Auditions for the classic Kaufman and Hart comedy THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER will be Sunday February 2nd and Monday February 3rd at 7pm at the Francis Wilson Playhouse. A delightful comedy featuring a large cavalcade of colorful theatrical characters, the show runs March 26th to April 5th at the Playhouse.
Roles include:
Sheridan “Sherry” Whiteside (50+): The “star” of the show. He is arrogant, occasionally very rude, but underneath, the man does have a heart. Onstage for almost the entire play. Based on the radio wit of the late 1930s Alexander Woollcott.
Maggie Cutler (25-35): Whiteside’s secretary. Young, charming, very good at her job and knows how to manage the irascible Sherry.
Bert Jefferson (30-40): Newspaperman and aspiring playwright. Maggie’s love interest.
Miss Preen (any age): Sheridan’s nurse, long suffering, fussy, easily intimidated by the blustering Whiteside. Needs to be small enough for Banjo to pick up.
Mrs. Stanley (45-55): The lady of the house, very impressed with their illustrious guest, even when he starts berating everyone. A bit humorless.
Mr. Stanley (45-55): Wealthy factory owner, the host. Not pleased with Mr. Whiteside, especially when he starts meddling in family matters.
Mrs. McCutcheon (40+): A family friend, very anxious to meet the famous house guest. Mrs. Dexter (40+): Another family friend, also anxious to meet the illustrious guest.
Richard Stanley (around 18): The son of the hosts, charming, sensible, enthusiastic, gets on Sherry’s good side. June Stanley (early 20s): The daughter of the hosts. Pretty, vivacious in love with the “wrong” man. Sherry approves.
John (any age): The household’s ever patient servant.
Sarah (50+): The household’s long suffering cook.
Dr. Bradley (50+): Sheridan’s absent-minded, not terribly competent doctor. Easily intimidated. Sandy (Mid 20s): June’s beau. A union organizer, nice friendly chap.
Harriet Stanley (60s): Mr. Stanley’s eccentric sister (based on Lizzie Borden).
Professor Metz (50s): A famous professor, friend of Sherry’s (based on Dr. Gustav Eckstein of Cincinnati). German accent required.
Lorraine Sheldon (30s): An actress friend of Sherry’s, a “femme fatale” (based on Gertrude Lawrence).
Beverley Carlton (40s): A “Bon vivant” English actor friend of Sherry’s (based on Noel Coward). English accent and singing required.
Banjo (40-50): A friend of Sherry’s, an outrageous actor from Hollywood (based on Harpo Marx).
Also needed: Four additional men needed to play multiple roles, radio technicians, convicts, delivery men, policemen (most are speaking parts), along with four to six choristers to sing “Silent Night.”
In honor of the 90th Birthday of both Stephen Sondheim and the Francis Wilson Playhouse, we will be presenting FOLLIES from April 30th to May 17th, 2020. Auditions for this classic milestone musical will be Sunday March 1st and Monday March 2nd at 7pm.
Not produced in this area for 30 years, FOLLIES is the Tony Award winning musical tale of a reunion of Follies girls who come together for one last night, filled with happiness and tears, joys and regrets as it explores the follies of life, youth and love. Don’t miss the chance to perform in this stunning piece of musical theatre history. Youthful ghosts of the past mix with their aged modern counterparts to create an eerily beautiful portrait of nostalgia and loss. All roles are available, ages may vary… they include:
Sally Durant Plummer (Female, 45-55 yrs. old | Range: F3 – G5) Petite. Sweet-faced. Bubbly. Still remarkably like the girl she was 30 years ago. A former Follies girl, she married a man she didn’t love. Needy and delusional at times.
Phyllis Rogers Stone (Female, 45-55 yrs. old | Range: F3 – E5) Stylish and intelligent. Her face is more beautiful now than it was 30 years ago. A woman who made her husband her life, the journey has hardened her and replaced the traces of life with cold sophistication and poise.
Buddy Plummer (Male, 50-60 yrs. old | Range: C3 – F4) A handsome, charismatic man with a sad face wrinkled from years of too much smiling. Stuck in a broken marriage, he’s had multiple affairs.
Benjamin Stone (Male, 50-60 yrs. old | Range: A3 – F5) Tall. Trim. Distinguished. Successful. Authoritative. A man bent on success from a young age who has achieved it, and now realizes the toll it had on personal relationships.
Young Sally (Female, 18-25 yrs. old | Range: C4 – Gb5) A younger version of the adult Sally. She is perhaps the most similar to her adult counterpart of any of the foursome. Petite. Sweet-faced. Bubbly. Adventurous. Wants it all, but may not have the patience or drive to wait for it.
Young Phyllis (Female, 20-25 yrs. old | Range: C4 – F#5) A younger version of Phyllis, when she was an energetic and naïve Follies girl. Slightly sad and homesick. With all the drive and none of the sophistication of the adult Phyllis.
Young Buddy (Male, 20-30 yrs. old | Range: C3 – Gb5) A younger version of the Buddy we see today. Charismatic and lively, a man who knows how to have fun. Loves Sally blindly and wants to give her the world.
Young Ben (Male, 20-30 yrs. old | Range: C3 – Fb4) A not yet fully realized version of the man we see before us today, he is driven and intelligent but not quite so distinguished, and not yet frightened by his success.
Carlotta Campion (Female, 45-55 yrs. old | Range: Eb3 – C5) The one-time movie star, in terrific shape for her age. The kind of woman who has seen everything and is proud to be standing where she is.
Stella Deems (Female, 55-65 yrs. old | Range: E3 – F#5) A portly woman who surprisingly moves with a special lightness; half of a former performing duo with her husband, but they gave it up to open a general store in Miami. Loves life and has led a good one.
Max Deems (Male, 55-65 yrs. old | Speaking Role) A portly man who surprisingly moves with a special lightness; half of a former performing duo with his wife, Stella, but they gave it up to open a general store in Miami. Loves life and has led a good one.
Emily Whitman (Female, 65-80 yrs. old | Range: A4 – D5) A tiny, bright, and papery woman. Married to Theodore; together, they teach dance.
Hattie Walker (Female, 65-75 yrs. old | Range: G3 – B5) An appealingly tough, no-nonsense lady. A former knockout Follies girl from the earlier years of the shows. She has married several times and always to the same type: the bad boy.
Theodore Whitman (Male, 65-80 yrs. old | Range: A3 – D4) A tiny, bright, and papery man. Married to Emily; together, they teach dance.
Solange La Fitte (Female, 65-75 yrs. old | Range: A4 – G5) A French fashionista. Very much still alive and enjoying it, she is a perfume creator and seller. Has traveled the world but loves Paris more than any other place.
Heidi Schiller (Female, 65-75 yrs. old | Range: D4 – A6) Tall and queenly. Viennese. Incredibly rich and well known in elite social circles, she is constantly reminiscing.
Young Heidi (Female, 18-25 yrs. old | Range: E4 – Ab5) A younger version of the Heidi we see today. Already tall and queenly, but perhaps not yet rich and so well connected.
Dimitri Weissman (Male, 70-80 yrs. old | Speaking Role) An acerbic, vital, energetic man who looks 15 years younger than he really is. Staged the Follies every year between the great wars, and made stars of any girl he wanted from the legions who threw themselves at him.
Roscoe (Male, 55-65 yrs. old | Range: D3 – A5) An elderly showman with a majestic tenor voice who introduces the Follies girls as if no time has passed and they are still the beautiful young girls of years ago.
Ensemble: A large cast of talented young singers and dancers who portray Showgirls, Showgirl Ghosts, Chorus Boys, Party Staff and more.