Title: The Wallace and Ladmo Show
Company: Scottsdale Community Players
Playwright : Ben Tyler
Director: Ben Tyler
Compensation: Stipend Pay
Run Dates: 06/05/2014 – 06/14/2014
Synopsis:
The Wallace & Ladmo Show tells the true story of a very unlikely kid’s TV show from Phoenix, Arizona in the year 1964. The show gave birth to one of the most unlikely one-hit-wonder bands in American rock and roll history, Hub Kapp and The Wheels. Their hit single, Work ( A Dirty Word),
rocketed to the top of the charts in Phoenix, and for one memorable week, actually outsold the Beatles. This got the attention of nothing less than Capitol Records. They signed the band, and Hub Kapp and The Wheels were off to fame and fortune. But what about The Wallace & Ladmo Show? What effect would losing a third of its brain trust have on the show? This play asks the question, what is the big time? Is it being a rock star, or hosting a kid’s TV show in the tiny town of 1964
Phoenix?
Genre: Stage/Live
Casting: Adults
Character Breakdown
Wallace: Late 20’s to early 40’s. Stocky, medium height. The host of, The Wallace & Ladmo Show, he is affable and warm on the show, the perfect straight man. Off camera, he has a very dry sense of humor.
Ladmo: Late 20’s to early 40’s. Tall and lanky. The co-host of, The Wallace & Ladmo Show. The personality of a big kid. He is exactly the same on camera as off camera. Loves to laugh, and joke, he is someone the kids in the audience can identify with.
Pat McMahon: Late 20’s to early
40’s. Smaller in stature than Wallace and Ladmo. Must be skilled in playing multiple characters on the TV show. Although off camera he is more conventional than Wallace or Ladmo, he loves to laugh and joke every bit as much.
Mike Condello: 20’s to early 30’s. Must be able to sing and play guitar. He is a relative newcomer to the show and sort of in
apprenticeship
Tony: Mid 20’s to early 40’s. He is the stage manager of the TV show. He keeps the chaos under control by minding the clock and keeping the live show on schedule. Also plays one of the wheels. This actor also plays an additional non-speaking role. Must play either guitar, keyboards or drums. Early 60’s rock and roll
Tracy Stewart: Mid 20’s to early 40’s. He is the weatherman at KPHO. A typical TV “personality”. This actor also plays an additional non-speaking role. Must play either guitar, keyboards or drums. Early 60’s rock and roll
Troy Garrett: Mid 20’s to early 40’s. A Hollywood agent who can be
warm and funny, but then dark and menacing too. Must play either guitar, keyboards or drums. Early 60’s rock and roll
Rita Davenport, Mrs. Freem, The Tooth Lady: Late 20’s to 40’s. All three of these characters are played by the same actor. Warm and funny, Rita is the hostess of Cooking With Rita, a TV cooking show. She is from the south. Mrs. Freem is a humorless
high school principal. The Tooth Lady is a spokesperson for the Arizona Dental Association. She makes appearances with her hand puppet, Mr. Choppers. She is not funny though she tries, and she is the worst ventriloquist in the world.
Additional Info
Ben Tyler wrote this multi media script telling the behind the scenes story of a year in the life of The Wallace and Ladmo Show. Early 60’s
Hub Kapp and the Wheels was the notorious joke rock and roll band that was born on a hip Phoenix, Arizona, kids’ television show, took Hollywood by storm at the height of Beatlemania
and has continued to confound music scholars and record collectors to this day.
For all its phoniness, the group was a huge attraction in Arizona, scored regional hits and was a major influence on the embryonic Phoenix ’60s rock scene. Among Hub Kapp’s fans was the young Vincent Furnier, who with his Cortez High School buddies would form their own Beatle parody band called the Earwigs. That band,
of course, would become the Spiders and then the Nazz and eventually Alice Cooper.
What To Prepare
Please read character descriptions – very specific for certain roles
Piano will
be present
Audition Details
Sybil B. Harrington Campus for Imagination and Wonder at Mitchell Park
900 S. Mitchell Dr. Tempe, AZ 85281
Phone: 480-921-5700
On campus south of camelback on granite reef rd
Headshots/Resume Required (NO Web Links)
By Appointment: Email ONLY
Appointment Contact
Audition Dates and Times:
Monday April 27th 5-9 pm
Callback Dates and Times:
Wed April 29 5-9pm
Primary Contact:
Maureen Watson
(480)949-7529
