Travel back to the legendary, story-telling days of ancient China with this action-packed stage adaptation of the Disney animated classic, Mulan, based on the book Fa Mulan by Robert D. San Souci. The Huns have invaded, and it is up to Mulan and her mischievous sidekick, a talking dragon named Mushu, to save the Emperor! It is a heartwarming celebration of culture, honor and a fighting spirit. The score includes favorites like “Reflection,” “Honor to Us All” and “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” as well as new songs that have been added for this stage version.

CHI FU -  Granite Stout-Omvig

FA LI -   Sara Argabright

FA ZHOU -  Jonathan Pourciau

GRANDMOTHER FA - Lindsey Bender

HONG - Michaela Senter

LAOZI - Arden Claire Coates

LIN  - Rachel Barnett

YUN - Nikki Kimbrell

ZHANG - Lindsey Meath

MULAN –  Amanda Tritschler

MUSHU - Samuel Moran

QIAN-PO - Dawson Knowles

YAO - Keegan Dabney

LING - Anthony Donaldson

CAPTAIN SHANG - Casey Clayton

SHAN-YU - Rob Roy

THE MATCHMAKER - Shelbie White

MAGYAR – Anthony Tang

SUBAR TU – Branden Lujan

EMPEROR/ Elder Xiao – Vic Fuselier

YOUNG XIAO LUI – Asher Coates

YOUNGER XIAO WU – Nate Krebbs

YOUNG YI CHOW – Noah Fuselier

YOUNG YI CHEN – Joshua Pourciau

ELDER YI – Jim Sproul

CHEONGSAM SALESLADY – Madyson Gage

HEAD DRESSMAKER – Aria Hindman

CHINESE SOLDIERS/PEASANT MEN – Lauren Saliba, Elle Minnis, Ally Malone

CHINESE SOLDIERS/PEASANT WOMEN -Maggie Sproul, Skylar Hulen, Hannah Lomonaco, Miranda Darbey (all have changed into SOLDIERS from PEASANT VILLAGERS by Page 52)

DOLLY DANCERS/ACT 2 DISH DANCERS – Taylor Barnes, Libby Roy, Christine Tang, Alexandria Woodfin (pants and tops, stay the same)

DRESSMAKERS/ ACT 2 RIBBON DANCERS – Hannah Plemons, Emily Clifton, Emily Ryter, Caitlyn Zarnowiec (kimonos, pants, stay the same)

HAIRDRESSERS/MAIDENS/ACT 2 FAN DANCERS – Jennifer Smith, Brittany Mercier, Kathryn Andrew, Julia Crocco, Dallas Ivy (fine dresses/kimonos, stay the same)

GROOMERS/ACT 2 UMBRELLA DANCERS – Kate Roy, Cadence Hindman, Jenna Krebbs, Jessie Crocco, Catherine Fusilier (kimonos, pants, stay the same)

SONS/ACT 2 DRAGON DANCERS –YOUNG YI CHOW. YOUNG YI CHEN, YOUNG XIAO LUI, Nate Krebbs (all in village clothes THEN Dragon Clothes)

Written In Stone Singing Groups: the following will be in each group -

FATHERS – FA ZHOU, EMPEROR (in village clothes), CHI FU, SHANG, QIAN-PO, Lauren Saliba, Elle Minnis, Ally Moore, (in village clothes)

SONS – LING, YAO, YOUNG YI CHOW. YOUNG YI CHEN, YOUNG XIAO LUI, Nate Krebbs  (all in village clothes)

MOTHERS – FA LI, GRANDMOTHER FA, Maggie Sproul, Skylar Hulen, Hannah Lomonaco & Miranda Darbey (in village clothes)

DAUGHTERS – Taylor Barnes, Libby Roy, Christine Tang, Alexandria Woodfin

COSTUME NOTES FOR ACTORS/ACTRESSES:  Costuming is supplied for you but you will be asked to provide any undergarments, like tee shirts, to protect costumes from sweating, and white knee socks, plain with no pattern.  We have slippers and black shoes but you may want to bring your own black ballet slippers, jazz shoes or black soled slipper shoes as we do not have enough to go around.  Please check early if you need these items or any help as all cast members will need black footwear and white knee socks.

