Hundreds of hopefuls packed the sidewalk outside Ballet Chicago on State Street Monday, hoping a 16-bar audition might land them a spot in the cast of Wicked. By 10:30 a.m., the line had stretched down State Street and curled around the corner onto Washington.
The open call, held at Ballet Chicago's studio at 17 N. State St., was searching for singers to fill principal and ensemble or chorus roles in both the Broadway and national touring productions of Wicked, according to CBS News Chicago. The casting notice, posted on Playbill, described it as a search for Equity singers to serve as possible future replacements in the show. BroadwayWorld, however, reported that the call welcomed both Equity and non-Equity performers and that union membership was not required to attend, according to a BroadwayWorld notice.
Among those waiting in line was Gabriela Twigg, a music teacher who studied vocal performance and said she spotted an online advertisement for the open call. She told CBS News Chicago that a similar round of auditions had been held around the same time the previous year, and that she was hoping this one might finally be her turn. Twigg said she hopes to play Elphaba, the green-skinned witch at the center of the musical, though she added that landing any role in the show would be a dream come true. “A shot!” she said, describing what the audition meant to her.
What the Open Call Required
Candidates were asked to prepare 16 bars of a contemporary musical-theater song and perform it a cappella, per the CBS News Chicago report. Sopranos had the option of singing a traditional legit musical-theater song instead, to showcase additional range. Hopefuls were also told to bring sheet music in case they were asked to sing with piano accompaniment, according to the Playbill posting.
The call was open to singers age 18 and older of any ethnicity or gender, with the notice specifying a search for performers who move well and have fantastic, wide-ranging voices. Sign-up for the Monday audition began at 10:30 a.m., and candidates had to arrive by 1 p.m. to be considered, per the BroadwayWorld notice. Anyone cast would need authorization to legally work in the United States, the Playbill listing noted, with weekly minimum pay listed at $2,799 for Broadway and $2,599 for the touring production.
Judging Voice and Stage Presence
Beyond vocal chops, the audition process was designed to evaluate stage presence and movement alongside singing ability, according to a ProjectCasting breakdown of the casting call. That combination of vocal range and physical performance has long defined Wicked's most demanding roles, from Elphaba's soaring, held notes to the ensemble's tightly choreographed numbers.
Potential callbacks were scheduled for Tuesday in Chicago, according to the BroadwayWorld posting. It is not Chicago's first brush with this kind of scramble for a shot at the hit musical: a similar open call in the Loop drew hundreds of hopefuls back in May 2024, per the CBS News Chicago report, underscoring how reliably these calls can fill a city block with performers chasing a single yes.
