Almost Famous - NYC EPA (06.23.25) | Playbill

 

Almost Famous - NYC EPA (06.23.25)

CATEGORY: Performer

A.C.T. of Connecticut | Ridgefield, CT
Ridgefield, CT

Job Details

DESCRIPTION

Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA


AUDITION DATE

Monday, June 23, 2025

9:30 AM - 5:30 PM (E)

Lunch 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

CONTRACT

SPT

$670 weekly minimum (SPT 7)

SEEKING

Equity actors for roles in ALMOST FAMOUS

(See breakdown).

PREPARATION

Please prepare a pop or contemporary musical theatre song and a short. contemporary monologue. Audition should not exceed two minutes in length. An accompanist will be provided. Also, please bring your headshot and resume stapled together.

LOCATION

Actors' Equity New York Audition Center

165 W 46th St

16th Fl

New York, NY 10036

PERSONNEL

Music: Tom Kitt

Lyrics: Cameron Crowe and Tom Kitt

Book: Cameron Crowe

Director: Daniel C. Levine

Choreographer: Jessica Chen

Music Supervisor: Bryan Perri

Music Director: Nicholas Connors

Expected to attend:

Karie Koppel, Casting Director

OTHER DATES

First Rehearsal: September 15, 2025

First Performance: on/about October 18, 2025

Opening: on/about October 23, 2025

Closing: November 16, 2025

Possible one week extension through November 23, 2025

OTHER

EPA Procedures are in effect for this audition.

An Equity Monitor will be provided.

Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination.

Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition.

Always bring your Equity Membership card toauditions.

BREAKDOWN

ALMOST FAMOUS

This will be the first production of the musical since its 2022 Broadway debut—and will be a thrilling reimagining of the production, featuring a revised book and score by the original Broadway team: Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award–winning composer Tom Kitt, and Academy Award–winning writer and filmmaker Cameron Crowe. In a unique collaboration, both Kitt and Crowe will be working directly with A.C.T. of CT Artistic Director, Daniel C. Levine who will direct the production. Bryan Perri, the original Broadway music supervisor of Almost Famous, will return to music supervise the Ridgefield production. This new production will serve as an important step toward creating the final, licensable version of Almost Famous. In this staging, the ensemble is not just support—they are the heartbeat of the piece. Onstage throughout the show, they serve as a kind of modern Greek chorus: representing the timeless, intangible power of music and memory—watching, shifting, reflecting the inner lives of the characters and the world around them. As Penny Lane says, “…the spirits are still here… In the walls and in the rafters…the spirits are still here… the music tells you all you need to know. The spirits are the ones who make it so...” This is Almost Famous as you’ve never seen it before—intimate, poetic, and surging with the raw, electric energy of a backstage pass to rock history.

Seeking performers to build a strong company who will play multiple roles throughout the show. All must be excellent rock/pop singers and good movers. All actors MUST be comfortable working on a turntable stage, climbing stairs / ladders, and comfortable performing on platforms at various heights. The show will be very physical.

SEEKING:

WILLIAM MILLER – (Male Identifying, Rock Tenor) 18+ to play 15. He loves music, is struggling with an overly protective teacher mother. He’s younger than all the other kids in his class because his mother skipped him two grades. He’s looking for community and understanding and finds it in music. He is good humored and resourceful, but secretly lonely.

ELAINE MILLER/AND OTHERS – Role has been CAST. (Female Identifying, 30s to 40s, Mezzo- Soprano or Alto with strong belt) Elaine is William and Anita’s mother, who is both brilliant and overly protective. Her husband died of a heart attack three years ago. She is raising the family and given to aphorisms and quoting great philosophers. A college professor who disapproves of the rock lifestyle. Strong comic timing with heart.

PENNY LANE – (Female Identifying, Any Ethnicity, Mezzo-Soprano or Alto with strong belt up to an F#) 19. PENNY is known as elegant rock royalty but wants to retire to give real life a try. Don’t call her a groupie. She is a band-aid, loves music and has been a muse for famous musicians. Her knowing exterior masks a true heart that William sees clearly. She’s in love with Russell, her last “project” in helping inspired a musician to go from “good to great.” Charismatic, mysterious, and emotionally layered.

ESTRELLA STARR/ENSMEBLE - (Female Identifying, Late Teens-Early 20s, Any Ethnicity, Mezzo- Soprano or Alto with strong belt) ESTRELLA is the trippy and hippy daughter of hippy parents, Band- Aid Estrella studies the aura around people and situations. She worships Penny Lane and music itself.

SAPPHIRE/ENSEMBLE – (Female Identifying, Late Teens-Early 20s, Any Ethnicity, Soprano or Alto with strong belt) SAPPHIRE comes off as the most experienced, and world-weary/funny of the bandaids, but she is a passionate music lover who in the end will help Russell realize his priorities. She has a slight British accent for no real reason.

POLEXIA APHRODESIA/ENSEMBLE – (Female Identifying, Late Teens-Early 20s, Any Ethnicity, Mezzo-Soprano or Alto with strong belt up to an F#) POLEXIA is the youngest Band-Aid and is impressionable and lies to her parents about her whereabouts. Polexia also looks up to Penny but worries about Penny’s heart getting broken one more time. She has a secret crush on William. This track will understudy the role of Penny Lane.

