Kiss Me Kate Auditions at NJPAC

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the New Jersey Youth Theatre 
(NJYT) are seeking strong singers who can act and dance as well as trained ballet dancers to audition for the Cole Porter musical classic, Kiss Me, Kate.  

The production, a collaboration between NJPAC Arts Education and NJYT, will play in NJPAC's Victoria Theater from July 15-17 and July 20-24 with a cast ranging in age from 15 to 23.  

Open call auditions for ballet-trained dancers will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 9.  Open call auditions for singer/actors will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday April 8 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 9.  Dance callbacks will start at 6 p.m. on April 9 and final callbacks will be held by appointment on Saturday, April 16.

All auditions will held in the Horizon Theater at NJPAC's Center for Arts Education. Rehearsals will be held on weekends between May 9th and June 18th. From June 20 to July 7, rehearsals will be held six days a week from 3 to 11 p.m. except for "tech" week.  

Those auditioning must sing a Broadway song of his/her choice, preferably from the score. They should bring appropriate sheet music in the correct key, a photo and a resume. The Kiss Me, Kate score will be available at auditions. 

Kiss Me, Kate combines Cole Porter's music and lyrics with Shakespeare's comedy, The Taming of the Shrew. The show proved to be Porter's biggest hit, running for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway and winning the first Tony Award for Best Musical in 1949.

The show is a "play within-a-play," and each cast member's onstage life is complicated by what is happening offstage. The score features classic Porter tunes like "Too Darn Hot," "Another Op'nin,' Another Show," "So in Love," and "Always True to You (in my Fashion)." Sets, props and wardrobe operations, onstage and backstage, will be in the hands of professionals assisted by young technical interns in each area. The actors, musicians and technical interns will come from across the Metro-area and participate free of charge in this unique project. 

Past NJPAC/NJYT Summer Musical productions include Sweeney 
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Ragtime: The Musical (both productions named by Peter Filichia of The Star -Ledgeras "Best Musical Revivals" 2009 and 2006 respectively) as well as productions of Midnight Madness, 1776, Guys & Dolls, Anything Goes, West Side Story (recipient of the 2003 Music Theatre International "Award of Excellence"), South Pacific, Once On This Island, Brigadoon, Oliver! and Carousel. New Jersey Youth Theatre, formerly known as the Westfield Young Artists Cooperative Theatre, is one of the most celebrated youth theater companies in New Jersey, enabling young artists to receive the highest caliber, professional level theatrical experience and education possible.  Performers learn firsthand about musical theater by participating in a full-scale, professional level production.  

The NJPAC/New Jersey Youth Theatre Summer Musical Program is made possible in part by McCrane Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Provident Bank, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Westfield Foundation. NJPAC's Arts Education Department is the fourth largest arts education department of a performing arts center in the country.  www.njyouththeatre.org 

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States.  As New Jersey's Town Square, NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the State's and the world's best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city.  Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts.  NJPAC has attracted over 6 million visitors (more than one million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents. 

Visit www.njpac.org for more information. Programming has been made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by Discover Jersey Arts. NJPAC is a wheelchair accessible facility and provides assistive services for patrons with disabilities.  For more information, call 888-GO-NJPAC.