9th Annual Labor Day Weekend Concert at Plays-in-the-Park

Plays-in-the-Park will be holding their 9th annual Labor Day weekend concert.

The concert will be on August 31 at 4 p.m. Gates open at 3 p.m. Admission is free.

The contest features the cast of "Beatlemania" and "Tusk". Come to Roosevelt Park to celebrate an evening of unforgettable, high energy entertainment. Don’t forget to bring your lawn chair!

For information call (732) 745-3936

The concert is sponsored by The Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders and The Middlesex County Office of Parks & Recreation.

Casting Call: 'Mame'

Playhouse 22 will hold auditions for the musical "Mame" in September.

The madcap life of eccentric Mame Dennis and her bohemian, intellectual arty clique is disrupted when her deceased brother's 10-year-old son Patrick is entrusted to her care. Rather than bow to convention, Mame introduces the boy to her free-wheeling lifestyle, instilling in him her favorite credo: "Life is a banquet, and most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death."

Auditionees should prepare up to 32 bars with sheet music from musical theater in the style of the show  that reflect their vocal range and shows their personality. Disney, country, pop and rock songs and songs from the show should be avoided. An accompanist will be provided. A capella is prohibited. Auditionees should also wear clothing comfortable for dancing in, and bring a list of conflicts throughout the rehearsal period, which lasts from early Sept. through Nov. 7.

Auditions will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 4 and 5. Callbacks will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 6.

Mame (mezzo [solid F3-F5], 30s-early 50s)	An eccentric, madcap, bohemian free spirit. A strong dancer is preferable.
Young Patrick Dennis (boy alto/high tenor [F3-D5], age 10)	Mame's young nephew. Acting and singing lead role.
Agnes Gooch (soprano [G3 - Bb5], 30s-early 40s)	Patrick's dowdy nanny. A comedic role.
Vera Charles (alto [solid Eb3-Bb4], 30s-50s)	Mame's best friend and an over-the-top flamboyant actress. A comedic role.
Ito (tenor/high baritone [G3-G4], 18+, male)	Mame's Asian butler. A comedic role.
Lindsay Woolsey (none)	A publisher. One of many of Mame's male friends, and her closest male confidant.
Dwight Babcock (none)	A pompous and self-righteous guardian/lawyer; the villain of the piece.
Beauregard Burnside (baritone, 30-45)	A wealthy southern gentleman who eventually marries Mame.
Mother Burnside (alto/contralto [E3-G4], 55-70)	Beauregard's overprotective mother.
Sally Cato (soprano [C4-Bb5], 23-30)	A southern belle competing with Mame for Beauregard's affection.
Patrick Dennis (baritone [C3-E4], 19-25)	Patrick as an adult.
Gloria Upson (19-25)	The New England snobby girl engaged to Patrick.
Mrs. Upson (35-45)	Gloria's uptight New England snobby mother.
Mr. Upson (35-45)	Gloria's uptight New England snobby father.
Pegeen Ryan (19-25)	The girl whom Patrick ultimately marries.

Performances will take place at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. Sundays Nov. 7-23. The show will be directed by Gerry Appel.

For more, information, call (732) 970-6308 or contact mame@playhouse22.org. Playhouse 22 is located on 721 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick.

Casting Call: 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'

The Sayreville Main Street Theatre Co. will be having auditions for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee".

Auditions are August 18 and 19 from 7 - 9 p.m. Callbacks are on August 21 at 7 p.m. Come prepared with sheet music to perform 16 bars of a musical theatre song that best reflects the character you hope to be cast as and that best reflects your voice quality and range. No Happy Birthday or accapella singing will be allowed. An accompanist and an IPOD dock will be available. Be sure your sheet music has the piano accompaniment, usually the bottom 2 staves below the vocal line. Mark your sheet music where you wish to start and finish. If you are auditioning for one of the 6 contestants, please note they are adult actors portraying adolescent children. Songs from shows where that is also done may be good audition song choices, for ex. "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown", "Snoopy The Musical", "Urinetown" (Little Sally), etc.

Six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser. "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is a hilarious tale of overachievers' angst chronicling the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.

Roles are:

Rona Lisa Peretti	The number-one realtor in Putnam County, a former Putnam County Spelling Bee Champion herself, and returning moderator. She is a sweet woman who loves children, but she can be very stern when it comes to dealing with Vice Principal Panch, who has feelings for her that she most likely does not return. It is implied that she sees much of herself in Olive Ostrovsky. Her favorite moment of the Bee is in the minutes before it starts, when all the children are filled with the joy of competition, before they begin to resent each other. She later declares that she likes how everyone has an equal chance of winning, citing as an example that last year's winner can be this year's loser and vice versa. Another favorite moment is when the last winners go head to head for the top spot because it is so suspenseful and filled with hope. Ms. Peretti herself won the Third Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by spelling "syzygy", which she recounts at the very beginning of the opening number.
Olive’s Mom and Dad	She is in India, he is working late, but they appear in Olive’s imagination to encourage her and tell her they love her. Played by the actors who play Miss Peretti and Mitch.
Vice Principal Douglas Panch	After five years' absence from the Bee, Panch returns as judge. There was an "incident" at the Twentieth Annual Bee, but he claims to be in "a better place" now (or so we think), thanks to a high-fiber diet and Jungian analysis. He is infatuated with Rona Lisa Peretti, but she does not return his affections.
Mitch Mahoney	The Official Comfort Counselor. An ex-convict, Mitch is performing his community service with the Bee, and hands out juice boxes to losing students. Dan Schwartz: SchwartzandGrubenierre’s other father; he is slightly less insane than Carl but is still intent on his daughter winning the Bee. Played by the actor who plays Mitch.
Olive Ostrovsky	A young newcomer to competitive spelling. Her mother is in an ashram in India, and her father is working late, as usual, but he is trying to come sometime during the bee. She made friends with her dictionary at a very young age, helping her to make it to the competition.
William Barfée	A Putnam County Spelling Bee finalist last year, he was eliminated because of an allergic reaction to peanuts. His famous “Magic Foot” method of spelling has boosted him to spelling glory, even though he only has one working nostril and a touchy personality. He has an often-mispronounced last name: it is Bar-FAY, not BARF-ee ("there's an accent aigu", he explains with some hostility). He develops a crush on Olive.
Leaf's Dad	Doubtful and finds his son annoying and unintelligent. Played by the actor who plays Will Barfée.
Logainne "Schwarzy" SchwarzandGrubenierre	Logainne is the youngest and most politically aware speller, often making comments about current political figures, with two overbearing gay fathers. She is somewhat of a neat freak, speaks with a lisp, and known she'll return to the bee next year.
Leaf’s Mom	Overprotective and doubtful of her son’s abilities to stand up to the competition. Played by the actress who plays Logainne.
Marcy Park	A recent transfer from Virginia, Marcy placed ninth in last year’s nationals. She speaks six languages, is a member of all-American hockey, a championship rugby player, plays Chopin and Mozart on multiple instruments, sleeps only three hours a night, hides in the bathroom cabinet, and is getting very tired of always winning. She is a total over-achiever, and attends a Catholic school called "Our Lady of Intermittent Sorrows." She is also not allowed to cry. She is often portrayed by an Asian actress.
Leaf’s Siblings	Marigold, Brook, Pinecone, Landscape, Raisin, and Paul. Not very confident of Leaf’s abilities. Brook is played by the actress who plays Marcy, while the others are situated in the audience and do not appear on stage.
Leaf Coneybear	A homeschooler and the second runner-up in his district, Leaf gets into the competition on a lark: the winner and first runner-up had to go to the winner’s Bat Mitzvah. Leaf comes from a large family of former hippies and makes his own clothes. He spells words correctly while in a trance. In his song, "I'm Not That Smart", he sings that his family thinks he is "not that smart," but he insinuates that he is merely easily distracted. Most of the words that he is assigned are South American rodents with amusing names.
Carl Grubenierre	One of SchwartzandGrubenierre’s fathers; he has set his heart on his little girl winning the Bee, no matter what he has to do, including sabotaging William’s foot. Played by the actor who plays Leaf.
Charlito "Chip" Tolentino	A Boy Scout and champion of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, he returns to defend his title. Relatively social and athletic, as he plays little league, Chip expects things to come easily but he finds puberty hitting at an inopportune moment.
Jesus Christ	Appears to Marcy in a moment of crisis. Played by the actor who plays Chip.
Three or four spellers from the audience	Audience members are encouraged to sign up to participate before the show, and several are chosen to spell words on stage.

The show has music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin, and additional material by Jay Reiss. It will be directed by Kevin Gunther, musically directed by Teddy Kernizan, and choreographed by Dawn Fulbrook.

Performances will be October 17 - 25 at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Broadway Cares Benefit at Villagers Theatre

Villagers Theatre will be hosting a performance presented by the Teensvill of past and present.

The show is August 4 only at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and all proceeds go to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids.Tickets are payable in cash or check only (please make checks payable to Broadway Cares).

Performances from cast members of many TeensVill productions from the past 16 years which could include productions of "Godspell", "Leader of the Pack", "Runaways", "Fame", "Footloose", "Bye Bye Birdie", "Les Misérables", "The Wiz", "Into the Woods", "Seussical", "Aida", "Rent", "13 the Musical", "The Wedding Singer", "Spring Awakening", and "Legally Blonde The Musical". The concert will be held on the Villagers Main Stage. There will be prizes from Broadway Cares.

'The Normal Heart' at Cranford Dramatic Club

The Cranford Dramatic Club will be performing "The Normal Heart" at 8 p.m. September 5 and 6.

A searing drama about public and private indifference to the AIDS plague and one man's lonely fight to awaken the world to the crisis, "The Normal Heart" follows Ned Weeks, a gay activist enraged at the indifference of public officials and the gay community. While trying to save the world from itself, he confronts the personal toll of AIDS when his lover dies of the disease. Originally published in 1985 and celebrated in a passionate and eloquent 2011 Broadway revival, this definitive edition of the play features an updated version of the play, as well as notes on both the original production and the revival.

