Chorus Men: Members of the 35th Dragoon Guards, marching, striding, and spluttering about in resplendent uniforms the whole time. The soldiers are as much poseurs as are the poets or the ladies, only they dress in primary colors and spout bravado, not poetry.
Colonel Calverly: Baritone.
The epitome of the British army officer,
though possibly a bit old and jaded by now. Stiff
upper lip and everything else. Vocal range not low,
but vocal quality (speaking and singing) should be
deep and strong. Needs impeccable diction for his
songs and a high-born drawl for his dialogue.
Self-confident, with total faith in military virtues. He
doesn't know anything at all about art, but he knows
what he likes, as well as what he thinks the ladies
should like, too.
Suggested audition song: No. 3,
"The Soldiers of Our Queen" (If you want a receipt),
pp. 27-32.
Major Murgatroyd: Baritone
Perhaps blunter, less elegant than the
Colonel, but every bit as much the soldier. Takes
pride in his straightforwardness and good sense.
More immediately in charge of the dragoon guards.
Suggested audition song: No. 17, "If Saphir I Choose
to Marry," 1st verse, pp. 165-166.
Lieutenant the Duke of Dunstable: Tenor
Has joined the Dragoons with the hopes of
being bullied, which sounds a bit Swinburnean!
Overbred to the point of effeteness. Bored,
languorous, snobbish. Perhaps a rather tired voice
(not musically!). Should be able to amble easily
about stage and take poses the aesthetic ladies might
well envy. Must have a clear and effortless high a-flat.
Suggested audition song: No. 9, Act I finale, pp.
82-83.
Reginald Bunthorne: Baritone
The most obvious poseur in a dramatis
personae consisting entirely of poseurs. Has all the
trappings and mannerisms of an aesthete and poet,
but underneath it all he's a practical, scheming
philistine. He's not Wilde or Swinburne or Whistler,
though he has the mannerisms of the first, writes
poetry like the second's, and is frequently made-up to
look like the third. He's Gilbert's parody of aesthetic
posturing, and underneath it all shares Gilbert's own
pragmatic, realistic (even cynical) assessment of
human nature. Needs to be exceedingly nimble of
tongue and foot, and capable of comic contortions of
body, voice and manner.
Suggested audition song:
No. 6, "Am I Alone" (If you're anxious for to shine),
pp. 55-58.
Archibald Grosvenor: Baritone
A more difficult role to master than
Bunthorne, as the Idyllic Poet (for whom "High
diddle diddle" really is an idyll) is based on Gilbert's
earliest scheme for the poets as being rivals in
insipidity. Where Bunthorne can overplay (or at least
be extravagant), Grosvenor must underplay (or get
maximal effect with minimal material). He has
walked straight out of the nursery, with his pretty
looks and his poems about Teasing Tom or a magnet
attracted to a silver churn. Handsome and vapid. A
sort of boy scout in breeches. Irresistible good looks
and simplicity of style have been his blessing and
curse. Needs a more lyrical (less "vegetable grater")
voice than Bunthorne.
Suggested audition song: No.
13, "A Magnet Hung in a Hardware Shop," pp. 138-
144.
Solicitor: Mute role (to be cast later)
Lady Angela: Mezzo
Ideally, all twenty lovesick maidens might
well have the Pre-Raphaelite look of Burne-Jones' or
Rossetti's females. Angela in particular (with the aid
of make-up and wig, if necessary) ought to have that
dark-haired, soulful-eyed, pouting-lipped look of
Elizabeth Siddall. She's passionate, emotive, even
flamboyant in an attenuated sort of way. Needs a
good, strong (especially in lower range), harmonizing
voice. Lithe of limb and sinuous in movement. She
ends up marrying the Major.
Suggested audition
song: No. 7, "Long Years Ago, Fourteen Maybe," pp.
62-64.