Black wigs or grey wigs will be worn by all.  Please provide your own personal wig cap which can be purchased at Sally’s Beauty supply.  Please provide your own black bobby pins, large and small, to secure wigs.  Label your wig cap as one must be worn under the wigs.  Please provide your own comb and brush for your hair.  Hairspray or gel is necessary to secure your hair beneath the cap.  The wig stylist (Joe Ann) will take care of styling the wigs. Please help her all you can by taking care of your wig and returning it to the proper wig head, in good fashion.

Make-up will be provided for you and done by our trained make-up artists. If you are allergic, please check with our Make-Up Coordinator, Christine Donaldson, for advise.

Any other questions, Mrs. Donaldson, also our Assistant Director,  will be happy to answer them for you – christineandrick@earthlink.net.

Our Musical Director for this show is Amy Coates.  Our Voulunteer Coordinator is Jamie Hindman and our Costume Coordinator is Annette Argabright.  Our Set Designer is Nancy Kimbrell and our builder is Ray Kimbrell.  Jeff Weaver is our Technical Director. Ticket sales are online and through our Concessions Manager, Pat Woodfin (our Board Pres.), and through the Box Office Manager, Kelly Hulen.  Our Director of House Operations is Lesa Bledsoe.  Our Stage Manager will be Angela Senter.

Auditions   Mar. 17, 2012  2-4pm under 10, 4-6pm 10 and older

Please note that for this show, only scripted roles will be cast, meaning not everyone will get a role.

 Also cast members will be required to do the Tour during the school day,    May 8 – 10, 2012. Please besure you are able to attend the Tour before you audition.

Phantom Tollbooth Characters:

Milo - The main character, Milo is a little boy who goes through all of his days in a state of horrible boredom. This routine changes when Milo takes a trip through the mysterious make-believe tollbooth that appears in his bedroom one day.

Tock - Milo’s friend Tock is a literally a “watchdog.” A giant clock makes up part of his body, and he constantly makes ticking noises. He patrols the Doldrums and stops people from wasting time.

The Humbug - The Humbug is an insect who lives only to flatter people—especially himself. The Humbug is ignorant about everything from math to geography and proves himself the fool by his constant attempts to say intelligent things. After trying to brown-nose his way to favor with King Azaz, he accompanies Milo and Tock on their journey.

King Azaz - King Azaz is ruler of the realm of letters and words. Azaz and his brother argue over which is more important—numbers or letters, and they banish the princesses Rhyme and Reason. Once he realizes the foolishness of his squabble, King Azaz sends Milo to rescue the princesses.

The Mathemagician - Azaz’s brother, the Mathemagician, lives in a world of numbers. Unlike Azaz, the Mathemagician has doubts about releasing Rhyme and Reason.

Rhyme and Reason - The two princesses were adopted by the King of Wisdom and raised alongside Azaz and the Mathemagician. When Azaz and the Mathemagician asked them to determine whether numbers or letters are more important, Rhyme and Reason say each is equally valuable. The brothers then imprisoned the two princesses in the Castle in the Air.

Faintly Macabre - The Which, Faintly Macabre, has been imprisoned since Rhyme and Reason disappeared. It was once her duty to select the words to use for every occasion, but she became corrupted by her power and began to horde the words for herself. Faintly tells Milo the story of the imprisoned princesses and inspires him to broach the subject with King Azaz.

Alec Bings - Milo first meets Alec Bings in the Forest of Sight, where Milo sees a boy floating several feet off the ground. Alec explains that in his family, everyone’s head remains at the same height from the day they are born until the day they die and that their legs grow toward the ground. Alec has the special ability to “see through things” and can see anything except that which is right before his eyes.

Chroma - Conductor of the great color orchestra in the Forest of Sight, Chroma makes sure all the colors of the day are properly handled. When he decides to rest, Milo makes a mess of the colors of the day.

