THE COLUMNIST Equity Principal Auditions - Manhattan Theatre Club Auditions
Manhattan Theatre Club
THE COLUMNIST – Equity Principal Auditions
Manhattan Theatre Club (NYC) LORT A+; $1,231/week minimum
Director: Daniel Sullivan
Writer: David Auburn
Casting: David Caparelliotis
1st Rehearsal: 3/1/12. 1st Preview: 4/3/12. Opens: 4/25/12
Runs for 14 weeks in the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Equity Principal Auditions:
Friday, December 2, 2011 Roy Arias Studios
10 AM – 6 PM 300 West 43rd Street, Studio 508
Lunch from 1:30 – 2:30. New York, NY
Prepare a brief contemporary monologue.
Bring picture and resume, stapled together.
Columnists are kings in midcentury America and Joseph Alsop wears the crown. Joe is beloved, feared and courted in equal measure by the Washington political world at whose center he sits. But as the '60s dawn and America undergoes dizzying change, the intense political drama Joe is embroiled in becomes deeply personal as well.
Stewart Alsop:
Late 40s-Early 50s. Joe’s brother and former writing partner, still a writer in his own right. The yin to Joe’s yang: calm, patient, open-minded and kind. A family man. Though extremely smart and opinionated, he’s spent a lifetime living in the shadow of and picking up after Joe, and it’s taken its toll. Despite seeing his brother and his faults more clearly than anyone else, Stewart remains fiercely loyal to brother to the end.
Abigail:
Ages from 14-22 during the course of the play. Susan’s daughter and Joe’s stepdaughter. Smart, precocious but not cloying; a unique individual even at 14. Able to keep up with Joe, and he loves her for it. As she matures, her hippie politics create distance between them, but the affection remains. Thoughtful and clear-eyed.
Halberstam:
40ish. A Jewish newspaper reporter from the Bronx, making a name for himself covering the Vietnam War, from Vietnam . One of the new guard, writing from the trenches, not from a cushy office. Spirited, arrogant, and outspoken. He is an anti-establishment straight-shooter taking on those like Alsop, who he views as hopelessly out of touch.
The following roles have been CAST. Actors auditioning may be considered for possible replacements if needed.
Joe Alsop:
(CAST – John Lithgow) A highly-influential newspaper columnist in Washington, D.C. Brilliant, arrogant, passionate, sophisticated, sharp, witty. The ultimate insider. A force of nature – he is always the smartest guy in the room. Though he has a blind spot where people’s emotions are concerned.
Susan Mary Alsop:
(CAST - TBA) Late 40s. Joe’s attractive, glamorous, and refined wife. She is sparkling, effervescent: the perfect hostess. Increasingly disappointed in Joe and in their marriage.
Andrei:
(CAST – TBA) Mid-20s. A Russian living in communist Russia (and later, America) and Joe’s one-time lover. Charming, intelligent and multi-lingual. Loves all things Western. The Soviet system has hardened him in a way that might not have happened in another time and place.
