Audition Announcement & Seeking Production Crew
Theatre III Auditions

AUDITIONS FOR MUSICAL CHAIRS
AUDITION INFORMATION
Auditions will be held at Theatre III, 250 Central Street, West Acton.
Auditions will be Tuesday, December 13, Thursday, December 15, with call backs, if needed, on Friday, December 16 at 7:00 p.m. each night.
All auditioners should come prepared to sing 16 to 32 bars of a song of their choice which demonstrates their range and pitch accuracy. Bring 2 copies of accompaniment for the pianist and musical director in addition to one for yourself. All cast members must sing at auditions.
All auditioners will be taught a simple dance to demonstrate movement ability and will dance in small groups. Some may be asked to do additional dance for the roles of Janet, Harold and the critics. Men who can tap should bring tap shoes and be prepared to learn a short tap routine. (Women will not tap in this show and do not need to bring tap shoes.)
Auditioners will do cold readings from the script after singing and dancing has been completed. A copy of the script will be available at the Acton Memorial Library as of Wednesday, November 23.
We will do call backs only if additional review is needed for some roles.
The following dates are important in considering if you are able to meet the requirements for this show:
Show dates: Friday, 4/13; Saturday, 4/14; Friday 4/20; Saturday, 4/21; Friday,, 4/27; Saturday, 4/28; Sunday, 4/29 (matinee at 3 p.m.)
Senior dress rehearsal with audience: Wednesday, 4/11 at 7 p.m.
Technical rehearsal: Monday, 4/9
Dress rehearsal: Tuesday, 4/10

ABOUT THE SHOW Musical Chairs is the story of a writer (Joe Preston) who has written a new play opening off Broadway.   The characters of the musical are Joe, his still friendly former wife Valerie (a now famous west coast actress), the show producer Matty, and 12 audience members who come to see the play.   Each of the “character audience members” has their own story and background which is revealed and explored in dialogue and songs.  For the vast majority of the show, most characters are “seated” facing the actual audience.   They “step forward” for various musical numbers and for some entrances and exits. The “audience characters” sit in chairs looking at the actual audience, as if the play they are watching is over the heads of the real audience.
All these audience characters stay on stage for most of both acts and have lines throughout both acts. This means that the full cast will be needed for most rehearsals involving dialog or staging.  Much in the style of Putnam County Spelling Bee, or A Chorus Line, as each of these characters sings, the other members of the cast act as backup singers for some of the songs.   Thus, each cast member has the potential to sing a solo, duet or in a trio, AND in other numbers.
 The following character descriptions are from taken from the script with our own comments added.  Ages specified are less important than that the character ought to be age compatible with their partner character.

 Character Descriptions
Joe Preston – Age range, 40’s.   Good looking, quite intense.   He has been a successful playwright but recent years have not been good, ending in a bout with the bottle.    Sings “My Time”, its reprise at end of show, and a reprise of “There You Are”.  Baritone or tenor: singing range baritone A to E above middle C.
 Valerie Brooks – Joe’s former wife and  every man’s dream girl, a “pin up” type beauty.    She comes back to see his new play to support Joe and to see if he has recovered.  She is about 30.   No solo singing.  Chorus singing in opening and bows. 
Matty – The producer.  She is in her 40’s, but this is flexible.   She is very much the all together business woman but with a soft side and a good sense of humor.   No solo or backup singing.   Chorus singing in opening and bows.  
Boyfriend – (no name given) Energetic, young man in his early 20’s,  good looking, vulnerable,   a hopeless romantic, slightly naive.   Sings lead for “Sally”, which is THE big fun song, and is used as a reprise for Bows.  Tenor: C up to F# above middle C.
Roberta and Millie – widows who attend the theatre a great deal.   They don’t always know what’s going on.  Friends from “way back”.  They sing “Better Than Broadway” as a duet.  They sing backup in “Hit the Ladies”.  Roberta – An elderly, probably “matronly” woman.  Alto G up to D. Millie – An elderly lady, shorter than Roberta, otherwise no specific description.   Lots of bounce to the ounce which belies her age.  “Better than Broadway” Alto F# up to D.

