Director Chip Joyce will hold auditions for Big River on January 14 and 15 at 1:00 each day. Based on the Mark Twain novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Big River includes an unforgettable score from Roger Miller, the king of country music, and has won 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical. This show requires multicultural casting and features an abundance of performance opportunities for both Caucasian and African American performers. Roles are available for 15-18 men/boys and 7-10 women. Ages of characters are relatively open. Most actors will appear in multiple roles. All actors sing in group numbers, and many feature vocal solos. Auditions will be held at University United Methodist Church , 2818 N. University. For auditions, please prepare 32 bars of a musical theatre, folk or gospel song (not from the show) that shows range and personality. You might also be asked to read or sing materials from the show.

Director Charles Killen will hold auditions for Chicago on January 28 and 29 at 2:00 each day. This high-energy musical is set in Prohibition-era Chicago . The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the “celebrity criminal.” Bob Fosse choreographed the original production, and his style is strongly identified with the show. A Tony Award-winning production, the score features several show-stopping numbers, including “Razzle Dazzle,” “Nowadays,” “Cell Block Tango,” and “All That Jazz.” The cast includes 4 women and 2 men in leading roles, and Charles would like to cast an ensemble of at least six men and six women to particpate in all ensemble numbers and to flesh out the cast by playing supporting roles and in many cases, playing more than one character. Auditions will be held at Jump Start Gymnastics, 8820 N. Industrial Rd. in Peoria . For auditions, please prepare a song that best displays your range and bring your sheet music. Also dress appropriately for dance auditions.