Paws on stage: Windsor theatre group holds dog auditions for Christmas musical

A theatre group in Windsor is holding auditions for an upcoming Christmas musical production — but this time, the stars vying for the spotlight are of the four-legged variety.

Windsor Light Music Theatre held dog auditions Saturday for its November production of "A Christmas Story: The Musical."

"We need a couple of dogs that are going to be able to take commands, listen to our direction, as well as have a little bit of that star-quality, steal-the-moment type of personality," said production director Matthew Dumouchel.

This is not the first time Windsor Light Music Theatre has trained dogs as part of a production.

In 2013, a dog was recruited for the role of Toto in the theatre group's production of The Wizard of Oz.

Dogs were also used in a 1985 production of Annie and a Legally Blonde musical in 2012.

Windsor Light Music Theatre has put dogs in its productions before, including a 1985 rendition of Annie. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)However, this does mark the first Dumouchel has directed a musical that requires the cooperation of dogs.

Prior to A Christmas Story: The Musical, Dumouchel has directed just one other show under the Windsor Light Music Theatre banner.

"What I've been told over the course of the last couple of months is I am doing the unthinkable, which is working with dogs and children. They are potentially unreliable, in terms of they having so much energy and they're rambunctious sometimes," he said.

"You hope and pray that they are going to be able to deliver on a consistent manner. But at the end of the day, they're there to have fun and they're just wanting brighten the rooms up."

Jason Meloche and his three-year-old Labrador Retriever named Bentley record a video during auditions on July 20, 2024. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)But the dogs have to do more than just follow on-stage commands. They must also be able to work with the other cast members.

"We have about 15 children and about 20 adults in our cast. So finding some animals that are going to be well behaved and trainable is what we we're looking for," said Dumouchel.

Tickets for A Christmas Story: The Musical will go on sale July 25 on the Chrysler Theatre website.

The show runs Nov. 15 to 17 and Nov. 22 to 24.