Geoffrey Stone, a 32-year-old singer-songwriter/producer who graduated from Carleton with a bachelor of music in 2013, has auditioned for the lead role in Rob Ford: The Musical.
In addition to the musical, Stone says he’s been in the studio working on his fourth album. His upcoming release, The Giant, is expected to come out this fall.
The lead single from the album, “Drunken Stupor,” is the piece that he used in his audition for the musical. Stone describes the song as “all about the Rob Ford fiasco” and why he felt it “appropriate” to get out to Toronto for the Rob Ford open casting call. The casting call, he says, being the “perfect promotional vehicle” for his song.
The musical is set to premiere in Toronto at the Factory Theatre, from Sept. 16-28 with more dates added if the show does well.
Stone says that the amount of notoriety from getting a role like this will be “huge.”
If acquired, this will be the first musical theatre performance Stone has ever done. But, he says that he’s not worried, he’s always been “musical theatre-oriented.”
Being a big fan of musicals for a while now, Stone even took a musical theatre course at Carleton. He has songs in his repertoire from Rent, Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, and Wicked.
As for whether or not Stone has landed the lead role, he says he just doesn’t know yet. The producers have informed Stone that “it was going to be a long and arduous process for them.” With rehearsals starting in September, Stone believes that the latest he will know might be in August.
When asked about his opinion of the mayor, Stone took on a more serious tone. He explains he sympathizes with Ford’s substance abuse and addiction. He does not think that Ford should be mayor of Canada’s largest city.
Stone says he believes that if Ford is able to successfully address his personal problems, he could become a suitable mayoral canidate.
