West Side Story Audition Information

Auditions are June 14 with callbacks on June 15 and 16. Rehearsals begin June 21 and run Monday thru Thursday evenings, 7 pm to 10:15 pm. Performances are August 6, 7, 13, 14. If you have a conflict with auditions you must contact Brian Walsh at [email protected].

While it was composed and produced in 1957, West Side Story falls in between the traditional and contemporary musical genres. It is not Anything Goes, but it’s a far cry from Rent as well. Here’s a list of composers you should look at, and those composers you should avoid.

Good Composers: • Bernstein (West Side Story, Wonderful Town, On The Town, Candide) • Rodgers and Hammerstein (Oklahoma!, Allegro, Carousel, South Pacific) • Lerner and Loewe (Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, Camelot) • Bock and Harnick (Fiorello!, She Loves Me, Fiddler on the Roof) • Sondheim (Forum, Company, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Follies) • Styne (Gypsy, Bells are Ringing, Funny Girl) • Flaherty and Ahrens (Ragtime, Anastasia) • Schwartz (Rags, Children of Eden) • Yeston (Nine, Phantom, Titanic)

Composers to Avoid: Jason Robert Brown, Jonathan Larson, Cole Porter, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Georgia Stitt, Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Yazbek

Please keep in mind which part you are trying out for. If you are auditioning for Maria or Tony, a ballad selection is better. If you are trying out for Anita, try to find a song that shows off a belt. If you are trying out for Riff, Jets, or Sharks, try for something fun and uptempo. If you auditioning for Shark or Jet girls, find something more on the uptempo side that shows off your range.

Please feel free to email Eric at [email protected] if you have any questions regarding song selections!

Check it out! http://www.westsidestory.com/site/level2/archives/fact/faq.html http://www.theatrehistory.com/american/musical001.html West Side Story Character Breakdown

All gang members, boys and girls, need to sing, dance and act

• Tony: early twenties, Former Jet leader gone straight, idealistic, ready for something big to happen (high baritone/tenor) • Maria: seventeen, Puerto Rican, Bernardo's sister, ingénue, innocent, longing for something, too. (soprano) • Riff: late teens, early twenties, leader of the Jets, quick-tempered, edgy, loyal (high baritone/tenor) • Bernardo: late teens, early twenties, leader of the Sharks, Maria's brother, dark, brooding, Anita's boyfriend (baritone/high bass) • Anita: late teens, early twenties, Bernardo's girl friend, watches over Maria, saucy, no-nonsense, tells the truth, both work in the dress shop (mezzo-soprano)

The Jets (all late teens) • Action: easily angered and excited • Diesel: toughest of the gang, tall and muscular • Snowboy: possibly the most reliable member of the Jets • A-Rab: weary one of the gang • Baby John: youngest of the gang • Big Deal: hangs around with Diesel a lot • Ice: cool, calm and collected • Others: Gee-Tar, Tiger, Mouthpiece • Anybody's: tomboy who wants to become a Jet

Their Girls: (all late teens) • Velma (Riff) • Graziella (Diesel) • Minnie (Baby John) • Clarice (Big Deal) • Pauline (everybody)

The Sharks (all late teens) • Chino: young, shy • Pepe: Bernardo's right-hand man and Consuelo's boyfriend • Others: Indio, Luis, Anxious, Toro, Nibbles, Moose & Juano

Their Girls: (all late teens) • Consuelo (Pepe) • Rosalia, Teresita, Estella, Margarita & Francesca

Adults: • Officer Krupke: a bigoted, neighborhood police officer • Doc: owner of the drug store where Tony works • Lt. Shrank: the precinct's police lieutenant • Glad Hand: chaperone at the dance