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Even with repeated success on Broadway, Lindsay Mendez says auditioning for roles is still a part of her acting and singing career.
When the Tony Award winner visits Indianapolis next month to lead classes for vocalists ages 14 to 22, Mendez plans to offer guidance for making the best impression during auditions.
“I believe I have a good eye for crafting and building an audition book,” Mendez said during a phone interview. “I can help people find and hone material so they’re coming into an audition room saying, ‘I want you to meet me. I’m a good actor, but also I’m a cool person. I’m not crazy. You’re going to enjoy me in rehearsal and also on the lunch break.’”
On May 10, Mendez will offer two sessions of a vocal master class at the Lilly Theatre in the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Discovering Broadway, a nonprofit that brings creative teams and cast members to central Indiana to work on musicals that aim for a shot on Broadway, organized the coaching opportunity for young performers. To reserve a spot in a class, visit discoveringbroadway.org.
In addition to collecting a Tony for her work in a 2018 revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein musical “Carousel,” California native Mendez portrayed Elphaba in “Wicked” on Broadway and co-starred with Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff in a hit revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along.”
Mendez said her early-career experiences inspired her to devote time to teaching potential stars of tomorrow.
“I didn’t always see a place for myself in theater,” she said. “Teachers and people who believed in me said, ‘Hey, you’ve got something.’ That really gave me the push that I needed to pursue what I knew in my heart I wanted to, but you’re never quite certain.”
Mendez, 42, credits “Godspell” and “Wicked” composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz for helping to advance her career.
“He gave me a big break by casting me in ‘Godspell’ for him on Broadway,” Mendez said. “From there, I was able to do ‘Wicked.’ I realized that if you develop a good rapport, they want to keep working with you. I’ve tended to work with some of the same people over and over. If you have a good thing going, you keep going. It makes for a lot of fun collaboration.”
On the topic of collaboration, the “Merrily We Roll Along” trio of Mendez, Radcliffe and Groff forged lasting relationships during the show’s run that began off-Broadway in 2022 and wrapped up last July.
“It doesn’t hurt that the entire short was about friendship and we were building our friendship at the same time,” she said. “They also just happened to be extraordinary men who are kind and generous as can be, both on and off stage. We just had an absolute ball.”
On April 23, Groff will portray Bobby Darin on opening night of new Broadway musical “Just In Time.” Mendez said she and Radcliffe plan to attend together.
Mendez praised Discovering Broadway’s mission of incubating musicals.
“One of the hardest things about getting a show to Broadway is just having the time and the resources to actually work on a show and build it,” she said. “That costs a lot of money, and there’s no guarantee that a show is going to succeed or thrive when it gets to Broadway. But how can you get out there if you don’t have the time to spend working on it?”
Vocal master class with Lindsay Mendez
- When: 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. May 10
- Where: Lilly Theatre, Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 N. Meridian St.
- Admission: $149.99
- Info: Visit discoveringbroadway.org.
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