AUDITIONS
2023-2024 AUDITIONS
42nd Street Moon is pleased to announce our 2023-2024 Season auditions for both AEA and non-AEA performers! We’re presenting four mainstage productions this season: MAME, FALSETTOS, FOREVER PLAID, and BRIGHT STAR
GENERAL INFORMATION
42nd Street Moon strives to reflect the diversity of the Bay Area community we serve. We encourage performers of all identities, including ethnicity, orientation, gender identity and expression, accessibility need, and age to audition.
Accessibility accommodations are available at all stages of audition and performance.
Individual in-person auditions for AEA members will be Friday, August 4 from 5p-9p and Sunday, August 6 from 1p-6p at the Gateway Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco. Sign up below.
Non-AEA performers are invited to send video auditions, accepted now through Sunday August 6.
COMPENSATION
A limited number of AEA contracts will be available for all productions. Under our current BAT Tier 4 agreement, AEA performers will be paid $689 per week.
Non-AEA performers will receive total per diem of at least $1600.
Please note: 42nd Street Moon is unable to provide housing for non-local artists. AEA artists will be signed on a local contract.
AUDITION PROCESS
We will be holding two days of in-person auditions only for full AEA* members, Friday August 4 5p-9p and Sunday August 6 1p-6p.
Auditions will be held at the Gateway Theatre, 215 Jackson Street (between Battery and Front), San Francisco, CA 94111
The holding room has a maximum capacity of 5, so please arrive no more than 15 minutes before your time slot.
All non-AEA* performers, and any AEA performers unable to be present for in-person auditions are invited to submit self-tape auditions.
We ask all performers to prepare one-minute sections of two contrasting musical theatre selections and one short monologue. Please consider the style of the show(s) you are auditioning for when selecting your material.
We welcome audition submissions from wherever you happen to be, but hired artists will need to provide their own transportation to/from and housing in the Bay Area during their contract.
HEADSHOT AND RESUME
If you haven’t already, please create an entry for yourself in our performer database here.
If you have previously completed this form for 42nd Street Moon, Marin Shakespeare Company, or Festival Opera, you do not need to complete it again.
AUDITION APPLICATION
ALL PERFORMERS please fill out an audition form here.
If you’re interested in specific shows or roles, note them under “Desired Roles.”
If submitting a video, links to audition videos should be included at the bottom of this form. Please try to submit all work as a single link.
Please send your videos by end of day August 6, 2023.
CALLBACKS
Callbacks will be held in person on an ongoing basis starting in mid August.
* As per AEA agreements, AGMA members with 1 year of membership may sign up for time slots. EMC members may not schedule appointments in advance, but will be seen on an as-available basis.
42nd Street Moon artists, staff, and volunteers are currently required to provide proof of full and current COVID vaccination; be prepared to confirm vaccination status prior to auditioning.
MAME
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman
Book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee
Directed by Becky Potter
Rehearsals October 10 – 29, 2023
Performances November 2 – 19, 2023
Set in New York City, Mame spans the Great Depression and World War II, and focuses on the eccentric bohemian Mame Dennis, whose motto is “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.” Her fabulous life with her wealthy friends is interrupted when her nephew arrives to live with her. They cope with the Depression in a series of creative adventures.
5 AEA, 10 non-AEA
MAME DENNIS:
“Somewhere between 40 and death” – Auntie Mame, a fascinating, vivacious, cultured woman of New York City. Dances well. Strong mezzo.
VERA CHARLES:
40’s+ – Mame’s closest female friend, an actress. Moves well. Alto.
AGNES GOOCH:
20’s – A dowdy young woman who becomes Mame’s secretary when Mame decides to write her memoir. Has one glorious night out, with calamitous results. Comedic. Soprano.
BEAUREGARD JACKSON PICKETT BURNSIDE:
40’s+ – Mame’s true love. A Southern gentleman and plantation owner who is charitable, friendly, and a lover of travel. Baritone.
