Merrimack Repertory Theatre 2026-27 Season Equity Principal Actors - Merrimack Repertory Theatre Auditions

AUDITION DATE

Friday, August 21, 2026
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM (E)
Lunch 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

CONTRACT

LORT Non-Rep
$889 weekly minimum (LORT D)

SEEKING

Equity actors for roles in Merrimack Repertory Theatre's 2026-27 Season (See

BREAKDOWN

Merrimack Repertory Theatre does not believe in discrimination based on color, race, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, disabilities, gender, or otherwise. All performers, including those of color, seniors, women, and performers with disabilities, are encouraged to audition and will be given full consideration.

No roles will be understudied.

PREPARATION

Please prepare a one-minute contemporary monologue. If you are auditioning for SPELLING BEE, please prepare one-minute of a contemporary musical theatre song that best showcases your vocal ability and personality. Selections from SPELLING BEE are welcome but not required. Please bring clearly marked sheet music in the correct key; an accompanist will be provided. No recorded accompaniment or a cappella auditions, please. Also, please bring your headshot and resume.

LOCATION

Merrimack Repertory Theatre - Rehearsal Hall
132 Warren St
Lowell, MA 01852

MRT can be driven to from I-495 North or South, I-93 North or South, as well as accessed by the MBTA Commuter Rail out of Boston. From Boston to Lowell's Gallagher Terminal, take the Lowell Line from North Station. MRT is a short cab ride from the station or use the Lowell Regional Transit Authority's Downtown Circulator (Monday-Saturday). Garage Parking is available at Lower Locks Parking Garage: 90 Warren St. Lowell, and street parking is available in front of the building.

PERSONNEL

Expected to attend:

• Jenny Lavery, Interim Executive Artistic Director
• Karen Oster, Music Director of SPELLING BEE

See

BREAKDOWN

PERSONNEL

OTHER

For more information, please contact:
casting@mrt.org

An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of this audition.

Equity's

CONTRACT

Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
From the Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson

First Rehearsal: September 22, 2026
Previews: October 14-16, 2026
Run: October 17, 2026 - November 1, 2026
Possible One Week Extension: to November 8, 2026

SEEKING:

DR. HENRY JEKYLL — Male-presenting, 30s–50s. A brilliant London physician determined to separate the good and evil within humanity. Highly intelligent, compassionate, ambitious, and ultimately consumed by his own experiment. Only Jekyll and does not double as Hyde.

ELIZABETH JELKES — Female-presenting, late 20s–40s. A resilient, intelligent woman whose compassion and strength challenge both Jekyll and Hyde. Practical, warm, and emotionally grounded, Elizabeth becomes the play's moral center. No doubling.

TRACK 3 — Male-presenting, 30s–60s. Dr. Lanyon, along with multiple supporting characters and one manifestation of Mr. Hyde. Lanyon is a respected physician, longtime friend of Jekyll, and a man whose scientific certainty is shattered by what he witnesses.

TRACK 4 — Male-presenting, 30s–60s. Gabriel Utterson, along with multiple supporting characters and one manifestation of Mr. Hyde. Utterson is Jekyll's lawyer and closest confidant—a thoughtful, rational observer determined to uncover the truth.

TRACK 5 — Male-presenting, 20s–60s. Sir Danvers Carew, Poole, Richard Enfield, and numerous additional roles, including one manifestation of Mr. Hyde. Highly versatile, capable of swift physical and vocal transformations.

TRACK 6 — Female-presenting, 20s–60s. The Inspector, The Maid, The Prostitute, Old Woman, Little Girl, and numerous additional characters, including one manifestation of Mr. Hyde. Exceptional range, physical storytelling ability, and the versatility to portray characters across age, class, and gender expression through theatrical transformation.

