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AUDITIONS FEBRUARY 27 & 28
Auditions are by appointment only
Call Chuck Antonie at (512) 733-1006 or (512) 825-5187 or email cantonie@yahoo.com to reserve an audition time slot.

Audition Form | Audition Notes

  • All roles are open for casting, including principals, comprimarios, and chorus.
  • A memorized aria or art song (English language preferred) is required. An accompanist will be provided, although singers may bring their own pianist if they wish. Please note that unaccompanied ("a cappella") auditions are not permitted, nor are self-accompanied auditions.
  • A completed Audition Form is required, and a résumé and headshot are requested if available.
  • Read Ralph MacPhail, Jr.'s Audition Notes - with information about each role being cast as well as tips on preparation for auditions.
  • Important Information for Auditionees regarding rehearsals and the rehearsal schedule.
  • Auditions will be held at the University Lutheran Center at 2100 San Antonio - the NW corner at the intersection of 21st and San Antonio. Rooftop parking at the Lutheran Center is accessible from the alley that runs behind the building. MAP
  • A small honorarium will be paid to all performers.
  • To receive timely audition information, please confirm that we have your contact information by joining our mailing list.
Ralph MacPhail, Jr. and Jeffrey Jones-Ragona return as artistic and musical directors, respectively. The G&S Society's former president, Bill Hatcher, returns as production manager.

Synopsis | Performance Schedule | Photos of 1997 Production
Produced only once in our history, in 1997, this richly textured show is the closest thing to grand opera in the G&S repertoire. Both Gilbert & Sullivan considered The Yeomen of the Guard to be their favorite collaboration. Its story is lofty and its score is magnificent, and yet it loses not one bit of the fun and frivolity that are hallmarks of G&S shows. If you are not yet familiar with Yeomen, you will be captivated with its hauntingly beautiful tunes, its colorful pageantry, and, yes, its topsy-turvy storyline.

The Yeomen opened October 3, 1888, at the Savoy Theatre and ran for 423 performances. The darkest of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, Yeomen ends with a broken-hearted main character and at least two reluctant engagements, rather than the usual armful of marriages. However, Gilbert's "pointed" satire and punning one-liners abound, and many believe that the score is Sullivan's finest. Indeed, some enjoy Yeomen particularly because of its ever-changing emotional balance of joy and despair, love and sacrifice.
 

DRAMATIS PERSONAE
SIR RICHARD CHOLMONDELEY (Lieutenant of the Tower)
COLONEL FAIRFAX (under Sentence of Death)
SERGEANT MERYLL (of the Yeomen of the Guard)
LEONARD MERYLL (his Son)
JACK POINT (a Strolling Jester)
WILFRED SHADBOLT (Head Jailer)
ELSIE MAYNARD (a Strolling Singer)
PHOEBE MERYLL (Sergeant Meryll's Daughter)
DAME CARRUTHERS (Housekeeper to the Tower)
KATE (her Niece)

Chorus of Yeomen of the Guard, Gentlemen, Citizens, etc.
 
9 Performances!
Thursday June 10th 8pm Preview
Friday June 11th 8pm Opening Night Gala
Saturday June 12th 8pm Evening Performance
Sunday June 13th 3pm Matinee
Thursday June 17th 8pm Evening Performance
Friday June 18th 8pm Evening Performance
Saturday June 19th 3pm Matinee
    8pm Evening Performance
Sunday June 20th 3pm Closing Performance
Matinee
SYNOPIS
The setting of Yeomen is laid in the Tower of London in Shakespearean times. The plot concerns Colonel Fairfax, a gentleman, soldier and scientist, who has been sentenced to be beheaded in an hour on a false charge of sorcery. To avoid leaving his estate to his accuser (a cousin), and with the help of the Lieutenant of the Tower, Fairfax secretly marries Elsie Maynard, a strolling singer.

The bride agrees to be blindfolded during the ceremony and expects to be a well-paid widow in an hour. With the help of the Meryll family, Fairfax escapes, throwing the Tower into confusion and the astonished Elsie (and her mentor, the jester Jack Point, who loves her) into despair. But Fairfax, disguised as Leonard Meryll, woos Elsie, and after a number of plot complications are worked out, she falls in love with Fairfax and leaves Jack Point broken-hearted.
 
 
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The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin
PO Box 684542 / Austin, Texas / 78768-4542 / 512.472.4772 / info@gilbertsullivan.org