AUDITIONS
Upcoming Auditions:
Seussical
Rehearsal for Murder
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Jason Michael Miller as "Rexy" in
The Legend of Geogia McBride
Seussical - Theatre for young audiences version
Music by STEPHEN FLAHERTY
Lyrics by LYNN AHRENS
Book by LYNN AHRENS and STEPHEN FLAHERTY
Co-Conceived by LYNN AHRENS, STEPHEN FLAHERTY, and ERIC IDLE
Based on the Works of DR. SEUSS
Audition Dates:
May 18th - 4PM - 7PM
May 19th - 7PM - 8:45PM
May 20th - 7PM - 8:45PM This day may be used for call backs
Performance Dates: August 8th - 9th, 2025
Performed at the SORG Opera House
All auditioners must fill out an audition form and sign up for an audition appointment
Auditioners must prepare 18 measures for two upbeat songs and provide sheet music.
There will also be cold readings and possible improv.
An accompanist will be provided.
AUDITIONS HELD AT
THE SORG OPERA HOUSE
63 South Main Street, Middletown, Ohio 45044
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Roles Available:
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The Cat in the Hat: Age 18 & above
Vocal range top: F4 Vocal range bottom: F2
The essence of mischief, fun and imagination. The Cat stirs things up, causes trouble but always sets things right again, helping JoJo to discover the power of his imagination as they create the story for the show together. Look for a physically adept actor (male or female) to play the Cat, one who will be able to play many comic cameos (Dr. Dake, helicopter reporter, TV interviewer, auctioneer, Mr. McGurkus, etc.) and is comfortable improvising with an audience.
Horton The Elephant: Age 18 & above
Vocal range top: F4 Vocal range bottom: A2
Gentle, rotund and appealing. Think of him as a big-hearted blue-collar guy who is steadfast and responsible and always tries to do the right thing for his friends. He is imaginative and receptive to the world around him. He is very un-self-conscious. Horton's view of the world never changes- he believes in its goodness. But by the end of the show, without even realizing it, he is ready to become a parent.
Gertrude Mcfuzz: Age 18 & above
Vocal range top: F5 Vocal range bottom: F3
Very self-conscious and aware that her one-feather tail isn't perfect. Gertrude changes during the show from a vain, neurotic, nervous and shy bird into one with the power to protect and care for a baby elephant bird and commit herself to Horton. In other words, she stops worrying about her looks and grows up doing what she wants.
Mayzie Labird: Age 18 & above
Vocal range top: Eb5 Vocal range bottom: G3
Self-centered, selfish and vain, Mayzie will never admit to her own flaws. She manipulates anyone she can (especially Horton) into doing what she wants. But Mayzie isn't all bad. In giving up her egg to Horton once and for all, she has a moment of generosity--she realizes she isn't the kind of person who'd be a good parent, and she does the best thing she can do for the egg.
Sour Kangaroo: Age 18 & above
Vocal range top: F5 Vocal range bottom F#3
She isn't really sour at all. She's just got a lot of attitude. She's loud, brassy and a lot of fun.
Mr. Mayor: Age 18 & above
Vocal range top: F5 Vocal range bottom F#3
Mr. and Mrs. Mayor are parents trying hard to raise a difficult child in a difficult world. They may get aggravated with Jojo, but they love him dearly and try to do the right thing, even if it turns out to be a mistake.
Mrs. Mayor: Age 18 & above Vocal range top: A4 Vocal range bottom A3
Mr. and Mrs. Mayor are parents trying hard to raise a difficult child in a difficult world. They may get aggravated with Jojo, but they love him dearly and try to do the right thing, even if it turns out to be a mistake.
Jojo/the Boy: Age 9 - 14
Vocal range top: C5 Vocal range bottom: Ab3
Jojo is a "Thinker"--a smart child with a wild imagination. He can be played as being a little bit awkward, a little bit of a loner, or simply a rambunctious kid whose 'Thinks' get him into constant trouble. By the end of the show, he learns what it means to be a responsible member of his world, using the power and possibilities of his own 'Thinks.'
