Rehearsal Commitment

All cast are required to be available from Sunday 4th February until show week, 14.00 – 18.00 at Clincarthill Parish Church and on Thursday’s from 19.00 – 22.00 at Kinning Park Parish Chruch. The first 6 to 8 weeks Thursday’s will be used to focus primarily on principal work, but others may be called as required for the scenes being set. There will also be a “Super Sunday” rehearsal on 21st April from 10.00 – 18.00.

We all have lives outside of the show, so please be upfront about other commitments or clashes that might get in the way of being available so that the production team can create the rehearsal schedule to best suit the whole company.

Runway Theatre Company Membership

Our membership is £75 (£40 students / pensioners, proof required to be shown to our membership manager). We encourage all members to sell as many tickets as possible and our Marketing team can help support you with materials and social media posts to share, a minimum of 20 tickets is required per member (however we appreciate this is not always possible and would expect each member to actively involve themselves in promoting the show to the best of their abilities).

Dates of Note:

First rehearsal: Sunday 4th February

“Super Sunday” Rehearsal: 21st April

Band Call and theatre “get in” - Sunday 12th May

Dress Rehearsal: Monday 13th May

Show dates (nightly with Saturday matinee): Tuesday 14th May to Saturday 18th May

"Anything Goes" is a classic musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, originally premiering on Broadway in 1934. The version being performed is the 2022 adaption which has been updated to address some characterisation and plot points in light of modern views. The plot is a fast paced and whimsical combination of romance, mistaken identities, and comedic high jinks, set aboard the SS American, a luxury ocean liner.

The story begins with Billy Crocker, a young Wall Street broker, who is madly in love with Hope Harcourt, an heiress engaged to the wealthy and somewhat bumbling Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Determined to win Hope's heart, Billy stows away on the SS American.

Onboard, chaos ensues as various passengers, including nightclub singer Reno Sweeney, Public Enemy Number 13 Moonface Martin, and his sidekick Erma, who interact in a series of mistaken identities and romantic entanglements. Billy, trying to avoid being caught by the ship's crew, disguises himself and creates confusion. Reno Sweeney, a charismatic and witty nightclub singer, offers her help to Billy in pursuing Hope after he rebuffed her advances.

As the ship sails from New York to London, the characters find themselves in a whirlwind of disguises, misunderstandings, and romantic mix-ups. The plot is propelled by Cole Porter's timeless songs, including classics like "I Get a Kick Out of You," "You're the Top," and the title number "Anything Goes.”

In the end, love triumphs, and the characters discover that sometimes, the course of true love is a chaotic and hilarious journey. The musical concludes with a joyous celebration, reaffirming the idea that, indeed, "anything goes" when it comes to matters of the heart and indeed in a 1930s world where many societal norms are being challenged.

Reno Sweeney - A charismatic American evangelist turned nightclub singer with a go-getting attitude. She is confident, sassy and quick witted. At the outset of the show, she appears keen to settle down and makes strong passes at Billy Crocker who she has known for some time in New York. He rebuts her advances, but by this point she has told the audience the “kicks” he gives her. She has tenacity though and even after he stows away, she brushes off her rejection - this sets the tone not only for her, but for how lighthearted all relationships are treated in the show. She needs to have great comic timing and a star quality that both explains her position as the lead act in a nightclub, but also a star quality that will hold the audience and dazzle them as she is the heart of the show and needs the energy to carry it. An ability to tap dance is required. Playing age 25 to 45.

Hope Harcourt - An apparently wealthy American debutante, who has some known celebrity for being on the cover of Life magazine. Hope is engaged at the start of the voyage to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, who she is set to marry a week from now in England. She has also boarded with her mother Evangeline. She has before boarding met Billy Crocker one night at a party where they spent the whole night together. She is really the romantic role of the musical and is battling her sense of duty to her mother and society, versus her own feelings. She has a sweetness to her, but still must carry enough confidence and awareness of her position and privilege. We are looking to see some truth to her character rather than see her played with a panto princess aloofness. Playing age 18 to 25.

Evangeline Harcourt - Hope’s mother, and an elegant and refined socialite who is a widow to a once wealth stock broker who committed suicide, perhaps in the 1929 stock market crash. She has boarded with her daughter Hope and Hope’s fiancé Evelyn, which Evangeline sees as a marriage of convenience to secure their wealth and social standing. Evangeline also knows Whitney through her husband with who Whitney went to Yale with. Her and Whitney have not seen each other in some 40 years (although may be edited depending on ages cast). She has stiff upper lip, think Kate Winslet’s mum in Titanic, and an accent of an upper-class New Yorker of the 1920’s (reference The Gilded Age). Although she is uppity, Evangeline too has moments of sheer ridiculousness that need to grab the audience, and so accuse comic timing is required. Playing age 45 to 60.

