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Camp Broadway Holds Auditions for Macy's Parade Number

By: May. 30, 2006
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Camp Broadway, the award-winning theater arts education company, is auditioning and looking for 600 performance-loving kids, ages 11-14, to perform an original opening number--entitled "Give me A Drum"--live in the Opening Number of the 80th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which will be televised on NBC-TV on November 23 beginning at 9 a.m. Videotape submissions are now being accepted. In addition, Camp Broadway will also hold auditions in select cities nationwide.

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The New York audition will be held at Ripley Greer studios, 520 Eighth Avenue, 16th floor, from 10:00AM. Those auditioning should bring a completed application, wear dance shoes and comfortable clothes and be ready to dance. The children will learn a combination by a Broadway choreographer.

Camp Broadway has been selected to perform the parade's opening number, "Give Me A Drum", written by Michael Feinstein with lyrics by Bill Schermerhorn, Macy's Creative Director; "it celebrates kids being in the Parade and the fantasy world of the 80th Anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade," state press notes. The opening number will be choreographed by Tony Parise, Camp Broadway's Artistic Director and a veteran--as performer and/or choreographer--of many musicals. Camp Broadway has created a special one-week program leading up to the parade performance, including a series of Broadway workshops, classes and rehearsals to prepare the kids for the nationally televised performance.

For the 11 years, Camp Broadway "has offered theater-loving kids across America the opportunity to participate in exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities in live theater. Working collaboratively with Broadway's most distinguished performers, writers and designers, Camp Broadway has hosted more than 65,000 students at pre-theater workshops and special events. The company has provided tens of thousands of children the opportunity to work side-by-side with Broadway professionals at year-round performing arts programs. Camp Broadway's participation in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is the highlight of a busy year."

The Camp Broadway "We Give Thanks Today" program includes: all rehearsals and run-throughs; a Broadway dance workshop; a Herald Square camera blocking rehearsal; a Cast Party pizza party, parade costume; costume fitting and make-up tips; professionally choreographed musical routine; nationally televised parade performance; commemorative CD recording of original song; commemorative t-shirt; commemorative Macy's Parade Pin, and snacks and drinks.

Camp Broadway, recipient of the 2002 Standing Ovation Award from the Educational Theatre Association, is a theater arts education and audience development company dedicated to helping educators, students and families to experience theater in creative and meaningful ways. Programs are designed to serve the unique needs of both the education and theater industry by connecting professional artists with young audiences, ages 6-17, throughout the year.

Feinstein, one of the premiere interpreters of American popular song, has been a household name since the success of his 1988 one-man Broadway show, Isn't It Romantic. He enjoys an active performance calendar, including major concert halls, symphony orchestras, intimate jazz clubs and college campuses. More than a mere performer, he is nationally recognized for his commitment to the American popular song, both celebrating its art and preserving its legacy for the next generation.

In 2003 he received his fourth Grammy Award nomination for his Concord Records release, "Michael Feinstein with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra," his first recording with a symphony orchestra. Recently he hosted and produced "The Great American Songbook," a PBS Special and DVD set from Warner Brothers that traces the history of popular music in our country. His record label Feinery, a new Concord subsidiary, records favorite current artists and restores recordings & broadcasts showcasing the nation's most enduring entertainers. His Manhattan nightclub, Feinstein's at the Regency, presents the top talents of pop and jazz; he appears there for sold-out holiday engagements every year. His most recent CD, "Hopeless Romantics," is a celebration of the music of Harry Warren, recorded with the legendary jazz pianist George Shearing.

In addition to his work for Macy's, Schermerhorn has written the book and lyrics for several musical projects, working with performers as diverse as Bob Hope, Deborah Voigt, Jon Secada, Ann Hampton Callaway and Harvey Fierstein to beloved characters such as Paddington BearTM, Yogi Bear and Clifford the Big Red DogTM. He also erved as Artistic Director and scriptwriter for the outdoor Times Square concerts "Broadway on Broadway '95" and "Stars in the Alley '96" in association with Times Square BID & The League of American Theatres & Producers. He is working on two new musicals, Beyond the Dream with Brian Besterman and The Music Boys with Milton DeLugg, as well as an upcoming musical project with Michael Feinstein.

Visit www.campbroadway.com for Audition Guidelines and National Summer Tour Information, email info@campbroadway.com, call 212-575-2929.

For more information on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, please visit or call the Macy's Parade Hotline at 212-494-4495.



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