YOUNG PATRICK DENNIS (child, large role):
10 – Mame’s nephew between 1928 and 1930. Treble/Soprano.
PATRICK DENNIS (adult):
19-29 – Patrick continues the story from his college years. Classic/legit tenor.
ITO*:
Any age – Mame’s doorman and general factotum. Written for a Japanese performer. Baritone.
ENSEMBLE:
A mix of people from Mame’s eccentric life.
Cast of 15 total
*42nd Street Moon has received permission to continue its work revising classic musicals for contemporary contexts and audiences. Ito will be revised to remove cultural insensitivities and better reflect the character’s role as an intelligent and capable member of Mame’s household.
FALSETTOS
Music and Lyrics by William Finn
Book by William Finn and James Lapine
Directed by Dennis Lickteig
Music Direction by Dave Dobrusky
Rehearsals February 6 – 28, 2024
Performances February 29 – March 17, 2024
William Finn and James Lapine’s musical combines their Off-Broadway works The March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, which tell the story of a gay Jewish man named Marvin, his lover Whizzer, Marvin’s wife Trina, and their extended family from the early ‘80s through the early days of the AIDS crisis.
Performers who align with the gay and/or Jewish identity-based nature of the script are strongly encouraged to audition, but all performers are gladly welcome.
3 AEA, 4 non-AEA
MARVIN:
35-45 – Jewish – Bisexual – A devoted husband and father, smart, funny, and charming. Struggles to reconcile his desire for a happy traditional family with his love for WHIZZER. High baritone.
WHIZZER:
20s-30s – Half Jewish – Gay identified – Extremely handsome, athletic, and confident. Discovers he is HIV positive through the course of the show. Has a tempestuous relationship with MARVIN. This character can be of any ethnicity. Tenor.
TRINA:
30s-40s – Jewish – Wife to Marvin, Mother to Jason. Charmingly neurotic in her effort to understand the conflicting feelings she has in the aftermath of her divorce. She consults Mendel, her husband’s psychiatrist and eventually marries him. Soprano/Belt.
MENDEL
30s-40s Jewish – Marvin’s psychiatrist – marries Trina and enters into the tumultuous world of her life with her son, her ex and her ex’s lover while struggling with his own feelings. High baritone. Jewish.
JASON:
10-13 – Jewish – to play 13 Marvin’s and Trina’s son – bookish and awkward – Jason’s impending Bar Mitzvah, his parent’s divorce and the entrance of WHIZZER into his life leave him confused, angry, and trying to sort it all out. Tenor.
CHARLOTTE:
30s-40s- One of the ‘lesbians from next door’ – Charlotte is a dedicated doctor alarmed by the mysterious illness that is killing her gay male patients. Tough, but extremely nurturing and very much in love with her partner, Cordelia. Alto/Mezzo. This character can be of any ethnicity, though she is textually non-Jewish.
CORDELIA:
30s – Jewish – The other ‘lesbian from next door’ – Cordelia is Dr. Charlotte’s partner – she runs her own kosher catering business, is very keen on making a nice home– but also wants to be useful and valued for her contribution to the world. High belt voice.
FOREVER PLAID
By Stuart Ross
Directed by Daniel Thomas
Rehearsals March 26 – April 17, 2024
Performances April 18 – May 5, 2024
When four young singers are killed in a car crash, they posthumously take the stage for one final gig in this goofy, 1950s nostalgia trip. Forever Plaid is one of the most popular and successful musicals in recent memory.
42nd Street Moon plans to cast this production non-traditionally. We highly encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to audition.
