Auditions: A Chorus Line

A CHORUS LINE

Conceived and Originally Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett

Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante

Music by Marvin Hamlisch

Lyrics by Edward Kleban

Co-Choreographed by Bob Avian

Director: Amber Burns 

Choreographer: Kayla Schiltgen

Music Director: Tori Wright

Duluth Playhouse is committed to inclusive, color-conscious casting. Actors of all ethnicities, gender identities, and abilities are highly encouraged to audition for all roles. 

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AUDITION INFORMATION

Auditions will be held in person at the NorShor Theatre Rehearsal Studios located at 211 E. Superior St. Duluth, MN 55802. Please enter through the “Lights on Duluth” door located next to the Box Office.

AUDITION DETAILS  

• For this production, auditions will begin with a dance call, as movement is a central component of the show. Auditions will be held Saturday, June 6.  
  
  • DANCE CALL: Actors (16 and above) sign up for one of the following days:
    
    • Saturday, June 6: Dance Call - 12-2pm (Sign Up HERE) 
    • Additional Dance Calls may be added if needed 
  • Dance calls will include ballet, tap and jazz dancing
  • SONG & MONOLOGUE: Actors will either be released after the dance call or invited to stay for singing and monologues
    
    • Saturday, June 6: Singing/monologues (by invitation) - 2:30-5:30pm 
• ‍Singing and Monologue Materials will be provided soon! ‍
  
  • Songs and Monologues will be chosen from the show.

• ADDITIONAL CALLBACKS - Additional callbacks may be added if needed

AUDITION FORM

• Actors must fill out the audition form HERE

WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU

• If you have not uploaded your Headshot & Resume to the audition form please bring a physical copy. 
• Dancing shoes! Please wear whatever shoes you are most comfortable dancing in for jazz, tap and ballet calls. 

VIDEO SUBMISSION 

• If you cannot attend auditions, please send in a video submission to auditions@duluthplayhouse.org no later than Friday, June 5.  
• Video submissions must include: 
  
  • Video Audition: Please prepare two 32 bar cuts of contemporary Musical Theatre in the style of the show. (Feel free to sing material from the show)
  • Dance Reel (Optional): Applicants are encouraged to submit a dance or movement reel if available. Those without a reel will learn a combination if invited to callbacks.
  • Headshot and Resume: Please email a resume and picture of yourself. 
  • Audition Form: Please fill out the audition HERE

• Some examples of how to share video submissions: 
  
  • Upload your video to Google Drive or Dropbox. Create a shareable link, copy and paste it to your email message. 
  • Create a YouTube video with a viewable link 
  • There are other ways to also share videos, these are just some examples 

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ABOUT A CHORUS LINE

A Chorus Line captures the raw energy, vulnerability, and intensity of a Broadway audition. With music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante, the musical follows a group of dancers navigating the final moments of a high stakes audition led by director Zach.

Through iconic numbers like “What I Did for Love,” “One,” “At the Ballet,” and “The Music and the Mirror,” the show reveals the deeply human stories behind the dancers, including their sacrifices, dreams, insecurities, and resilience.

This production aims to ground the piece in the present moment, highlighting the realities of dancers today, including their hustle, identity, and the emotional labor of pursuing a life in the arts. It is both a tribute and a re-examination, a celebration of the chorus dancers who are not just background, but the heartbeat of the story.

We are particularly interested in performers who bring a strong sense of self, authenticity, and storytelling to their work, artists who reflect the diversity, complexity, and lived experiences of today’s dance community.

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CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS

Note about ages: Auditions are open to performers ages 16 and up. While the characters represent a variety of ages, we encourage actors of all ages to audition, as we are interested in a wide range of lived experiences and perspectives.

Cassie Ferguson (Female - Mezzo belt)

Returning to the chorus after years of being a featured performer. She is having to humble herself to audition for the chorus again with younger and less experienced dancers. Previously had a relationship with Zach and it did not end well.