Lady Saphir: Soprano or Mezzo
Even more aesthetic than Angela, especially
in her precious, highly emotive vocabulary. The two
need to sound good together in dialogue, Angela
cooing and Saphir chirping. Vocally higher, lighter,
brighter than Angela. Paired off with the Colonel at
the end.
Suggested audition song: No 17, "If Saphir
I Choose to Marry," top line, pp. 170-172.
Lady Ella: Soprano
The inevitable third principal lady, she tends
to chime in with the other two. Less original and
sophisticated, more innocent (possibly a bit dim-witted?).
Must have strong high f and high g, and be
able to enter securely on the f.
Suggested audition
song: No. 1, "Twenty Love-sick Maidens," Ella's
solo, pp. 13-15.
Lady Jane: Alto
"Not pretty. Massive," as she says of
herself. The brunt of Gilbert's typical nastiness
towards older, larger women, but she revels in it (or
at least has fun with it). She practices her
aestheticism on a grander scale than the other ladies:
big cymbals, flowing garments, peacock feathers,
string bass. Her posing is so complete, so expansive,
it's hard to know if there's anything else underneath.
She's outrageous. It's a scene-stealing part, much
like Pooh-Bah in The Mikado; when she's on stage
no one else can get much attention. She's something
of an outsider among the women, just as the Duke is
among the men, so they make a good match at the
end. Needs a really good and resonant voice,
excellent diction, fine sense of comic timing, and fine
comic ability generally. Must be able to range
comfortably from high f to low G.
Suggested
audition song: No. 11, "Sad is That Woman's Lot,"
pp. 130-133.
Patience: Soprano
Quintessential village milkmaid, and knows
it (Gilbert would kill us for suggesting this). Like
Grosvenor (for whom she's the perfect match), she's
stepped out of some children's book about country
lasses, who of course have nothing to do with real
country life. She's naive to the core, and knows it.
In our ideal production, she would be the only blonde
female on the stage, and look like a cross between
Heidi and the young Brigitte Bardot. She's not just
very pretty; she's winsome. Fresh-scrubbed (as only
make-up can make one appear), rosy-cheeked (ditto),
earnest, and not very imaginative. She must have a
lovely voice, with an easy high A, but it needn't be
overwhelmingly operatic.
Suggested audition song:
No. 14, "Love is a Plaintive Song," pp. 146-148.
Chorus auditioners are encouraged (but not required) to come on Saturday. Those interested in Principal Roles are encouraged (but not required) to come on Sunday, so that we can hear different combinations of voices if necessary. Everyone is auditioned on a first-come first-heard basis. You will audition before a small Audition Committee consisting of the directors and two or three others. If the Audition Committee feels that it needs more information in some cases, auditionees may be invited to a call-back session that will be held in the Church on Sunday from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Please note that we hope to make casting decisions on the basis of the initial auditions; call-backs will only be held in cases where the Committee feels that it needs additional information.
Michael Greenebaum, Music Director, has served in several directorial roles for the VLO: he has been Stage Director for Iolanthe, Gondoliers, Princess Ida and H.M.S. Pinafore and last year's production of The Vagabond King; he has been Music Director for Mikado, Yeomen of the Guard, Ruddigore, Utopia, Patience, Sorcerer, H.M.S. Pinafore, Princess Ida, and Orpheus in the Underworld. Musical Theater credits include Anything Goes, Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Kiss Me Kate.
This year's producers are Al Hudson (Coordinating Producer) Jacqueline Haney (Producer Emerita), and Elaine Walker.
Costumes: We are famous for our costumes, which we construct at the high school during evening and Sunday rehearsals.
Sets: Construction and painting happens mostly on weekends, with the VLO supplying pizza and subs.
Lighting: Hanging and focusing take place in a frenzy of activity in the final two weeks before opening.
Other crews that need staffing: make-up, publicity, ushers, programs, props, banner painting, souvenir sales . . . (you get the idea). Those of you that will be auditioning will have an opportunity at that time to ask about and sign up for crews.
You may wish to return to the VLO Home Page.
Send Questions/Comments to: info@vlo.org