SEQUIM — Olympic Theatre Arts has set auditions for “First Date,” a musical comedy seen in Seattle and on Broadway.
The show will run from April 26 to May 12. Performance times will be 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays.
Auditions are set for 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday in the OTA Gathering Hall at 414 N. Sequim Ave. Call-back auditions may be scheduled if required.
Auditioners will be asked to present 16 bars from a Broadway song that represents the style of the show and their vocal style/range.
Each also will be asked to perform a cold reading from the script.
An accompanist will be provided, but auditioners are welcome to bring their own accompanists as well.
“First Date” had its world premiere in 2012 at Seattle’s ACT Theatre and the following year it moved to Broadway. The action is comedic and takes place in a fashionable downtown bistro in a trendy city where characters Casey and Aaron have been thrown together on a blind date.
Coming from different backgrounds and carrying radically different emotional baggage, the evening is a near-guaranteed disaster.
Through a combination of inner character and external events, however, the evening might just end with the couple experiencing their first mature, adult, romantic adventure.
The music is “a pastiche of styles,” OTA representatives said, presented through a Broadway rock ’n’ roll beat. The vocal style is largely Broadway belt, with some ballads thrown in.
The show is directed by Christy Holy, with music direction from Steven Humphrey.
In addition to the two leads, there are five cast members who play a range of roles. Most roles take place inside the heads of Casey and Aaron. It is largely an ensemble show and requires solid vocal technique, OTA officials said.
Characters are:
• Casey, a late 20s to early 30s female, hip and edgy; mezzo.
• Aaron, a late 20s to early 30s male, clean-cut and a bit nerdish; tenor.
• Man No. 1, (Gabe/YouTube/Stoner Guy), 30ish; high voice with pop falsetto.
• Woman No. 1, (Grandma Ida/Lauren/Facebook/Female with Megaphone No. 2/Aaron’s Mother) 40ish maybe but playing a range of ages, mezzo.
• Man No. 2 (Reggie/Aaron’s Future Son/Instagram/British Artist), mid-20s to mid-30s. Reggie is not in the daters’ heads and is a late 20s over-stressed gay man; high voice with pop falsetto.
• Woman No. 2 (Allison/Google Girl/Female with Megaphone No. 1), 30ish; mezzo.
• Man No. 3 (Waiter/Casey’s Christian Father/Blaze/Twitter/Friendly Therapist), 40ish, perhaps a little older. The Waiter (also not in daters’ heads) is a key character throughout the show, sort of a Vic Fontaine-type vibe.; baritone with pop falsetto.
For more information, call the OTA office at 360-683-7326.
