Leach Theatre will be bringing several favorite musicals to the stage this season and several of those will offer local performers their chance to join the performances.

Heading up the 2009-2010 season will be Franc D’Ambrosio, who played the phantom in “Phantom of the Opera.” He will be returning to Rolla in November to perform his one man show “Hollywood.”

D’Ambrosio was the youngest Phantom ever cast, according to his promotional web site. He spent a year and a half on the road with the Original National tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award winning musical of the Phantom and five years with the production in San Francisco’s famed Curran Theater.

Portraying the famed masked man close to 3,000 times, earned him the title, “The World’s Longest Running Phantom.”

D’Ambrosio’s performance will also give Rolla area residents a chance to sing with the Broadway star.

Emily Brickler, the managing director of the Leach Theatre, said there will be one woman and one man chosen to perform the characters Christine and Raoul and sing with D’Ambrosio on stage.

“When we are close to the performance we will put out a request for auditions,” she said.
The selection will be made by a committee in consultation with D’Ambrosio after the field of potential singers is narrowed. Live auditions will be held the day before the show, and will be open to the public, according to Brickler.

Aspiring actors will also have the chance to perform in another show at the Leach Theatre in December.

The Chicago Festival Ballet will be performing the “Nutcracker” and will be auditioning local children to fill roles such as mice, angels, soldiers and children.

“It’s going to be outstanding,” said Brickler.

For those who would rather watch than perform, there will be plenty to see.

Ted Neeley, who played the tittle character in the movie version of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” will reprise his role as Jesus of Nazereth in February.

Jungle Jack Hanna will be coming in October with his best friends from the animal kingdom. The show is a lecture-performance with school children getting to see live shows for free during the day.

Brickler also pointed to “a really interesting show coming to our Family Series Feb. 28 called The Aluminum Show.

“It is a group from Israel and they describe it as ‘a mixture of puppetry, dance, and magic.’

“It sounds absolutely fascinating and should be really interesting and great entertainment so I’m kind of excited about that one as well.”

“My biggest problem is that I can’t say no,” Brickler continued, adding its tough to decide which shows to accept since the theater gets so many requests for performances.

Earlier she had been on the phone discussing the possibility of bring a musical act to Leach. She didn’t want to say who it was since a deal hadn’t been finalized but she assured the band would be a big draw.

Previous subscribers have until July 6 to secure their seats for the coming season, after which tickets will be opened up for new subscribers. Single-seat tickets will become available Sept. 8.