, both parents come to respect and understand each other, regardless of race. Legit baritone.
Leader:
Black African man, mid 30s-late 40s. Singer who leads the onstage chorus, which comments on the action throughout the piece. Must be a superb legit singer. Tenor or high baritone.
James Jarvis:
Caucasian Englishman, mid 50s. Patrician. Prosperous. Has great racial prejudice. Through the ordeal of his son being shot by Stephen’s son, he finally realizes the equality of men, and understands that their pain and loss are the same. Non-singing.
John Kumalo:
Black African, early 50s. Stephen’s jaded but practical brother. Believes that by waiting and quietly gaining strength within his own people will ultimately bring equality. Views his brother’s Christianity as being hypocritical. Non-singing.
Absalom Kumalo:
Black African, mid-late 20s. Strong, athletic. Stephen’s son. Leaves home for Johannesburg to pursue work in the mines. Ultimately falls in with a bad sort; has been in jail, but now is on parole. He and a gang attempt a robbery and, out of fear, he kills Jarvis’s son Arthur. Realizes he must atone for his sins by pleading guilty; ultimately sentenced to death. Non-singing.
Arthur Jarvis:
Caucasian Englishman, late 20s-early 30s. Aristocratic. James’s son. Carries no prejudice whatsoever, and believes that there can be peace and harmony between all men. It is a sad irony that he is killed during the attempted robbery. Non-singing.
Mark Eland:
Caucasian, mid-late 30s. Absalom’s understanding, decent parole officer. Non-singing.
Alex:
Black African boy, age 11-12. Illegitimate son of Stephen’s daughter, who has disappeared. He is saved by the love and eternal optimism of Stephen, who will raise him. Boy soprano; unchanged voice.
Edward Jarvis:
Caucasian boy, age 11–12. Arthur’s son. He indeed is his father’s child, has no prejudice and cares only for the good in all people. Non-singing.
Irina:
Black African woman, mid 20s. Beautiful woman of simplicity and integrity. Absalom’s abandoned girlfriend. Loves him unconditionally. They are, ultimately, married before his execution. Mezzo.
Grace:
Black African woman, late 30s-mid 40s. Stephen’s loyal, dedicated wife. Has great love and understanding. Non-singing.
Linda:
Black African woman, late 20s. Singer in a dive bar in Shanty Town. Sexy. Probably of easy virtue. Excellent singer/dancer needed. Mezzo.
WHERE’S CHARLEY? Score: Frank Loesser. Book: George Abbott. Dir: John Doyle. Choreo: Alex Sanchez. 1st reh: 3/3/11. Runs 3/17-3/20.
Opened on Broadway in 1948. Based on the classic farce “Charley’s Aunt”. Frank Loesser’s first Broadway musical. Starred Ray Bolger. “Once In Love With Amy” became a classic standard. Setting: Oxford University, England, 1892.
Suggested audition material: Brief, classic “Golden Age” Broadway song, e.g. Jule Styne, Cy Coleman, Frank Loesser, Charles Strouse, etc. For non-singing roles: Brief monologue from a period or contemporary English farce, using an English accent.
The entire company must be skilled farceurs with English accents.
Charley:
Early-late 20s. Feckless, forgetful. A bit lost in his own world, but when the chips are down, he comes through, beautifully disguised as his aunt. Hopelessly in love with Amy. Requires an incredibly physical character comedian with great endurance. Must dance or move well. Broadway baritone.
Jack:
Early-late 20s. Charley’s best friend and roommate. Impetuous. Handsome. Desperately in love with Kitty. Legit tenor.
Mr. Spettigue:
Late 40s-mid 50s. Amy’s uncle and Kitty’s guardian. Pompous. Really only interested in Charley’s aunt’s money. Role for a character actor. While he could be any shape, he must be physically fit. Bass-baritone; can be a character singer.
Sir Francis Chesney:
Early-mid 50s. Handsome ex-military man. Jack’s father. Has recently found himself in financial difficulties. Egged on by his son, he too tries to woo Charley’s aunt. Legit baritone.
Brassett:
Man, mid 30s. Perfect English butler. Sees all but says nothing. Role for a character actor. Non-singing.
Amy Spettigue:
Early-mid 20s. Gamine; charming, high-spirited young lady. While she becomes suspicious, she ultimately remains faithful to Charley -- despite his strange behavior (he is never there when she is because, of course, he is disguised as his aunt). Chest-mix with head voice.
Kitty Verdun:
Early-mid 20s. Beautiful, refined, honest, proper young lady. Deeply in love with Jack; will do anything to secure her guardian’s permission to marry him. Legit soprano.
Donna Lucia D’Alvadorez:
Late 40s-mid 50s. Charley’s aunt, from Brazil. Attractive, stylish, handsome. When young, she was in love with Sir Francis before he went to fight in India. They rekindle their love. Legit soprano.
Statement of casting personnel: “We encourage performers of all ethnicities to attend.”
Videos
