\u00a0 My first principal audition was for Richard Rodgers\u2019 Lincoln Center Revival of OKLAHOMA!.\u00a0 It was for the role of Will Parker and would be at the New York State Theatre.\u00a0 I was informed that Mr. Rodgers would be there and I should not sing one of his songs because he would get upset if you didn\u2019t sing it correctly<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 I thought my chances would be better if I sang a ballad to demonstrate that I was a trained singer as well as being a dancer.\u00a0 I chose Leonard Bernstein\u2019s Lonely Town from ON THE TOWN.<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 I just sang the first line when he shouted from the back of the rehearsal room,\u00a0 \u201cStop!\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to hear you sing that song.\u00a0 You\u2019re auditioning for a comic character.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you have a comedy song?\u201d\u00a0 In shock, I managed to mutter, \u201cNo, Sir, I don\u2019t.\u00a0 But I can sing Kansas City.\u201d\u00a0 He shouted louder, \u201cThen sing it!\u00a0 You have to sing it in the show!\u201d\u00a0 I responded, \u201cYes, Sir!\u00a0 I love the song.\u201d\u00a0 I sang the verse & first chorus.<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 When I finished, he again shouted, \u201cYoung man, can you dance?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYes, Sir, I can!\u201d, I replied. \u00a0 \u201cThen, show me!\u201d\u00a0 Thank God, I had prepared a routine!\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 When I finished, once more he shouted, \u201cYoung man, is there anything you can\u2019t do?\u201d\u00a0 I shouted back, \u201cNo, Sir, there isn\u2019t!\u201d\u00a0 I got the job and I didn\u2019t even have to read the part!!<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n[aesop_image force_fullwidth=”off” lightbox=”off” captionposition=”left” align=”center” imgwidth=”800px” img=”https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/reams\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2018\/01\/OKLAHOMA-LRRMH.jpeg” panorama=”off”]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 My first principal audition was for Richard Rodgers\u2019 Lincoln Center Revival of OKLAHOMA!.\u00a0 It was for the role of Will Parker and would be at the New York State Theatre.\u00a0 I was informed that Mr. Rodgers would be there and I should not sing one of his songs because he would get upset if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-highlight"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1596079448:59"]},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n