Featured Song:“The Music and the Mirror.”

​Diana Morales (Female - Mezzo belt)

From the Bronx, NY. Puerto Rican. Tough, streetwise, eager to leave her home and make her dreams come true. She describes growing up in New York and attending a high school acting class where her teacher humiliated her, insisting that she could never be an actress. 

Featured Songs:“Nothing” & “What I Did for Love”

​Judy Turner (Female - Mezzo)

From El Paso, TX. Awkward, scatterbrained, and charming. She comes across as somewhat ditzy at times, but her charm lies in her openness and sincerity. 

Featured Songs: “Mother” & “And…”

​Val Clark (Female - Mezzo belt)

From a small town called Arlington, VE. Brash, outspoken, and unapologetically confident in her pursuit of success. Val has a strong dancing ability, but her looks were criticized, leading her to undergo plastic surgery.

Featured Songs: “Dance 10, Looks 3" & “And…”

​Bebe Benzenheimer (Female - Mezzo) 

From Boston. Very insecure about her looks and tries to be funny to cover her insecurities. Bebe’s reflections center on her relationship with her mother, who constantly pushed her toward a conventional life rather than the stage. She describes ballet as an escape. 

Sings the middle harmony in “At the Ballet.” (Trio with Maggie, Sheila, Bebe) 

​Connie Wong (Female - Alto)

32 (but claims she’s 21), from the Lower East Side of New York City. She dreamed of becoming a prima ballerina, like Maria Tallchief, but her height was a huge hindrance. As the daughter of Asian immigrants, Connie reveals that her parents had high expectations for her. 

Featured Song: “Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love”

​Kristine Urich (Female)

From St. Louis, MO. Married to Al. Nervous energy and insecurity about her singing voice. While she is a skilled dancer, she openly admits that singing has always been her weak spot. 

She “speaks” the song “Sing”

​Maggie Winslow (Female - Mezzo)

From San Mateo, CA. Sweet and wistful personality. Maggie grew up in an unhappy household with parents who were emotionally distant and often fighting. She reveals that she escaped to the ballet studio as a child. 

Sings top harmony in: “At the Ballet” - (Trio with Maggie, Sheila, Bebe) & “Mother” Montage

​Sheila Bryant (Female - Alto)

From Colorado Springs, CO. At thirty, she is one of the oldest dancers auditioning, and she carries herself with a cool, sardonic wit that often masks her insecurities. Sheila turned to dance as an escape from the turmoil at home. 

Sings the low harmony in “At the Ballet.” (Trio with Maggie, Sheila, Bebe)

Zach (Male)

The director and choreographer of the show for which the dancers are auditioning. He is a stage veteran and thus can be curt and harsh, but he is revealed to be a caring and empathetic man who truly grows to care about these dancers.

Non-singing, but should have movement ability, as he demonstrates a few dance moves.

​Larry (Male - Tenor) or Lori if played by a female

Zach’s assistant who teaches and demonstrates the audition dances. He keeps the process running smoothly while also embodying the dancer’s potential future.

Needs to be a great dancer, as he is the standard to which all of the auditioning dancers are held. Does not need a strong singing ability.

​Bobby Mills (Male - Baritone)

Flamboyant, funny and witty. Covers everything over with a joke; had a very hard childhood. From upstate New York. His stories about being the “strange kid” growing up point to a lifelong sense of not fitting in. 

Featured Song: “And…”

​Mark Anthony (Male - Tenor)

From Tempe, AZ. Mark Anthony is the youngest dancer in the audition. He is eager to share his experiences, sometimes with the unfiltered candor of someone who has not yet learned the art of restraint. 

Featured Song: “Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love”

​Mike Costa (Male - Tenor) 

From Trenton, NJ. He is full of energy, confidence, and swagger, often presenting himself as the bold young man eager to prove himself. As a child, he watched his older sister take dance lessons and, after she grew tired of them, he decided to step in himself.

