It occurred to me that I’d posted my thoughts on auditioning for guys and Dolls (quite a while ago, mind). So what happened in the end? I did audition for Benny Southstreet and Arvide Abernathy. Not only did I not get either part, but one part was left uncast. This meant that not only was I not right for it, they’d rather wait for someone else than make do with me. This is exactly what happened with my audition for the Kralahome in The King And I. Again, I was rather put out by this, and didn’t (initially) like the parts I had been given, but I soon changed my mind. As with The King And I, the person who did get the part was a lovely chap, who did far better that I could have, and I’m glad he took it on. I ended up with a mish-mash of parts, which is actually rather flattering. I had a number of quick changes, and had to really be on the ball to be in the right place at the right time (in the right clothes). I also had a far amount of props to play with, which was an adventure. I played:
- Photographer. Just in the beginning I was the chap who takes a photo of someone, gets and order form and money, tears up the order form. Later runs off chased by victim and policeman.
- Gangster/Mug. Singing, wandering round. Chorus in “Oldest Established”, “Luck Be A Lady” etc. Lovely pink hat and tie.
- Calvin – Mission Band chap, walks on and off a fair amount, sings, doesn’t speak, but does lug around and beat a bass drum. I hated that drum after a while, it was rather awkward to get through tight spaces in the wings, and very heavy. The drum was also the property of the orchestra percussionist (who told me it cost over £1000 – so no pressure on keeping it in good condition), who told me how to play it, and afterwards said I did a good job. Nice 🙂
- Waiter – Hot Box. Mostly just reacting to the Hot Box girls, also sweeping the floor and having a couple of lines. Not exciting, but it meant I would also be the…
- Waiter – Havana. Fun. A lightning fast change from the Gangster costume, which meant I had no chance of making my correct entrance, but at least I made my second entrance (with practice). I was the butt wiggling mincing waiter, holding a tray and sashaying round the stage. Then serving drinks (while wearing a monstrous sombrero), and later catching Sarah in the fight scene.
- JOEY BILTMORE. Possibly my favourite part, my only real lines, and all off-stage. I was the voice of Joey Biltmore on the other end of the phone from Nathan (on-stage). I put on a wide and thick gravelly voice for this and tried to sloow down to give the stage-hands time to change scenery. I was very taken by the person playing Nathan Detroit telling me he thought the voice worked – I regard him as a good actor, so this is very pleasing indeed!
All in all, a fun show. I never did get my harmonies right, and I found I really can’t sing and play the bass drum at the same time. Apologies to the Musical Director for that!