AUDITIONS for Quartet by Ron Harwood (non-equity)

When: January 30 and February 1, 2024 from 7:00-10:00 pm
Where: Drama Group, 330 West 202nd Street, Chicago Heights, IL.
Preparation: Cold readings from the script (Scripts available at Drama Group building). No singing is required but actors will be lip syncing a portion of the quartet from Rigoletto. Actors should be able to pass for 65- 70+ years old, even if they are younger!

Synopsis: Lifelong friends Wilf and Reggie, together with former colleague, Cissy, are residents of Beecham House, a home for retired opera singers. Every year on Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday on the 10th October, the residents unite to give a concert to raise funds for their home. When Jean Horton, a former Grande Dame of the opera, who has fallen on hard times, and who also happens to be Reggie’s ex-wife, and the fourth and most celebrated member of their former quartet, unexpectedly moves into the home, the plans for this year’s concert begin to unravel.

As old grudges threaten to undermine past glories and theatrical temperaments wreak havoc with the rehearsal schedule, it becomes apparent that having four of the finest singers in English operatic history under one roof is no guarantee that the show will go on.

This charming comedy—both touching and poignant – is about maintaining one’s art, when aging impacts one’s life, and how the human spirit and a desire to continue expressing one’s talent remains undimmed.