Audition Process
Today, an audition for a Broadway musical requires membership in the Actor’s Equity Union, a headshot, résumé, and a demo reel. Potential actors perform a two-minute monologue and if it is a musical, candidates will need to sing a specified number of bars from a song and perform a choreographed combination. This photograph shows that the process hasn’t changed much since the 1950s. It is a unique glimpse into the audition process for the production of The King and I.
The young man in the picture is singing his piece for the audition team as a pianist accompanies him. It appears that the scenery is already being built as the auditions take place. Additional boys, possibly candidates for the same role, stand in the wings and watch the audition. With any luck, they will be called back for the next round of auditions, a process that continues until the production team selects its final cast.