Lord Evelyn Oakleigh - A wealthy English aristocrat with a quirky and endearing personality. He is naive and socially awkward in a way that should read as funny to the audience, often acting as the comic relief. He needs to exemplify the tropes of upper clash Englishman of that age, but must remain someone the audience take to. Although set to marry Hope, the events that unfold leave him paired off with Reno, and this is based on his sheer charm and zest for life. He sees the best in everything and everyone. Playing age 25 to 45.

Billy Crocker - A young charming and hopeful Wall Street broker working for Elisha Whitney. He isn’t due to be onboard and at the time of sailing Whitney has asked him to go sell stocks for him. Billy has been friendly with Reno it would appear for some time but doesn’t see her as a romantic interest. Instead, he has previously met Hope Harcourt who he has fallen madly in love with, enough to want to become a stowaway onboard adopting the alias Murray Hill Flowers. He needs to be a genuinely besotted but likeable character, who can romance not only Hope but also the audience into his charm, playing the male romantic lead. Playing age 20 to 30.

Elisha Whitney - A Wall Street tycoon who studied at Yale. He is forgetful, bumbling and sets up many of the comedic events that take place onboard due to the theft of his glasses early in the show by Moonface. Whitney unashamedly flirts with Evangeline but isn’t so good at it as he is rather too brash. Accent should be a brash American with the regional accent open to your interpretation. Playing age 50 to 65.

Moonface Martin - A comedic gangster who poses as a minister for this voyage to England. He is accompanied by his side-kick Erma. Although it would appear she probably has or had a romantic connection at one point, their relationship equally could be played as one of equal accomplices as Erma shows him very little respect. He is known to be Public Enemy Number 13, and despite being a gangster he really needs to be more of a loveable rogue in the audiences’ eyes, more befitting of his role as number 13 as opposed to number 1. He seems to have crossed paths with Reno through the nightclub scene, and their relationship seems to confirm his good heartedness. Due to their relationship, he calls upon her help giving them their most iconic number “Friendship”, which is one of the many opportunities Moonface has to flex his comic abilities. Accent should preferably be a New Yorker, but happy with standard American. Playing age 30 to 55.

Erma - A dryly sarcastic gangsters moll travelling with Moonface. She has no respect for him and takes every opportunity to cut him down to size with wit. She has an insatiable appetite for men and becomes well acquainted with many of the ship’s crew. She needs to ooze sex appeal and have brazen confidence and ooze the ability to be outrageously flirtatious when the opportunity presents itself. Playing age 20 to 35.

Spit and Dippy - If you have seen the previous version of the show, these were the roles of Ching and Ling also known as Luke and John, previously Chinese men who had been converted by Henry P Dobson (the minister) to Christianity. The script has been updated to remove specific reference to this, and so the roles are now open to males of any ethnicity. They are sidekicks, who are keen gamblers and are happy to back out from under the eyes of the minister. I’d prefer the accents here to both be New Yorkers, and for them to feel like young scamps (think slightly older Newsies characters). Playing age 18 to 25.

Reno’s Showgirls (Purity, Chastity, Charity & Virtue) - Showgirls, with exceptional dancing skills, lots of personality to complement that of the brassy and charismatic Reno. Think flirty, confident and alluring. An ability to tap dance is required. Playing age 20 to 35.

Other speaking/singing roles include:

Ship’s Captain

Ship’s Purser

Sailors & crew

Passengers

Fred (the bartender)

Henry T. Dobson (a minister)

Newspaper reporter

Newspaper photographer

FBI agents

The dialogue is fast paced, with so many quick one-liners making diction and clear delivery more important than accent perfection. The audience need to follow every part of the backstory and plot which can quickly pass them by if not delivered clearly, so please focus on clarity and on landing the jokes. In addition, the show is a farce, and so the acting style needs to be slightly above reality, but without quite getting to a panto level. For characters like Reno and Moonface, a knowing wink to the audience may even be appropriate.

Company auditions will be held on Sunday 28th January from at Clincarthill Parish Church (1220 Cathcart Road, Mount Florida, Glasgow, G42 9EU). Due to incredible demand we will now be holding 2 separate sessions.

