By Merwin Foard

It was early 1982 and I was a voice major at the Manhattan School of Music. Houston Grand Opera was mounting a revival of SHOW BOAT starring Donald O’Connor and they were looking for male legit singers over six feet tall for their ensemble so at 6’5” I thought I had a pretty good shot. A few of us from school went to the Equity building for the open call where we were met by hundreds of auditionees. It was announced that a “typing out” would take place before any auditioning, so we were ushered in twenty-five guys at a time to stand before the production table. I was typed out. Knowing however that I possessed what they were looking for according to the breakdown, I told the monitor I had been typed IN and filled out the requisite index card of personal info. When my number was called, having replaced my glasses with contacts and taken off my sweater, I went back in and sang the last sixteen bars of “Night and Day”. The conductor then asked me to sing the last bit of "Ol' Man River," which I did and then they scheduled a dance callback. Well I got the job and my Equity card. The show toured major markets for eleven months and ended at the Uris on Broadway. While on tour, I asked the staff if they remembered my sneaking back in even though I had been typed out. They said that yes, they knew, but agreed that if I had the guts to do that, perhaps they should give me a listen. Being in the current SWEENEY TODD marks my twelfth Broadway show. The moral, know what it is you do well and don’t be afraid to stick up for yourself.