New Plymouth Operatic Society

New Plymouth Operatic will hold a pre-audition evening for anyone interested in auditioning for The Producers on Sunday 29 January at 7.30pm at the New Plymouth Operatic rooms on King Street. (See the attached flyer).

The show's creative team of Warren Bates, Shirley Murphy, Phillip Malcolm and Carolyn Murphy will all be in attendance at the pre-audition evening to provide you with all the information you need about The Producers, including what the show is about, the audition requirements, audition preparation tips, details about the New Plymouth season and their own valuable personal insights. We'd highly recommend anyone keen on auditioning to attend, and the session is open to anyone, whether you are looking to audition or just interested in learning about the show or our society.

Audition Material for the 7 principal roles (Max, Leo, Ulla, Franz, Roger, Carmen and Hold Me touch Me) is already available by emailing the New Plymouth Operatic office on npos@xtra.co.nz, and audition information for all other roles, including the company and off-stage chorus will be available on the pre-audition night. Bookings for auditions times can be made soon by contacting npos@xtra.co.nz. Principal auditionees may be required for a recall audition on Saturday afternoon, 3 March 2012. The Producers season opens at the TSB Showplace on 29 August 2012, and must close on Saturday 8 September.

“This is definitely the hottest ticket in town and the funniest, brightest and probably one of the best show you will ever see”- The Age Melbourne

“The most hilarious musical ever ….. you’ll laugh until your ribs crack”- The Christchurch Press

New Plymouth Operatic is proud to announce our 2012 season of The Producers scheduled to open on 30 August 2012 in the TSB Theatre at the TSB Showplace. Here’s your chance to be part of the one of the funniest shows in years! More belly laughs per minute than any new musical in years!" says Variety. "The Producers" is the winner of more Tony Awards than any musical in history, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book!

Max Bialystock and Leopold Bloom have discovered a surefire way to make a fortune on Broadway: raise millions from little old lady investors, produce the worst play in the long history of flops, and then run off with the money when the play closes on opening night. They think they've found their play in Springtime for Hitler. So together they set out to find the worst script, worst actors and worst director in order to produce a sure-fire flop and get rich.- but anything can happen when the lights go down on Broadway! What can possibly go wrong? The musical was a hit in New York, spawning national tours and successful productions in London and internationally. The musical opened on April 19, 2001 and ran for 2,502 performances, winning a record breaking 12 Tony Awards. A 2005 film was made based on the musical, starring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and Uma Thurman.

This Broadway hit continues New Plymouth Operatic’s tradition of bringing the best of Broadway to the Taranaki in what’s sure to be unforgettable musical entertainment. The show is to be directed by Warren Bates, with auditions scheduled for early 2012. New Plymouth Operatic has engaged Harold Moot, set designer from the NZ Consortium shows of Cats and Miss Saigon and David Bosworth to consult on the design and manage the set build for The Producers, which will be augmented with costumes, props and set elements from the recent Dunedin Operatic season. “We have long held ambitions of staging The Producers in New Plymouth, says Operatic President Kevin Landrigan, “This show gives us something fresh and new to present to the audiences of Taranaki – and is a show most of our audience will not have seen before” “There are opportunities for singers, dancers, and actors”

Warren Bates, our resident director, has signed on to head The Producers creative team. Warren is highly respected and well known throughout Taranaki and New Zealand as a director of the highest quality. His directional credits for New Plymouth Operatic include our highly acclaimed recent seasons of Cats (2007), The Sound of Music (2008), and Miss Saigon (2009). “Having not directed a show for NPOS for 18 months, we are thrilled Warren has agreed to again direct for New Plymouth Operatic.” says Mr Landrigan. “The humour of The Producers is accessible to a wide range of audiences, and draws on ridiculous accents, caricatures and many show business in-jokes” says Warren.” In this fast-paced satire, all principal roles require actors with a good sense of comic timing and being comfortable in being able to laugh at themselves.”

Work on The Producers begins now. “There is no going back” adds Kevin Landrigan “The theatre is booked, and set design already underway.” An estimated 100,000 volunteer hours will go into helping Operatic stage a major production like The Producers. “We were keen to make our plans for 2012 known as soon as possible to enable people keen on being involved with Operatic plenty of time to plan their lives, and to choose what else they involve themselves in” says Mr Landrigan. “Being involved in any show is a big commitment”.