Answering the Call

They waited with guitars, strumming with their eyes closed and humming accompaniment, or they paced in the parking lot, singing their audition selections under their breath, as if they might forget them when the big moment came.

Some just gripped their sheet music, silently, praying this would be it: the Big Break.

Almost 1,000 hopefuls turned out in Van Nuys on Sunday to audition for the smash musical “Rent” at an open casting call, a ritual that amounts to a nerve-racking and exhausting wait of several hours for a few moments, or just seconds, in the spotlight.

With only five roles open in various versions of the Broadway rock musical that has collected a Pulitzer Prize, several Tony awards and packed houses, the odds were against them. But that didn’t stop the performers from pouring out their hearts--a few bars at a time--and giving it their all for a shot at the big time.

Todd Stern paced up and down on hot asphalt, humming under his breath his audition choice from the musical “Pippin” and rubbing his hands together. At 18, he was among the youngest in line.

“If you give it your heart, just maybe you’ll get lucky,” said Stern, a high school senior who has performed in community theater. “If you have the passion, you never know what will happen.”

Many were bolstered through the three-hour wait by the fact that nine months ago, casting directors for the same musical hired more than a dozen people from an open call here. Directors are now searching for a handful of actors for parts in the Broadway and Toronto productions, as well as roadshow versions of the story of 20-somethings in New York’s Lower East Side struggling with AIDS, poverty and romance, in a theme updated from Puccini’s opera “La Boheme.”

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“We did so well in L.A. that we wanted to come back,” said Bernie Telsey, head casting director for “Rent.” “It blows my mind to see a thousand people out here. I think the music really speaks to them.”

The show has captivated the musical theater world. Now in previews here, it will formally open this weekend at the Ahmanson Theatre, but many performers trying out Sunday were already devoted and repeat fans.

“It represents people in their 20s so well,” said Robyn Roth, 23, a bartender and actress. “The songs are more contemporary and a nice change from ‘Oklahoma!’ We can relate to it, which is why it’s such a cult favorite.”

There were no big-shot actors and singers at this casting call; they had already set up private auditions. These people, lugging water bottles and Walkmans, are in the endless ranks hoping to be discovered in Hollywood.

By 4 a.m. Sunday, wannabe “Rent” stars began lining up outside the Performing Arts Center in Van Nuys. The wait was as long as six hours for early arrivals, but it was more than a chance to make it big. It was an opportunity to be part of a production resonating with the nation’s young people.

“You see all these people who have obviously been affected by the show, and it’s the most exciting thing,” said Will Cantler, a casting director. “I think it’s because it’s the first rock and pop musical to come along that’s really about someone you might know. It speaks to people’s hopes and dreams.”

Todd Stern waited for about three hours to sing only a few phrases for Cantler, who sat cross-legged on a table in the main rehearsal hall.

“Sing for me,” he commanded, hundreds of times. After a few bars, Cantler usually cut them off. Those who made the cut got tickets for the next round. Those who didn’t were sent home.

Stern got thanked and sent on his way. “But somebody is going to leave here today really happy,” he said. “Maybe next time it will be me.”

As Stern was leaving, Mimi Francis arrived. Cantler listened to her belt out a powerful rendition of “Amazing Grace” and let her finish the entire song, ignoring the audibly restless line in the hallway.

“Perfect, thanks,” he said, stapling a beige ticket to her resume.

“I’ve wanted to do this show for a long time,” said Francis, a 20-something actor, singer and office worker from San Diego who drove up to audition. “I’m from New York and I’ve seen exactly what this show is about. I know exactly who it was written about. This is real. This is about us.”

The scores who made the first cut were called into small, scuffed studios. The lucky ones among those, perhaps several dozen, face more auditions and more cuts before trying out in front of the director.

Finally, the door to Studio B opened. Casting director David Vacari waved Francis forward. He pursed his lips as she launched into a song from the show, “Take Me or Leave Me.” Francis hit a high note, strong and pure, and a smile played at Vacari’s lips.

“Well, that sounds good,” he said. After she sang several more songs, all from the show, he thanked her. “Very good.” And Francis walked out.

“I hope I get called back,” she said. “I just have to keep my fingers crossed, hope and pray.”

In another studio, Billy Blanks Jr. was soaring through a song from the show with a steady and intense voice. Telsey smiled. “Come back later in the week.”

Outside, Blanks, 21, leaned against a wall, a little dazed. “I was so nervous in there,” said Blanks, in spite of his experience in local musical theater productions.

“If I got this, I don’t know what I would do,” he said, shaking his head at the thought. “I’d go crazy.”