Broadway Musicals Auditions

All-American musical on stage at Playhouse

Friendship and love drew Dale Jenkins to the auditions for Permian Playhouse's production of "The Music Man," opening Friday at the Odessa theater.

"There are some people over here who are trying really hard to bring the Playhouse back to better times, and they are friends of mine, and I wanted to help out," said Jenkins, who was cast as the traveling salesman, Professor Harold Hill. "And I've always loved the role.

"The movie came out in 1962, and I was a small child, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I thought Robert Preston was the greatest thing I had ever seen -- especially 'Ya Got Trouble.' I just loved it. It's so American and patriotic for the Fourth of July and the summer."

The Playhouse had experienced some difficult times but this season's productions, "Harvey" and "Seussical," have been well received.

"They have done really well in at least the last two productions, and they feel like they've got some momentum going," said Jenkins. "We want to keep it going and growing."

"The Music Man" is a musical with book, music and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. Willson was inspired by his boyhood in Mason City, Iowa, and began developing the theme in his 1948 memoir, "And There I Stood With My Piccolo."

The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with the cash. Robert Preston played Hill in the original cast that premiered the musical on Broadway in 1957. The show became a hit, winning five Tony Awards, including best musical and running for 1,375 performances. The cast album won the first Grammy Award for "Best Original Cast Album."

The 1962 musical film starred Preston as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo and was based on the 1957 Broadway musical. The film was one of the biggest hits of the year and highly acclaimed critically. In 2005, "The Music Man" was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

"I just think it's kind of the all-American musical," said D'Alice Belanger, who plays the mayor's wife, Eulalie MacKecknie Shinn. "It's set in Midwestern America around the Fourth of July, and even though it's not really patriotic, it has that patriotic feel with the townspeople and the Fourth of July and the band. It's an American classic. Kids of all ages from 2 to 92 can come and enjoy it.

BroadwaySpace.com Announces the Chance to Be ... - Popular Musicals

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 22, 2010

Are you Broadway’s Next Big Star? If so, you could win a free trip for two to New York City and an audition in front of a Broadway casting director. The winner will receive a 2 day/1 night trip to New York City for him/her and a guest*, an audition with Broadway Casting Director Craig Burns of Telsey + Company (Wicked, Legally Blonde, 9 to 5), 2 tickets to the Broadway show of their choice and more.

Here’s What To Do:

Performers should upload a video of themselves performing something Broadway. They can sing a song, perform a tap dance, or do whatever it is they do that will make them a Broadway star. Go to http://www.BroadwaySpace.com to submit the official entry to the contest. (Please read official rules before submitting an entry)

Here’s How it Works:

Phase 1: Choosing the Top 10 Finalists Our panel of celebrity judges featuring Craig Burns (Broadway Casting Director of Telsey + Company), Bailey Hanks (Broadway Actor and winner of MTV’s “Legally Blonde: The Search for the Next Elle Woods”), and Ken Davenport (Producer of 13, Altar Boyz, and the upcoming Godspell) will choose 8 of the best videos to be part of the Top 10 Finalists. The other 2 Finalist positions will be “wild card” spots. These spots will go to the 2 videos with the highest number of views as of 11:59 PM (ET) on March 28, 2010.

Phase 2: Choosing the Winner After our Top 10 Finalists are selected, BroadwaySpace members will vote for their favorite video, so members decide who wins. Voting on the Top 10 Finalists will begin at 10:00 AM (ET) on March 30, 2010. The polls will remain open until 11:59 PM (ET) on April 7, 2010.

Whoever has the most votes as of 11:59 PM (ET) on April 7, 2010 will be the Grand Prize Winner.

BroadwaySpace.com is one of the fastest growing social networking sites on the web. With over 18,000 members, BroadwaySpace is the #1 social networking site for people who love Broadway. In addition to interacting with each other and their favorite Broadway stars, BroadwaySpace members have the opportunity to win free tickets to Broadway shows, chat, blog, upload photos and videos, participate in live interviews with Broadway stars, and more.

For more information and all contest rules, please visit http://www.BroadwaySpace.

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