
Amélie the Musical
Following the success of its critically-acclaimed 2019–2022 UK production, which earned a GRAMMY ® nomination and three Olivier Award nominations, Amélie the Musical now makes its Aotearoa New Zealand premiere in Pōneke Wellington at the Hannah Playhouse this November 13 – 30, 2025.
Inspiring, whimsical, and brimming with heart, Amélie the Musical brings Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s five-time Oscar-nominated film to the stage with wit and charm. The show follows Amélie, an extraordinary but shy young woman who lives vividly inside her own imagination, as she secretly improvises small acts of mischief and kindness for those around her. When an unexpected chance at love comes her way, Amélie realises she’ll need to move beyond the lonely isolation of her youth and allow herself to be truly seen.
Featuring an original score by Daniel Messé and Nathan Tysen, and a book by two-time TONY Award® nominee Craig Lucas (The Light in the Piazza, An American in Paris), Amélie the Musical transports audiences into Amélie’s fantastical world as she discovers her voice, uncovers the power of human connection, and finds new possibilities around every corner.
★★★★★ “It will steal your hearts.” – Stage Review
★★★★★ “Illustrates the profound imaginative power of theatre” – The Times
★★★★ “A magical and emotional triumph.” – The Guardian
Directors Maya Handa Naff and Nick Lerew
Music Director Hayden Taylor
Choreographer Leigh Evans
Creative Producer Ben Tucker-Emerson
Technical Director Joshua Tucker-Emerson
Lighting Designer Alex Fisher
Presented by WITCH Music Theatre
14 – 30 November
Hannah Playhouse
Preview Performance 13 November
Tuesdays - Saturdays: 7.30 pm
Saturday Matinee: 2 pm
Sunday: 4 pm
Run time: 2 hours 30 minutes
(including a 20-minute interval)
Book by Craig Lucas
Music By Daniel Messé
Lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Daniel Messé
Based on the motion picture Amélie, written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant
Orchestrations and Arrangements by Barnaby Race
World Premiere produced in September 2015 by Berkeley Repertory Theatre Tony Taccone, Artistic Director Susan Medak, Managing Director Presented in December 2016 by Center Theatre Group Michael Ritchie, Artistic Director, Stephen D. Rountree, Managing Director, Douglas C. Baker, Producing Director” The Broadway producer credits are as follows: Aaron Harnick, David Broser, Triptyk Studios, Spencer B. Ross, Harbor Entertainment, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Simone Genatt Haft, Marc Routh, Saltaire Investment Group, The John Gore Organization, David Mirvish, Terry Schnuck and Jujamcyn Theaters.
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Amélie is presented through special arrangement with Concord Theatrical Corp and represented by Broadway Global Licensing LLC and Broadway Asia Company
LLC, 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 612, New York, NY 10036, www.broadwayasia.com
Photography © Pamela Raith – The Criterion Theatre, UK. Broadway Asia.
Casting
Key rehearsal and performance dates:
July - September: Pre-rehearsal workshops (music and tablework)
September – November: Rehearsals
2 – 12 November: Tech rehearsals
13 November: Preview performance
14 - 30 November: Season
(no show Monday 17th/24th November)
1 December: Packout
Self-tape audition video submissions for Amélie the Musical are now closed.
Auditions will be followed by in-person callbacks by invitation on:
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Thursday 19 June, 6:30pm – 10:30pm.
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Saturday 21 June, 6:30pm – 10:30pm.
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Sunday 22 June, 6:30pm – 10:30pm.
Callbacks will take place in central Wellington at Toi Pōneke, 61/69 Abel Smith Street, Te Aro, Wellington.
Characters
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All performers, other than Amélie and Nino, will play supporting roles in the ensemble and serve as understudies for multiple roles.
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All character breakdowns below are subject to your own interpretation. We encourage performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, body types, and abilities to audition.
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This production will not require actor musicians; however, feel free to include any experience with instruments in your submission.
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We are open to casting that does not align with the “Script Gender” listed below. Due to the complexity of the score, our ability to transpose music in some numbers may be limited.
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All performers must be capable of learning and performing complex music with tight harmonies. The ability to read music is a plus.
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For the roles of Amélie and Nino, we plan to cast offstage covers who will also serve as backing vocalists.
