The Shawnee Playhouse to Hold 2025 Summer Auditions

The Shawnee Playhouse, celebrating its forty-sixth season, will be holding auditions for their 2025 Summer Headline and Children's Musicals on Saturday, April 5th, 2025, from 2pm until 5pm, and Monday, April 7th, 2025, from 4pm until 7pm, at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort. This summer's headline musicals include Cats (with performances running from June 14th through July 6th) and Grease (with performances running from July 18th through August 17th). The summer children's musicals include Disney's The Jungle Book KIDS (with performances running from June 20th through July 5th) and Mean Girls Junior (with performances running from July 25th through August 16th).

All lead and ensemble roles are being cast, and no roles have been precast. Auditioners for Cats and Grease should be at least fourteen years of age and up. Disney's The Jungle Book KIDS is open to children between the ages of seven and twelve years-old. Mean Girls Junior is open to children between the ages of thirteen to eighteen years-old. Please bring a performance resume and an eight-by-ten inch headshot on the day of the audition. Please fill out the google form listed below to secure an audition time slot, prior to the day of auditions: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQtD5tGSOIeUL_zqZRQVOhf3bw97FrCRElASsrO1lGlwFiiQ/viewform

Auditioners should prepare thirty-two bars of a musical theatre song, in the style of their preferred musical, that best demonstrates their vocal strengths and abilities. Auditioners may sing with a downloaded accompaniment track, or acapella, as no accompanist will be provided. It is strongly recommended that auditioners have a second musical theatre piece prepared. It is also encouraged that a one minute monologue be prepared. Auditioners should review the performance schedule and confirm that they are able to perform in all of the show dates before selecting their audition choices, and should bring a list of any and all anticipated rehearsal and scheduling conflicts. Attendance for all performance dates and tech week rehearsals (the week prior to the show opening) are mandatory. Dance calls and callbacks (by invitation only) will be held at a later date, to be determined.

Directed and choreographed by Naomi Naughton, with associate choreographers Joseph Ambrosia and Megan Fry, Cats unites a tribe of Jellicle Cats on a moonlit evening, who must then make the "Jellicle Choice" to decide which of them will ascend to the mysterious Heaviside Layer to be reborn. Based on T.S. Eliot's whimsical collection of poems, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular musical features such celebrated songs, like "Memory," and many haunting and enchanting dance numbers. At its peak, Cats was an international phenomenon, and its original production still holds the record as the fifth longest-running show on Broadway. A magical, moving, and fantastical glimpse into the feline existence, Cats transforms Eliot's lyrical poetry and manifests it into the embodiment of a diverse company of singing and dancing, captivating creatures.

Directed by Mackenzie Maula and choreographed by David Arzberger, Grease began with an eight year Broadway run and is still among the world's most popular musicals with a cult-like following that is still growing, especially amongst teenagers. Set in 1959, Rydell High School's senior class is in rare form. The too-cool-for-school "Burger Palace Boys" are stealing hub-caps and acting tough, and their gum-snapping, chain-smoking "Pink Ladies" are spicing things up in bobby socks and pedal pushers. The high school dream explodes in this rollicking musical that is both an homage to the idealism of the fifties and a satire of high schoolers' age-old desire to be rebellious, provocative and invincible. At the heart of this energetic musical is the romance between hot-rodding gangster, Danny Zuko, and the sweet new girl in town, Sandy Dumbrowski. Join them as they attempt to rekindle their summer romance, while the context of school, peer-pressure, external personas, and cliques make their love a bit more complicated. The whole gang sings and dances around their romance, while Danny attempts to maintain his cool dude status, and Sandy attempts to preserve her demure identity. The audience will enjoy the music of Buddy Holly, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley, through "Greased Lightnin'", "We Go Together", and many other classics that became the soundtrack of a generation.

Directed by Arwen Cameron and choreographed by Laurel Cameron, Disney's The Jungle Book KIDS stars Mowgli, a Man-Cub raised in the heart of the jungle by a pack of wolves. Join him and his eclectic animal comrades on their unforgettable and often hilarious journey, as they attempt to safely deliver him to the Man Village before a dangerous tiger (Shere Khan) can sink his claws into the child. This paw pounding musical features many exotic, enthralling, and uproarious creatures that will warm hearts and tickle funny bones, as they parade through the jungle with only the "Bare Necessities" while discovering the true meaning of friendship, comradery, and sincere benevolence

How fetch! Directed by Johanna Gelbs and choreographed by Cordelia D'Orsi, Mean Girls Junior: The Musical hits the stage with characters favorites from the movie, powerful music, timely pop culture, and news references. Janis Sarkisian and Damian Hubbard welcome the audience to their "Cautionary Tale" about Cady Heron, the new girl at North Shore High School in Chicago, desperate to fit in and find friends. Janis and Damian befriend the new girl, and when The Plastics set their sights on Cady, Janis convinces naive Cady to be their "friend" in order to bring down Queen Bee, Regina George's, reign. Along the way, Cady loses herself, her friends, and her crush, all for the chance to be popular and loved. When dethroned, Regina gets revenge by releasing the Burn Book, and Cady is brought down and must mend fences and her broken relationships. With dynamic and relatable songs for young performers, Mean Girls Junior is an anthem to friendship, loyalty, girl power, and being true to yourself.

Please visit www.shawneeplayhouse.org for a list of all show dates and times, and for additional information and resources, including links to a parent letter with more information, auditioning tips, and casting information. Break legs!