Auditions for Broadway
Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance Of Being Earnest” Equity Principal Auditions for performers
Roundabout Theatre Company – casting by Jim Carnahan & Carrie Gardner
Excellent British accent required for all roles
Jack Worthing:
Mid 20s-mid 30s. Seemingly responsible and respectable young man who leads a double life. In Hertfordshire, where he has a country estate, he is known as Jack. In London, he is known as Ernest. His family pedigree is a mystery, but his seriousness and sincerity are evident. Jack is in love with his friend Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax.
Algernon Moncrieff:
Mid 20s-mid 30s. Charming, idle, decorative bachelor. Nephew of Lady Bracknell, cousin of Gwendolen Fairfax and best friend of Jack Worthing, whom he has known for years as Ernest. He is brilliant, witty, selfish, amoral and given to making delightful paradoxical and succinct pronouncements. Has invented a fictional invalid friend, “Bunbury”, to get him out of unpleasant or dull social obligations.
Gwendolen Fairfax:
Mid 20s-early 30s. Algernon’s cousin, Lady Bracknell’s daughter. In love with Jack, whom she knows as Ernest. A model and arbiter of high fashion and society, Gwendolen speaks with unassailable authority on matters of taste and morality. She is sophisticated, intellectual, cosmopolitan and utterly pretentious. Fixated on the name “Ernest” and says she will not marry a man without that name.
Cecily Cardew:
Early – mid 20s. Jack’s ward, the granddaughter of the old gentleman who found and adopted Jack when Jack was a baby. Cecily is probably the most realistically drawn character in the play. Like Gwendolen, she is obsessed with the name “Ernest”, but she is even more intrigued by the idea of wickedness. This idea, rather than the virtuous-sounding name, has prompted her to fall in love with Jack’s brother Ernest in her imagination, and to invent an elaborate romance and courtship between them.
Miss Prism:
50s-60s. Cecily’s governess. Endless source of pedantic bromides and clichés. Highly approves of Jack’s presumed respectability, and harshly criticizes his “unfortunate” brother. Puritan though she is, Miss Prism’s severe pronouncements have a way of going so far over the top that they inspire laughter. Despite her rigidity, Miss Prism seems to have a softer side. Entertains romantic feelings for Dr. Chasuble.
Rev. Chasuble:
60s and up. Rector on Jack’s estate. Like Miss Prism, he is the source of Victorian moral judgments; but under the surface, he appears to be an old lecher. His sermons are interchangeable, mocking religious conventions. However, beneath the religious exterior, his heart secretly beats for Miss Prism.
Lane:
30s-60s. Traditional English manservant.
Merriman:
30s-60s. Traditional English butler.
The role of Lady Bracknell is cast (Brian Bedford).
Equity Principal Auditions:
Thursday, July 8, 2010
10 AM – 6 PM
Lunch from 1:30 – 2:30.
Ripley-Grier Studios
520 Eighth Avenue, 16th Floor
New York City
$1,207 per week minimum Equity contract
1st reh.: 11/16/10. Runs 12/20/10 – 3/20/11 at the American Airlines Theatre (Broadway).
Sides will be provided at the audition. Please bring a picture & resume, stapled together.