Brad and Miranda
Brad – Big, handsome guy in his early 20’s.   He is a singer at a club and has the girls gaga over him.  He is quite dumb but aware of it.   Sings “Every Time the Music Starts” with backup singers.   The song is “disco style” on the cast recording, and quite falsetto high.   We reserve the right to adapt the song to some other, less decade-specific style, to suit the show and the range of the actor.   Vocal range: by the score, up to tenor Bb (the one above middle C). Miranda – One of Brad’s gaga girls.  She has finally wrangled a date with Brad but circumstances have her looking rather bedraggled in the first act.   Attractive but not a knockout, in her 20’s. Sings lead in “Beautiful” with a few guys as backup singers.   Sings backup in “Hit the Ladies”.  Vocal range:  alto/soprano Bb up to Eb. Brad and Miranda need to be near aged, even if not in their 20’s.
Lillian and Harold
Lillian – Woman in her 40’s, recently wealthy, has developed a bookish knowledge of the arts in order to keep up with her new-found station in life.  She is attractive.   Sings lead in “Hit the Ladies”.  Alto G up to A (think “Ethel Merman” style). Harold – Lillian’s husband, about the same age, possibly older than her.   He’s the reason for the wealth but it hasn’t changed him at all.   He is dragged about by his social climbing wife and puts up with it because he adores her.   Sings “What I Could Have Done Tonight” in a duet with Janet.  Baritone C# up to E with a good ear for harmony. Lillian and Harold have to be a convincing near aged couple.
Janet and Gary
Gary – Tall and in his 30’s, young executive type.  He is a sensitive, intelligent man and his marriage is coming unglued.   Sings “Suddenly, Love” solo. Tenor, C# up to G.
Janet – Gary’s wife.  She is the same age, attractive and very frustrated in her role of wife and mother.   Her unhappiness is not concealed; she wears it like a badge.   Sings “Other People” solo.  Sings “What I Could Have Done Tonight” in a duet with Harold.   Sings  backup in “Hit the Ladies”. Alto/Soprano B up to Eb, though there is a high optional note at the end of one song, so a higher range is welcome. Gary and Janet have to be a convincing near aged couple.
Theater critics: Brown Suit, Blue Suit, Tuxedo. 
Brown Suit – the acerbic critic.  Should appear to be in his 50’s.  Should have the acid kind of delivery of a Ned Sparks.  Sings “Musical Chairs” trio with other critics at top of Act 2.  Baritone/Tenor D# up to F. Blue Suit – In his 30’s and gives the impression of liking everything.   The world goes well for this critic.  Sings “Musical Chairs” trio with other critics at top of Act 2. Baritone/Tenor D# up to F. Tuxedo – the critic for a Greenwich Village type of newspaper.   Late 20’s or early 30’s and good looking.  Sings “Musical Chairs” trio with other critics at top of Act 2.  Sings “There You Are” solo.  Tenor: Bb up to F, though a high tenor would be handy for barber shop section of “Musical Chairs”. The ages of the three critics are not critical, though Tuxedo should be younger than the other two. The critics trio, “Musical Chairs” starts barber shop style and features tap dancing for one or all three.   Actors with that ability would be very helpful, but we will work out a solution if none is found.
All actors sing chorus in opening song “Tonight’s the Night” (some actors will have solos in that song) and chorus in reprise of “Sally” as the Bows music. All characters sing chorus for “Sally” behind the Boyfriend’s lead singing. All characters sing “Who’s Who” shortly into Act 1.
 
There is a small part of Stage Manager.  It will be played by the actual stage manger of Musical Chairs.
 There is a small part of “Sally”, who appears at the end of the show during Bows.   Casting of this part may be left as a choice of the director outside of regular casting.
 

AUDITION INFORMATION
Auditions will be held at Theatre III, 250 Central Street, West Acton.
Auditions will be Tuesday, December 13, Thursday, December 15, with call backs, if needed, on Friday, December 16 at 7:00 p.m. each night.
All auditioners should come prepared to sing 16 to 32 bars of a song of their choice which demonstrates their range and pitch accuracy. Bring 2 copies of accompaniment for the pianist and musical director in addition to one for yourself. All cast members must sing at auditions.
All auditioners will be taught a simple dance to demonstrate movement ability and will dance in small groups. Some may be asked to do additional dance for the roles of Janet, Harold and the critics. Men who can tap should bring tap shoes and be prepared to learn a short tap routine. (Women will not tap in this show and do not need to bring tap shoes.)
Auditioners will do cold readings from the script after singing and dancing has been completed. A copy of the script will be available at the Acton Memorial Library as of Wednesday, November 23.
We will do call backs only if additional review is needed for some roles.
The following dates are important in considering if you are able to meet the requirements for this show:
Show dates: Friday, 4/13; Saturday, 4/14; Friday 4/20; Saturday, 4/21; Friday,, 4/27; Saturday, 4/28; Sunday, 4/29 (matinee at 3 p.m.)
Senior dress rehearsal with audience: Wednesday, 4/11 at 7 p.m.
Technical rehearsal: Monday, 4/9
Dress rehearsal: Tuesday, 4/10

Rehearsals will generally be held on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. There may be additional rehearsals for music only or dance only on other nights. Because of the ensemble nature of the show, everyone will be needed for blocking rehearsals and most musical rehearsals. Everyone will be needed for all rehearsals beginning approximately two weeks before the first dress rehearsal.
All cast and crew members are required to be paid members of Theatre III. Membership is $30 and is payable at the first rehearsal. A deposit of $20 for scripts and music is also payable at the first rehearsal; this will be returned when the script and music is returned intact at the end of the show.
Set construction will take place on each Saturday beginning after casting, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is one set for the show, which is a set of raised audience seating, two stained glass windows and a bar. It is simple but will need to be built early in order to facilitate rehearsals. We encourage anyone interested in learning stagecraft, as well as cast members and crew, to come down and help with the set at any time.
Costumes for this show are very simple, street clothes in current era. Cast members may be asked to supply some of their costumes, with the exception of tuxedos and suits for the critics. There are no special makeup or hair requirements for this show.