Audition :: TIMES SQUARE ANGEL

Audition Dates: 
Aug 26 @ 7 – 9 pm
Aug 27 @ 7 – 9 pm

Call back Dates: 
Aug 29 @ 7 – 9 pm

Location: (NOTE THE AUDITIONS ARE NOT AT CHAPEL STREET THEATER)

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Rehearsals will be Sunday afternoons or evenings, and two weekday evenings, selected to avoid conflicts with the schedules of those who are cast.

Please note the following dates in particular:
Strike-builds (1pm), Oct 6, Dec 15. All cast members are expected to help out.
Tech week:  Nov 29 – Dec 5: Cue-to-cue, dress rehearsals, preview.

About the Show:
In “Times Square Angel”, Charles Busch pays homage to old Hollywood Christmas movies such as “It’s a Wonderful Life”, and “A Christmas Carol”. From the script cover: “New York, 1948. Irish O’Flanagan is the tough as nails, red-headed headliner of the Club Intime. A lifetime of hard knocks has left her bitter and with a chip on her shoulder the size of Mount Rushmore. In the spirit of fantasies such as “A Christmas Carol” and “It’s a Wonderful Life”, an angel in the form of a sexy vaudeville magician named Albert comes down to show Irish that the path she’s been taking is leading her to disaster. He takes her on a journey that reveals that in the next twenty-four hours, she’ll be killed in a botched kidnapping of a corrupt senator’s beautiful daughter, Valerie, engineered by the notorious gangster, Chick LaFountain. Irish rejects this look into her future but when indeed everything comes to pass, she desperately tries to no avail to change her fate. At the moment when Chick LaFountain is about to shoot Irish for real, Albert makes a deal with the Lord to save her life. However, his good deed must be an anonymous one. Like Scrooge, Irish has a chance to begin again. She saves Valerie and with the help of her devoted longtime admirer, a busboy named Eddie, and her faithful maid, Peona, has Chick sent up the river. Irish and her friends go caroling in Times Square, and for one moment, she remembers the wonderful gift that Albert the angel has given her. He blows her a kiss, and she feels it against her cheek. Albert can return to Heaven knowing Irish will be all right.”

Characters:
ALBERT – A jaunty, vaudeville magician
MILTON KEISLER – The harassed but deeply sentimental owner of the Club Intime.
GEORGIE – A chorus boy with a big mouth.
IRISH O’FLANAGAN – A tough as nails glamorous nightclub singer.
JIMMY – A twelve-year-old newsboy.
PEONA – Irish’s devoted maid and best friend.
EDDIE – A busboy at the Club Intime, devoted to Irish.
HELEN – An aging faded alcoholic nightclub chanteuse.
CHICK LA FOUNTAIN – A debonair, handsome gangster.
VALERIE WAVERLY – A spoiled young heiress.
MISS ELLERBEE – A dedicated schoolteacher from the Marbury School for Girls.
COOKIE GIBBS – Irish’s co-worker at the zipper factory.
OLD MAG and AGNES – Two derelict scavengers.
TWO ANGELS – Tough-talking chorus girls.
THE LORD – A strong, maternal presence. She calls the shots.

Music:
While the show is not a musical, we plan to insert a few familiar Christmas pop numbers, so some of the roles will involve small ensemble singing (to pre-recorded accompaniments).

“Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” (duet: IRISH and GEORGIE, with some easy dancing)
“Sleigh Ride” (duet: ANGELS, with GEORGIE and EDDIE doing some easy dancing)
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (solo: HELEN)
“Mele Kalikimaka” (duet: ANGELS, with GEORGIE and EDDIE doing some easy
dancing)

Except for the duet between IRISH and GEORGIE, there is some flexibility with respect to the assignment of cast members to musical numbers. If you would like to be considered for a singing role, please include the relevant experience in your audition form (musicals, choir experience, instrument skills, etc.), and bring 16-32 bars of a song to sing, along with a recorded accompaniment, to the audition.

Auditioning Notes:
The part of THE LORD is precast.
In the original production of the play, the roles of IRISH and HELEN were played by men. (Specifically, the author himself played IRISH.) In that spirit, we will be open to actors (male or female) auditioning to play parts not of their gender. The character portrayals, however, must retain their original genders. We are also flexible with respect to age and ethnicity. Some doubling of characters is possible.

Audition hint: while the characters are “over the top” and often funny, be prepared to
read them with earnestness and conviction, along with lots of energy.

Questions?
Feel free to contact the director, Bill Fellner, at labshep@comcast.net

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