American Musical Productions
Dearest Enemy
Auditions
All Auditions will be done virtually. Please prepare and film two contrasting pieces from operetta or classic musical theatre repertoire. They must be in English.
How to submit your virtual Audition (Submission deadline February 28, 2025)
Please record your audition pieces.
Upload your recorded audition to YouTube or Vimeo. Include both songs in one YouTube (or other video or file hosting site) file.
Please start the Audition Application Form by clicking the button above.
At the end of the form, you can enter the link to your audition.
Upload your musical resume.
Press “Submit” to complete the application.
Dearest Enemy will be a Semi-Staged Concert Production (in the style of New York City Center Encores) with an 18 piece orchestra on stage.
Principals will be in costume and should have music and script memorized, chorus will be mainly stationery can be on book.
There will be some choreography for the principals and the female chorus.
PERFORMANCE: Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM at the Goodyear Theater, Akron.
All Tickets are Free as part of the Akron Bicentennial Celebrations.
Rehearsals will be select weekday evenings 7-10 PM and possible weekends 2-5 PM from June 9-20.
Dress rehearsal on Friday, June 20th at 7:00 PM. Not everyone will be required for every rehearsal.
Music must be learned prior to the first rehearsal, learning tracks and recordings will be provided.
All performers are paid a stipend.
Email Director Joseph Rubin with any questions: jrubin@americanmusicalproductions.org
Dearest Enemy Cast Breakdown
Music by Richard Rodgers Lyrics by Lorenz Hart Book by Herbert Fields
PRINCIPAL CAST
Betsy Burke: 19, romantic lead, lyric soprano, low B flat to high B flat, Mrs. Murray's niece, a strong-willed, feisty and patriotic Irish girl
Jane Murray: 18, soubrette, dancing lead, soprano, middle C to F, Mrs. Murray's daughter, a flirtatious American girl
Mrs. Robert Murray: attractive comedienne of 40-something, character lead, high mezzo-soprano, middle C to F sharp, elegant, with a sense of humor and a keen wit
Captain Sir John Copeland: 20s, romantic lead, tenor or high baritone, low B flat to A, British officer
Captain Harry Tryon: mid-20s, juvenile, dancing lead, bari/tenor, D to high F, light comedian, British soldier
General Tryon: late 40s, character lead, high baritone, B flat to G, Harry's father, a British officer who prefers drinking to fighting
General Sir William Howe: mid-40s, character role, baritone, B flat to F, an elegant British officer & General George Washington, American General, Speaking Part in Act III (Played by same actor)
General Clinton: character role, bass/baritone, B flat to F, a British officer, indeterminate age, matter-of-fact and business-like, no vocal solo & General Israel Putnam: character, an America patriot; Speaking part in Act II (Played by Same actor as above)
Jimmy Burke: about 15, juvenile, speaking role, Betsy's brother, a patriotic American boy with an Irish accent
CHORUS ROLES
Polly, Adele, and Caroline: soprano or mezzo-soprano, middle C to F, young patriotic American girls living in Mrs. Murray's mansion; (Short solos in Opening Chorus, speaking lines and sing with chorus)
Lieutenant Sudsby: character juvenile, speaking role, a British scout; & General Washington's Envoy: character; to be cast from chorus (Played by same actor)
1st Man: of Dan Morgan’s Men, American, 1 speaking line in Act 2 Finale
Chorus: 2 Sopranos, 2 Altos, 2 Tenors, 2 Basses
Plot AND HISTORY
Based on a true incident, Dearest Enemy is set in the Manhattan forest during the Revolutionary War. Betsy Burke, fiercely patriotic Irish niece of Mrs. Murray, falls in love with an English Captain Sir John Copeland, but is forced to trick him and the British forces to stay overnight at their house in order for the American troops to safely escape the heights of Harlem. The war separates them, but with the help of George Washington, they are reunited after America is victorious.
Dearest Enemy had its world premiere as Dear Enemy by the MacLean Stock Company at the Colonial Theatre the week of July 20, 1925 as part of Akron’s Centennial celebrations. The Akron Beacon Journal ads touted the production as “the biggest theatrical innovation on record here in the past 100 years.” The production, the first book musical featuring music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields, starred Helen Ford and after revisions moved on to Broadway, opening on September 18, 1925 running for 286 performances.
American Musical Productions’ special semi-staged concert production will feature a cast of 22 local favorites and an 18-piece orchestra, under the direction of Joseph Rubin.
The New York Times praised Dearest Enemy as “an operetta, with more than a chance flavor of Gilbert and Sullivan” featuring songs “uncommon as they are beautiful.” The score, composed by Richard Rodgers, echoes the sound of the spinet, harp and string in such numbers as “Here in My Arms,” “Where the Hudson River Flows,” and “Bye and Bye.”The team of Rodgers and Hart went on to produce some of the most famous musicals of the 1930s with Great American Songbook standards “Where or When,” “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” and “Isn’t it Romantic.”