Open ‘Pageant’ Auditions At Theatre Barn

RIDGEFIELD — Director Joel Paley will host open auditions at Ridgefield Theatre Barn on Monday, September 13, from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, and Sunday, September 19, from 6 to 8:30 pm, for Pageant, a musical conceived by Robert Longbottom, with book and lyrics by Bill Rusell and Frank Kelly, and music by Albert Evans.

Callbacks will be Tuesday, September 21.

Performances will be Friday and Saturday evenings, November 19 to December 18, with Sunday matinees on November 28 and December 5.

A rowdy spoof of beauty pageants, Pageant pits six beauty queens against each other in a contest, giving us their serious thoughts on the nature of beauty, environmental protection, competition and other social concerns. Joel Paley is the co-creator of Ruthless, The Musical. He directed the West End London production of Ruthless this past spring and has directed the national tour of The Odd Couple (Female).

Needed are seven men, ages 20s to 30s, to portray seven female beauty pageant contestants, plus a male in his 30s to 40s to play Frankie Cavalier, the master of ceremonies who is “smooth, theatrical, a third-level celebrity who is a legend in his own mind.” These are strong roles for acting, with some singing and dancing required.

Regarding the contestants, Mr Paley says: “We are not going for campy over-the-top caricatures, but seriously funny characterizations in the style of Monty Python and The Kids in the Hall.”

Visit www.TheatreBarn.org/auditions for a full breakdown of the roles. The theater barn is at 37 Halpin Lane in Ridgefield; telephone 203-431-9850.