Drowsy Chaperone auditions

Norton Singers announces open auditions for The Drowsy Chaperone, a hilarious send-up of old-fashioned Broadway musicals. The auditions will be held on Monday, February 13 and Thursday, February 16 at the Chartley Methodist Church on S. Worcester Street in Norton, MA, starting at 7:00 p.m. Callbacks for principal roles will be held on Saturday, February 18.

The Drowsy Chaperone recently was produced on Broadway, where it won Tony awards for Best Book and Best Score, and is a loving tribute as well as a hilarious satire of Broadway musicals from the jazz age. The show was written by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and debuted on Broadway in 2006, where it showcased the talents of Sutton Foster, Georgette Engel, and Joanne Worley during its two-year run. The play is narrated by the "Man in Chair," a mousy  Broadway fanatic who is seeking to cure the blues by listening to a recording of a fictional 1928 musical called The Drowsy Chaperone. As he listens to the recording, he transports the audience into the musical, as the characters appear in his dingy apartment, which is gradually transformed into a lavish twenties Broadway set. The play within a play tells the story of a showgirl planning her wedding to a dashing oil tycoon, and features all the elements of a typical Broadway show, including a ditzy blonde, dancing gangsters, a wacky producer, a Latin lothario, and the Drowsy Chaperone, an over-the-top nightmarish cross between Liza Minelli and Ethel Merman.

All auditioners should prepare 16 bars each of a ballad and an up-beat tempo song, and should bring sheet music. Those interested in auditioning for a major role should be prepared to read a short scene from the script. There are speaking roles for 8 men and 5 women, and an ensemble of between 8-10 performers of various ages.

The musical will be directed by Ted Mitchell, marking his seventh spring production with the group. Judee Bottomley serves as choreographer, with musical direction by Dr. Anthony- Alexander Torelli. The team have previously collaborated on such productions as Jekyll and Hyde, Anything Goes, Fiddler on the Roof, and Guys and Dolls.

Rehearsals will take two nights a week, starting the week of March 12. The show will have two weeks of performances, starting the first week in June.

For additional information and driving directions, visit www.nortonsingers.com, send an email to info@nortonsingers.com or call 508-457-5023.