Auditions for JIVE
An original, new musical Book, music, and lyrics by Susan Rabin Roles Available: Principals 3M, 3F Reverend Preston Taylor: (male, Black, 40’s-50’s), Radio Station Owner. Baptist Preacher. widower, lonely. dapper dresser. A lot on his plate. Often overwhelmed. Darlene Roosevelt: (female, Black, 20’s), Ambitious, feisty radio DJ. Destined to be a star, according to her watchful parents. Impatient and frustrated by the “glass ceiling.” Raoul Jackson: (male, mixed Hispanic, 20s-40), Studio Engineer. Drug free and happy. In love with often-obscure information. Chet Williams: (male, White, 30’s), Radio Talk Show host. Fun, until you want to slap him. His constant humor masks his neediness. Kaneesha Penniman: (Female, Black), Alto in Preston’s church choir. The best singer in the choir and well beyond, and she knows it. Has a serious crush on Rev. Taylor, which gets them both into trouble. Sara Berman: (female, White), College professor. Chet’s former wife. Forms a girl-bond with Darlene. |
Ensemble: minimum of 4 male, 3 female.
Note: Ensemble do major, on-stage character lines and back-up singing throughout; some doubling is desirable. San Francisco Police Officers: Officers Corolla and Murphy: (male or female, 20’s-40’s), Law enforcement friends of the Reverend’s. Mayoral Candidates: John Chang: (male, Asian) 30-40, Mayoral candidate, successful businessman; pillar of San Francisco Chinatown; self-important and arrogant; Juanita Garcia: 30-40, (female, Latina) Businesswoman, feminist, big chip on her shoulder, competing with two obnoxious male candidates; brash and unafraid. Ravi Kapoor: 30-40, (male, South Asian), Entrepreneur, potentially a bit shady; argumentative and combative. Talk-Radio Callers: Dwayne: (male, Black, 20’s-40’s) Shaquille: (male, Black, 20’s-30’s) Stacy: (female) Jimmy: (male) Melba: (female, Black) Candace: (female) Rehearsal and Performance Dates: TBD |
JIVE THE MUSICAL
Pictured to the left is Bay area favorite, bass-baritone James Creer, as Reverend Preston Taylor, owner of the fictional K-JIVE radio station in Jive the Musical. Struggling to stay afloat, the station hires an outrageous white 'shock jock' and all bets are off. Jive the Musical is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic musical comedy that is timely and uplifting.
James Creer will reprise the role he created in the 2019 production of JIVE the comedy at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts Second Stage. Playwright Susan Rabin used the pandemic shutdown to compose songs and rewrite the story to become a vibrant new musical work - Jive the Musical. Her original songs are in the style of blues, R&B, and pop. Windy City Productions® presented a staged reading of the musical at Tabard Theatre on Sunday, May 22, 2022. |
JIVE the Musical brings to life a fictional black radio station in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district as it struggles to stay afloat. They hire a white 'shock jock' and everyone's mind explodes. It is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic musical comedy that is timely and uplifting.
INNOVATIVE WORK JIVE the Musical takes risks with subject matter. With humor, it confronts ethnic and racial alliances, the ‘glass ceiling,’ sexism, “fake news,” and dishonesty. Despite the hazards of offending someone’s feelings, JIVE charges ahead with sardonic humor in mocking each character for foolishness and “jive-talk.” The songs’ lyrics aim for the gut and skewer hypocrisy with wit and humor. Audiences will be able to identify with the battle between the disgraced white male talk show host and the young, |
ambitious black female deejay. Each is hopeful as they awkwardly attempt to connect. There will be a comical debate for mayor among a racially mixed array of candidates which will strain boundaries of propriety. Playwright and composer lyricist, Susan Rabin, has set her songs in the style of blues, R&B, and pop. The music is upbeat and fun and reflects the characters represented on stage.
A production of the non-musical version of the comedy Jive ran at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts - Second Stage and as part of Dragon Theatre's Second Stage in 2016. Reviving the role in the musical version of Reverend Preston Taylor, owner of K-JIVE radio station, candidate for mayor of San Francisco, and heart-throb of women in his church choir, is Bay area favorite, bass-baritone James Creer. |
Company announces Jay Manley to direct JIVE the Musical
ABOUT JAY MANLEY
Jay Manley is an award-winning director of plays and musicals throughout the Bay Area, including the Mountain Play musical productions in the Mount Tamalpais outdoor amphitheater. Jay also directed the box-office smash production of Memphis at Tabard Theatre. For 25 years he served as Chair of the Theatre Arts Department at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, where he founded Foothill Music Theatre and The Foothill Theatre Conservatory. Jay earned his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley. As an educator, he was the recipient of California's
"Hayward Excellence in Education" prize, and his productions and theatre direction have garnered him numerous awards, including Bay Area Theatre Critics citations. For the last 30 years, Jay has led popular theatre tours to New York, Ashland, London, and other major theatre production centers, through his company, New York Theatre Tour: www.nytheatretour.com.
Jay has commented that JIVE the Musical “has a lot going for it: A multi-racial cast, a contemporary slant on race relations with some real warmth and feeling, an over-all upbeat tone.”
Jay Manley is an award-winning director of plays and musicals throughout the Bay Area, including the Mountain Play musical productions in the Mount Tamalpais outdoor amphitheater. Jay also directed the box-office smash production of Memphis at Tabard Theatre. For 25 years he served as Chair of the Theatre Arts Department at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, where he founded Foothill Music Theatre and The Foothill Theatre Conservatory. Jay earned his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley. As an educator, he was the recipient of California's
"Hayward Excellence in Education" prize, and his productions and theatre direction have garnered him numerous awards, including Bay Area Theatre Critics citations. For the last 30 years, Jay has led popular theatre tours to New York, Ashland, London, and other major theatre production centers, through his company, New York Theatre Tour: www.nytheatretour.com.
Jay has commented that JIVE the Musical “has a lot going for it: A multi-racial cast, a contemporary slant on race relations with some real warmth and feeling, an over-all upbeat tone.”
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