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The Wickersham Brothers: Age 14 and above
These are not bad guys! They're simply a lot. Kids who tease, play pranks and get a kick out of making mischief, although often at others' expense. They enjoy hanging around with one another, making music together on the street corner, and playing off one another.\
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The Bird Girls: Age 14 & above
They are like the popular girls in any school--a clique of pretty, self-centered "back up birds" who do whatever Mayzie does.
Ensemble: Age 9 & above Circus Performers, The Whos, Jungle Citizens, Etc.
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REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, JUNE 28 - 11am. Mandatory Meeting & materials day
JULY
SUN 13 TUE 15 THU17
2pm - 5pm 7 - 9pm 7 - 9pm
SUN 20 TUE 22 THU 24
2pm - 5pm 7 - 9pm 7 - 9pm
SUN 27 TUE 29 THU 31
2pm - 5pm 7 - 9pm 7 - 9pm
AUGUST
SAT 02 SUN 03 TUE 05 WED 06 THU 07
10am -? 1pm - 4pm 7pm - 9pm 7pm - 9pm 7pm - 9pm
TECH TECH Dress Dress Dress
FRI 08 SAT 09 SUN 10
Performance Performance Performance
Call 7pm Call 2pm Call 2pm
8pm 3pm 3pm
Call 7pm
8pm
Seussical (TYA) is presented through a special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) All authorized performance material are also supplied by MTI www.mtishows.com
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REHARSAL FOR MURDER​
Adapted for the stage by D.D. Brooke
From the television play by: Richard Levinson & William Link
Directed by: Joel Brown
Produced by: Lyric Theatre at the SORG
Production Stage Manager: Angie Markham
Auditions:
Sorg Opera House
Auditions by Sign-up Genius appointment
Sunday, June 1, 2025 – Two Sessions
12pm – 2:15pm or 5pm – 7:15pm
Monday, June 2, 2025
6:30pm – 8:15pm
Cold Readings from the script
First Rehearsal: Monday, August 11 – Rehearsals will be 3 – 4 days a week
Conflict Free: September 7 – September 20
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Production Information
Performances held at The SORG Opera House
Friday, September 19 @ 8pm & Saturday, September 20 @ 3pm & 8pm
This production is being produced as a fundraiser for & by The SORG Revitalization Group & Middletown Lyric Theatre for on-going Lobby Renovations and creation of Dressing areas.
Synopsis
The play is set in an empty Broadway theater, giving the audience a “fly-on-the-wall” experience, as the action of the play unfolds all around them, in real time. We first meet Alex Dennison, a Broadway playwright. Through flashbacks, we learn that exactly one year ago, his comedy Chamber Music opened in this very theater, starring his fiancé Monica Wells in her first Broadway show. Later that same night, after a cast party at her apartment, she tragically died in what was ruled a suicide.
Now Alex had invited back to this same theater several people involved in Chamber Music, including the cast, director and producer. He tells them they are reading scenes for a new play he is writing, but these become flashbacks to events surrounding the previous production, all of which serve to set up possible motives for each of the participants to have murdered Monica. With mysterious men in the shadows, re-enactments using Monica’s furniture set up on the stage, concealed identities and masterful manipulation, Alex sets out to prove that Monica was murdered, and to unmask her murderer.
Character Descriptions
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Alex Dennison. Male. Lead. An experienced and successful Broadway playwright, Alex is handsome, debonair, witty, intelligent, and willing to do just about anything to trap the killer of his beloved fiancé. Alex is the lead of the play and keeps the pacing of the entire story. The success of this show depends on his ability to control the action, as he controls the other characters through persuasion, manipulation and even threats. Must be able to express the full range of emotions as well: being in love, grief, vengeance, desperation, etc.
