Thursday, September 16, 2010

WHITE CHRISTMAS Auditions

Our 2010 holiday musical is based on the extremely popular movie of the same name – WHITE CHRISTMAS. I have been working for the past five years to get the rights for this show, and we are proud to finally have the opportunity to produce the stage musical version of the movie. If you’ve seen (or remember) the movie, then you know the story – two guys are a song-and-dance team after their time in the Army and meet up with two gals on their way to perform in Vermont - an Inn that is run by the guys’ former General; they pitch in to help by putting on a show and everyone comes out a winner! There are many great roles available in this show, but it’s not a huge cast – in fact, we will probably only cast 25-30 people in this show (versus 50+ for A CHRISTMAS CAROL). Needless to say, everyone will be busy who is cast in WHITE CHRISTMAS.

WHITE CHRISTMAS
Director: Tim Jebsen
Choreographer: Judith Giebler
Musical Director: Bert Bostic
Stage Manager: Sandy Faulkner

Performances: Friday, November 19 – Sunday, December 19, 2010
(Thursdays (7:30), Friday and Saturday evenings (8:00) and Sunday afternoons (2:00))

There will be no Saturday afternoon performances for WHITE CHRISTMAS

Here’s a breakdown of the characters:
  • Bob Wallace – This is the Bing Crosby role from the movie version – mostly a singer with some movement
  • Phil Davis – This is the Danny Kaye role from the movie version – singer and dancer
  • Betty Haynes – Both sisters need to be good singers and dancers and must “pair up” with Bob and Phil
  • Judy Haynes – (see above)
  • Ezekiel Foster/Mr. Snoring Man/Quintet Member – A good character role for a non-dancing, older male
  • General Henry Waverly – Bob and Phil’s superior officer, another good character role for a non-dancing, older male
  • Susan Waverly – the General’s granddaughter (age 8-12) – sings and dances – the only role for anyone under 13 in the show
  • Martha Watson – Runs the Inn, a great singing with movement role for an older female
  • Ralph Sheldrake – Bob and Phil’s Army buddy, a great male role for a non-singer/non-dancer
  • Rita and Rhoda – Phil’s girlfriends from the ensemble who wear outlandish costumes and sing and dance
  • Ensemble – the ensemble will all play a multitude of roles in the show and will have a mix of actors, singers and dancers
As you can see from the above list, everyone in the show does not need to be a great singer and dancer – we need all types to put on this show!!

Auditions for WHITE CHRISTMAS

Sunday and Monday, September 19th and 20th at 6:30 p.m.

Note: we’ve moved up the auditions a couple of weeks from their original dates in order to give Bert and Judith a couple of extra weeks to work on songs and dances. Since we know that most of you are not experienced dancers, we want to make sure that you have plenty of time to learn the dances. However, please do NOT be afraid if you’re not a “dancer” – we have parts for all types of actors, singers and dancers. Men do NOT have to tap dance unless they want to play the role of Phil – all the women do not need to tap dance but we are looking for 8-10 women who will work with Judith to learn a tap number.

Scripts and music are available for check out through the Business Office. There is no audition packet for this show – you can check out the script or just watch the movie to get a feel for the show. Auditions will be held in the traditional Midland Community Theatre manner – you will be asked to sing with Bert from selections presented at the auditions, you will dance with Judith in the Taubman Dance Studio and you will read scenes from the show with Tim.

Here’s a YouTube clip of the Broadway version that has played in NY for the past couple of years:


Here are some more clips from other productions of WHITE CHRISTMAS:




Want more information about the stage version of the show?


I hope that you will strongly consider auditioning for our 2010 holiday musical – I know it’s going to be a fun show!!

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