An Officer And A Gentleman – Audition Research

 

With An Officer and a Gentleman auditions coming up, we thought we would write the first article for a new section we are creating on the site: Audition Research.

With An Officer and a Gentleman auditions coming up, we thought we would write the first article for a new section we are creating on the site: Audition Research.

When a show is auditioning – new or old – we here at AussieTheatre.com will pull together all the information we can find to help people with their audition preparation.

If you have anything to add then we would really appreciate you leaving us a comment or dropping us an email to let us know.

The first show we are covering is quite a tough one, as there seems to be very little information out there about the musical adaption of An Officer and a Gentleman.

What we know so far…

The show is based on the 1982 film staring Richard Gere and Debra Winger, and seems to follows a similar plot.

FILM Synopsis from StarPulse.com: 

Zack Mayo, an aloof, taciturn man who aspires to be a navy pilot. Once he’s arrived at training camp for his 13-week officer’s course, Mayo runs afoul of abrasive, no-nonsense drill sergeant Emil Foley. Mayo (or “Mayonnaise,” as he is dubbed by the irascible Foley)is an excellent cadet, but a little cold around the heart. Foley rides Mayo mercilessly, sensing that the young man would be prime officer material if he weren’t so self-involved. Zack’s affair with working girl Paula Pokrifi is likewise compromised by his unwillingness to give of himself. Only after Mayo’s best friend Sid Worsley commits suicide over an unhappy romance does Zack come out of his shell and mature into a real human being. 

Random Facts:

An Officer and a Gentleman was nominated for 7 Oscars. The hit song ‘Up Where We Belong’ is the theme from this film. The closing scene has become a classic movie romance moment.

The Musical:

Music and Lyrics by ROBIN LERNER & KENNETH HIRSCH 
Book by DOUGLAS DAY STEWART & SHARLEEN COOPER COHEN

Production Team: 
Director: Simon Phillips (Love Never Dies, Priscilla) 

Produced By:
Sharleen Cooper Cohen, John Frost and Gentleman US/Australia LLC “GUA”

 

• All auditions have been asked to prepare one contemporary music theatre song. 
• In addition Male auditionees to also prepare a Rock song and Female auditionees to also prepare a strong pop ballad.

 

Samples of the music were available from the worksop production. Until this morning (Wednesday), they were found at this address: http://www.anofficerandagentlemanthemusical.com/sights/music.html

The website has been taken down overnight. We hope that those of you who made it to the site managed to get an idea of the show… 

We would like to stress that the show has been reworked considerably since these recordings, so this is not a true representation of the score or the story. However, we thought it might come in handy when preparing audition material to have an idea of the style of the show.  

We will continue to update this article as more information comes to hand.

If you have any more information please comment on the article.

Chookas to everyone auditioning.

Male Roles

ZACK MAYO – The classic angry young man, defiantly handsome, dangerously fit, early 20’s; grew up in a “sewer” (a Navy whoring town in the Philippines); dreams of flying jets and parlaying this skill into a better life. (Bari/Tenor) 

SID WORLEY – Likeable Okie son of a Navy Admiral, early 20’s; the class “superstar” and “horndog,” a nice guy living a lie. (Bari/Tenor) 

BYRON MAYO – Zack’s father; mid-40’s; Navy enlisted man and whore-chasing hell-raiser determined to pass his negative legacy on to his son. (Bari/Tenor)

SGT. EMIL FOLEY – the toughest D. I. in the world; is there madness in the man borne of all the death he witnessed in war? The iron-fisted nemesis of every candidate, he will find their weakness and press until they crumble. (Bari/Tenor)

RAMON GUITERREZ – Hot-blooded Latino who Foley calls Heart Throb; Is he wrestling with his sexual identity or as macho as he professes? (Tenor) 

Female Roles

PAULA POKRIFKI – pretty 20-year-old factory worker who dreams of becoming a nurse, and finding a better life without selling out for it, like everyone around her. (Alto/Sop) 

LYNETTE POMEROY – Paula’s best friend and factory worker; 20, blond, built, and determined to marry a flier to escape her dead end life, no matter what it takes. (Alto/Sop) 

TANIYA SEEGER – aka “Ghetto Girl”, 22 – African American woman from the street whose chip on her shoulder and her weak upper body strength could be her undoing. (Soprano) G-mC-C/Eb 

ESTHER POKRIFKI – Twenty years ago she looked like her daughter, Paula, but a bad decision at the time has ravaged her beauty and soul. (Alt/Sop) 

Ladies and gentleman of the ensemble to play the roles of hotel managers, captain mullens, candidates and factory workers.