Audition and Casting Information
Audition Schedule For First Lady Suite and Bright Star
Link to audition form
Upload your headshot and resume for First Lady Suite here
Upload your headshot and resume for Bright Star here
Make sure you’re signed into your Wagner College gmail account, since only members of Wagner College have access.
Auditions and callbacks for First Lady Suite and Bright Star will be December 2 & 3. Signups will close at 6pm on November 30.
First Lady Suite will start rehearsals January 26, and they will be Monday through Friday, and Saturdays. Tech is February 25- 27, Dress is March 1-4. Brush up is March 11. The production runs March 5-7 and 12-15.
Weekday hours will be 6:30-10:30pm and Saturdays 12-6pm. Sunday will be the day off except for Dress and performance.
Please note any conflicts with these dates on your audition signup sheet.
Bright Star will start music rehearsals March 9, and they will be Monday through Friday, and Sundays. Staging rehearsals start March 22. Tech is April 15- 17. Dress is April 19- 22. The production runs April 23-25 and April 30- May 3.
Weekday hours will be 6:30-10:30pm and Sundays 12-6pm. Saturday will be the day off except for performance.
Please note any conflicts with these dates on your audition signup sheet.
Auditions and callbacks for First Lady Suite and Bright Star will be December 2 & 3. Signups will close at 6pm on November 30.
Make sure you’re signed into your Wagner College gmail account, since only members of Wagner College have access.
Link to audition form
Upload your headshot and resume for First Lady Suite here
Upload your headshot and resume for Bright Star here
Auditions
Link to audition form
Upload your headshot and resume for First Lady Suite here
Make sure you’re signed into your Wagner College gmail account, since only members of Wagner College have access.
First Lady Suite Audition
First Lady Suite is a sophisticated piece musically and dramatically. For the audition, we would like you to choose a song from the list below. Choose a song and character that you feel like you could play with conviction and with the corresponding level of musical skill. We have included entire songs so that you can determine your own personal cut that is between 16 and 32 bars. As you prepare, make sure you study the entire score of the song you have chosen so that you are well aware of LaChiusa’s musical and dramatic intentions for the character. You will need to study the music just as thoroughly as you study these historical characters in order to audition with confidence. This is a marvelous and challenging show. Enjoy the process!
Everyone interested in auditioning may feel free to reach out to the director and musical director for advice about which role(s) they should look at.
Choose your audition cut from the list of songs below. Your cut should be no shorter than 16 bars and no longer than 32 bars.
Mary Tom Kitten p. 14-17; m. 65-110
Jaqueline Smallest Thing p. 39-49; m. 396-522
Evelyn This is What We Are p. 54-58; m. 580-616
Mamie Where’s Mamie p. 64-71; m. 36-194
My Husband Was an Army Man p. 75-85; m. 248-348
Old Rules p. 108-11; m. 598-650
Marian Melba Gloria p. 87-89; m. 371-425
Ike Someday I will Love you More p. 111-113; m. 652-673
Margaret Ole Missoura p. 120-123; m. 17-69
Hick Eleanor’s Room p. 128-132; m. 51-108
Eleanor’s Hand p. 141-147: m. 255-333
When Eleanor Smiles p. 149-152; m. 351-431
Eleanor Eleanor’s Letters p. 153-158; m. 435-477
Amelia Great Ladies p. 166-171; m. 562-634
All roles are open to actors of any /race/ethnicity or perceived race/ethnicity, except the two roles noted in Where’s Mamie below
Over Texas
Setting: Aboard Air Force One on November 22, 1963
Mary Gallagher-Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy’s Secretary: G3-D5 (mix/belt)
Evelyn Lincoln-John F. Kennedy’s Secretary: A3-F5 (mezzo/high mix)
Jaqueline Bouvier Kennedy-First Lady, 1961-1963: A3-E5 (mix/light belt)
(Aide and Lady Bird roles don’t sing in this piece)
*Aide: Man, cast in 3 roles
**Lady Bird Johnson-Second Lady, 1961-1963: Woman, cast in 3 roles
Where’s Mamie
Setting: Mamie and Ike Eisenhower’s bedroom at the White House in 1957, and also in Algiers,
November 1942
Mamie Eisenhower-First Lady, 1953-1961: G3-E5 (mix, light belt)
Marian Anderson- Opera Singer and Civil Rights Icon: Black or black-presenting. Mezzo
Soprano, G3-A6
*Ike Eisenhower-November-In 1942 was the commander of the Allied invasion of
Axis-held North Africa: White or white-presenting. Ab2-E4 (F4 falsetto)
**Kay Summersby-Irish born, member of the British Mechanised Transport Corps during
World War II, assigned to be Ike’s driver.
