Music
There's an open casting call for 'Rob Ford the Musical' in Toronto
by Mark Teo
June 16, 2014
There’s no disputing that Rob Ford’s a complex character: Toronto Star reporter Robyn Doolittle, in Crazy Town, argues that his family view themselves as the Canadian Kennedys. He’s a friend to Justin Bieber, even if the tatted-up pop star doesn’t return that love. And while he’s in rehab for alcoholism, smoked crack on numerous occasions, and allegedly has ties to Toronto’s criminal underground, he’s also Toronto (and maybe Canada’s) biggest political celebrity.
Indeed, that easy to see why playwright Brett McCaig found him to be such a compelling subject for his musical, Rob Ford: The Birth of a Political Nation. “He’s very Shakespearean or operatic,” McCaig told the CBC. “He’s our modern tragic hero—he rode in on his white horse, stallion, to save his village and then through his own weaknesses fell hard.”
OK, calling him a “hero”—even a tragic one—might be a stretch. But Ford’s undoubtedly a complex characters, which is why McCaig is holding an open casting call hoping to fill the role. There are 10 songs in the entire play, reportedly spanning the gulf between rock and country, so any candidates to play the embattled mayor should have both a thinning blonde hairline and a mean set of pipes.
Oh, and one more thing: You might have to tapdance with a crackpipe. Or pull off a few funky dance moves, like RoFo’s signature mashed potato.
We assume the open call will be looking to fill these roles, too. (And maybe, if you impress enough, you can force yourself to be written into a role. Giorgio Mammoliti, anyone?)
Even if you have the chops, though, there looks to be fierce competition for the role. “We’ve fielded just hundreds and hundreds of calls, so I think it’s going to be a bit of a gong show,” McCaig said. “But the more the merrier because then we have a bigger pool to find that perfect Rob Ford.”
The play runs from September 16 to 28 at the Factory Theatre in Toronto.