Dischord and Dynne - Dr. Dischord, a quack doctor, prescribes medicines of terrible noises to all of his patients and has an assistant, a smoke monster named Dynne. Dischord and Dynne invent new sounds, peddle noise pulls, racket lotions, clamor salves and hubbub tonics in the Valley of Sound.

The Soundkeeper - Once ruler of the Valley of Sound, the Soundkeeper becomes dismayed with the lack of appreciation of beautiful sounds and the rise of Dr. Dischord’s terrible practice. In protest, she cuts off sound and retreats to the fortress where she keeps all sounds made since the beginning of time.

The Dodecahedron - The Dodecahedron has twelve different faces wearing twelve different emotions. He leads Milo and his companions to the city of Digitopolis.

The Everpresent Wordsnatcher - More nuisance than demon, the Everpresent Wordsnatcher is a bird who flutters around the Mountains of Ignorance turning words around to illustrate his own cleverness.

The Terrible Trivium - The Terrible Trivium is a demon with no facial features. He lives in the Mountains of Ignorance and preys upon travellers, convincing them to undertake tasks that can never be completed.

The Demon of Insincerity - The Demon of Insincerity looks like a cross between a beaver and a kangaroo. He tries to scare Milo and his companions off their path through the Mountains of Ignorance by throwing half-truths at them, which are only dispelled when they see this demon for what he really is.

The Gelatinous Giant - The Gelatinous Giant is so huge that Milo first mistakes him for a mountain. He is the epitome of spinelessness. He hides in the Mountains of Ignorance and tries to look exactly like everything around him because he thinks it is “unsafe” to be different.

The Senses Taker - The Senses Taker spends his days in the Castle in the Air trying to rob people of their senses by bombarding them with detailed questions. His appearance as an ink-stained old man perched over a large book deceives Milo into thinking his purpose is anything other than wasting time.

Officer Shrift – Officer Shrift is twice as wide as he is tall. In Dictionopolis, he works as a police officer, judge, and jailer all at once. Officer Shrift sentences people to prison then immediately forgets them.

The Whether Man - A peculiar fellow who says everything three times, is the caretaker of Expectations. He is so busy thinking about what could be and why that he never goes anywhere or gets anything done.

The Lethargians - The Lethargians, minute creatures, live in perpetual boredom in the Doldrums. They change colors to match their surroundings and sometimes enforce laws against thinking and laughing.

The Spelling Bee - Though he is a giant bee, the Spelling Bee is a self-taught master of spelling and enjoys randomly spelling the words he hears or speaks.

The Half Boy - The result of a statistic, the Half Boy is really the leftover .58 from the 2.58 children the average family has. He believes in the reality of averages and likes to spend his time on the staircase to Infinity.

Synopsis:

Even surrounded by dozens of toys, Milo is bored. Nothing interests him at all. The Demons of Ignorance are certain he will be their next victim, telling him “If you get the urge to do anything – don’t. It could be dangerous. To the rescue comes The Phantom Tollbooth!

Norton Juster’s beloved children’s book is given full musical treatment in this acclaimed stage version of the modern tale of a boy who must save the princesses Rhyme and Reason and reunite the brother Kings who rule over the cities of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis. Aided by a trusty time-keeping dog, Tock, Milo successfully brings harmony to the Land of Wisdom and learns many things about words and numbers along his journey. Perhaps the most important lesson he takes with him, however, is that everything we learn has a purpose and whatever we do affects everything and everyone. When he returns home, he realizes there is never a reason to be bored in a world full of so many things to discover.

Adapted  for the stage by Mr. Juster himself, with witty lyrics full of wordplay by Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler On The Roof, She Loves Me) and a melodious score by Arnold Black, The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. is an endearing show that audiences of all ages will find appealing.

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary milestone, Random House has released two special editions of the book by Norton Juster.  Contact your local book seller.

2 – 4pm under ten, 4 – 6pm over ten and adult