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN, ABRIDGED

By Jessica Bedford, Kathryn Macmillan, Charlotte Northeast, Meghan Winch

First Rehearsal: November 17th, 2026
Previews: November 25 - 27th, 2026
Run: November 28th - December 13th
Possible One Week Extension: thru December 20th, 2026

ALL ROLES CAST

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

Music & Lyrics by William Finn
Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Created by Rebecca Feldman
Additional Material by Jay Reiss

First Rehearsal: January 5, 2027
Previews: January 27 - 29, 2027
Run: January 30, 2027 – February 14, 2027

SEEKING:

OLIVE OSTROVSKY — Female-presenting, 18+ to play age 11–13, Vocal Range: Mezzo-Soprano (B3–F5). A shy, intelligent newcomer to the Bee who finds comfort in words and books. Raised largely on her own while her parents are absent, Olive possesses remarkable resilience, imagination, and quiet determination. The emotional heart of the show.

WILLIAM BARFÉE — Male-presenting, 18+ to play age 12–14, Vocal Range: Tenor/Baritone (A2–B4). Confident, eccentric, and brilliantly awkward. A former spelling champion returning after recovering from an allergy. Fiercely competitive with a unique spelling technique (Magic Foot) and surprisingly tender beneath his bravado.

LOGAINNE SCHWARTZANDGRUBENIERE — Female-presenting, 18+ to play age 9–12, Vocal Range: Mezzo-Soprano (A3–F5). The youngest contestant, politically aware, intensely prepared, and eager to make her two fathers proud. Bright, anxious, outspoken, and endlessly driven.

LEAF CONEYBEAR — Male-presenting, 18+ to play age 12–14, Vocal Range: Tenor (A2–A4). An endearingly quirky, homeschooled boy who unexpectedly qualifies for the Bee. Sweet, imaginative, and often underestimated, Leaf discovers extraordinary confidence when he enters his spelling trance.

MARCY PARK — Female-presenting, 18+ to play age 12–14, Vocal Range: Mezzo-Soprano (B3–E5). An overachieving perfectionist who excels at everything she attempts. Sophisticated, disciplined, and relentlessly accomplished, Marcy eventually reveals the pressure behind her seemingly effortless success.

CHIP TOLENTINO — Male-presenting, 18+ to play age 12–14, Vocal Range: Tenor (C3–B4). Returning champion of the Bee. Athletic, confident, and well-liked, Chip's carefully ordered world is hilariously disrupted by the arrival of puberty at the least convenient moment.

RONA LISA PERETTI — Female-presenting, 30s–50s, Vocal Range: Mezzo-Soprano with Belt. Former spelling bee champion and now the event's enthusiastic moderator. Warm, polished, witty, and deeply invested in the contestants' success. Doubles as Olive's mother.

VICE PRINCIPAL DOUGLAS PANCH — Male-presenting, 30s–60s. The vice principal reluctantly serving as spelling bee judge after returning from an unusual leave of absence. Dry, cynical, awkward, and increasingly invested in the competition.

MITCH MAHONEY — Male-presenting, 20s–50s, Vocal Range: Baritone/Tenor. The Bee's Comfort Counselor, completing community service while offering juice boxes and encouragement to eliminated contestants. Tough on the outside, compassionate underneath. Doubles as several adult roles, including Olive's father and Dan Dad.

ALL THE GREAT BOOKS, ABRIDGED

By Reduced Shakespeare Company

First Rehearsal: February 19th, 2027
Previews: February 24 - 26th, 2027
Run: February 27th - March 14th, 2027

ALL ROLES CAST

LONG SHOT

By James Still

First Rehearsal: March 16, 2027
Previews: April 7 - 9, 2027
Run: April 10, 2027 – April 25, 2027

SEEKING:

PAUL TSONGAS — Male-presenting, 30s–60s. A politician, a husband, a father. Highly intelligent, compassionate, and ambitious. No doubling. Impressions of the real person are not necessary, merely the essence of the person.

TRACK ONE — Female-presenting, 30s–60s. Multiple roles including Niki Tsongas, Paul Revere, Reporters, etc. Has a strong faculty with character work to achieve vocal and physical transformations.

TRACK TWO — Male-presenting, 30s–60s. Multiple roles including Jack Kerouac, Bill Clinton, Reporters, etc. Has a strong faculty with character work to achieve vocal and physical transformations.