Maybe a month after returning home from my first out of town job (A Fireside Christmas) I turned on the TV and happened upon the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert. Though familiar with the music I hadn't realized just how many men were in the show until I stood there enrapt watching RED AND BLACK and thought, I can do that. That's what I do.
That same day I read BACKSTAGE (in paper...it was 1995) and saw there were auditions for Les Miserables that very week. A sense of urgency welled within me.
I called my buddy Pat Sullivan...the guy on the right.
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| Pat Sullivan, Stephanie Parker, Judy Ann Moulton, Kim Maguire, Greg Stone...clockwise. |
*On that couch in Hell's Kitchen you could change the channel on the TV (without a remote) AND at the same time open the refrigerator door in the kitchen without getting up. It was tight and they offered this postage stamp of a place to occupy with them. I will always be grateful for their generosity.
There was a problem though, the men's ensemble audition was the next day and I couldn't get there in time. Pat said they were having agent submissions all week and felt confident he could get me seen; he knew people at Johnson-Liff Casting.
So I plunked $900 I didn't have on my Discover card and flew out.
But he couldn't get me in. We both tried urgently to no avail.
I didn't know what to do.
According to Backstage the women's ensemble call was the next day.
I decided to go.
At 7am I showed up at ACTORS' EQUITY, NYC . There was a line of women waiting for the building to be unlocked. At 8 o'clock the door opened and they filed in to sign up. It took some time. They were many. When the line was empty I went up to the board and signed at the bottom. Eventually I was given a pink card with my name and the number 485 on it.
I had nowhere to go and no idea how long it takes to audition 484 people and was scared to leave and possibly lose out. This was a silly fear as it takes a very long time to audition 484 people yet nevertheless I stuck around. As the day wore on more and more women trickled in to sign up. No one said a word. I sat there in silence and thought about what 8 bars of music I should sing IF I could be seen before the building closed. Oh yeah, there was a time limit. The Equity building was closing at 5pm period.
At about 4:30 they lined us up. The list had grown to well over 500 by now and there were at least 30 women behind me. No one said anything directly to me but I could feel their eyes and hear disapproving murmurs.
I spent a $1000 to get there.
I flew across the country to get there.
I had to get in there.
Fifteen minutes before the building closed I got my shot.
I sang my eight bars from the end of WHY GOD and got a callback the next day...for sixteen bars.
This time I chose the end of Anthem from Chess by Benny Andersson click here. It went well and then they did the oddest thing. They gave me the music for the role of Jean Valjean and said learn this for tomorrow. I was 26 years old. I thought I would be singing for Enjolras or one of the other students. Nope. I had one night to work on three songs. Luckily for me Pat and Kristy had a complete recording of the show and it did suit my voice.
The next day there was a different man behind the table named RICHARD JAY ALEXANDER. I didn't know who that was so I wasn't nervous.
"What have I done sweet Jesus what have I done become a thief in the night become a dog on the run and have I fallen so far and is the hour so late, that nothing remains but the cry of my hate. The cries in the dark that nobody hears..." when he threw up his hands and shouted "STOP" which I promptly did.
"Have you ever seeeeeeen Les Miz?" He asked with a sharp tone while rolling his eyes.
"No." I replied.
"Ohhhhh," he said grabbing his pen and scrawling on a piece of paper. "We'll have two tickets for you at the box office tonight. Come back tomorrow."
Sitting in the theater watching the show I realized that I wasn't putting enough emotion into the scene and though I was singing the notes precisely as they were written on the page it was not expressive enough. It was a valuable lesson and I am grateful that Richard had the patience to walk me through that step....a step that greatly changed how I approach singing in musicals.
The next callback was at Nola Studios 250 W54th St.
Once again my youthful ignorance shielded me from comprehending the gravity of this audition.
I started with SOLILOQUY again, this time focusing more on intent than precision and passion came through. Next was WHO AM I which went well as I hit the B on 24601!
Then came BRING HIM HOME which made me nervous as my control wasn't quite as developed.
"God on high.....hear..."
"THANK YOU" he shouted from behind the table throwing up his hands and indicating to the accompanist to stop.
My shoulders slumped. I'd gotten pretty far but apparently this was it. Maybe he'll give me a note and another shot, I thought as I glanced up from the floor.
"You got the job," he said with a smile.
I just stood there for a few seconds.
"Well aren't you happy?" He said raising an eyebrow.
"Ummmm yes I am. Thank you very much."
