Results tagged “auditions” from Blogway Baby

Okay, I know this a bit late, but I wanted to congratulate Stephanie Miller, one of my cast members from Last Exit at Village Theatre KIDSTAGE in March, who was seen on the TV show High School Musical: Get in the Picture auditioning for the west coast! That is so cool, and really brave for you to do! You rock, hon ;-)

Elicia Mackenzie is the winner of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, the Canadian reality show in which contestants were voted on by the Canadian public for the chance to be Maria in The Sound of Music in Toronto (hometown shout-out). You can see one of her performances here.

If you remember from my previous post, Elaine Overholt, my vocal coach, was on the judge's panel and Janna Polzin was one of the contestants in the show. She survived until the last week (congrats!) and you can see one of her performances here.

From the article on Playbill:

On television July 28, after months of competitions, 23-year-old Vancouver actress Elicia MacKenzie was revealed to be the top vote-getter and will jump into rehearsals as the novice who wins over a chilly Austrian family in the famed Rodgers & Hammerstein musical.

MacKenzie will join rehearsals in the Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Ian and David Mirvish production of The Sound of Music, which begins previews Oct. 3 at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto.

"I'd like to thank Canada for their votes and the judges who saw something that could get me this far," MacKenzie stated. "This has truly been the experience of a lifetime and I'm so very grateful."

After studying everything from vocal training to mountaintop twirling, Canadians voted for their favorite Maria.

The Canadian series mirrored an earlier series in the U.K. that sought to cast the West End revival of the show, produced by Lloyd Webber.

Congratulations both Elicia and Janna, who made it so far. Tickets are now on sale for the show, and you can obtain them here. Performances begin October 3.

In that it's so horrid, but I can't stop watching!

Well, I've probably talked about how much I kinda hate watching reality TV shows where nobodies get sent home to continue their unfulfilling jobs as paralegals when they really want to be the next American Idol. It just makes me feel bad. That's why I like Dancing with the Stars - those people are already celebs, so when they get sent home, they're going back to being famous and doing what they love.

However, with High School Musical: Get in the Picture, not only are they sending home people who don't have their dreams waiting back home, they're sending home young people. For example, last Sunday and Monday were the Eastern semi-finals and finals. They sent home a girl who was 16. 16!!! I don't know, but that made me really sad.....

Other than that, the show is pretty good. The talent is... okay. But the structure and premise of the show are really good.

From the official High School Musical: Get in the Picture website:

This summer's reality show, Disney's "High School Musical: Get in the Picture", will award one prize winner the chance of a lifetime -- he or she will literally "get in the picture" when that person stars in a music video shown in the end credits of the feature film, Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," opening this fall. In addition, the winner will also receive an exclusive talent hold agreement with ABC and a recording contract for two singles with Walt Disney Records, one of which will be a version of the song from the music video.

Hosted by Nick Lachey, the television series debuts on ABC on Sunday, July 20 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) and runs Sundays and Mondays (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) for three weeks, then continues Mondays at 8:00 p.m., ET through mid-September. During the series, finalists will ultimately participate in a summer music program to hone their skills, and one talented newcomer will become a part of "High School Musical" history.

Executive producers of "High School Musical: Get in the Picture" are Jay Blumenfield and Tony Marsh (both of "Here Come the Newlyweds"). The production company is The Jay and Tony Show.

Next week the Western auditions are on. That means more crying and feeling sorry for these poor young people whose dreams are crushed when they get sent home... But I can't wait!

If you are interested in making it big on Broadway in the musical version of 'Spiderman,' you should check out the open call in New York at the Knitting Factory on July 28 starting at 10am.

Requirements from the Article on MTV Movies Blog:

The producers of “Spider-Man” have announced an open casting call in New York for singers and actors to audition as Peter Parker, Mary Jane, and Arachne. For Peter Parker, they’d like a male aged or appear to be aged 16- to 20-years-old, with a greak rock voice. He “can be nerdy with understated sex appeal” with a “good sense of humor.” For Mary Jane, they’d like a female in the same age range, with a strong pop/rock singing voice, who has a “beautiful girl-next-door” look. And for Arachne, a dangerous but seductive Spider-Woman, they’d like a female aged 25- to 35-years-old, with “amazing rock vocals.” “Think Sinead O’Connor with a Middle Eastern/Bulgarian/Greek twist,” they say. Foreign accents welcome.

So all those eligible performers, get out there and show your stuff... Stuff that could end up on Broadway!!

I love reading about the behind the scenes stuff of Broadway andthis article onPlaybill talks about performers first auditions. It's very heartening to know famous stars had less-than-illustrious first auditions!

My first high school audition for a leading role was greeted the comment: "Are you sure you don't want to try out for the chorus? You're such an animated chorus member. We really need you there..."

