Last year I sat in on an audition for an upcoming community theatre production of Oklahoma. I was friends with the director and he wanted some feedback on how they run their auditions and organize their talent pools. 

As auditions began, something stood out to me. Depending on the role they were auditioning for, every man sang either "Kansas City" or "People Will Say We're in Love". Every woman who auditioned sang either "Out of My Dreams" or "The Farmer and the Cowman". There were even a couple of "I Can't Say No" and "Lonely Room" auditions thrown in as well. 

The original cult film was considered a driving force in the birth of third wave feminism and has been praised for its dark comedic look on gender roles, body positivity, and sexuality. The material has only been even more popularized by the recent musical which is one of the most produced pieces by schools and amateur groups. Which is why Paramount probably thinks the iron is hot enough for a remake that no one really wanted.

Simply put, actress Sandra Joseph is the longest-running leading lady from the longest-running Broadway show of all time. Returning to her signature role as Christine in The Phantom Of The Opera, 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the musical’s debut on Broadway; it won the 1988 Tony Award for Best Musical. The show's worldwide gross receipts are estimated to be over $5.6 billion, and it had been seen by over 130 million people as of just a few years ago.

In this field, rejection is common. Sometimes we blow an audition. Sometimes we drop the ball on an interview. Sometimes we get the job and make a mistake…and lose that job. Often in these cases, the blame is on us. We might not have prepared well enough, focused well enough, paid close enough attention, or done enough research. These times are hard, but them’s the breaks. If you don’t do the work, you don’t get (or keep) the job.