Disney looking for talent on O'ahu, Maui

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Walt Disney Entertainment will hold open auditions on O'ahu and Maui this week to search for singers, actors and dancers for three productions.

Disney Cruise Line is seeking cast members in the musical theater genre for five ongoing shows at sea; Disney Tokyo Resort needs Polynesian troupers, including fire-knife dancers, for its Japan theme park.

Also, Disney is mounting "Aladdin Live" at the Hyperion Theatre at its California Adventure Park in Anaheim, where a new spectacle will bring to the stage the songs and dances from the hit film. Musical theater types are needed.

"It's an unprecedented casting call," said Marian Jay Morrison, about the multitiered opportunities. Morrison, a former Honolulu dancer-choreographer now working with Disney in Orlando, Fla., is here to oversee the tryouts.

The timetable:

• Today at Diamond Head Theatre: 10 a.m., musical theater dancers; 1 p.m., musical theater actors and singers. Sign-ups begin 30 minutes before audition sessions.
• Tomorrow at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki: 9 a.m., Polynesian women dancers; 11:30 a.m., Polynesian male dancers; 1 p.m., fire-knife dancers.
• Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Maui at Ka'anapali: 10 a.m., Polynesian women dancers; noon, Polynesian male dancers; 1 p.m., fire-knife dancers.

For the cruise shows, eight-month contracts are available, starting in October, January 2003 and March 2003. Productions range from a celebration of Broadway to a family-aimed revue starring Mickey Mouse and the Disney gang of characters.

The "Aladdin" production, to be directed by Francesca Zambello and choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, also needs acrobatic dancers and chorus members who have ballet as well as musical experience.

Information: (714) 781-0111, (407) 397-3220 (press option 5), or www.Disneycareers.com.