Civic Theater West Holds Auditions for THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, 7/12 & 7/13

The Drowsy Chaperone - Music and Lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison; Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar

Auditions will be held on Monday, July 12 and Tuesday, July 13 at 8:00pm. Call backs will be held on Wednesday, July 14 at 8:00pm. Rehearsals will be held between July 19 and September 9. Production dates are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm from September 10 thru October 9 with one Thursday performance on September 16 at 7:00pm. Be prepared with 16 bars of a song from a Broadway show (but not from THE DROWSY CHAPERONE), and come dressed for movement.

Director: Brent Null; Musical Director: Jennifer Vaughn; Choreographer: Gino Plantina.
The Drowsy Chaperone pays homage to American musicals of the Jazz Age, examining the effect musicals have on the fans who adore them. The Man in Chair, a mousy, agoraphobic Broadway fanatic, seeking to cure his "non-specific sadness", listens to a recording of the fictional 1928 musical comedy, The Drowsy Chaperone . As he listens to this rare recording, he is transported into the musical. The characters appear in his dingy apartment, and it is transformed into a glorious Broadway set with seashell footlights, sparkling furniture, painted backdrops, and over the top costumes.

The plot of the show-within-a-show centers on Janet Vandegraff, a showgirl looking to give up the stage in order to marry an oil tycoon, Robert Martin. However, Janet is the star of "Feldzieg's Follies", and Feldzieg, her producer, is being threatened with bodily harm by two gangsters employed by his chief investor. Disguised as pastry chefs, these two pun-happy thugs threaten Feldzieg to stop the wedding, in order to ensure Janet's participation in the next production of Feldzieg's Follies. In order to save himself, Feldzieg enlists Aldolpho, a bumbling Latin Lothario, to seduce Janet and spoil her relationship with Robert. What follows is a pastiche of every classic, clichéd plot thread ever to grace the stage, including mistaken identities, dream sequences, spit takes involving such stock characters as an unflappable English butler, an absent-minded dowager, a ditzy chorine, a harried best man, and, last but certainly not least, Janet's "Drowsy" (read "Tipsy") Chaperone. what to bring Be prepared with 16 bars of a song from a Broadway show (but not from the show you are auditioning for), and come dressed for movement.

All Roles Open! Roles are available for 10 men and 7 women between the ages of 18 and 70.

Aldolpho - European self-proclaimed "ladies man". A#2 - G4 (Bass/Baritone + great falsetto)
Feldzieg - Broadway producer. Db3 - Db4 (Baritenor)
Gangsters (2) - Posing as pastry chefs, intending to collect from
Feldzieg, played by the vaudeville duo. Db3 - Gb4 (Tenors)
George - Robert's anxious best man (needs to tap!) F3 - Bb4 (Tenor)
Janet Van de Graaf - The famous bride. G3 - Eb (Alto)
Kitty - Feldzieg's dim-witted companion. Bb3 - F5 (Soprano)
Man In Chair - Musical theatre aficionado who mourns the end of the Golden Era. His recording of "The Drowsy Chaperone" brings the show to life as he narrates.
Mrs. Tottendale - The air-headed host of the wedding. G3 - Db5 (Alto)
Robert Martin - The dashing, ever-cheerful groom (needs to tap!). C3 - Ab4 (Tenor)
The Drowsy Chaperone - Janet's alcoholic confidante. F3 - D5 (Alto)
Trix - The brave and brash female aviator. Ab3 - Eb5 (Alto)
Underling - Mrs. Tottendale's savvy butler. Ab2 - G4 (Tenor)
2 Male and 2 Female Ensemble

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