Amélie Poulain
Script gender: Female
Age range: 20s
Vocal range: Soprano (F3-F5)
Amélie has spent much of her life isolated from the world. She lives mostly inside her head, engrossed in her own vivid imagination and fascinated by the tiny details around her that no one else sees. While she is well-liked by her neighbours and colleagues, she finds it difficult to connect with others, preferring to notice than be known. She wants to contribute to the world, but struggles to be part of it.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare:
Sister’s Pickle (sheet music, backing track) and Girl with the Glass (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Amélie - Side 1 and Amélie - Side 2
Content: Must be comfortable with simulated physical intimacy (i.e. kissing)
Nino Quincampoix
Script gender: Male
Age range: 20s
Vocal range: Bari-tenor (Ab2-B4)
Nino is a reclusive and pensive artist who dedicates his time to a unique pursuit: collecting discarded photo booth strips from across Paris. He constructs detailed stories about the people in the photos, including what led them to leave their pictures behind. Like Amélie, he is fascinated by people but has difficulty connecting with them.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: When the Booth Goes Bright (sheet music, backing track) and Thin Air (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Nino - Side
Content: Must be comfortable with simulated physical intimacy (i.e. kissing)
Raphael Poulain
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Male
Age range: Late 30s to 50s
Vocal range: Baritone (B2-G4)
Raphael is Amélie's father and a clinical Army physician. His profession has instilled in him a rigid sense of order and a generally fearful and pessimistic outlook on life. He finds his wildly imaginative daughter incomprehensible.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: World’s Best Papa (sheet music, backing track) and How to Tell Time - Bretodeau (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Raphael - Side and Bretodeau - Side
Amandine Poulain / Philomène
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Female
Age range: Early 30s to 40s
Vocal range: Soprano (G3- F#5)
Amandine Poulain is Amélie’s neurotic mother. Although she dies when Amélie is only six, her obsessive and overprotective parenting has an immense impact on her daughter’s life. Philomène is a flight attendant, cat-lover, and a habitué of Two Windmills Café.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: World’s Best Mama (sheet music, backing track) and A Better Haircut - Georgette (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Amandine - Side and Georgette - Side (Please read as Georgette)
Julien Dufayel
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Male (in addition to male actors, we are interested in seeing women and gender diverse people for this role)
Age range: 40s to 60s
Vocal range: Baritone (F#2-C4) or sung an octave up for women/gender diverse.
Dufayel is Amélie’s neighbour who lives a solitary existence due to a debilitating and degenerative bone disease that restricts his movement and causes chronic pain. He is a gifted painter and caring friend to Amélie.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: Girl With the Glass (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Dufayel - Side
Fluffy / Elton John
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Male
Age range: 20s to 40s
Vocal range: Tenor (B2-B4)
Fluffy is a goldfish who was Amélie’s childhood best friend.
Elton John is a figment of Amélie’s imagination who leads a gospel choir in mourning her loss (à la Princess Diana).
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: Goodbye, Amélie (sheet music, backing track) and World’s Best Papa - Raphael (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Hipolito - Side 1 (do not prepare Side 2) and Raphael - Side
Garden Gnome
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Male
Age range: 30s to 40s
Vocal range: Tenor (G2-B4)
Garden Gnome is an excitable world traveller and the best friend of Raphael Poulain.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: No Place Like Gnome (sheet music, backing track) and Tour de France (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Joseph - Side
Gina
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Female
Age range: 20s to 30s
Vocal range: Soprano (G3-F#5)
Gina is a waitress at the Two Windmills Café. She is a young widow who lost her husband in a tragic airline accident. She briefly dated Joseph, who now torments her during his frequent visits to the café.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: Window Seat (sheet music, backing track) and A Better Haircut - Gina (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Gina - Side 1 and Gina - Side 2
Suzanne
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Female
Age range: 40s
Vocal range: Soprano (G3-F#5)
Suzanne is the confident and orderly owner of the Two Windmills Café. She was a trapeze artist, until her (now ex-) lover dropped her - literally and figuratively - for the tattooed lady, leaving her with a permanent injury.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: A Better Haircut - Suzanne (sheet music, backing track) and World’s Best Mama - Amandine (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Suzanne - Side and Amandine - Side
Georgette
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Female
Age range: 20s to 40s
Vocal range: Soprano (G3-F#5)
Georgette is the tobacconist at Two Windmills Café. She constantly worries about her health, finding serious ailments in every cough and sneeze.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: A Better Haircut - Georgette (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Georgette - Side
Joseph
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Male
Age range: 30s to 40s
Vocal range: Bari-Tenor (F#2-B4)
Joseph, a plumber and regular at the Two Windmills Café, is Gina's bitter ex-lover. He copes with being dumped by behaving obsessively and rudely towards others.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: No Place Like Gnome (sheet music, backing track) and Girl With the Glass - Dufayel (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Joseph - Side
Hipolito
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Male
Age range: 30s to 40s
Vocal range: Baritone (G2-B4)
Hipolito is a poetic, wistful, and somewhat melancholy unpublished writer who frequents the Two Windmills Café, constantly seeking inspiration.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: The Commute Home (sheet music, backing track) and Goodbye, Amélie - Elton John (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Hipolito - Side 1 & 2
Lucien/
Mysterious Man
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Male
Age range: 20s to 30s
Vocal range: Tenor (G2–A4)
Lucien is a kind and gentle grocery store employee. He is friendly with everyone, including the store's produce.
