Luanda is starting in her first commercial show in Oklahoma City (OKC) performing in the lead role of “Bailey” in “The Polar Express Train Ride” from November to the end of December 2024. The ride is based at the Oklahoma Train Museum. Loosely based on the Movie “Polar Express”, the show takes place aboard a real train that travels down the track during the Christmas holiday season. There are four Polar Express trains around the country with one of them being in Oklahoma City.
The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) encourages students to audition for local productions to gain real experience in commercial productions – something that was attractive to Luanda when choosing to go to UCO. Some production companies like Lyric have direct ties to Broadway.
Bailey Character
Luanda plays “Bailey”, who is the embodiment of holiday cheer. With an infectious smile and a personality that lights up the room, Bailey is all about making the journey interactive and fun. During the audition, actors were required to do a humorous monologue and sing. There is some dancing but is limited because of the space on a train.
There are three casts that rotate throughout the two months with many cast members coming from the University of Central Oklahoma’s musical theatre department. There are three musical theatre (MT) programs in the Oklahoma City area that compete for local commercial productions and UCO does quite well in landing many of those roles. The theatre department is run by Greg White and various experienced professors whose students can often be found in touring Broadway shows as well as on Broadway itself.
Luanda has stated that she wants the “full musical theatre experience” which includes auditioning for productions companies in an around Oklahoma City. UCO also brings in real agents from Broadway, independent film, and television to audition every student during each year of their four-year program.
Description of the Show
(from the website)
“Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, passengers will relive the magic of the classic story as they are whisked away on THE POLAR EXPRESS™ for a magical one-hour trip to meet Santa. Once on board, your car hosts will work their way through the coach and punch your golden ticket before hot chocolate and delicious Walker’s Shortbread are served by dancing chefs. Passengers then read along with the classic children’s book, The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg.
Santa and his helpers board the train to greet passengers and each guest is given the first gift of Christmas – a silver sleigh bell. During the trip, characters on each car lead passengers in caroling and onboard entertainment just like in the film! Each guest will take home a keepsake sleigh bell in addition to the wonderful memories made on this magical trip. First Class passengers also receive a collectible THE POLAR EXPRESS™ ceramic mug to take home.”
