[Hortonhearsawho]

So i just found out tonight our community theatre group is doing OUAM, they usually put on pretty high end productions and im pretty pumped.
But to be honest I know very little about the show, except Ive been watching one school's production on youtube.
I am considering going for the Prince or Harry and was curious if some one could give me a run down of the type of characters they are / how you invision them.
The prince seems kinda sopineless to me. Harry seems very noble...
am I right or toally of the mark
Also audition Ideas would be great , Im a mid range tenor , I can belt but not to high

[norayouadora]

I think Beagle once posted a really long analysis on Dauntless somewhere on these boards... Interesting stuff. Many people portray the prince as a spineless kind of guy, so you're not totally off, but there are lots of other ways you can interpret the role.

[Beagle On Stage]

Harry and Dauntless are both fun roles. As a mid-range tenor, you would probably be able to sing either one of them.

[Salome]

Harry is a pompous handsome knight who is rather stuck on himself. its a rather fun role.

The Jester is by far the best role for a male. he gets "Very Soft Shoes" the shows best number. and "Normandy" a trio with Lady Larken and the MInstrel.

[all.thru.the.nite]

I've done this show before, and here's how I see the characters:

Dauntless - Most people play him very spineless and weak. Essentially he doesn't stand up to the Queen (his mother) until the end of the show. He's not very intelligent.

Sir Harry - This was the part that I wanted. Harry is pompous and, in the way my theatre interpretted him, somewhat unintelligent (we had our Lady Larken be bouncing around very obviously pregnant and our Harry was entirely clueless until she told him). Don't watch the newer movie version for help on this part, as Matthew Morrison plays him in an entirely different way.

The Wizard - This was my role. I hated it, but I made it work. The way I played the wizard was that he was very attracted to the Queen, but the Queen never loved him back (he's basically her b!tch).

The Minstrel - This was a girl in our production, but it's usually played by a man. The minstrel is friends with the Jester and King, and the three of them are mischief-makers together.

The Jester - Again, this was a girl in our production, but it's usually played by a man. The Jester is a mischief-maker too who isn't particularly fond of the Wizard.

King Sextimus - The mute king who has a loving and fatherly relationship to his son Dauntless. This part was hysterical because he has to communicate all his emotions and lines through gesturing, and if done right, it can be a show-stopper.



Alright, hope this helps Good luck!!

[Salome]

was your Minstrel played as a lesbian then? you know he has dialouge witrh Larken about escaping with him.

[all.thru.the.nite]

Well they had her play it as a man...so basically she was a man going for Larken...yeah, awkward, I know

[klutzyk8ie]

[LaurelDP]

[klutzyk8ie]

Granted, there were three boys in the cast (Dauntless, Harry and the King), EVERY role was played by a girls

[I Love Lockstock]

I love my boys nice and stupid..Dauntless makes me swoon!

[Hortonhearsawho]

so I got cast as the jester, my roomate got harry!
I'm actually kinda excited but I got an email from the director before she cast me asking me to split the part aith another guy. so there will be 2 jesters... I'm not entirely sure what she means but I guess I will find out on wednesdays practice...

[norayouadora]

Hey, congratulations! The Jester is an excellent role, and gets one of the best songs in the show (if not the best), "Very Soft Shoes."

[Hortonhearsawho]

I actuallyam quite glad I got this part over dauntless and harry , I'm not just saying that either, ... its fun plus i get a cool dance scene

[PappyCat]

I guess it really depends on what kind of songs you want to sing.

I'm not really into those lovey dovey, romance songs, so Harry would be a terrible role for me, since all he sings are those.

Dauntless has the funny, uptempo songs that I'm drawn to.

If you prefer the love songs to the comedic ones, than Harry is the way to go. Comedy over love, Dauntless.

[Salome]

actuially In A Little While is more a comic love song. and Harry is an hysrical role. pompous and stuck on himself.

but the Jester is still the best male role.

[PappyCat]

I agree that a lot of Harry's PARTS are comical, but I think his songs generally have a more lovey, pretty tone than Dauntless.

[Beagle On Stage]

[PappyCat]

Our guy isn't playing Dauntless as stupid, just naive.

[i'm_back]

[Lepitot]

I played Dauntless. And, I personally thought he had the best parts. There was just so much you could do with him.

Harry is also a good part. I love In a Little While. I never really liked Yesterday I loved you though.

The Jester is a good part, no doubt. But, I think the Minstrel is a better part than the Jester. I like Soft Shoes, but it's nowhere near my favorite song. The Minstrel gets to sing Many Moons Ago

The Wizard I think is the worst male part in the show. He's very boring.

The King has a really fun part though.

That's my take on it...

[PappyCat]

[star2ballie]

Harry shouldn't be played in that doe eyed romantic way.

We hammed it up...it was ridiculous. Harry is suppoed to be, exactly like Salome said, pompous and stuck on himself. And Larken is just hopelessly in love with him...which is what makes it so funny.

[Set_Buildin_Dad]

The king has no songs, and no lines until the very end. His role, however can be hillarious. If I was to do the show that is the role I'd want. It takes a really good actor to pull it off well, but done well the king can steal the show.

[musicalsnewbie]

I agree that the King can steal the show, for sure. He's kind of a Harpo character, and who can say that Harpo isn't their favorite Marx? Plus you get that dirty old man comedy, which is always a beautiful thing.

Our Harry is subtley feminine. The actor who plays him is a genious. He's knight of the harold, sure, and you can sure tell. But he's kind of arrogant in that male model way: he's generally seen as manly, and at first glance, he comes across that way. But he's also kind of jumpy, a little too graceful, and he's always touching his hair. Haha, I love it.

Our wizard, played by a close friend of mine, upstages everyone in every scene he does, which drives me crazy, so I don't care for the part that much, just because I'm a little disappointed with how my friend does it. But granted, every part needs the right actor to shine.

Our jester is too cute. He's really young and he has the most expressive little face. The audience is going to want to pinch his cheeks, I'm sure. So I love this character. And because our minstrel dropped out suddenly, our choral director is taking over that part, and he's a pro, so of course he's amazing.

But Dauntless will always be my favorite, because he's my prince... He's played so like a child, and the actor who plays him in our version is such a joy. He's got a really cheerful look to him, so the character comes across as a little dumb, sure, but he has this chipper sweetness to him that forces you to love him. It's great.

And that's our male cast!

[wicked_diva]

In our production, Harry was played as a total idiot. His entrance after Fred was in the moat was the best part. When he was reading the scroll, he would make up what he was saying (instead of doing latin) and would go off on a different thing each day, usually ending with "Hooked on phonics, hooked on phonics... ito!" It was sooo hard to keep a straight face!

Our Jester was a woman, also, but our Minstrel was male, and was done as a cheesy old Vegas lounge singer who was trying too hard to be funny.

Our guys were great, though. The Wizard was fantastic in his role - not boring at all, and I'd say our King probably did steal (at least part of) the show. And Dauntless was just a total naive dweeb.