SHOW BOAT - Lakewood Theatre Company
LAKEWOOD THEATRE COMPANY TO HOLD AUDITIONS
FOR THE MUSICAL
SHOW BOAT
FEB. 23 & 24, 2014
Lakewood Theatre Company will be having open auditions on
SUNDAY, FEB. 23, 2014 and
MONDAY, FEB. 24, 2014 for the Jerome Kern/ Oscar Hammerstein II musical
Show Boat. Call
503-635-3901 to reserve an audition slot.
Show Boat is directed by
Ron Daum. The musical director is
John Quesenberry.
The director is seeking 12 men (ages 20-60s) and 12 women (ages 20-50s). All ethnicities are encouraged to audition. All roles receive remuneration.
Audition Location: Lakewood Theatre Company at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State Street in Lake Oswego.
Materials Needed: Please bring a resume, a current 8X10 glossy photo, and prepare a Broadway song in the correct key for your voice (no contemporary, pop, rock, Andrew Lloyd Webber or Sondheim). An accompanist will be provided. Please, no recorded music or a cappella singing. Please note: you may be asked to sing from the score at the audition.
Performance Schedule: Show Boat opens May 2, 2014 and continues through June 8, 2014. Performances are Thurs-Sat at 7:30 PM, Sundays at 7:00 PM (May 4, 11, 18), Sunday matinees (May 11, 25, June 1, 8)) and one Wednesday evening performance at 7:30 (May 21). Lakewood Theatre Company features an intimate 220-seat theatre located at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State Street in Lake Oswego.
About the Play: Spanning the years from 1880 to 1927, this lyrical masterpiece concerns the lives, loves and heartbreaks of three generations of show folk on the Mississippi, in Chicago and on Broadway (and their life-long friends). The primary plot follows Magnolia, the naive daughter of a show boat captain, as she marries a gambler and moves with him to Chicago. His gambling continues as his debts compound, and soon he deserts her and their young daughter. A subplot concerns the potential arrest of Magnolia's selfless best friend on charges of miscegenation when it's discovered that she is mulatto, and her subsequent downward spiral into despair. The passing of time reunites Magnolia and her now-grown daughter with her family on the show boat as well as with her husband, who eventually returns offering a hopeful second chance at familial fulfillment.
Music for Show Boat is by Jerome Kern and Book and Lyrics are by Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is based on the novel by Edna Ferber. Noted musical numbers include such classic songs as Ol' Man River, Make Believe, and Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man.
Since its premiere in 1927, Show Boat has never stopped moving. For over seven decades this seminal musical has continued to evolve on a journey that has reflected the ongoing development of the lyric theater, confirming its status as the pivotal work bridging operetta and contemporary musical theatre. It has been featured in three film versions, numerous Broadway and London revivals, countless tours and recordings.
Awards for Broadway shows did not exist in 1927 when the original production of the show premiered, nor in 1932, when its first revival was staged, but recent revivals of Show Boat have won both the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical (1995) and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival (1991).
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Additional Information: Show Boat
Role Breakdown:
All characters age over a 40-year period.
Queenie: Female, 30+, African American, warm with great humanity. She has a big powerful mezzo voice.
Joe: Male, 30+ African American, husband to Queenie, sings Old Man River, He is earthy with a quiet strength. Strong Bass Baritone singing voice.
Parthy: Female, 40s, Caucasian matriarch of the Cotton Blossom. A working class woman, New Englander and classy. She is a force to be reckoned with. Non-singing role.
Magnolia: Female, Caucasian, late 20s (her character ages from 18 to 48 within the show). Strikingly beautiful, falls for Ravenal. Glorious lyric soprano singing voice.
Julie Lavern: Female (Late 20s - 30) Exotic ethnic look, mixed race passing as white. Worldly and glamorous, the leading lady of the Cotton Blossom. Legit Mezzo Soprano voice.
Ellie May Chipley: Female, 25+ Caucasian, Soubrette, wants to be serious actress. Strong dancer, part of the vaudeville team. Mezzo voice range.
Frank Schultz: Male, 25+ Caucasian, strong dancer, plays villain on the show boat, but meek as a lamb. He is part of the vaudeville team. Baritone.
Gaylord Ravenal: This role has been cast.
Captain Andy: Male, Caucasian, 50+. He is captain of the Cotton Blossom. True old time showman. Warm, fatherly character. Character Baritone, but not a legit singing voice needed.
Ensemble: (9 men, 7 women), Caucasian and African American, ages 18-50s. Many roles are doubled.
Note: No children are being seen at this audition.
Auditions: by appointment
SUNDAY, FEB. 23, 2014 and
MONDAY, FEB. 24, 2014. Call Lakewood Theatre Company at
503-635-3901 to schedule an appointment.
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About Lakewood Theatre Company
61 Years of Live Theatre: Founded as a not-for-profit organization in 1952, Lakewood Theatre Company is a professional theatre dedicated to the study and presentation of drama in all its forms; the training and development of actors; and the creation, maintenance and operation of a theatre in which to present plays and other forms of entertainment. Lakewood Theatre Company is the oldest continually operated, not-for-profit theatre company in the Portland Metropolitan area. It annually provides more than 400 theatre artists the opportunity to learn and display their craft and attracts more than 35,000 people to its shows.
- 61st Season -
Productions in the 2013-14 season are underwritten, in part, by
The Regional Arts & Culture Council and the Work for Art Program
The Oregon Arts Commission
The National Endowment for the Arts
Media Sponsor: The Oregonian, Powering OregonLive
