TAMWORTH Musical Society has uncovered untapped talent in the auditions for Sunset Boulevard as rehearsals begin.
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Director Stephen Carter said he found some talent he hadn’t seen before in Jessica Cooper-White who will play Betty.
“She is brilliant vocally and acting-wise,” he said.
“She is originally from Tamworth and has recently moved back.”
The leads are Aaron Jones who will play Joe Gillis, and is the first lead he has played since Thunderbolt six years ago. Ann Walsh will play Norma Desmond.
“Aaron has done a lot of theatre in Tamworth,” Mr Carter said.
“This will be Ann’s first lead role for a while.”
Music man Bill Gleeson was cast in the role of Max von Mayerling.
“It’s a pretty strong top-end of the show,” Mr Carter said.
“We ended up getting as many men as women to audition in the end, so that was brilliant. We’ve also got a good, strong ensemble who play a variety of roles with more than 60 minor roles in show.”
Mr Carter said rehearsals were into their second week with the orchestra to start rehearsing under the watchful baton of musical director Deb Batley within the week.
This show is all about the singing.
“Almost the whole show is sung with very little dialogue,” Mr Carter said.
“There is music all the way through. People should come for the great music from Andrew Lloyd-Webber, the dramatic plot – it’s not your usual froth and bubble musical. It’s got a bit of meat to the story and, for those who may be a little bit older in the audiences, they may remember the original movie it’s based on, so it’ll be a good trip down memory lane.”
The season begins in late October and runs through to November.