My first university audition (for Gladys Hotchkiss in The Pajama Game) went much better. Wearing my Commerce 86 jacket I overacted and undersang my way through "Adelaide's Lament" for the director (Michael Stotts) and the choreographer (David Ivey). I even brought a book (a prop!) to read from. They smiled and applauded -- bless their hearts. And I got the part.

Gary Beach who is now up for a Tony Award for his performance as Albin inLa Cage aux Folles had his first audition described by Playbill:

Gary Beach, the drag-diva old-married of La Cage aux Folles, drove up from school in North Carolina in the late '60s for his first audition when he read that Lincoln Center was reviving Oklahoma! "I walked into a cattle call and waited around for hours. Finally I had to use the facility so I went to the men's room. I was standing at the urinal whistling, for some strange reason, 'Pore Jud Is Daid,' and I looked to my left and there was Richard Rodgers staring me in the face, like, 'Have you lost your mind?' Needless to say, I didn't get into the show. My fate, you could say, was met there at the urinal at Lincoln Center."

Well, well, well...what a fantastic evening!

Tonight at Hurley's was the NYMF 2005 Creative Team Mixer AND I'VE NEVER HAD SO MUCH FUN...

We talked to a MILLION people, and it was very exciting to see how many people want to work on Plane Crazy.

Right now, Plane Crazy is looking for a Director -- here's a quick description:

We are looking for someone who "gets" the mid-'60s time period that we are working in. This will be someone who loves classic musicals like The Pajama Game; who has all the Doris Day-Rock Hudson-Tony Randall movies on DVD *and* VHS; who doesn't understand why people weren't standing in line to see Down With Love; and whose favorite contemporary musicals would include Hairspray and The Producers. The Director will work closely with the Producer to assemble the rest of the creative team.

We are interviewing this week, so if you're interested please let me know asap...send an e-mail to suzy at planecrazythemusical dot com

I'm still shaking with excitement now that it's official: And I just wanted to make sure that I had mentioned to everyone thatPlane Crazy IS GOING TO BE INNYMF 2005! YIPPEE KI EH! YEAH! w00h00! ALRIGHT, OUTTA SIGHT!

I'm skin tight and ready to fight: We're going to put on an awesome show!

Most exciting of all, Playbill posted the list of Next Link shows today in this article...and there I am. Wow, my name inPlaybill. Finally! Here's a taste:

The New York Musical Theatre Festival has announced the 18 jury-selected musicals that will be part of the Next Link Project of the fest, to be held September 12 to October 2 in midtown Manhattan.

"After reviewing almost 400 scripts -- nearly double last year's submissions -- the NYMF selection committee has chosen a fresh, diverse collection of new musicals to be presented," according to the May 24 announcement.

The Next Link works are production-ready scripts that will receive full stagings for a handful of performances in repertory in the hope that NYMF is "the next link" to a wider regional or commercial life.

The Producer for Plane Crazy at NYMF 2005 is Michael Rubinoff (based in Toronto), and the Associate Producer is Kendra Bator (based in NYC).

Right now, we are looking for a Director. Specifically, we are looking for someone who "gets" the mid-'60s time period that we are working in. This will be someone who loves classic musicals like The Pajama Game; who has all the Doris Day-Rock Hudson-Tony Randallmovies on DVD and VHS; who doesn't understand why people weren't standing in line to seeDown With Love; and whose favorite contemporary musicals would include Hairspray andThe Producers. The Director will work closely with the Producer to assemble the rest of the creative team.

We also need a great Casting Director, with the same "gets it" qualifications.

If you're interested, send me an e-mail at suzy at blogwaybaby dot com

You can order Plane Crazy merchandise off the Plane Crazy Web site. And buy a ticket! Come see a great show!

Disney's Tarzan is coming to Broadway -- I Vote for Hugh Jackman!

Disney will be presenting Tarzan The Musical (based on the1999 animated film) on Broadway sometime in the 2005/2006 season.

I think Hugh Jackman would be perfect to play Tarzan! I mean, it would be pretty easy to take two hours of Hugh in a loin cloth, don't you think? And that boy can sing!

In this article from Playbill:

Caught between the world of gorillas and the world of humans, he is a human raised by a family of apes in the African jungle. We must identify with him and care about him and his emotional journey. Charming (Ed: Hugh Jackman = YES),sexy, (Ed: Hugh Jackman = YES), vulnerable (Ed: Hugh Jackman = YES), lots of humanity, animal-like. (Ed: Again, Hugh Jackman = WOLVERINE!). Physically lean but toned, a swimmer;s body -- NOT a muscle man. Strong upper body strength, physical, agile, fearless, must be very comfortable with movement. His body must be at one with the environment (OH BABY, OH BABY: This is Hugh to a tee...). Will fly. Needs a terrific pop/rock singing voice.

Well, there goes the G rating...