Auditions Announced for FOLLIES

Director
MICHAEL BERKELEY
Music Director
WILLARD C. MINTON
Choreographer
DONNA BONASERA

PERFORMANCE DATES
Saturday, May 6, 2017 | 8PM
Sunday, May 7, 2017 | 2PM
Friday, May 12, 2017 | 8PM
Saturday, May 13, 2017 |8PM
Sunday, May 14, 2017 | 2PM

Monday, February 6, 2017 at 7:00pm (by appointment)

Due to the weather forcast for Tuesday night into Wednesday, we are attempting to see all auditioners on Monday night.  If you are unable to attend on Monday evening, please email [email protected] to make alternate arrangements. Gotta love New England winters!
 
All roles are open to audition.  We are seeking a diverse cast of actor/singer/dancers with a specific need for women ages 45 and older to portray the legendary Weismann Girls, all of whom perform a specialty song or dance. There are 16 principal/ featured roles plus ensemble available in this production. Auditioners must bring sheet music with them and be prepared to sing 32 bars, but no more than one minute, of a fully memorized Broadway-style musical selection that showcases their vocal range. 
 
Auditioners should mark their selection with a highlighter. An accompanist will be provided. A cappella singing, instrumentals on CD, Tape, iPod, MP3 Player or digital recorder will not be allowed. Auditioners will also be asked to read from the script and may be asked to learn a short dance/movement combination taught at the audition. Please dress comfortably.
 
CALLBACKS:       
Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 7:00pm (if needed)
 
Rehearsals will be held three times per week on Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday evenings (7:00-10:00pm) with two Wednesday evening rehearsals on February 15th and April 19th.  Rehearsals will begin on Tuesday, February 14, 2017.
 
Tech week rehearsals will be Sunday through Thursday, April 30-May 5, 2017.  We do ask that Friday, May 5, 2017 be held in case an additional tech week rehearsal is needed.  The pickup rehearsal will be held on Thursday, May 11, 2017.

If you are unable to make the mandatory tech week rehearsals and/or pickup rehearsal, we will be unable to cast you in this production.
 
AUDITIONS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Click on "Read More" below for information about the show and
character descriptions on the available roles.

ABOUT THE SHOW
A true theatrical event, this legendary masterpiece is considered by many to be the greatest musical ever created. Surreal, sophisticated, compelling, heart wrenching and epic in scope, Follies by musical theatre legend, Stephen Sondheim, and author, James Goldman, uses the musical theatre as a metaphor for the collapse of American innocence and naivete in the post-Kennedy years.
 
In Follies, the time is 1971, and theatrical impresario, Dimitri Weissmann, hosts a reunion of ex-Follies performers in his crumbling theatre, setting the stage for a parade of brilliant pastiche numbers, including "Losing My Mind," "I'm Still Here" and "Broadway Baby." Amid the reminiscing, two middle-aged couples confront some unpleasant truths about their past and present, coming face-to-face with the future.
 
Follies is a true showcase for powerful dramatic actors with plenty of opportunities for seasoned, older performers. Spectacular and grand in scale, Follies has also proven ideal for concert presentation and features many of Stephen Sondheim's best-known songs.
 
AVAILABLE ROLES
All ages will be adjusted to fit the needs of our casting and some cast members will be required to use aging making up.
 
Sally Durant Plummer (Female, 45-55 yrs. old | Range: F3 - G5) Petite. Sweet-faced. Bubbly. Still remarkably like the girl she was 30 years ago. A former Follies girl, she married a man she didn't love. Needy and delusional at times.
 
Phyllis Rogers Stone (Female, 45-55 yrs. old | Range: F3 - E5) Stylish and intelligent. Her face is more beautiful now than it was 30 years ago. A woman who made her husband her life, the journey has hardened her and replaced the traces of life with cold sophistication and poise.
 
Buddy Plummer (Male, 50-60 yrs. old | Range: C3 - F4) A handsome, charismatic man with a sad face wrinkled from years of too much smiling. Stuck in a broken marriage, he's had multiple affairs.
 
Benjamin Stone (Male, 50-60 yrs. old | Range: A3 - F5) Tall. Trim. Distinguished. Successful. Authoritative. A man bent on success from a young age who has achieved it, and now realizes the toll it had on personal relationships.
 
Young Sally (Female, 18-25 yrs. old | Range: C4 - Gb5) A younger version of the adult Sally. She is perhaps the most similar to her adult counterpart of any of the foursome. Petite. Sweet-faced. Bubbly. Adventurous. Wants it all, but may not have the patience or drive to wait for it.
 
Young Phyllis (Female, 20-25 yrs. old | Range: C4 - F#5) A younger version of Phyllis, when she was an energetic and naïve Follies girl. Slightly sad and homesick. With all the drive and none of the sophistication of the adult Phyllis.
 
Young Buddy (Male, 20-30 yrs. old | Range: C3 - Gb5) A younger version of the Buddy we see today. Charismatic and lively, a man who knows how to have fun. Loves Sally blindly and wants to give her the world.
 
Young Ben (Male, 20-30 yrs. old | Range: C3 - Fb4) A not yet fully realized version of the man we see before us today, he is driven and intelligent but not quite so distinguished, and not yet frightened by his success.
 
Carlotta Campion (Female, 45-55 yrs. old | Range: Eb3 - C5) The one-time movie star, in terrific shape for her age. The kind of woman who has seen everything and is proud to be standing where she is.
 
Stella Deems (Female, 55-65 yrs. old | Range: E3 - F#5) A portly woman who surprisingly moves with a special lightness; half of a former performing duo with her husband, but they gave it up to open a general store in Miami. Loves life and has led a good one.
 
Max Deems (Male, 55-65 yrs. old | Speaking Role) A portly man who surprisingly moves with a special lightness; half of a former performing duo with his wife, Stella, but they gave it up to open a general store in Miami. Loves life and has led a good one.
 
Emily Whitman (Female, 65-80 yrs. old | Range: A4 - D5) A tiny, bright, and papery woman. Married to Theodore; together, they teach dance.
 
Hattie Walker (Female, 65-75 yrs. old | Range: G3 - B5) An appealingly tough, no-nonsense lady. A former knockout Follies girl from the earlier years of the shows. She has married several times and always to the same type: the bad boy.
 
Theodore Whitman (Male, 65-80 yrs. old | Range: A3 - D4) A tiny, bright, and papery man. Married to Emily; together, they teach dance.
 
Solange La Fitte (Female, 65-75 yrs. old | Range: A4 - G5) A French fashionista. Very much still alive and enjoying it, she is a perfume creator and seller. Has travelled the world but loves Paris more than any other place.
 
Heidi Schiller (Female, 65-75 yrs. old | Range: D4 – A6) Tall and queenly. Viennese. Incredibly rich and well known in elite social circles, she is constantly reminiscing.
 
Young Heidi (Female, 18-25 yrs. old | Range: E4 - Ab5) A younger version of the Heidi we see today. Already tall and queenly, but perhaps not yet rich and so well connected.
 
Dimitri Weissman (Male, 70-80 yrs. old | Speaking Role) An acerbic, vital, energetic man who looks 15 years younger than he really is. Staged the Follies every year between the great wars, and made stars of any girl he wanted from the legions who threw themselves at him.
 
Roscoe (Male, 55-65 yrs. old | Range: D3 - A5) An elderly showman with a majestic tenor voice who introduces the Follies girls as if no time has passed and they are still the beautiful young girls of years ago.
 
Ensemble: Showgirls, Showgirl Ghosts, Party Musicians, Party Staff