Featured Song: “I Can Do That”

Richie Walters (Male - Tenor)

From Missouri. African-American. Enthusiastic, cool and very funny. Likeable and laid back. Richie reveals that he once planned to become a kindergarten teacher but discovered dance almost by accident. Once he found it, however, he realized it was his true calling.

Featured Songs: “And…” & “Gimme the Ball”

Al DeLuca (Male - Baritone)

Confident, streetwise dancer from the Bronx. He projects a tough, slightly cocky demeanor, shaped by his working-class, Italian-American background. Newly married to Kristine; very protective. When Kristine reveals that she cannot sing, Al steps in to complete her audition song, supporting her with patience and humor.

Featured Song: “Sing” (Duet Al & Kristine)

Paul San Marco (Male - Baritone)

Introverted and slightly insecure but loves performing; only now starting to feel comfortable about being gay and accepted by his parents. Paul’s backstory focuses on growing up as a Puerto Rican boy in New York, struggling with his sexuality in a time and culture that offered little support.

​Don Kerr (Male - Baritone)

From Kansas City. From Kansas City, KS. Married, but used to work at a strip club. Cool, cocksure, and flirtatious, Don loves cars, money, and women. 

Featured Song:  “Mother”

Gregory Gardener  (Male - Baritone)

Very East Side. Quite a smart-alec. Greg is Jewish and flamboyantly gay. He’s sassy, funny, and has done and seen it all -- drugs, sex, or dance. 

Featured Song: “Gimme the Ball”

Cut Dancer Roles

The following characters in A Chorus Line are auditioners eliminated during the initial cut. They may be used in large ensemble numbers, as offstage singers, and/or as understudies.

Lois Dilettente - is a ballerina who is able to get through the ballet combination but not the jazz combo. Ballerina; non-speaking

Tricia - believed to be from Ohio. She has been with a touring company but not in a Broadway show before. She dances the ballet combination too big and even crosses in front of Sheila at one point. Tricia is traditionally the only cut dancer with a vocal solo in "I Hope I Get It.” 

Vicki Vickers - A pretty California-blonde type. She has not had any ballet training nor done any Broadway shows. She is only able to get through the jazz combination with Larry demonstrating in front of the group.

Butch Barton - Believed to be from Oklahoma, and has a bit of an attitude. He is unable to correct his mistake in the first boys' combination. Non-speaking. 

Frank continually looks at his feet while dancing, based on Serrecchia having polio as a child. He wears a headband - is referred to as headband boy; non-speaking

Tom Tucker - believed to be from Memphis. He does not speak but is seen mouthing the counts during both combinations. Counts with his mouth; non-speaking

Roy - has only had one year of ballet training and continually brings his arms on the wrong downbeat. “Wrong-arm boy”

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REHEARSAL INFORMATION

Rehearsal Dates & Times: August 3 through September 4, 2026

Rehearsals are currently scheduled Mon-Fri from 6 pm - 10 pm. 

Final schedule and times may vary.

Tech Rehearsals: Sept. 5 through Sept. 10

Tech Rehearsals are currently scheduled Mon-Fri from 6 pm - 11 pm. 

• All day Cue to Cue tech rehearsal is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 5

Final schedule and times may vary.

Where: 

NorShor Theatre and Rehearsal Studios

211 E. Superior St. Duluth, MN 55802

PERFORMANCE DATES & TIMES

September 9 at 7:30 p.m. Preview 1

September 10 at 7:30 p.m. Preview 2

September 11 at 7:30 p.m. Opening Night

September 12 at 7:30 p.m.

September 13 at  2 p.m.

September 17 at 7:30 p.m.

September 18 at 7:30 p.m.

September 19 at 7:30 p.m.

September 20 at 2 p.m.

September 24 at 7:30 p.m.

September 25 at 7:30 p.m.

September 26 at 7:30 p.m.

September 27 at 7:30 p.m.

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Questions?

Additional questions should be directed to auditions@duluthplayhouse.org