MARIANNA—Chipola College Theatre director Charles Sirmon will hold auditions for “The 1940’s Radio Hour,” Sept. 30, and Oct. 1, at 6 p.m. in the Center for the Arts. Auditions are for ages 16 and up.
The show will run Dec. 5–8. With music by Walton Jones, the show is full of 1940’s music, dancing and old-time sound effects. Hits include: “That Old Black Magic,” “Ain’t She Sweet,” “Blue Moon,” “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
The play portrays the final holiday broadcast of the Manhattan Variety Cavalcade on a New York radio station in December 1942. Theatre-goers become the live audience watching a cast of 14 and band rehearse and perform popular songs of the ‘40’s, commercials, messages to the troops overseas, and sound effects, as they also reveal the drama of their real life “off mic” situations.
The cast of a dozen or so includes men and women with song and dance experience and a couple of roles that do not require singing. Band members interact with performers on stage, but only one has no lines. Sirmon also is looking for two to three tap dancers.
Roles are: Pops – stage doorman (no singing); Stan – radio tecnhician (no singing); Lou Cohn – stage manager, does choreography, plays piano, sings in group numbers, no solos; Clifton A. Feddington – the boss, the MC, charming at the mic, sings in group numbers; Neal Tilden – cab driver, gets a solo but doesn’t perform it well, sings in group numbers; Ann Collier –secretary with beautiful voice, must be able to ballroom dance, sings solos and duets and group songs; Geneva Lee Brown – beautiful, jazz singer, group numbers as well as solos; Biff Baker – plays trumpet (or sax) in the band, sings one solo; Connie Miller-teenager, pretty voice, tap dancer, jitterbugs, two solos, duet and sings in group songs; Johnny Cantone – featured vocalist –sings solos and group numbers; Ginger Brooks – bubble-headed waitress –great song stylist, some dance, solos and group songs; BJ Gibson –Yale student, graceful dancer, good singer, solos and group songs; Wally Fergusson –delivery boy, sings along with this show; and Zoot Doubleman – band-leader, plays piano, sings one number (but song can be spoken).
For information, contact Charles Sirmon at 718-2227 or email sirmonc@chipola.edu