GREENEVILLE – Fresh off a highly successful run of “Matilda the Musical,” Theatre-at-Tusculum is issuing a call for auditions for its next performance, the musical comedy “Young Frankenstein,” which will hit the stage in February.
Director Brian Ricker, left, and Musical Director Kasie Shelnutt, prepare for auditions for “Young Frankenstein.”
Open audition dates are:
- Sunday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m., with registration starting at 1:30 p.m.
- Monday, Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m., with registration beginning at 6 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m. with registration starting at 6 p.m.
Callbacks as needed will be held Wednesday, Dec. 4, at a time to be determined.
All auditions will be held in the Behan Arena Theatre on the lower level of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Center at Tusculum University.
Show dates are Feb. 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29 and March 1 in the Behan.
“We are thrilled to invite auditions for what will be a marvelous show for our cast to perform and our audience to watch,” said Marilyn duBrisk, Tusculum’s artist-in-residence. “This will prove to be a wonderful opportunity for members of the Tusculum family and community members to demonstrate their talent and provide another first-class production at Tusculum.”
To fill a cast of about 20, auditions for male and female roles are open to ages ninth grade through adult. No prepared audition pieces are required.
Auditions will consist of three components – singing from the show’s score, a choreography/movement portion and cold readings from the show’s script.
Those auditioning are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and footwear.
The production team includes Brian Ricker as director and Kasie Shelnutt as musical director.
Roles available include:
- Frederick Frankenstein
- The Monster
- Igor
- Inga
- Elizabeth Benning
- Frau Blücher
- Inspector Hans Kemp
- The Hermit
- Victor Von Frankenstein
- Ziggy
- Ensemble (gravediggers, villagers, medical students, passengers, mad scientists)
Music Theatre International provides the following summary on its website of “Young Frankenstein:
“Grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein inherits his family’s estate in Transylvania. With the help of a hunchbacked sidekick, Igor, and a leggy lab assistant, Inga, Frederick finds himself in the mad scientist shoes of his ancestors. “It’s alive!” he exclaims as he brings to life a creature to rival his grandfather’s. Eventually, of course, the monster escapes and hilarity continuously abounds.”
“Young Frankenstein” is a musical with a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan and music and lyrics by Brooks. It is based on the 1974 comedy film of the same name written by Brooks and Gene Wilder and directed by Brooks, who has described it as his best film. It is a parody of the horror film genre, especially the 1931 Universal Pictures adaptation of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and its 1939 sequel, “Son of Frankenstein.” The musical premiered on Broadway in fall 2007 and received several nominations during the 2008 award season.
Theatre-at-Tusculum is presenting “Young Frankenstein” through special arrangement with MTI.
Theatre-at-Tusculum is under the auspices of Tusculum Arts Outreach. In addition to duBrisk, Arts Outreach is led by Assistant Director Brian Ricker, Coordinator Jennifer Hollowell, Technical Director Frank Mengel and Costume Director Erin Schultz. It is supported in part by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission and Hearts for the Arts, as well as many generous donors and volunteers.
For information about auditions, details about the characters or other Arts Outreach programming please call 423-798-1620 or visit http://arts.tusculum.edu or Tusculum Arts Outreach on Facebook. People can also email Ricker at baricker@tusculum.edu.