The cast features Chris Abbott as Craig, Sal Navarro as Mickey, Gus Ibranyi as Ned, David Christopher as David, Leslie Reagoso as Emma, Terry Darling as Bruce, Scott Tyler as Felix, Jeff Maschi as Ben, John Sechrist as Tommy, Rob Evans as Hiram, Brian Hall as Grady, Joe Leo as an examining doctor, and Pam Wilczynski and Alan Van Antwerp as orderlies.

Tickets cost $25 each. To purchase tickets, click here.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to TBD, a local AIDS charity.

Cranford Dramatic Club is located at 78 Winans Avenue, Cranford.

'Bye Bye Birdie' at Plays-in-the-Park

Plays-in-the-Park will be presenting "Bye Bye Birdie."

The show will perform from July 30 to August 9 at 8:30 p.m. each night except for Sunday.

Originally titled "Let's Go Steady" and inspired by Elvis Presley, the musical is set in a small Ohio town in 1959. Albert Peterson, agent for famous rock and roll star Conrad Birdie, is going to lose business when Birdie is drafted into the Army. Albert's girlfriend and assistant, Rosie Alvarez, brilliantly develops a publicity stunt to have Birdie give "One Last Kiss" to one lucky girl from his fan club before going into the Army. The lucky girl chosen is 15-year-old Kim MacAfee from Sweet Apple, Ohio, who has just started going steady with Hugo Peabody. Jealousy and hilarity ensue with fun and memorable songs, such as "Put on a Happy Face," "A Healthy, Normal American Boy" and "Honestly Sincere."

The cast features Joe Riley as Albert Peterson, Kimberly Diane as Rose Alvarez, Vicki Tripodo as Mae Peterson, Natalie Romeo as Kim MacAfee, Izzy Figueroa as Conrad Birdie, Jonathan Fishman as Mr. Harry MacAfee, Michele Crefeld as Mrs. Doris MacAfee, Stephen Jack as Randolph MacAfee, Evan Krug as Sayegh Hugo Peabody, Shannen Doyle as Ursula Merkle, and Dana Simone as Gloria Rasputin.The sweet apple teens feature Shannon Garahan as Helen, Lina Zikas as Nancy, Rebecca Phillips as Alice,  Kyra Bowie as Margie Ann, Claire Fitzpatrick as Deborah Sue, Erin Sullivan as Penelope Ann, Rachel Khutorsky as Linda, Lexi Stryker Marta as Martha Louise, Lauren Fraiser as Carol, Dana Simone as Suzie, Greg Archer as Harvey Johnson, Matthew Flores as Karl, Tyler Holoboski as Freddie, Kevin C. McCarthy as Arthur, Danny Sims as Henry, and Jack Tomy as Harold. The sweet apple parents feature Jack Cibrian as The Mayor, Arlene Britt as the Mayor's Wife, Frank Norek as Mr. Merkle/Charles F. Maude, Beth Kasper as  Mrs. Merkle/Reporter, Joe Leo as Mr. Miller/Reporter, Angela Dohl as Mrs. Miller, Pete Matseur ad Mr. Johnson/Policeman, and Elena Marie Chalcraft as Mrs. Johnson.

The show is directed by John Mentor, musically directed by Rory Chalcraft, choreographed by Amanda Grace, with sets by Mike D'Arcy, lights by Roman Klima, sounds by Matthew Boyle, costumes by Carolyn McCaffrey, and stage managed by Brianna Guell.

Auditions for the Paper Mill Playhouse Broadway Show Choir

 The Paper Mill Playhouse will be holding open auditions for their Broadway Show Choir.

The Broadway Show Choir is an audition based, exhibition Show Choir that stems from Paper Mill Playhouse’s award-winning Arts Education and Outreach programs. The choir consists of 40–50 singers and dancers between the ages of 16 and 22. Students selected to be a part of this talented group have the opportunity to fine tune their craft with free, intensive instruction that includes private voice training. The Paper Mill Playhouse Broadway Show Choir act as ambassadors to Paper Mill Playhouse with an array of performance opportunities throughout the community and beyond. Over the last two seasons, the choir reached more than 100,000 people with performances at major venues througout the state.

Auditions for the choir are by appointment only on Aug. 24, 25, and 27 from 6 - 9 p.m. If you are not available during these times, the playhouse will be taking a wait list for the next available date. Call (973)315-1640 or email JZeitoun@PaperMill.org to schedule. Auditions will take place at Paper Mill Playhouse. Please prepare an upbeat pop or musical theater piece of approximately 32 bars that best demonstrates your vocal range. Bring sheet music, in the key you will sing it, in a binder or single sheet taped together that contains the full piano accompaniment. An accompanist will be provided. You may not perform a cappella or to an audio recording. Those auditioning will be taught a brief dance combination, so please bring suitable footwear. Callbacks will be held on Sept. 7.

The show choir staff features Shayne Austin Miller as the director, Meg Zervoulis as the music director, Jennifer Forziati as the choreographer, Viraj Lal as the vocal coach, Carrie Rubinoas the stylist and costumer, John Zeitounas the company manager, Mickey McNany as the theatre school director, and Lisa Cooney as the director of education.