LESTER BANGS/ENSEMBLE – (Male Identifying, Late 20s-Early 30s, Any Ethnicity, Strong Rock voice with range) Lester is the great rock critic. He is a man of many opinions, larger than life, but takes a liking to the struggling young journalist William. Witty, brutally honest, a loner. This track will double as other features including but not limited to RED DOG).

RUSSELL HAMMOND – (Male Identifying, Late 20s-Early 30s, Any Ethnicity, Rock Bari-Tenor) Sexy and charismatic. The very talented guitar hero of Stillwater, he is privately struggling with the artistic merit of the band. Magnetic and enigmatic, torn between authenticity and ego. A true rock star struggling with fame and identity. He wants William’s article for Rolling Stone to be good, so he befriends William hoping to influence the story. He’s also Penny’s sometime boyfriend and unwittingly breaks her heart and nearly causes her suicide. PLAYS GUITAR.

ANITA MILLER/ENSEMBLE - (Female Identifying, 20s, Alto with strong belt to E5) ANITA is William’s older sister, pretty, fed up with her mother’s protective ways, especially the way her mother banned rock music from the house because it is too promiscuous. Track will double as but not be limited to ALICE, ALLISON. ALLISON is the fact checker for Rolling Stone Magazine. ALICE is the disk jockey who interviews Lester.

VIC/ENSEMBLE – (Male Identifying, Early 20s, Any Ethnicity, Strong Rock Voice with range) Vic is a young superfan. Vic follows Led Zeppelin around on tour. He has a way of treating everyone like royalty, servile and humble in the face of rock’s greatness. This track will doubles as but not be limited to ROADIE, HOTEL CLERK.

DICK ROSWELL/ENSEMBLE – (Male Identifying, Late 20s-early 30s, Any Ethnicity, Strong Rock Tenor) The band’s long-suffering manager is a good hang and a rough-and-tumble guy who tries valiantly to fix the band’s many problems. He’s Russell’s friend from back home in Michigan. He’s out of his depth, but he’s the band’s good friend. Speaks with a British accent. This track will understudy the role of Lester.

JEFF BEBE/ENSEMBLE – (Male Identifying, Late 20s-Early 30s, Any Ethnicity, Rock Tenor) Lead singer for the rock band Stillwater. Talkative. Bothered by Russell’s success. Has a lead-singer’s ego that masks an inferiority complex. At odds with Russell over control of the band. They banded together in Stillwater, but Bebe often finds himself out shown by the talent and star quality of the band’s leadguitarist.

SILENT ED/ENSEMBLE – (Male Identifying, Late 20s-Early 30s, Any Ethnicity, Rock Tenor) Stillwater’s drummer is indeed silent, but powerful at his drum kit. He is loyal to his fellow hometown band-members... to a point. This track will understudy the role of Jeff Bebe. HAS BASIC DRUM SKILLS.

LARRY FELLOWS/ENSEMBLE – (Male Identifying, Late 20s-Early 30s, Any Ethnicity, Strong Rock Voice) Stillwater’s bassist. He is obsessed with the food in every city along the band’s tour. BASIC BASS PLAYING HELPFUL, BUT NOT A MUST. DENNIS HOPE/ENSEMBLE - (Male Identifying, Late 20s-Early 30s, Any Ethnicity, Rock Bari-Tenor)

DENNIS is the band’s manager of the future. He is smooth-talking, enthusiastic, and comes along to take the band from Dick... and make them all a lot more money. This track will double as but not be limited to OZZIE OSBOURNE, MARLON. MARLON is Aaron’s friend and co-host of the Topeka party. He is the one who put acid in all the red cups. This track will understudy the role of Russell. PLAYS GUITAR.

MALE ENSEMBLE 1 - (Male Identifying, Early-Mid 20’s, Asian, Rock Tenor) This track double as but not be limited to DARYL, BEN FONG. DARYL is Anita’s cool boyfriend who scoffs at William’s attempts to fit in. BEN FONG-TORRES is of Asian descent and is Rolling Stone’s music editor. He has the persona of an avuncular hipster until things get serious and he is a tough and brilliant editor. This track will understudy the role of William.

MALE ENSEMBLE 2 - (Male Identifying, Mid 20s-Early 30s, Any Ethnicity, Strong Rock Voice) This track will double as but not be limited to DAVID FELTON, FREDDY. DAVID is the associate Editor at Rolling Stone, he is often at Ben Fong-Torres’ side. FREDDY guards the backstage gate in San Diego and has an immediate dislike of William. This track will understudy the role of Dick.

LESLIE/ENSEMBLE - (Female Identifying, 20s-30s, Any Ethnicity, Mezzo-Soprano or Alto with strong belt) LESLIE is Russell’s hometown girlfriend, a photographer with a rich father. She will join the tour and sense that Russell hasn’t been faithful. (And later we’ll find out, neither has she.) This track will understudy the role of Elaine.

MALE SWING - (Male Identifying, 20s-30s, Any Ethnicity, Strong Rock Singer with range) Will cover male ensemble tracks TBD. Ability to play guitar a plus.

FEMALE SWING - (Female Identifying, 20s-30s, Any Ethnicity, Strong Rock singer with range) Will cover female ensemble tracks TBD


SALARY

SPT $670 weekly minimum (SPT 7)

UNION

AEA