Announcing Auditions for LONJ’s upcoming production of HMS Pinafore
Veronica Shea, Director,
Jason Tramm, Music Director
Registration Deadline: March 17, 2026
Preliminary Auditions: March 19, 6 PM to 10 PM and March 21, 2 PM to 6 PM in Basking Ridge NJ
Callback Auditions: March 28, 2 PM to 6 PM in Basking Ridge, NJ
Show Dates: July 11th at 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM, and July 12th at 2:30 PM, 2026
Location: Sieminski Theater, 8000 Fellowship Road, Basking Ridge, NJ
Rehearsals: Basking Ridge, NJ starting date TBA
Registration Deadline: March 17, 2026 (live), March 21, 2026 (virtual)
Preliminary Live Auditions: March 19, 6 PM to 10 PM and March 21, 2 PM to 6PM in Basking Ridge, NJ
Callback Auditions: March 28, 2 PM to 6 PM in Basking Ridge, NJ
- Registrations for live auditions are now open.
- You must register to audition, walk-ins not accepted.
- Exact locations for auditions will be emailed to you after you register.
- If you will be unable to attend our callback auditions in person on March 28 between 2 PM and 6 PM, please do not register for a preliminary audition.
- All roles paid. Stipends to cast members vary by role and other factors; the actual amount will be determined when a specific role is offered.
- We do not provide housing.
- Link to rehearsal schedule will be provided soon (required attendance times for individuals will vary)
- If you have any questions, first check our performer FAQs. If you still have any questions, please contact john.lamb@lonj.org
In-person Preliminary Auditions: Please prepare two contrasting 16-bar cuts in the style of the show (you are encouraged to choose a song from the show. Bring suitable sheet music for the accompanist. We will provide an accompanist, or you may bring your own. You may be asked to stay and read. (Link to sides to be provided soon) There will be no dance call at the preliminary auditions.
Virtual Preliminary Auditions: Please provide a link to a video of you performing two contrasting 16-bar cuts in the style of the show (you are encouraged to choose a song from the show.)
Callback Auditions: We will contact those who are being invited to the Callback round to arrange an audition time. Callback auditions will be held in Basking Ridge, NJ on March 28 from 2 PM to 6 PM. Callbacks will be in-person only, not virtual. Callbacks may include a dance/mover call.
Notes: All character ages are “stage ages”- the age the actor appears on stage. These character descriptions reflect initial thoughts and are not set in stone. When the show is cast, further character work will be developed with the actor’s input.
HMS Pinafore Character Breakdown
Actors are encouraged to sing from the show. All roles open. Seeking actors of all races for the following roles:
Ralph (pronounced ”Raif”) Rackstraw – (tenor, Range: B2 – B4): A common enlisted sailor onboard the Pinafore, Ralph has fallen in love with his Captain’s daughter, a match that Victorian society would never condone. He sees love as a great social equalizer, but still happily accepts the station of Captain and the status that comes with it when the secret of his true identity is revealed.
Captain Corcoran – (lyric baritone, Range: A2 – G4 (opt. to A4)): Commanding officer of the Pinafore, Captain Corcoran is a talented naval officer, a fact he’s well aware of, and dreams of elevating his family’s social status further through marrying his daughter to Sir Joseph. He sees his attraction for the bumboat woman Little Buttercup as a weakness.
Josephine – (soprano, Range: C4 – B5 (opt. to C6)): Captain Corcoran’s daughter, she resents her social position that causes her to be paired up with Sir Joseph and prevents her union with Ralph. Josephine plays something of the pragmatist to Ralph’s incurable romantic, and must balance her love for him with the social status and comfort she will be giving up in marrying below her station.
Sir Joseph Porter – (character baritone, Range: A2 – E4): First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Joseph gained his station through family influence and inherited wealth, and has no particular talents or skills to speak of. He is a biting caricature of Victorian politics and the unfair cronyism that governed it.
Little Buttercup – (contralto, Range: G3 – F5): A buxom bumboat woman, making a living selling sweets and supplies to sailors while their ships are in port, Buttercup is quite flirtatious in dealing with the sailors, but holds a special place in her heart for Captain Corcoran; she feels terribly guilty for the mistake of her youth that is responsible for Captain Corcoran’s erroneous social status
Dick Deadeye – (bass-baritone, Range: G2 – E4): Old and deformed, Dick Deadeye is of the lowest social class imaginable, hated even by the other sailors onboard his ship for his mean temperment and hideous appearance. He represents the voice of the existing social order, explaining to Ralph why true social equality is an ideal that can never be actually realized.
