THE ASTONISHING TALE OF YENTL THE YESHIVA BOY — Principal Actors Auditions
Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College
THE ASTONISHING TALE OF YENTL THE YESHIVA BOY - ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY EPA
Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College | Annandale on Hudson, NY
Notice: Audition
AUDITION DATE
Thursday, September 17, 2026
12:00 PM - 6:00 PM (E)
APPOINTMENTS
These auditions will be run on a 1st come, 1st served basis. The sign-ins will begin at 11am and will cut off at 5:30pm.
CONTRACT
Independent Theatre
CONTRACT
$1050 weekly minimum - Pending negotiations.
Includes round trip travel stipend (train to Rhinebeck), Accommodations at Bard – Air BnB-style or Suite-style Dorm Housing - to be determined.
SEEKING
Equity actors for roles in THE ASTONISHING TALE OF YENTL THE YESHIVA BOY (working title) for Bard SummerScape 2026 (See
BREAKDOWN
).PREPARATION
Please prepare a short song or cut of their choice in the style of Spring Awakening (rock musical) meets Ofra Haza (Yemenite folk-pop). Note: Please do not sing anything from Fiddler on the Roof, the film of Yentl, or in Yiddish. For reference: Artist: Ofra Haza – unique fusion of traditional Yemenite vocal ornamentation with Western pop production. Her style bridged Middle Eastern folk traditions and global commercial music.
Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=894pvuAZ57U and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFgzzWT3zX4
LOCATION
Bard College - Performing Arts Lab
90 Robbins Rd
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
PERSONNEL
Artistic Director: Gideon Lester
Executive Producer: Aaron Mattocks
Producer: Carter Edwards
Director: Barrie Kosky
Book/Lyrics: Lisa Kron
Music: Songs will be derived from already existing Hasidic and Yiddish music (1930s/40s)
Music Director: Adam Benzwi
Choreographer: Otto Pichler
Casting Director: The TRC Company / Merri Sugarman, CSA
Casting Associate: Louis DiPaolo, CSA
Expected to attend:
Carter Edwards (Producer)
Merri Sugarman (Casting Director)
OTHER DATES
1st Rehearsal: May 11, 2027 (Rehearses in NY for approx. 6 weeks before traveling to Bard for Tech)
Previews: June 28, 2027
Opens: July 6, 2027
Closes: August 1, 2027
OTHER
An Equity Monitor will not be provided. The producer will run all aspects of this audition.
Equity's
CONTRACT
s prohibit discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition.Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.
SYNOPSIS
The Astonishing Tale of Yentl the Yeshiva Boy (working title) is a new musical based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's bracingly transgressive and gripping 1962 short story. The production is being created by Tony Award-winning writer Lisa Kron (Fun Home), and Barrie Kosky, one of the most sought-after directors on the international circuit (New York Times), in his first original American production. The show's score is being created by composer Adam Benzwi with original lyrics by Lisa Kron. Adam will adapt and transform melodies from the American and European Yiddish theater and music hall traditions, as well as the emotionally resonant canon of Hasidic choral music.
We highly recommend reading Singer's original short story to familiarize yourself with the narrative and style informing this production. Please note that this production is unrelated to the 1983 feature film and we are not using any Michel LeGrande songs.
All parts open to any race or ethnicity.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
YENTL/ANSHEL: (18+ to play 17 years old) This character is Non-Binary; Boyishly handsome, scruffy, dangerous, haunted and undernourished; Born with the soul of a man in the body of a woman. Roguishly charming. Unshakably drawn to a life of religious study. Makes unthinkably bold choices when boxed in by circumstance. Very strong singer.
AVIGDOR: (19 years old) – Male Presenting. Bony, bearded and handsome in a gaunt, haunted kind of way. Filled with feelings of yearning and desire he has no outlet for. Very strong singer.
HADASS: (18+ to play 17 or 18 years old) Female Presenting. Feels deeply. Loves reading stories of people who feel deeply. Aware of her own beauty in an unselfconscious way. Also, incredibly clumsy. Is revealed through the course of the play to have a grounded sense of self and of her own mind. Very strong singer.
BADKHN: THIS ROLE IS CAST. (50s) Male Presenting. An observer and sometimes participant. Both in and out of time.
BINA HODEL: (50s+) Female Presenting; Very, very old. Ancient – half-blind, mostly immobile. Impish. Contains mysterious multitudes.