Olio
Setting: a vocal concert for the Daughters of the American Republic, late 1940s
**Margaret Truman-Daughter of First Lady Bess Truman and President Harry Truman:
G3–D5 (mix).
* Bess Truman-First Lady, 1945-1953
Eleanor’s Sleeps Here
Setting: In the air over Washington D.C. aboard Amelia Earhart’s airplane, mid-1930s
Lorena Hickok-Journalist and longtime friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt: F3-Eb5 (mezzo belt/mix)
Eleanor Roosevelt-First Lady, 1933-1945: A3-F5 (mezzo/high mix)
Amelia Earhart-Aviation pioneer: A3-E5 (mix)
Make sure you’re signed into your Wagner College gmail account, since only members of Wagner College have access.
Auditions
Upload your headshot and resume for Bright Star here
Make sure you’re signed into your Wagner College gmail account, since only members of Wagner College have access.
Bright Star
Wagner College Theatre Spring 2026, slot 4
Director: Lou Jacob
Music Director: Josh Sottile
Choreographer: Kevin Luck
Assistant Choreographer: Emma Mastoros
Stage Manager: Selina Amargo
Director’s Note:
Bright Star opened on Broadway in 2016. What else opened on Broadway in 2016? OK, let’s see: A show called Waitress; a revival of The Color Purple, with Cynthia Erivo; a great revival of She Loves Me, with Laura Benanti, Gavin Creel and Zachary Levi; School of Rock also opened that year. Also, a brilliant revival of Dames at Sea. Another smaller musical called Tuck Everlasting. A revival of Spring Awakening. A revival of Fiddler on the Roof, This is all one season, mind. The Audra MacDonald-led Shuffle Along. Just for “fun,” a musical version of American Psycho!; What did I forget? Oh, yeah, there was also a show called Hamilton. There were others, as well. Wow.
Bright Star came to Broadway in this legendary season and sang, danced, souled, passioned, intelligenced, laughed, womened its way to five Tony nominations, despite the unprecedented field of shows it was up against.
It’s wonderful to see, nearly ten years later, how many people have been touched by Bright Star in its productions around the country. I’m so proud and excited for us to have this opportunity to share it with our Wagner community!
Auditions:
This show is very much a play. There’s plenty of book, so bring your acting chops for that. Our show is filled with delicious characters for us to create with complexity and empathy. Some of the characters’ passions are misguided and lead them to act in abhorrent ways. In playing these characters, however, their passion is just as real and strong as any other. Their desire to do what they think, at the time, is the right and loving thing to do, drives the entire play. We mustn’t judge them. We play their truth for all its worth.
So, when it comes down to crunch time, with tough casting decisions to be made, and I suspect there will be, it’s likely to be the acting part of the equation, both in scene and song, that wins the day.
All roles are open to all races/ethnicities.
Acting
For round 1, please prepare a short monologue. No longer than 1 minute. Don’t concern yourself so much with trying to “match” it to characters in Bright Star. It would be nice for the piece to be from 20th Century America, be it comic or dramatic.
Singing
Please prepare 16-32 bars of a song of your choosing. Bluegrass, Country, or more traditionally-based Rock or Folk. Please bring your music ready-cut for the pianist. Our advice is rehearse, not only the song so you own it, but rehearse your succinctly-articulated walk-through of the music for the pianist. This should include being able to beat out the tempo/rhythm.
Pro tip: I watch closely, although you may not notice it, everything that happens in an audition that’s not the actual ‘audition’ part. Including how people are able to prep their pianist for their song;)
Character Breakdown and Vocal Ranges
There are 10 principal acting roles, 6 male, 4 female identifying performers.