Cousin Hebe – (mezzo-soprano, Range: C3 – Eb5): Sir Joseph’s first cousin and the ”alpha female” among his entourage. Hebe has no particular romantic intentions towards Sir Joseph, but desires the additional social status and financial benefits that would come from being his wife; she has some motivation for seeing that he does not end up marrying Josephine.
Bill Bobstay (Boatswain’s Mate) – (baritone, Range: G2 – D4): A petty officer onboard the Pinafore, the Boatswain’s Mate assists the Boatswain, who is responsible for organizing the daily activities of the enlisted men in maintaining the ship. Bill Bobstay is sympathetic to Ralph’s (apparently) unrequited and impossible love for Josephine, but cautions him to resign himself to failure and move on to another, more suitable target
Bob Becket (Carpenter’s Mate) – (bass), Range: E2 – B3): Assistant to the Carpenter, Bob stays mostly in the shadow of the Boatswain’s Mate. He steps into the limelight to join in the trio ”A British Tar”.
Chorus of Sailors – (tenors, Range: Bb2 – B4, basses, Range: Eb2 – Eb4): Enlisted men onboard the Pinafore, they are of low social status in the scheme of Victorian society, but are nonetheless proud of themselves and the work they do.
Chorus of Sisters, Cousins, and Aunts – sopranos, Range: C4 – Bb5, altos, Range: Ab3 – F5): Sir Joseph’s entourage of adoring female relatives, who follow him everywhere he goes, enjoying a healthy dose of prestige by association.
Ralph (pronounced ”Raif”) Rackstraw – (tenor, Range: B2 – B4): A common enlisted sailor onboard the Pinafore, Ralph has fallen in love with his Captain’s daughter, a match that Victorian society would never condone. He sees love as a great social equalizer, but still happily accepts the station of Captain and the status that comes with it when the secret of his true identity is revealed.
Captain Corcoran – (lyric baritone, Range: A2 – G4 (opt. to A4)): Commanding officer of the Pinafore, Captain Corcoran is a talented naval officer, a fact he’s well aware of, and dreams of elevating his family’s social status further through marrying his daughter to Sir Joseph. He sees his attraction for the bumboat woman Little Buttercup as a weakness.
Josephine – (soprano, Range: C4 – B5 (opt. to C6)): Captain Corcoran’s daughter, she resents her social position that causes her to be paired up with Sir Joseph and prevents her union with Ralph. Josephine plays something of the pragmatist to Ralph’s incurable romantic, and must balance her love for him with the social status and comfort she will be giving up in marrying below her station.
Sir Joseph Porter – (character baritone, Range: A2 – E4): First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Joseph gained his station through family influence and inherited wealth, and has no particular talents or skills to speak of. He is a biting caricature of Victorian politics and the unfair cronyism that governed it.
Little Buttercup – (contralto, Range: G3 – F5): A buxom bumboat woman, making a living selling sweets and supplies to sailors while their ships are in port, Buttercup is quite flirtatious in dealing with the sailors, but holds a special place in her heart for Captain Corcoran; she feels terribly guilty for the mistake of her youth that is responsible for Captain Corcoran’s erroneous social status
Dick Deadeye – (bass-baritone, Range: G2 – E4): Old and deformed, Dick Deadeye is of the lowest social class imaginable, hated even by the other sailors onboard his ship for his mean temperment and hideous appearance. He represents the voice of the existing social order, explaining to Ralph why true social equality is an ideal that can never be actually realized.
Cousin Hebe – (mezzo-soprano, Range: C3 – Eb5): Sir Joseph’s first cousin and the ”alpha female” among his entourage. Hebe has no particular romantic intentions towards Sir Joseph, but desires the additional social status and financial benefits that would come from being his wife; she has some motivation for seeing that he does not end up marrying Josephine.
Bill Bobstay (Boatswain’s Mate) – (baritone, Range: G2 – D4): A petty officer onboard the Pinafore, the Boatswain’s Mate assists the Boatswain, who is responsible for organizing the daily activities of the enlisted men in maintaining the ship. Bill Bobstay is sympathetic to Ralph’s (apparently) unrequited and impossible love for Josephine, but cautions him to resign himself to failure and move on to another, more suitable target.
