PORGY AND BESS Equity Principal Audition - American Repertory Theatre & Workshop Auditions

PORGY AND BESS – Equity Principal Auditions

American Repertory Theater, in association w/Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel

LORT (Experimental Theatre) $453/week minimum.

Music: George Gershwin

Libretto: DuBose Heyward

Lyrics: Ira Gershwin and D. Heyward

Revised Book: Suzan-Lori Parks

Dir: Diane Paulus

Choreo: Ronald K. Brown

Mus Sprvsr: Diedre Murray

NYC Casting: Telsey + Company

Developmental “workshop” rehearsals begin 4/13/11. Presentation: 4/21. Full LORT production planned for Summer/Fall, 2011 at the American Repertory Theater in Boston. Broadway production planned for Fall/Winter, 2011/12.

Equity Principal Auditions:

Thursday, November 18, 2010 Actors' Equity Association Audition Center

9:30 AM - 5:30 PM 165 West 46th Street, 2nd Floor

Lunch from 1 - 2. New York City

Please prepare a brief song that showcases your vocal and emotional range. Bring sheet music; accompanist provided.

Please bring a picture & resume, stapled back-to-back.

Re-imagining of Gershwin’s great American “folk opera” as a Broadway-style book musical for contemporary audiences and contemporary singers. While the approach will be fresh and immediate, the production will remain faithful to the spirit of the original, and will again be set in the 1940s on “Catfish Row”, an African American tenement on the waterfront of Charleston, SC.

Seeking (actors attending will be considered for principal roles and chorus parts; Equity Chorus Calls will be held at a later date):

Porgy:

African American man, 30-50. Disabled beggar and gambler. Virile and attractive. Good-hearted and noble, he defends Bess and takes her in when the other residents of Catfish Row shun her, and he competes for her love against the violent Crown. Must be an exceptionally strong, emotive singer (lyric baritone).

Sportin’ Life:

African American man, 30-45. Strutting dope peddler. Appealing, sexy and VERY dangerous. The face of temptation for Bess, he provides not only “happy dust”, but the promise of a better, glamorous life in New York City. Comedic tenor/tenor II.

Crown:

African American man, 30-40. Violent stevedore. Kills Robbins in a drunken craps game, and goes into hiding. While abusive, he has a great sexual energy and power over Bess, to whom he was originally married. Competes for her love against his foil, the kind-hearted but disabled Porgy. High lyric baritone.

Jake:

African American man, 30-50. Strong, salt-of-the-earth fisherman. Clara’s husband. Desperate for money for his family, he is forced to take his boat out during a violent storm. Jake will be part of the ensemble. Must be a strong singer (lyric baritone).

Peter:

African American man, 40-60. Lily’s husband. A vendor (“The Honey Man”). Arrested as a material witness in Robbins’s murder trial. Peter will be part of the ensemble. Must be a strong singer (tenor 1).

Robbins:

African American man, 35-45. Serena’s husband. Murdered by Crown during a craps game. Will double as ensemble. Tenor. Supporting.

Frazier:

African American man, 40-60. Lawyer who farcically divorces Bess and Crown. Frazier will be part of the ensemble. Lyric baritone/tenor II. Supporting.

Undertaker:

African American man, 30-50. Will double as ensemble. Lyric baritone. Supporting.

Bess:

African American woman, 30-45. Crown’s girl, who is left to defend herself when he flees town. Shunned by the town, but taken in by the disabled Porgy, with whom she falls in love. Beautiful, soulful and experienced. High soprano.

Serena:

African American woman, 35-50. The gambler Robbins’s mature wife. Mourns his death when he is killed by Crown during a craps game. Must be an exceptionally strong, emotive singer (soprano).

Clara:

African American woman, 25-35. Young mother; fisherman Jake’s wife. Sings a lullaby to her child, and fears for her husband, who is adrift at sea during a storm. Must be a strong singer. Soprano.

Maria:

African American woman, 40-60. Cook-shop owner and saucy matriarch of the community. Equally opinionated and motherly, she shuns Bess at first, but then comforts her in her time of need. Must be a strong singer (contralto).

Lily:

African American woman, 45-50. Peter’s wife. A vendor (“The Strawberry Woman”). Will double as ensemble. Must be a strong singer (mezzo).

If unable to attend, please send picture/resume to American Repertory Theatre, 64 Brattle St, Cambridge MA, 02138. ATTN: Chris De Camillis, Artistic Coordinator (no phone calls/e-mails please).