The Clinton Area Showboat Theatre is excited to introduce three Broadway veterans to the 2015 season: Amy Hamel (Broadway’s Cats), David Coolidge (Broadway Tour’s Parade) and Kristy Cates (Broadway’s Wicked). ‘Read more’ for more information and local audition information.
“The two biggest goals I had for my first season as Artistic Director of the Clinton Showboat were to connect with the greater Clinton community by presenting a lineup of shows that provided something for everyone and to continue to build off the incredible legacy of professionalism left by my predecessors,” said Producing Artistic Director Matthew Teague Miller. “I believe that these three incredible talents can really help us take the Showboat to the next level and so we can truly bring Broadway to the Iowa banks of the Mississippi River.”
Amy Hamel will be serving as choreographer for the much-anticipated production of Cats, which opens on the Showboat June 11. Hamel performed in the final Broadway company of the show as well as spending several years as dance captain on the national tour. Hamel, who has played nearly every female role in the show, will be staging the production to fit on the Clinton Showboat stage using influences from the original Broadway production and her own creative twists. Artistic Director Matthew Teague Miller will be directing the reimagined production of this incredible Broadway legend.
David Coolidge will be directing and staging My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra. Coolidge worked with legendary Broadway Director Harold Prince on the Broadway National Tour of Parade and in the Pre-Broadway production of Big River. He has appeared on numerous regional theatre stages including Triad Stage, Milwaukee Rep and St. Louis Muny. As a director, Coolidge directed and oversaw six National Tours of the musical Junie B. Jones and is the Head of Musical Theatre at Anderson University. David received his BFA in Musical Theatre from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Kristy Cates will be directing Steel Magnolias, which opens on July 23rd at the Showboat. Cates was a member of the original Broadway cast of Wicked where she served as Idina Menzel’s understudy for the first part of the run. Cates is best known for playing the role of Elphaba in the long-running Chicago engagement of Wicked. Cates has appeared Off-Broadway and at Carnegie Hall, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Arkansas Rep, the St. Louis Muny and Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. Kristy is also a voiceover actress and has recorded numerous commercials for companies including Subway, Almay, PNC Bank and AT&T.
Local auditions for the 2015 CAST Summer Season are being held February 14th and 15th at the Mullany Theatre on the Ashford University campus. The Clinton Showboat is looking for actors (ages 8+) to fill a variety of roles in the 2015 Summer Season. These roles will perform alongside our professional company members in our mainstage summer season.
Actors auditioning are asked to prepare 32 bars of a musical theatre song. Please bring sheet music in the correct key, an accompanist will be provided (please no recordings). In addition, actors may be asked for a second song if necessary (musical theatre or jazz standard).
Women interested in being considered for Steel Magnolias are asked to present a memorized monologue, no longer than one minute (Those interested in Steel Mag only do not need to present a song).
Strong dancers interested in auditioning for Cats are invited to attend a dance audition on Sunday February 15th at 2pm in addition to their vocal audition. This is for strong dancers only and proper dance attire should be worn.
Please email krisjdoss@hotmail.com for an audition appointment. For more information about auditions and the Intern Program visit: www.clintonshowboat.org.
The 2015 Clinton Area Showboat Season includes the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats (June 11-21), My Way, A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra (June 25 to July 5) Seussical the Musical based on the works of Dr. Seuss (July 9-19), Steel Magnolias (July 23 to August 2) and the 2010 Pulizer Prize winning musical Next to Normal (August 6-16). New Producing Artistic Director for CAST’s 2015 season is Matthew Teague Miller. 2015 season passes are now on sale. Visit www.clintonshowboat.org for more information.
