PPTOPA Announces auditions for our Spring 2023 musical PIPPIN
Non-Equity/Limited-Equity Special Contract (All Roles Paid; PPTOPA does not provide housing or transportation)
ALL ROLES OPEN
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Roger O. Hirson
Director: Richard Weinstock
Choreographer: Del Marrero
Music Director: Ben Rose
While Stephen Schwartz’s PIPPIN originally opened on Broadway in October 1972 and is considered to be a ‘70s musical, it was actually originally written for the Scotch ‘n’ Soda Club by Schwartz while at Carnegie Mellon University in 1967. 1967 was the Summer of Love, Flower Power was at its peak and the War was raging in Vietnam. PPTOPA’s production will follow the 2013 Broadway revival libretto but will be intentionally stripped back and reimagined in its concept, allowing the audience to really find the heart of the piece and will be set in a storytelling circle reflecting back the spirit of the ‘60s/’70s in a fun, fresh and theatrical way.
PERFORMANCE DATES
April 14-16, 21-23, 28-30, 2023
Fri, Sat Evening 8pm
Sat, Sun Matinee 2pm
The Susan B. Katz Theatre
17195 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, FL 33331
AUDITION DATES
October 2, 2022: 12n-6p by appointment
Email your headshot, resume & requested time to wendymarrero@outlook.com
Callbacks by invitation – October 9, 2022 (12 noon)
Jersey College Nursing School Ft. Lauderdale Campus
7775 W. Oakland Park Blvd.
Sunrise, FL 33351
REHEARSAL DATES
Beginning Monday, March 13
Monday-Thursday evenings 6-10pm
Saturday/Sunday 12noon-6pm
Rehearsals at Jersey College Nursing School Ft. Lauderdale Campus
Load-in, Tech Week & Performances at The Susan B. Katz Theatre
COVID DISCLAIMER: Based on CDC recommendations, Jersey College Nursing School guidelines as well as Broadway League practices, PPTOPA recommends all involved with Pippin auditions, callbacks, rehearsals and performances to be fully vaccinated and boostered. Masks recommended in all common waiting areas based on your comfort but not required.
AUDITION DETAILS
Please bring headshot, resume and completed audition form indicating conflicts. Prepare 2 one-minute selections of both an up-tempo AND ballad musical theatre song; selections from PIPPIN acceptable and encouraged but not mandatory. Please bring sheet music in the correct key. An accompanist is provided. Pre-recorded accompaniment acceptable ready-cued on phone, synched with our speaker. The acting segment of auditions will be by cold reading only. No monologues will be seen at this audition. All auditioning should also prepare for and dress appropriately for a dance audition, so plan your day accordingly.
CHARACTERS: PPTOPA is looking for 14 “extraordinary” triple-threat actor/singer/dancers for Pippin. Actors’ biological age is unimportant but roles require substantial and difficult choreography as well as a strong sense of physicality and movement. Dance audition required for all roles. All ethnicities and gender identities considered.
Leading Player: The director and lead performer of a traveling theater troupe and the musical's narrator. The Leading Player is the commentator, critic, and enabler all at once, but the big question is what is his/her true interest in Pippin? Masterfully charming and manipulative, the Leading Player is a chameleon, guiding Pippin through his own story and offering him all life's choices, except the one that matters. A paradox, he/she looks like light but is ultimately darkness. A charismatic performer of power, either male or female of any ethnicity. Must be able to guide us to dark side without revealing his/her intention.
Male or Female, Age 20s-40s. Dance: Required. Vocal Range: Db3 - Ab4
Pippin: The eldest son of Charlemagne and the musical's protagonist. Despite the privilege he enjoys as heir to the throne, Pippin is unfulfilled by what life at court has to offer. He is longing to find his purpose and the meaning of his life. Naive, innocent, and discontented, Pippin eventually explores possibilities and temptations, and ultimately finds meaning in love, and the love of having a family with Catherine and Theo. Actor must be a lead who can carry the story and gain the audience's trust and interest in following him on his journey. Must be comfortable on stage stripped down to undergarments.
Male, Age: 20s. Dance: Required. Vocal Range: G2 – Ab4
Charlemagne (Charles): The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Pippin and Lewis’s demanding father, and Fastrada’s husband. He is an adherent that, to maintain and run society, war is a part of everyday life and a skill that one should master. A character actor of power who can play older. Male, Age: 30s-40s. Dance: Required. Vocal Range: G2 – E4
Lewis: The youngest son of Emperor Charlemagne and Pippin’s half-brother. A strong, brash and dim-witted soldier, Lewis loves his mother almost as much as he loves himself. He is next in line (after Pippin) to inherit the throne. Addicted to the physical, Lewis loves weight lifting, Lewis loves wrestling, but most of all, Lewis loves Lewis. Requires good physicality. A young character actor who plays the antagonist. Male, Age: 20s. Dance: Required. Vocal Range: TBD
Berthe: Pippin’s saucy grandmother and Charlemagne’s mother. Berthe was exiled to the countryside after disagreeing with her daughter-in-law, Fastrada. A brassy woman full of wisdom, grace, sass and presence, Berthe advises Pippin to live his life to the fullest by seeking fulfillment through sensuality. Demands a character actress of musical theater presence. Has the musical theater “It” factor. Female, Age: 40s-50s. Dance: Required. Vocal Range: E3 – C5
Catherine: A widow who has been left with a large estate, which she can hardly manage on her own. She meets Pippin at a low point in his journey and welcomes him into her home. They ultimately fall in love. Theo is her son. She is a beautiful and a hopeless romantic and one who possesses graceful elegance. A classic musical theater leading lady. Must be comfortable on stage in under garments. Female, Age: 20s-30s. Dance: Required. Range: F#3 – Db5
Fastrada: Lewis’s mother and Pippin’s stepmother, Fastrada is entirely devoted to Lewis’s happiness and her own power. She wants to put Lewis on the throne at all costs, even if it means defying her husband, Charlemagne. She is beautiful, devious, crafty, cunning, and untrustworthy. A character actress of power who plays the antagonist. Female, Age: 30s-40s. Dance: Required. Vocal Range: A3 - F5
Theo: Catherine’s son. A kind boy whose best friend is a pet duck. Theo awakens Pippin's sense of self, responsibility, sacrifice, and love. A strong male actor who can portray a young boy. Must be comfortable on stage stripped down to undergarments. Male, Age: 20s. Dance: Required. Vocal Range: TBD
Ensemble: 6 dancers/singers heavily featured throughout. Ensemble “Players” play many other roles; they represent the influences and voices in Pippin’s head. Understudies for principal roles, if deemed necessary, will come from ensemble.
Age: 20s-30s. Dance: Required. Vocal Range: TBD
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