Wicked Auditions - Broadway, Tour, and UK

Wicked auditions for the American productions and UK.

Wicked auditions in America are run by Bernie Telsey Casting. Currently the show is playing on Broadway, in San Francisco, and on tour the USA. When open auditions are offered, they usually announced on Playbill.com jobs board, Backstage, Actors Equity job board, among others. The show is not yet available for licensing by local groups.

For the UK, if open auditions are held, they would normally be advertised in The Stage. The casting director for London is Pippa Ailion. News as of January 2010: they have finished casting for this year and don't expect to be open for casting until the end of 2010.

Wicked is an equity production. Actors who are accepted all have substantial bios listing other musical theatre or related productions. The Wicked company casts singers and dancers of all ethnicities.

Be sure to see the links below for audition tips. To stay informed about Wicked and Stephen Schwartz's work, subscribe to The Schwartz Scene free email newsletter.

Perspectives on Wicked from Schwartz, Mantello, & others

Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked devotes 150 pages to the development of Wicked. It takes you inside the mindset of some of the people who make final casting decisions for principals: creative team members Stephen Schwartz, Winnie Holzman, and Joe Mantello. Defying Gravity the book

Every Little Step

If you haven't yet seen the DVD Every Little Step about casting A Chorus Line, try to get ahold of it, to see learn about Broadway work. Released in October 2009: Every Little Step

Audition tips:

Post Acting Resume Online: Wicked casting directors are never short on applications, so this is not likely to help for Wicked auditions, but if you want to build up your resume getting gigs, you might consider 1800Casting: 1800Casting - a place to get noticed

Anyone seriously considering a Broadway career should read Making It on Broadway: Actors' Tales of Climbing to the Top

Some actors are using WICKED songs for local auditions for other shows. For sheet music see Wicked piano-vocal - sheet music.

Audition tips are posted on Musicalsingers.com: Audition tips from Joe Mantello, Wicked's director and Stephen Schwartz (Wicked's composer) audition tips

Wicked Monologues

Note from the webmaster: Several people have asked for monologues from Wicked to use for other show auditions. There are not many monologues in Wicked that are long enough to use for auditions. I've paged through WICKED the novel to see if there might be something for Elphaba. The longest I've found in a quick look is on p. 113 in my edition of the paperback. It's about Dr. Dillamond's discoveries. And there's a really strong statement on p. 356 which is probably too short but it's marvelous. ...It's a personal matter, Boq; I want the shoes. My father made them and they're mine now, and Glinda gve them to this girl without my permission. ...."

I've found a monologue archive online - nothing to do with WICKED - but in case you need it: http://www.monologuearchive.com/

Roles

From the 2005 listing:

Broadway, First National Tour, and Chicago
....

SEEKING:

GLINDA: Female, 20 - 35. The "good" witch. Pretty, charming, entrancing, ambitious, perky, vain, very popular, but also vulnerable and sympathetic. Needs excellent comic chops and star power. Needs a glorious singing voice with high soprano and belt capability. STARRING

ELPHABA: Female, 20 - 35. The "wicked" witch. Born with emerald-green skin, she has had a rough childhood and is an outcast from the beginning. Smart, fiery, sensitive, passionate, misunderstood, sincere, has potent inner beauty, rallies for the underdog, has great talent for sorcery. Needs star power and a powerhouse, high pop/rock belt singing voice. STARRING

THE WIZARD OF OZ: Male, 50s - 70s. Needs a strong, distinctive, engaging, sweet character actor with powerful presence. Must sing. PRINCIPAL

MADAME MORRIBLE: Female, 40s – 60s, any ethnicity. Headmistress of Shiz University. Dignified, powerful, haughty, has a dark side. Takes Elphaba under her wing, training her in sorcery. Needs a strong, comical character actress with formidable presence. Must sing. PRINCIPAL

FIYERO: Male, 20 – 35, any ethnicity. The Winkie prince, a wealthy party boy. Very handsome with striking presence. Not really shallow and self-absorbed as he initially seems. Glinda pursues him, but he is much more intrigued by Elphaba. Needs a strong, high pop/rock singing voice. PRINCIPAL

NESSAROSE: Female, 20 – 30. Elphaba's lonely, compassionate, attractive younger sister, she was favored by their father. Has spent her life crippled in a wheelchair. Becomes involved with Boq and becomes the Wicked Witch of the East. Needs a commanding actress with a strong singing voice. PRINCIPAL

BOQ: Male, 20 – 30, any ethnicity, height of 5'8" or shorter. A helpless, quirky munchkin. Enamored with Glinda, who pays him no mind. Reluctantly, he becomes involved with Nessarose. Needs a comical actor with a strong, high singing voice. PRINCIPAL

DOCTOR DILLAMOND: Male, 30s - 50s, any ethnicity. A distinguished and well-liked professor at Shiz University. He is a goat and the sole animal on the faculty. He becomes a victim to the animal discrimination occurring in Oz. Needs a strong actor with a sense of gravity, authority, and comic skill. Must sing. PRINCIPAL

How to Prepare

from the July 29, 2005 listing:

Notes/What to bring: Please prepare a brief contemporary musical theater song showing range. Please bring sheet music and a photo/resume stapled together. A piano accompanist will be provided.

Related information

See http://www.musicalsingers.com for audition tips, sheet music, Karaoke, career info, vocal health, and other resources for singers who love musicals.