Principal auctions will then start to be held on Thursday 1st February from 19.00 – 22.00 at Kinning Park Parish Church (20 Eaglesham Ct, Glasgow, G51 1PS) although more detailed call times may be provided once the production team know the number of people auditioning for each role.

All auditionees are required to complete a form showing interest in specific roles for us to allocate slots.

Auditionees will be expected to dance at the company audition therefore please come dressed appropriately, and due to the nature of the show there will also be a tap audition, so please bring tap shoes if you would like to be considered for tapping roles. Songs for the principal auditions will be covered once at the Company audition, but please use audition pack material provided to rehearse in advance of your audition.

Please use the Soundtrack link below to familiarise yourself with the material.

The full cast should be announced following all of the principal auditions

We plan commence rehearsals on Sunday 4th February.

If you are unable to attend auditions and would like to be in the show please email info@runwaytheatre.co.uk

Please use this link to familiarise yourself with the material: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=OLAK5uy_nZ_cJqA0W7Xj8SC4IGhKhhw8DZg_P3nZsItem description

Reno Sweeney (Vocal range G3-Eb5)

Vocal audition:

12) Anything Goes- bars 1-48 (last note amended to hear top of required range)

16) Blow Gabriel Blow- bars 8-47

Acting audition:

Act 1, Scene 1, pages 8-10.

Read from Reno: “He’s wrong Billy it was only me” to Reno: “The hell you didn’t! You never even laid a hand on me, and I’m not used to men treating me like that!”

This audition piece skips the song assuming it to be read as one piece.

Billy Crocker (Vocal range B3-G4)

Vocal audition:

7) Easy To Love- bars 21-52

11) It’s De-Lovely- bars 1-36

Acting audition:

Act 1, Scene 3, pages 24-26.

Read from Hope: “Try taking deep breaths dear” to Billy: “Me and You Who Am I Kidding?”.

Please be prepared to go from dialogue straight into East to Love.

Hope Harcourt (Vocal range A4-Eb5)

Vocal audition:

11) It’s De-Lovely- bars 53-79

17) Goodbye Little Dream- all

 Acting audition:

Act 1, Scene 3, pages 24-26.

Read from Hope: “Try taking deep breaths dear” to Billy: “Me and You Who Am I Kidding?”.

Evangeline Harcourt (non-singing)

Acting audition:

Act 1, Scene 7, page 45-46

From Moon “Excuse me. Ma’am, we’re looking for Lord Evelyn Oakliegh” to Evelyn: “Been looking for you everywhere, Mums. I say, how do you like it?” Please note the stage direction on the following page notes Evelyn pulls out a sword and brandishes it proudly. Mrs Harcourt shrieks and faints, but feel free to tailor your reaction, i.e. I don’t need you to faint.

Moonface Martin (Vocal range Bb3-Gb4)

Vocal audition:

18) Be Like the Bluebird- bars 17-end

Acting auditions:

Piece 1:

Act 1, Scene2, page16.

From Minister: “A fellow cleric!” to Moon: “I don’t know I think it’s downstairs”

AND

Piece 2:

Act 2, Scene 2, page 62.

From Moon: “Take a card, any card…” to Moon: “Remember it’s always darkest just before they turn on the lights”. Be prepared to run the dialogue straight into the song.

Elisha Whitney (Vocal range C3-D4)

Vocal audition:

8) The Crew Song- bars 8-24

Acting audition:

Act 1, Scene 1, page 7.

From Whitney: “You sure Crocker hasn’t called?” to Whitney: “Make it a double. Goodnight gentlemen.”

Evelyn Oakleigh (Vocal range C3 to G4)

Vocal audition:

20) The Gypsy In Me- bars 1-42

Acting audition:

Act 1, Scene 6, pages 40-41.

From Evelyn: “Step on it makes no sense at all” until “Yeah but it’s also kinda cute.” 

Erma (Vocal range G3 to C#4)

Vocal audition:

21) Buddy Beware- bars 1-33

Acting audition:

Act 1, Scene 4, pages 28-29

From Erma: “Listen to that squaking!” to Erma and Moon: “Amen”

Spit & Dippy / Other speaking roles

Acting audition:

Please read the first of Moonface Martin’s pieces.

Act 1, Scene2, page16.

From Minister: “A fellow cleric!” to Moon: “I don’t know I think it’s downstairs”

Reno’s Showgirls

Vocal audition:

Please choose one of the female audition songs and be prepared to sing a part of it.