The production will also feature an ensemble of 6-8 consisting of at least 3 male and 4 female identifying performers who will play additional supporting roles. See descriptions below for more information about principal and ensemble roles.
CASTING BREAKDOWN:
Alice Murphy:
- Alice as a youth is a firecracker, Alice as an adult is buttoned up.
- The actress playing Alice must play Alice as both 16-17 and 36-37.
- Adult Alice is the editor of Asheville Southern Journal. She is smart, serious, does not suffer fools, but is also kind. She is haunted by her past.
- Young Alice at age 16-17 is strong willed, independent and is destined for something greater than her town has to offer. She must be a very strong singer and comfortable in folk and bluegrass styles with a strong belt.
Vocal range: F3-C5
Billy Cane:
- A young soldier returning home from WWII;
- An aspiring young writer.
- Has a charismatic charm, and he is talented but unpolished and a little naive.
- Age: early 20s
Vocal range: C3-A4
Daddy Cane:
- Billy’s father.
- Kind, if simple, man living alone in the woods following the death of his wife.
- Great father, great husband.
- Featured song “She’s Gone” and others.
- Age: Must be believably play Billy’s Father
Vocal range: C3-A4
Margo Crawford:
- Small-town bookstore owner.
- Smart as a whip, kind, Billy’s best friend.
- She has feelings for Billy but he is too naive to see.
- Sweet warm folk voice.
- Age: early 20s
Vocal range: B3-F#5
Daryl Ames:
- An assistant at the Asheville Southern Journal.
- Funny, with a dry and officious sense of humor. Great comedic timing.
- Can be harsh in his directness but is innately likeable.
- Age: Open
Vocal range: C3-E4
Lucy Grant:
- A junior editor at the Asheville Southern Journal.
- Forthright and provocative with a sharp sense of humor.
- Strong modern working woman who is also a flirt.
- Strong dancer and singer.
- Age: 20s
Vocal range: A3-D5
Mama Murphy:
- Alice’s mother. A warm, loving, sensible woman.
- Strong singer with harmonies.
- Age: Must be believably play Alice’s Mother
Vocal range: G3-C5
Daddy Murphy:
- Alice’s father; proud man with old world views on family and children.
- A strict, and hard-working man. A poor but respected farmer.
- Age: Must believably play Alice’s Father
Vocal range: A2-G4
Mayor Josiah Dobbs:
- Mayor of Zebulon; a political and financial powerbroker – an imposing and controlling presence; interested in “protecting” his son’s future and his family name, but in reality is focused on advancing his own self interest and identity.
- Ultimately pushed to a point of extreme and irrevocable cruelty, the guilt breaks him.
- Age: Must be believably play Jimmy Ray’s Father
- Vocal range: A2-G4
Jimmy Ray Dobbs:
- Mayor Dobbs’ son and Alice’s first love,
- plays both age 16-17 and 36-37.
- Young Jimmy Ray is charming, well-built and intelligent; from a family of wealth and power, being groomed by his father for a similar future in the family business; an independent thinker, not afraid to stand up to his father for what he believes in; Strong sense of personal responsibility and morality as well as a deep reserve of passion and emotion.
- The same actor will also play an adult Jimmy Ray at age 36-37.
- Must be an excellent musical theater singer featured in multiple songs with a comfortable bluegrass/folk-pop style.
Vocal range: C3-A4
The Ensemble
A group of strong and dynamic actor/singer/strong dancer/movers will be featured throughout the show. The ensemble will be active throughout the entire show in ways that are not described in the script. The Ensemble may be onstage for the entire show, or great majority.
*Please note, we may, as things develop through casting and realize the needs of our specific production, add an ensemble role. Ensemble role assignments may be adjusted.
Woman 1:
County Clerk, Spirit + Ensemble as Cast
Man 1:
Max + Ensemble as Cast
Woman 2:
Edna, Spirit + Ensemble as Cast
Man 2:
Stationmaster + Ensemble as Cast
Woman 3:
Florence, Spirit + Ensemble as Cast
Man 3:
Dr. Norquist + Ensemble as Cast
Woman 4:
Stanford (Played as a woman “Miss Stanford”) + as Cast
Make sure you’re signed into your Wagner College gmail account, since only members of Wagner College have access.
Upload your headshot and resume for Bright Star here