Audition Information
Dates: September 13 - 15, 2026
Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Ages: Auditioners must be 10+ years of age
We will accommodate walk-ins to the best of our ability, but signing up for an audition slot is preferred.
If you are unable to make in-person auditions, please email us to inquire about virtual submissions. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at cnyplayhouse@gmail.com.
Music Information
Please prepare 16-32 bars of a Golden Age musical theater song or a song in a similar style, and bring sheet music for your selected song, appropriately marked, for our accompanist. Sides will be provided at the audition. Accents are encouraged but not required to be considered for a role.
Dance Information
Auditioners are asked to participate in a dance call after their audition. Please bring appropriate shoes and clothing for dancing. You will have plenty of time to change before you’re called in, if needed.
Character Descriptions
**The role of Bill Sykes has been cast**
Oliver Twist: Brought up in a workhouse where he has only ever known cruelty. Although he is tough, he has a certain innocence and naivety that makes him an easy target—throughout his journey he is teased and harassed, and his purity of soul and confusion often anger the streetwise crew who takes him in.
Gender: Any
Age Range: 10-16 years old
Vocal Range: Treble/Boy Soprano, A3-F5
Nancy: A graduate of Fagin’s “school of thieves”, hardened and streetwise beyond her years, but also intelligent, caring and good-hearted. She looks out for all the other pickpockets and Bet the best she can. Nancy is torn between her dreams for a better life, and her complicated and abusive relationship with the terrifying criminal, Bill Sykes.
Gender: Female Presenting
Age Range: 27-35 years old
Vocal Range: Alto/Mezzo, G3-E5
Widow Corney: The matron of the workhouse. She is hypocritical, callous and materialistic, but still maintains propriety wherever possible. She allows herself to oscillate over the line of propriety with Mr. Bumble.
Gender: Female Presenting
Age Range: 30-50 years old
Vocal Range: Soprano, C4-F5
The Artful Dodger: A key member of Fagin’s gang. Streetwise and manipulative, but also charming and charismatic. He is the first person to show Oliver real kindness and offers him a place to belong. Though often out to save his own skin, he also looks out for those around him.
Gender: Male Presenting
Age Range: 18-30 years old
Vocal Range: Tenor, Bb2-F4
Mrs. Sowerberry: The wife and overseer of Mr. Sowerberry, she is equally mad and equally obsessed with death. More business savvy than her husband, she is the brains and brawn of their operation.
Gender: Female Presenting
Age Range: 28-40 years old
Vocal Range: Mezzo, C#4-F5
Noah Claypole: Works for the Sowerberrys. He is mean and nasty, hurling insults when he realizes his job is threatened by Oliver.
Gender: Male Presenting
Age Range: 18-25 years old
Vocal Range: Any
Old Sally: A Pauper with a secret.
Gender: Female Presenting
Age Range: 20+ years old
Vocal Range: Any
Dr. Grimwig: A medical professional and friend of Mr. Brownlow. He tends to make assumptions that are quickly proven wrong.
Gender: Male Presenting
Age Range: 25+ years old
Vocal Range: Any
Adult Ensemble: Townsfolk, officers, customers, street vendors, workhouse governors, chairman (includes featured soloists for “Who Will Buy”).
Gender: Any
Age Range: 18+ years old
Vocal Range: Any
Fagin: The eccentric old receiver and thief who runs a gang of pickpockets in the backstreets of London. He manipulates, lies, and steals so he can survive, yet is his blackened heart beyond redemption? He is forced to face his part in the creation of who Bill Sykes is today, and when their operation is at risk, he does what he can to save his own skin.
Gender: Masculine Presenting
Age Range: 40+ years old
Vocal Range: Baritone, A2-F4
Mr. Bumble: The beadle of the workhouse in which Oliver is brought up. Rather dim and self-centered, he only sees as far as his next extravagant meal or his next self-serving plan. He enjoys the privileges of his station, and he loves to lord over those he deems inferior.
Gender: Male Presenting
Age Range: 30-50 years old
Vocal Range: Baritone, Bb2-F4
Mr. Brownlow: The kind elderly man who takes a liking to Oliver after he is proved innocent of a crime. Distinctly upper class, yet he provides a contrast with the widely held opinion in the elite that the paupers and criminals deserve what they get. (this character is said to be based on Dickens himself, who wrote Oliver Twist to expose the poverty stricken masses that the upper classes were choosing to ignore.)
Gender: Male Presenting
Age Range: 40+ years old
Vocal Range: Any
Mr. Sowerberry: The undertaker to whom Oliver is apprenticed after he is thrown out of the workhouse. An odd man, obsessed with death, he is quite mad. Good at the main aspect of undertaking; bad at virtually every other aspect of running a business.
Gender: Male Presenting
Age Range: 28-40 years old
Vocal Range: Baritone, C3-F4
Charlotte: Daughter of the Sowerberrys. She is kinder to Oliver than the others in the Sowerberry home, but not by much. Flirtatious with Noah when he visits.
Gender: Female Presenting
Age Range: 18-25 years old
Vocal Range: Any
Bet: Nancy's best friend and a previous member of Fagin’s gang. Tough and hardened, Nancy and Bet rely on each other to help them get through hard times together. Torn between her love for Nancy and her fear of Bill.
Gender: Female Presenting
Age Range: 25-35 years old
Vocal Range: Alto, G#3-G5
Mrs. Bedwin: Mr. Brownlow’s kindhearted housekeeper.
Gender: Female Presenting
Age Range: 30+ years old
Vocal Range: Any
Workhouse Boys/Fagin’s Fagin’s Gang: Boys & girls who are loyal to Fagin and make the best of their lives of thievery in exchange for room and board and someone to call “family” (will double as workhouse orphans &/or town’s children).
Gender: Any
Age Range: 10-18 years old
Vocal Range: Any