Theatre Auditions: The Producers

Tues. Nov. 9 | 6 p.m.
To schedule an appointment, please call 719.477.4387 and leave a message stating your name and contact phone number. Your call will be returned as soon as possible.

The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Theatre Company is holding open auditions for the Mel Brooks Tony Award winning musical, The Producers.

The Producers will be performed Jan. 28 - Feb. 20, 2011 with rehearsals starting the first week of December. Please note that rehearsals will be held over the Christmas holidays.

At this time all roles are available. All roles are paid. Those interested in auditioning should prepare 16-32 bars of a standard or contemporary musical theatre song that best shows off your range. When you have completed the vocal audition, you will then be taught a dance combination. ALL MUST DO THE DANCE AUDITION REGARDLESS OF THE AMOUNT OR THE LEVEL OF DANCE NEEDED FOR A PART. If you are a tapper, please bring TAP SHOES.

Actors should also bring a Headshot, Resume, and Sheet Music in the correct key. The use of boom boxes will not be allowed.

Out of town actors as well as members of Actors Equity Association are welcome to audition. We do offer a limited number of Equity Guest Artist Tier II contracts.

To schedule an appointment, please call 719-477-4387 and leave a message stating your name and contact phone number. Your call will be returned as soon as possible. For more information, please visit our website at www.csfineartscenter.org/auditions.asp.

Call backs for The Producers will take place on Wednesday, November 10th starting at 6pm. If you pass the first audition you will be invited to attend the call back. If required, music sides and dialogue parts will be emailed to you in advance. There will also be an additional dance call for that evening.


Roles Available:

MAX BIALYSTOCK, (mid 30s to early 50s), is one of two leads and one of the producers in the title. He claims to have once been the "King of Broadway," but he is washed-up, having produced a string of flops that they do not make it past the first performance. He is the driving force of the scheme to raise millions from his backers for the next play which he calculates will be a flop and then he will split the leftover money with his fellow producer Leo Bloom. He leads Leo in finding the play, director, and producing the show, only to be betrayed by Leo when the scheme is exposed. Max is crass, aggressive, belligerent, amoral, and yet charming in an obnoxious way. Still, we see his humanity by the end of the musical when he reunites with Leo. This part requires an actor of power, comedy, and presence – a theatrical thunderstorm, Borscht belt comic, and is a baritone with a vocal range of c to f1. Good theater movement skills.

LEOPOLD BLOOM (20s-30s), is one of two leads and one of the producers in the title. He is a meek, nerdy, and anxious accountant, and intimidated by Max Bialystock's vivacity and aggression, but becomes intrigued with thought of realizing his desire to be a Broadway producer. He leaves his life as a producer and decides to join Bialystock in his scheme. His love of show business deepens when he meets Ulla, the gorgeous blonde bombshell who comes to work for them. Bloom is smitten with Ulla. When the plot to defraud the investors is discovered Bloom proves to have become the man that Bialystock urged him to be by running away to Rio de Janeiro with Ulla and the money. Bloom returns to stand up for his friend Max and accept punishment for his crime. A comedic actor great off the line, he is a lead but must play a comedic, passive yet passionate second fiddle to Max. Think anxiety disorder. Vocal range is 2nd tenor, c to f1, and good dance skills, especially tap, is preferred.

FRANZ LIEBKIND, (mid 30s to early 50s), a Nazi living in Greenwich Village, has written a play about his hero, Adolf Hitler. Bialystock and Bloom determine, after reading dozens of plays, that Liebkind's must be the worst play ever; it is certain to fail. Delusional, off center, and dangerous, Liebkind is so enthusiastic about having his version of Hitler's life that he makes them put on swastika armbands and swear their devotion to Hitler. After an extensive audition process, Bialystock realizes that Liebkind is the perfect choice to play the starring role in Springtime for Hitler, ensuring that the play will be a flop. On opening night, Liebkind breaks his leg and has to be replaced in the show. This part requires an actor of power, comedy, and presence and comic German accent, and is a baritone with a vocal range of c to g1. Good theater movement skills.