Bob Becket (Carpenter’s Mate) – (bass), Range: E2 – B3): Assistant to the Carpenter, Bob stays mostly in the shadow of the Boatswain’s Mate. He steps into the limelight to join in the trio ”A British Tar”.
Chorus of Sailors – (tenors, Range: Bb2 – B4, basses, Range: Eb2 – Eb4): Enlisted men onboard the Pinafore, they are of low social status in the scheme of Victorian society, but are nonetheless proud of themselves and the work they do.
Chorus of Sisters, Cousins, and Aunts – sopranos, Range: C4 – Bb5, altos, Range: Ab3 – F5): Sir Joseph’s entourage of adoring female relatives, who follow him everywhere he goes, enjoying a healthy dose of prestige by association.
Ralph (pronounced ”Raif”) Rackstraw – (tenor, Range: B2 – B4): A common enlisted sailor onboard the Pinafore, Ralph has fallen in love with his Captain’s daughter, a match that Victorian society would never condone. He sees love as a great social equalizer, but still happily accepts the station of Captain and the status that comes with it when the secret of his true identity is revealed.
Captain Corcoran – (lyric baritone, Range: A2 – G4 (opt. to A4)): Commanding officer of the Pinafore, Captain Corcoran is a talented naval officer, a fact he’s well aware of, and dreams of elevating his family’s social status further through marrying his daughter to Sir Joseph. He sees his attraction for the bumboat woman Little Buttercup as a weakness.
Josephine – (soprano, Range: C4 – B5 (opt. to C6)): Captain Corcoran’s daughter, she resents her social position that causes her to be paired up with Sir Joseph and prevents her union with Ralph. Josephine plays something of the pragmatist to Ralph’s incurable romantic, and must balance her love for him with the social status and comfort she will be giving up in marrying below her station.
Sir Joseph Porter – (character baritone, Range: A2 – E4): First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Joseph gained his station through family influence and inherited wealth, and has no particular talents or skills to speak of. He is a biting caricature of Victorian politics and the unfair cronyism that governed it.
Little Buttercup – (contralto, Range: G3 – F5): A buxom bumboat woman, making a living selling sweets and supplies to sailors while their ships are in port, Buttercup is quite flirtatious in dealing with the sailors, but holds a special place in her heart for Captain Corcoran; she feels terribly guilty for the mistake of her youth that is responsible for Captain Corcoran’s erroneous social status
Dick Deadeye – (bass-baritone, Range: G2 – E4): Old and deformed, Dick Deadeye is of the lowest social class imaginable, hated even by the other sailors onboard his ship for his mean temperment and hideous appearance. He represents the voice of the existing social order, explaining to Ralph why true social equality is an ideal that can never be actually realized.
Cousin Hebe – (mezzo-soprano, Range: C3 – Eb5): Sir Joseph’s first cousin and the ”alpha female” among his entourage. Hebe has no particular romantic intentions towards Sir Joseph, but desires the additional social status and financial benefits that would come from being his wife; she has some motivation for seeing that he does not end up marrying Josephine.
Bill Bobstay (Boatswain’s Mate) – (baritone, Range: G2 – D4): A petty officer onboard the Pinafore, the Boatswain’s Mate assists the Boatswain, who is responsible for organizing the daily activities of the enlisted men in maintaining the ship. Bill Bobstay is sympathetic to Ralph’s (apparently) unrequited and impossible love for Josephine, but cautions him to resign himself to failure and move on to another, more suitable target.
Bob Becket (Carpenter’s Mate) – (bass), Range: E2 – B3): Assistant to the Carpenter, Bob stays mostly in the shadow of the Boatswain’s Mate. He steps into the limelight to join in the trio ”A British Tar”.
Chorus of Sailors – (tenors, Range: Bb2 – B4, basses, Range: Eb2 – Eb4): Enlisted men onboard the Pinafore, they are of low social status in the scheme of Victorian society, but are nonetheless proud of themselves and the work they do.
Chorus of Sisters, Cousins, and Aunts – sopranos, Range: C4 – Bb5, altos, Range: Ab3 – F5): Sir Joseph’s entourage of adoring female relatives, who follow him everywhere he goes, enjoying a healthy dose of prestige by association.