3 AEA, 1 non-AEA
FRANCIS:
The leader and caretaker of the group, Francis has the most confidence. He takes care of his fellow Plaids and makes sure everyone knows where they’re supposed to be and what is supposed to happen next. 2nd tenor
SPARKY:
The “cut-up” of the group, Sparky is always looking for ways to crack jokes. He is very sharp and loves singing his tailor-made solos. He wears a retainer and has a slight speech impediment or lisp. Baritone
JINX:
The shy one, Jinx is usually terrified. He doesn’t always remember what songs come next or what the next move is. He lives his life terrified. 1st Tenor
SMUDGE:
The worrier, Smudge worries about the props and the running order and always assumes that the audience won’t like him. He has a chronic nervous stomach and is very reluctant to perform. Bass
BRIGHT STAR
Music by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell
Lyrics by Edie Brickell
Book by Steve Martin
Director and Music Director TBD
Rehearsals May 14 – June 15, 2024
Performances June 6 – 23, 2024
Inspired by a true story and featuring the Tony®-nominated score by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Broadway’s Bright Star tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and ’40s. When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from World War II, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past—and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives.
5 AEA, 10 non-AEA
ALICE MURPHY:
16/17 and 36/37 – Alice as a youth is a firecracker, Alice as an adult is buttoned up. The actress playing Alice must play Alice as both 16-17 and 36-37. Adult Alice is the editor of Asheville Southern Journal, she is smart, serious, does not suffer fools with but also kind and haunted by her past. Young Alice at age 16-17 is strong willed, independent and is destined ready for something greater than her town has to offer. Folk and bluegrass styles with a strong belt. Note: This role requires intimacy. Vocal range: F3-C5
BILLY CRANE:
Early 20’s – A young soldier returning home from WWII; an aspiring young writer; has a goofy charm, and he is talented but unpolished and a little naive. Featured in multiple songs. Vocal range: C3-A4
DADDY CRANE:
40’s-50’s – Billy’s father. Kind, if simple, man living alone in the woods following the death of his wife, great father, great husband. Vocal range: C3-A4
MARGO CRAWFORD:
Early 20’s – A small-town bookstore owner; smart as a whip, kind, Billy’s best friend, she has feelings for Billy but he is too naive to see. Sweet warm folk voice. Vocal range: B3-F#5
DARYL AMES:
Any age – An assistant at the Asheville Southern Journal. Funny, with a dry and officious sense of humor. Great comedic timing. Can be harsh in his directness but is innately likable. Vocal range: C3-E4
LUCY GRANT:
20’s – A junior editor at the Asheville Southern Journal. Strong dancer and singer. Forthright and provocative with a sharp sense of humor. Strong modern working woman who is also a flirt. Vocal range: A3-D5
MAMA MURPHY:
50’s-60’s – Alice’s mother. A warm, loving, sensible woman. Strong singer with harmonies. Vocal range: G3-C5
DADDY MURPHY:
50’s-60’s: Alice’s father; proud man with old world views on family and children. A strict, and hard-working man, a poor but respected farmer. Vocal range: A2-G4
MAYOR JOSIAH DOBBS:
50’s-60’s – the Mayor of Zebulon; a political and financial powerbroker – an imposing and controlling
presence; interested in “protecting” his son’s future and his family name, but in reality is really only advancing his own self interest and identity. He is ultimately pushed to a point of extreme and irrevocable cruelty, the guilt breaks him. Vocal range: A2-G4
JIMMY RAY DOBBS:
16/17 and 36/37 – Mayor Dobbs’ son and Alice’s first love, plays both age 16-17 and 36-37. Young Jimmy Ray charming, well-built and intelligent; from a family of wealth and power and is being groomed by his father for a similar future in the family business; an independent thinker who is not afraid to stand up to his father for what he believes in; he has a sense of personal responsibility and morality as well as a deep reserve of passion and emotion. The same actor will also play an adult Jimmy Ray at age 36-37. Comfortable folk-pop style. NOTE: This role requires intimacy. Vocal range: C3-A4
ENSEMBLE:
The people who populate Alice and Billy’s world. All identities and vocal ranges.
42nd Street Moon believes that talent, passion, dedication, and kindness transcends race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and physicality and engages our artists in accordance with that belief.