ROGER DE BRIS (Late 30s to early 50s) is a pretentious, flamboyantly gay director who is asked to director Springtime for Hitler. He is hesitant to direct Springtime for Hitler because he finds the subject matter too serious, but consults his assistants – all gay caricatures – for advice. The producers count on De Bris' natural bad taste to ensure that their musical will be a failure. When Franz Liebkind breaks his leg and cannot perform in the show, De Bris steps in to play Hitler. The result is a truly gay Hitler, who seems enraptured with the public's attention. One of the best comic roles in musical theater, the actor must be an over-the-top comedian, good with an unidentifiable European accent (comic British), who can play a gay stereotype convincingly. Vocal range is c to g1 and should have a great Judy Garland impression of Judy at the Palace. Must be able to dance.

CARMEN GHIA (20s to early 30s) is Roger De Bris' "common-law assistant" and is as openly gay as De Bris is. Carmen Ghia explains and interprets De Bris' more antic notions often to an extreme. It is Ghia who knows De Bris well enough to suggest that he would know all of the words to the starring role in Springtime for Hitler and would have a secret desire to step into the part when Liebkind is incapacitated. An actor who can play a feminine gay stereotypical ‘queen’, this part requires an extraordinary tenor range of e to a1 with a falsetto to g2 and good music theater movement. It is one of the best scene-stealing parts in musical theater.

ULLA INGA HANSEN BENSEN YONSEN TALLEN HALLEN SVADEN SVANSON (20-35) is a voluptuous, leggy blonde who shows up at Bialystock and Bloom's office to audition for a part in their new play. A sexpot, Ulla understands the spell she casts over men and is drawn to the mousy Leo with whom she runs away to Rio. She is cast in Springtime for Hitler as a showgirl and Eva Braun, but until the show is produced she works as Max and Leo’s secretary. The classic Mel Brooks blonde shiksa in the tradition of Teri Garr, the part demands a classic musical theater female: sexy, built like a woman, tall and leggy, a bit clueless but not stupid. Ulla must have a comic Swedish accent and be a mezzo-soprano range g to e2 with a belt. The role requires an excellent comic actress off the line and a fine dancer.

ENSEMBLE (18-50), all other parts are played by the ensemble of 9 women and 7 men who must be classic musical comedy performers who can sing, dance and act with comic timing, since every one in the ensemble doubles, triples and quadruples other parts. Those with the best set of these skills will be cast since these actors have vocal lines, scene work, and dance production numbers. All will create multiple comedic characters, so must have physical strength and stamina for physical comedy. Vocal range for men is bass and tenor, G to a1, and for women alto and soprano, g to c3.
Parts played by the ensemble include but are not limited to: accountants, usherettes, nuns, bag lady, blind violinist, street cleaner, little old ladies (men to double women), little old ladies named Hold-Me-Touch-Me, Lick-Me-Bite-Me and Kiss-Me-Feel-Me, showgirls, Nazi storm troopers (women double as men), bums, prisoners and prison babes, cops, first nighters, jury foreman/judge, workman, Churchill, Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Liebkind’s assistant Gunter, Accounting head Mr. Marks, SPRINGTIME Hitler Wannabe’s, street cleaners and Roger's gay theater production team, including lesbian lighting designer Shirley Markowitz.

Vocal Ranges - THE PRODUCERS
Character Bottom Top Notes
Character: Bottom: Top: Notes:
Max c f1
Leo c f1
Ulla g e2 Belt
Franz c g1
Carmen e a1 falsetto to g2
Roger c g1
Jack Lepidus c a1
Jason Green c e1
Storm Trooper c a1
Ensemble Women, Soprano f1 c3
Ensemble Women, Alto g d2
Ensemble Men, Tenor d a1
Ensemble Men, Bass G e1

LEGEND:
"G" (upper-case G) is the bottom line of the bass clef.
"c" (lower-case c) is the second space on the bass clef.
"b" (lower-case b) is the space sitting on the bass clef.
"c1" (lower-case) is middle c.
"b1" (lower-case) is the third line on the treble clef.
"c2" (lower-case) is the third space on the treble clef.
"f2" (lower-case) is the fifth (top) line of the treble clef.
b after a letter = flat
# = sharp

The Fine Arts Center does not believe in discrimination based on color, race, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, disabilities, gender, or otherwise. All performers, including those of color, seniors and performers with disabilities are encouraged to audition and will be given full consideration.