♪ One, two, three ♪
♪ Take off ♪
♪ Last stop ♪
- We've seen hundreds and hundreds of actors and actresses
as far away as Australia and New Zealand
and all through Great Britain and across the United States.
We have some incredibly gifted, special, unique kids.
Some of them never having done anything before
in their lives.
- Oh!
- I don't know how it's gonna end up.
It's a real competition.
- This is gonna be one of the hardest choices
we've ever had to make.
There are just so many good kids and they're so talented.
(uplifting music)
♪ Wake up your dreams and make it true ♪
- Hi, my name is Madison Reyes.
I'll be reading for Julie from "Julie and the Phantoms".
- We want Julie to be vulnerable and strong-willed.
- Someone who's fearless, who really can own the moments.
- When we saw Madison, we just knew.
- I got this call from them and it's my favorite call,
and where they say, "We're sending you a tape.
Sit down.
You're not going to believe this."
- I don't know why we haven't taken her
off the school email list.
It's been a year, we're fine, everyone's fine.
I realized I wanted to act when I was in seventh grade.
I was on stage and I looked out into the crowd
and I realized this is my passion.
♪ Wake up ♪
- My name is Charle Gillespie.
I am auditioning for the role of Luke.
I feel like anybody out there who can relate
to having a passion and really wanting to follow it,
they can relate to Luke.
- Luke's got one force in him and that's the music,
and he's gonna ride that all the way till superstardom.
- Music and acting have always coincided in my life.
Being able to put them together
and on screen is just next level.
- I am Jeremy Shada and I'm auditioning for Reggie.
He's very funny.
He has a lot of great one-liners.
He's not the sharpest tool in the shed
in the best kind of way,
and that's a lot of fun to play as an actor.
When she says deep dish, is she talking about pizza?
- Reggie is kind of the goofball of the group.
Doesn't really think about things before he does them.
(Reggie gasping)
- I was about five years old when I started acting,
and realized that's what I wanna do.
I went to my parents and I was like, "I want to do acting."
And they were like, "Okay, I don't know
how to go about doing that but let's try."
- My name is Owen Joyner
and I'm auditioning for the part of Alex.
- And there's Alex, who's the polar opposite of Reggie
who thinks way too much about everything.
- The nerves were definitely there.
I woke up at 5:00 AM, shoved food down me, ran all my lines,
listened to the song 10 times and then showed up.
And as soon as we started playing, it kind of went away
and it was like, "Oh, this is way more chill
than I thought it was gonna be."
I have been crying for 25 years.
How is that possible?
- Today, we saw the sparks flying everywhere.
We saw incredible chemistry,
and so we've been putting them through the paces.
Everything from improvisation, singing on stage
with drums and guitars and bass
and all different kinds of dynamics
in terms of the kind of scene work that we're doing.
- Everyone's bringing something special onstage,
which was really nice.
- At first, I thought I would be nervous.
But when I came in today and we greeted everybody,
it kind of flipped a switch inside of me.
- I'm nervous, there's a camera there.
I'm shaking.
(upbeat music)
- First day we came in, there was no cameras or anything.
So we got to really work with the whole team.
I got to play them four songs or five songs,
and I had an acoustic guitar at first,
'cause that's usually where I start off in.
So Kenny was like, "Oh, can you try an electric guitar?"
I was like, "Yeah, 100%.
That's way more character-like."
♪ You and I ♪
♪ We will fight to shine together ♪
♪ Ride forever ♪
- A lot of time, when you're auditioning for something,
it's just the acting scene.
But then when you have to add on playing bass and singing
and then learning the stuff they give you,
it's much more intensive and kind of all-encompassing.
- It was terrifying, 'cause I walked out
and it felt like a sea of people.
And it was just you, some spotlights.
It was scary, but I got over it, right?
Yeah.
- Every day we find new things
that can belong to these characters,
and these kids inspire us to open up our imaginations
and to think bigger.
- Everyone's super nice.
And Kenny, for being so important,
he's really the kindest person in the world.
- I hadn't even met him yet,
but he just came up to me and he was like,
"Hey, I'm gonna introduce myself, I'm Kenny."
Just instantly disarming.
- Everybody should experience working with Kenny Ortega.
- What I wanna do is I want to put real kids
on screen telling real stories
that are genuine, that are authentic.
It's finding the right cast that's identifiable,
that kids are gonna relate to, fall in love with
and wanna support.
♪ Sometimes I think, I wanna doubt ♪
♪ I wanna cry, I'm calling out ♪
- Growing up, it was very rare that I saw a Hispanic girl
that looked like me.
My role models were Caucasian.
So if I got the role, I get to be the role model
for that little girl who is also in my position.
♪ Come on, let's run and rise ♪
♪ Through the night, you and I ♪
♪ We will fight to shine together ♪
♪ Fight forever ♪
(crew clapping)
- I don't know, can we?
- Do it.
- Yeah, you are our band.
(cheering)
(euphoric music)
- It's unreal.
I've been thinking about this moment.
Now that it's here, it just feels so big,
like if I'm dreaming.
I did it, mama!
- [Mother] I'm so proud of you.
- I'm speechless.
I'm really surprised I can talk right now.
- I can't feel my mouth 'cause it's like I'm speaking
but I'm still in shock.
- It's like words come in but then you don't know
what's happening.
Wow!
- It's very exciting with this group specifically
'cause I think that the vibe is just-
- We're gonna be fun.
- We're having fun on stage.
- A really good time
- Yes, this is the best band ever.
- I'm coming home, Canada.
- It's so fun.
You're out there jamming with everybody,
and everybody has the same energy.
Phantoms.
And that is the best feeling in the world.
Woooooo!
- "Julie and the Phantoms", here we go.
- Here we go, here we go.
(upbeat music)
- Bye, Charlie!
I'll see you in August, bro.
Be ready to rock out.
(paint can spraying)