One show gone, get ready for the next
Are you New Plymouth’s Susan Boyle?
It’s only a few weeks since the season of Mary Poppins concluded at the TSB Showplace, but the team from New Plymouth Operatic is already in full swing for next year’s production, Les Miserables, with auditions for that show coming up this month, over the weekend of September 30 and October 1.
Susan Boyle is a Scottish singer who came to international attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain’s Got Talent on April 11 2009, singing I Dreamed a Dream from Les Mise´rables. Now the whole world knows who Susan Boyle is, a 47-year-old woman who spent her life living with her mother and her cats (until her mother recently passed away). She sang karaoke at local pubs though her dream was to be a professional singer.
When she walked on stage during the Britain’s Got Talent show, the audience laughed, the judges were cynical. Why? Because she looked like a 47-year-old spinster.
No one was prepared for what came next. She shocked everyone with her spectacular rendition of I Dreamed a Dream. The audience was stunned and moved to tears. She became an overnight sensation, her video on You Tube being viewed millions of times.
A quarter of a century since first being staged in New Zealand, the world’s favourite musical returns with this brand new production for a whole new generation. New Plymouth Operatic present the premiere of the NZ Musical Theatre Consortium’s 25th anniversary production of this legendary musical at the TSB Showplace from July 26 2018. Based on the Victor Hugo novel and set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Miserables tells an enthralling story.
Audition information is now available on New Plymouth Operatic’s website – www.npos.co.nz.
‘‘We are looking for a large onstage cast of around the 40 mark, plus a backing vocalists group of 12 or more,’’ said New Plymouth Operatic president Kevin Landrigan.
‘‘Les Mis is a story full of characters, and we are looking for a diverse cast of characters for the show.’’
‘‘We are looking for a really good mix in the cast,’’ he added. ‘‘There are opportunities for people of all ages, shapes and sizes. We really are keen to hear from as many people as we can.’’