The Mysterious Man is an enigmatic person who Nino keeps spotting while looking for discarded photo booth pictures.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: Three Figs (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Lucien - Side
Collignon / Bretodeau
+ Other ensemble roles
Script gender: Male
Age range: 40s to late 50s
Vocal range: Baritone (C3-G4)
Collignon is a rude and closed-minded man who owns and operates a local grocery with his employee, Lucien.
Bretodeau is a middle-aged man with a strained relationship with his family who, with some help from Amélie, turns his life around.
For self-tape auditions and callbacks, please download and prepare: World’s Best Papa - Raphael (sheet music, backing track) and How to Tell Time (sheet music, backing track)
For callbacks, please also download and prepare: Collignon - Side and Bredoteau - Side

Audition Material
For your self-tape submission, please prepare:
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The Amélie the Musical song selection(s) for the character of your choice (outlined above in the character breakdowns). Please perform your audition using the provided instrumental backing track. If you are auditioning for more than one character, you are welcome to prepare the requested music from each.
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We will be using a French dialect for this production. We encourage you to give this a try in your audition. We will be supporting all actors with dialect work as part of the rehearsal process, so please do not let the dialect get in the way of you auditioning, or giving an audition you feel confident about.
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We encourage those auditioning for tracks with multiple roles to show us your ability to create distinct characters in your audition. We're looking for performers with range, who can make clear and specific choices for each character they play.
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Please note that the score that we will be using is a combination of the Broadway production and revisions and updates made for the West End. Generally, the arrangements featured in the audition excerpts are closer to the Broadway Cast Recording instrumentation; however, the production itself will sound closer to the Grammy Award-nominated London Cast Recording. Please pay close attention to the sheet music that is provided, as there are some differences to what is found in either cast recording.
Self-tape submissions
Follow the steps below to submit your self-tape audition:
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Please film yourself performing the audition materials detailed below and upload to Google Drive, YouTube, etc. For these initial self-tape submissions, you only need to record the song(s) assigned to your character - the text scenes will be used for callbacks only.
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Once you are ready to submit, please complete the Audition submission form and include a viewable link in the form where prompted.
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All submissions must be submitted no later than 11:59pm on Friday 13 June.
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Videos should be filmed horizontally and in a well-lit space (not backlit). Self-tapes can be filmed using your mobile phone or through a self-tape service.
If you have any questions, please contact info@witchmusictheatre.co.nz.
Callbacks
We will be reviewing all video submissions as we receive them, and will contact you to let you know whether you are successful in receiving a callback.
We will do our best to contact you regarding callbacks (if necessary) no later than June 16 unless notified otherwise.
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For callbacks, please be ready to perform your initial self-tape audition material again.
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Please also be prepared to perform the text scene(s) assigned to your character. You are not required to have the text memorised, but we highly recommend being familiar with the material, so you can be present and make choices in your callback.
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If we would like you to prepare additional material for your callback, we will request this when we contact you to arrange a callback time.
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An accompanist will be provided at callbacks. You are not required to bring any sheet music or scene prints to your callback.
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If you cannot attend the callback dates, we will contact you to request further tapes or arrange an alternative time.
We aim to return to all auditionees by July 7.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals will begin in September with 3 x weekday evening rehearsals and 1 x weekend daytime rehearsal per week.
Pending venue bookings and scheduling, rehearsals will take place on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. All performers will be required to attend all rehearsals to which they are called, including photoshoots/media calls as needed.
Any scheduling conflicts must be declared and agreed to in advance.We will be scheduling select music rehearsals between July and September, shortly following the casting of the show. Our aim is to learn some early music ahead of our main rehearsal period starting in September.
Profit-share kaupapa
WITCH Music Theatre is an alternative production house producing small to medium-scale music theatre experiences in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. We pride ourselves on creating an equitable and transparent opportunity for all company members to share any box-office profit made, split equally among all company members.
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Casting is 18+ recommended.
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Casting may be subject to background checks.
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All roles in this production will receive a Koha profit share of any box office profit made.
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Some supporting production and front-of-house roles will be engaged at a volunteer or intern level in association with WITCH Music Theatre and/or formal education providers.
If you have any questions, please contact info@witchmusictheatre.co.nz.