Donna Shirnberg, Tracie Sanborn and Terri Zopf-Schoessler act during a rehersal of “Menopause Made Me Do It” on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. Shirnberg will be producing “Disaster the Musical” for Kenai Performers. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Donna Shirnberg, Tracie Sanborn and Terri Zopf-Schoessler act during a rehersal of “Menopause Made Me Do It” on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. Shirnberg will be producing “Disaster the Musical” for Kenai Performers. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Performers prepare for ‘Disaster’

Auditions for the retro musical will be Friday from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday from 1-3 p.m.

Auditions will be held Friday and Saturday for Kenai Performers’ production of “Disaster the Musical,” set to debut in February.

Producer Donna Shirnberg said “Disaster” is a retro musical, set in the 1970s, with “everything to do with every single disaster movie of that era.”

‘The Poseidon Adventure,’ ‘The Towering Inferno,’ ‘Jaws,’ ‘Piranha,’ you name it? It’s in,” she said.

Shirnberg said the musical follows an eclectic group of individuals who board a boat and experience all of the disasters.

“In a two-hour time frame, the boat catches on fire, it flips upside down, someone gets eaten by sharks, the piranhas get out. And it’s all set to 70s music,” she said, “It’s a very fun, upbeat, silly show.”

The auditions will be held at the Kenai Performers’ black box theater on Kalifornsky Beach Road. Those interested do not need to prepare any material, but Shirnberg said they need to wear comfortable clothes and should bring water, because there will be dancing.

“Disaster” is an ensemble show, Shirnberg said, with a cast that includes a gambler, a disaster expert, a journalist, a washed up lounge singer, a Jewish couple, a bodyguard, and plenty more.

Shirnberg said each of the characters gets a little spotlight, but mentioned a nun with a pop gospel voice, a slimy casino owner, and a sassy woman who loves her dog as some interesting roles.

Because it’s a musical, those interested in lead roles need to be able to carry a tune and manage the vocal range, Shirnberg said. For those in more supporting roles, she said “we can work with voices.”

The performers are also looking for help with the production side of the show, for those more interested in staying behind the curtain.

“There are so many props and such – fast set changes – we are going to need an army of people behind the scenes,” Shirnberg said.

Folks interested in that work should also come to the auditions and chat with Shirnberg to get put on the list. They can also reach out to Kenai Performers and call her directly.

There are roles in the show for anyone from 20-65 years old, Shirnberg said. There could even be older teenagers, but she said because of the rating on the show, they want to keep performers above 16 years of age.

Auditions will be Friday from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday from 1-3 p.m. More information about the auditions, including a full list of cast with descriptions and vocal ranges can be found at Kenai Performers on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in Life

Promotional image via the Performing Arts Society
Saturday concert puts jazz, attitude on stage

Lohmeyer is a former local music teacher

The author holds a copy of Greta Thunberg’s, “No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference,” inside the Peninsula Clarion building on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Off the Shelf: Thunberg speeches pack a punch

“No One Is Too Small to Make A Difference” is a compilation of 16 essays given by the climate activist

White chocolate cranberry cake is served with fresh cranberries. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Hard-to-ruin cranberry cake

This white chocolate cranberry cake is easy to make and hard to ruin — perfect for my students aged 3, 6, 7 and 7.

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
Life in the Pedestrian Lane: It’s March

March is the trickster month, probably why we see so much raven activity these days

After Pres. Woodrow Wilson commuted his death sentence to life in prison, William Dempsey (inmate #3572) was delivered from Alaska to the federal penitentiary on McNeil Island, Wash. These were his intake photos. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)
A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey story — Part 7

The opening line of Dempsey’s first letter to Bunnell — dated March 19, 1926 — got right to the point

Bella Ramsey as Ellie and Pedro Pascal as Joel in “The Last of Us.” (Photo courtesy HBO)
On the Screen: ‘The Last of Us’ perfectly adapts a masterpiece

HBO unquestionably knew they had a hit on their hands

Chocolate cake is topped with white chocolate cream cheese frosting. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
A cake topped with love (and white chocolate cream cheese)

He loved the frosting so much he said he never wants anything else on his cake

In 1914, Pres. Woodrow Wilson appointed Charles Bunnell to be the judge of the Federal District Court for the Third and Fourth divisions of the Alaska Territory. (Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks archives)
A Nexus of Lives and Lies: The William Dempsey story — Part 6

Prosecution lawyers were fortunate to have a fallback plan: witnesses to the crime.

The author displays her daily vitamin, three yellowish clear bubbles of Vitamin D, and 20 mg of Paxil. (Photo by Meredith Harber/Minister’s Message)
Minister’s Message: Accepting all parts of your story of growth

I started taking Paxil almost six years ago, after a lifelong struggle with anxiety and depression

Most Read