Monica Welles. Female. A successful leading lady in Hollywood, Alex’s Dennison’s fiancé, and (as is gradually revealed in the play), our murder victim. Cast as the lead for her first time on stage in Dennison’s comedy Chamber Music, she mysteriously died after the opening night performance. Although Monica died a year before the events portrayed in this play, she is “brought to life” through flashbacks to help Alex trap her killer. These scenes do not show Monica in a consistent light, so the actor portraying her must be able to express the full range of emotions: being in love, fear, desperation, disdain, naivete, etc.
Lloyd Andrews. Male. The play’s director for Alex’s show Chamber Music who has some experience with directing on Broadway. Lloyd pushes back at many of Alex’s theories, though mostly from a position of friendship. But when it comes right down to it, he’s able to confront Alex with cold hard truths.
Bella Lamb. Female. The play’s producer for the show Chamber Music. Bella is bright, extremely wealthy, glamorous, and sophisticated. She is extremely confident, and can be sarcastic and cynical about show business, but without being nasty to the people she works with. She is experienced in the business side of theater, and aware of the profits and risks in financing any show.
Karen Daniels. Female. Merely an up-and-coming Broadway actress when we see her in flashbacks, Karen is now a sought-after star. She was Monica’s understudy a year ago in Chamber Music, but she has since worked her way to the top. Karen is beautiful and no longer the innocent ingenue she was. She is meek and mild in early flashbacks, but in the past year she has grown to be ambitious and conniving. She is also Leo’s ex, and not above making cutting remarks at his expense.
David Mathews. Male. A popular, successful and handsome Broadway actor, David is also very smug and full of himself, believing that every woman worships him. He approaches each show with the belief that he’ll have to dust off his fireplace mantle for another Tony. A year ago, he played the lead in Chamber Music, opposite Monica.
Leo Gibbs. Male. A supporting Broadway actor. He, too, was in Chamber Music. Leo is a tad awkward, and obnoxious, especially around Karen, his ex, but he is a team player and doesn’t let his supporting role get in his way. When things get tense, he sometimes gets visibly anxious.
Sally Bean. Female. Alex’s new assistant/secretary from Maine. She is young, energetic, bright but naive. She is very excited to help Alex with his new play. This is her first trip to New York, with a wide-eyed enthusiasm for the Big Apple.
Frank Heller. Male. A mysterious observer in Act One to everything occurring on-stage during the present and flashbacks, Frank intervenes in Act Two. At first, he is identified as Lieutenant McElroy, the detective who closed Monica Welles’ case; later it is revealed that he is a jack-of-all-trades: actor, (often out of work), bartender, cab driver, etc. He is the typical struggling New York actor.
The Following Roles will be doubled:
Ernie. Male. Any age. The gruff, no-nonsense backstage theatre manager who reveres
Alex: he was also stage manager a year ago during Chamber Music and was genuinely fond of Monica.
Doubles as:
Santoro. Male. Any age. The delivery man who brings in furniture from Monica’s study, which Alex has kept in storage since her death, and which is set up exactly as it was on the day of her death for the perfect re-enactment. He is a true New York working man, all business and not impressed by Broadway big shots.
Policeman. Male. Any age. One of NY’s finest, he assists in the investigation of Monica’s death during the flashback to the night she died. He is sympathetic to Alex as he is questioned about the night’s events.
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Doubles as:
Mac. Male. Any age. An unseen observer to everything that is happening on-stage during the
present and “flashbacks.” He is a cop who was involved in the investigation into Monica’s death a year earlier. During the last portions of Act Two, he joins in the action.
Loretta. Female. Any age. The play’s stage manager for Chamber Music (and the last time Monica was on stage). She is very efficient and determined.
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Doubles as:
Policewoman. Female. Any age. One of NY’s finest, she assists in the investigation of Monica’s death during the flashback to the night she died. She is sympathetic with Alex as he is questioned about the night’s events.