Auditions Today for "Hello Dolly"

The Charleston Light Opera Guild Theatre will begin holding auditions today for Hello Dolly! at 411 Tennessee Ave at Roane Street in Charleston.

Singing audition are at 7 p.m. - prepare a vocal selection; bring music for Guild accompanist.

On Wednesday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m., reading and acting auditions will be held. Scripts will be provided; those auditioning for singing ensemble do not need to attend this audition.

On Thursday Aug. 30 at 7 p.m., dancing auditions will be held. Dress to dance; bring jazz, ballet and dance heels for girls; combinations will be taught; BE PROMPT!

In Hello, Dolly!, Dolly Levi, the well-known matchmaker at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century in Yonkers, New York, sets out to find herself a husband in the wealthy Horace Vandergelder. Meanwhile, she matches together a rich widow, Irene Malloy, with Vandergelder’s employee, Cornelius Hackl. She also sets up Molloy’s assistant, Minnie, with Cornelius’s assistant, Barnaby, and then further matches the poor artist, Ambrose, with Vandergelder’s niece Ermengarde. In the end, after a ruckus at an upscale restaurant and a court case, Dolly convinces Vandergelder to marry her and all is well.

With lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker, the original Broadway production starred Carol Channing and won the Tony Award for Best Musical plus nine other Tonys. The show album, Hello, Dolly! An Original Cast Recording, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.

The memorable score includes It Takes A Woman, Put On Your Sunday Clothes, Ribbons Down My Back, Before the Parade Passes By, Elegance, It Only Takes a Moment, So Long, Dearie and the title song. The show has enjoyed three Broadway revivals and international success and was also made into a 1969 film starring Barbra Streisand.

Hello, Dolly!, one of the most enduring classic musicals of all time, will be presented by the Charleston Light Opera Guild in a collaborative production with the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences on Oct. 26, 27, Nov. 2 and 3, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, 2012 at 2 p.m.

The production is sponsored by Ed and Susan Maier and Charleston Area Medical Center. Tickets are currently on sale at the Clay Center. Call 304-561-3570 or visit the Clay Center website. The Guild previously produced Hello, Dolly! in 1969 and 1997.

CAST

Dolly Levi - (40s – 60s) A charming meddling matchmaker in her middle years who has decided to begin her life again. Requires excellent comic timing; strong alto character voice

Horace Vandergelder – (40s – 60s) Proprietor of a Hay & Feed store and a client of Dolly Levi. He is a widower of some means. Requires comic timing; comic baritone voice

Irene Molloy – (20s – 40s) A milliner with a Hat Shop in New York City. Mezzo soprano

Cornelius Hackl – (20s -40) Vandergelder’s chief clerk. Requires comic timing; Baritone

Minnie Fay – (16 – 30) A young girl who works in Irene’s hat shop. Some singing and dance/movement; Mezzo

Barnaby Tucker – (16 – 30) An assistant to Cornelius at Vandergelder’s Hay & Feed store. Some movement required; Baritone

Ermengarde – (16 – 25) The young weeping niece of Horace Vandergelder. Spoken with some movement/dance

Ambrose Kemper – (17 – 30) An explosive young artist seeking to marry Ermingarde. Some movement/dance

Ernestina Money – (40s – 60) An eccentric looking woman in need of Dolly’s matchmaker service. Requires comic timing. A non-singing role, but could double in ensemble.

Rudolf Reisenweber – (40s – 60s) The major-domo of the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant. Bass

Mrs. Rose – (40s – 60s) Sells vegetables and is a friend of Dolly’s from years before. Alto

The Judge – (50 – older) White whiskered night court judge; Bass

Singing Ensemble – (15 – adult) Great choral singing show!; Ensemble plays townspeople of New York plus Harmonia Gardens waiters and others

Dancing Ensemble – (teenagers – adult) Need strong dancers with musical comedy/ballet training; Acrobats and Gymnasts are needed for several features.

Directing team: Nina Denton Pasinetti ~ stage director/choreographer
John Marshall ~ musical director
Thomas P. Pasinetti ~ technical director

For more information call 304-545-6945.