Casting Call: 'Miss Saigon'

PinnWorth Productions of Kelsey Theater will hold auditions for "Miss Saigon," an adaptation of Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly" by the writers of "Les Miserables," Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, on several dates spread through next month.

Reframing Puccini’s story by setting it during the Vietnam War, Miss Saigon is a powerful and poignant tale of love in a war-torn country. In the dangerous days before Saigon’s fall in 1975, Chris, an American GI, and Kim, a destitute Vietnamese orphan working her first night as a prostitute, fall in love. When the city falls, the lovers are forced apart, and each must find their own way, alone. When, years later, Chris is able to return to Vietnam, he brings with him an American wife. Kim, who has waited for Chris, has raised their son, Tam, who is “bui-doi”, a term for a child conceived during the horrors of war. With so much devastation behind them, Kim and Chris must decide how to move forward. Miss Saigon is a tragedy of massive proportions: passionate, profound, and heart-wrenchingly honest.

Auditionees should prepare 16-32 bars of music in the style of, but not from, the show that best shows their pop belt voice and range, being sure to have sheet music in the correct key. An accompanist will be provided. They should also be prepared to dance, wearing appropriate dance attire. For women, wearing character heels will be a plus; men should wear jazz shoes or dance sneakers. Auditionees should bring a headshot and resumé, as well as the audition form, which can be downloaded here. Those with acrobatic skills should be prepared to show them. All ages and ethnicities are sought for the parts, although those auditioning for the lead or ensemble roles listed below must be at least 18 years old; auditions for Tam and a child ensemble will be held separately, at a date to be announced. Auditionees must sign up prior to auditions.

Christopher Scott (pop tenor, A2-B4, 20-30)	A young, tormented American GI. He is in love with Kim, but after they are torn apart, finds solace in his new love for Ellen back in the US. After three years of trying to get past his Vietnam experience and his shattered love, the news of his and Kim's son shakes his world apart.
The engineer, a.k.a. Tran Van Dinh (baritone, A2-Ab4, 30-50)	The half-French, half-Vietnamese owner of the Dreamland club in Saigon, a greasy wheeler-dealer who puts self-preservation over everything else. Sleazy yet likeable.
Kim (mezzo-soprano/ belter, E3-E5, 17-20)	A 17-year-old Vietnamese girl from the country. Moves to Saigon and falls in love with Chris, an American marine. She is young and naïve, yet strong-willed, and would do anything for the good of her son, Tam.
John Thomas (tenor baritone, G#2-Bb4, 25-40)	Chris’s close friend and a fellow American marine. In the Dreamland bar, he buys Kim for Chris "as a last souvenir." Three years later, John has become an activist, supporting aid for the Bui-Doi, Amerasian offspring of American soldiers and Vietnamese mothers abandoned at the end of the Vietnam War. In his work, he locates Chris' three-year-old son, Tam, living with Kim in Bangkok.
Ellen Scott (mezzo-soprano/ belter, F#3-G5, 20-30)	The sensible, stable, iconically 1970s American woman that Chris fell in love with and married 2 years after returning from Vietnam. The news that Kim is still alive and bore Chris' son threatens to change her life forever, but she is determined to do what is best for her husband, his son, and her marriage.
Thuy (tenor, C3-Bb4, 20-30)	Kim’s cousin, to whom she has been promised since she was 13. He is a stalwart and determined Vietnamese military leader who will stop at nothing to get Kim back for himself. Intensely patriotic and anti-American.
Gigi Van Tranh (mezzo-soprano/ belter, Ab3-Eb5, early-mid-20s)	A Vietnamese bar girl who wins the contest and the title of “Miss Saigon.” While on the surface, she is a hardened stripper, her true dream is to be taken away by an American marine to start a new life in America. Strong dance skills required.
Mimi, Yvette and Yvonne (mezzo-soprano, F above middle C to top D above top C, early-mid-20s)	Three hardened, disillusioned Saigon prostitutes. Each of these parts requires strong dance skills.
Adult ensemble (18+, all ranges)	Dancing and company singing as bar girls/prostitutes, marines/G.I.’s, Captain Schultz, Assistant Commisar, Vietnamese soldiers, hustlers, pimps, club owner, vendors, refugees, embassy workers, Japanese tourists, conference delegates, American officers, and Vietnamese and Thai civilians.

Adult auditions will occur on January 9, 10 and 23. Auditions for women will be held from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and auditions for men will be held from 2:30-6 p.m. January 9 and 23; co-ed auditions will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. January 10. Callbacks will be held January 24. The show is directed by LouJ Stalsworth and Koren Zander, the latter of whom is also the choreographer.

There will be a few rehearsals in April or May. Regular rehearsals are anticipated to begin in June, typically 7-10 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. A few weekend rehearsals may be scheduled, although this will be quite rare. The show will run Fridays and Saturdays September 9-25.

For more information, contact pinnworth@gmail.com. Again, the audition form can be found here. Kelsey Theater is located at 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor.