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Breakdown
THE LIAR
By David Ives, adapted from the comedy by Pierre Corneille
Directed by Penny Metropulos
First Rehearsal: April 7 (all rehearsals in Westport)
Tech: May 1, 2, and 3
Previews: May 5, 6, 7, and 8
Opening: May 9
Closing: May 24
The characters are based on broad comedic archetypes, but they should also be grounded and believable. The play requires clear speech, good text skills and actors adept at physical comedy. Fight skills are essential for the characters of Dorante and Alcippe.
Dorante
(male, 20s to 30s): A young man, just arrived in Paris. Although charming and quick-witted, he is an outrageous liar. His is a high wire act of fabrication as he tries to stay one step ahead of everyone while he woos Clarice.
Geronte
(male, 50s to 60s): Dorante’s father. Easily duped, His pride in Dorante blinds him to his son’s obvious faults. Well-meaning but meddling, he arrives in Paris to arrange a socially advantageous marriage for Dorante.
Cliton
(male, 20s to 40s): Dorante’s servant. Likable, and incapable of lying. Although befuddled by the events surrounding him, he is quick on his feet and manages to keep track of the tangle of Dorante’s lies. Infatuated with Isabelle.
Clarice
(female, 20s to 20s): A young lady of Paris. Confident in her beauty and status, she enjoys games of intrigue. Her protracted engagement to Alcippe bores her, and she momentarily entertains Dorante’s advances, setting off a series of twists and mistaken identities as she plots with Lucrece to expose Dorante’s lies.
Lucrece
(female, 20s to 30s): Clarice’s best friend. Although reserved around men, she is intelligent and attractive, and immediately recognizes Dorante for the liar and flatter he is. She relishes the opportunity to aid Clarice in exposing Dorante, and in doing so, ultimately falls in love with him.
Alcippe
(male, 20s to 30s): Clarice’s secret fiancé, friend to Dorante, and easily duped by him. He is rash, passionate and filled with outrageous jealousies. He accuses Clarice of infidelity and challenges Dorante to a duel over a misunderstanding,
Philiste
(male, 20s to 30s): Alcippe’s friend. A wealthy, honorable, and reasonable man who always attempts to defuse Alcippe’s violent jealousies. He perceives Dorante to be the liar he is truly is. He is secretly courting Sabine.
Isabelle
(female, late 20s to 30s): Lucrece’s servant and twin sister of Sabine. A soubrette. Flirtatious and fast, she immediately falls for Cliton and purses him vigorously. Note this actress also plays the role of Sabine.
Sabine
(female, late 20s to 30s): Clarice’s servant and twin sister of Isabelle. Strict and stern, she is puritanical in dress and behavior, although secretly being courted by Philiste. Note this actress also plays the role of Isabelle.
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AND A NIGHTINGALE SANG
By C.P. Taylor
Director-David Kennedy
1st rehearsal May 12 (First rehearsal in Westport all subsequent rehearsals in NYC)
Tech June 5, 6, and 7
Previews June 9, 10, 11, and 12
Opening June 13
Closing June 28
Please Note: The action takes place among a working class family in Newcastle
upon Tyne in the north of England, so facility with a Geordie accent is important.
Helen Stott
(female, early 30s): The narrator of the play, plain in appearance, with a small limp, she’s the longsuffering, levelheaded center of the chaotic and somewhat eccentric Stott family. Smart and sensitive, but also tough, she often neglects herself to tend to everyone else. She’s resigned to a spinster’s life until Norman shows her affection and the possibility of love.
Joyce Stott
(female, early 20s): Helen’s beautiful younger sister. She’s an untested and uncertain woman whose hasty marriage to Eric leaves her deeply conflicted. She has a one-night-affair with an airman, which leads to a pregnancy scare. Later, she becomes more assertive.
George Stott
(male, 50s): Helen’s father. An unemployed coalman when the war begins, he spends his time playing popular songs of the day as an escape from his hectic family life and the troubles of the world. Although somewhat pessimistic about the war, he takes his position as block warden in the Civil Defense seriously, before joining the Communist Party as the war progresses. Note: Actor must be able to play the piano and sing.
Peggy Stott
(female, 50s): Helen’s mother, a devout Catholic, deeply pious and a bit narrow in her worldview. She’s a voluble woman and the glue that holds her family together. Kind and caring, she is also dramatic and prone to fits of anxiety and exasperation.
Andie
(male, 70s): Helen’s grandfather. The type of person people would describe as “a character.” An old veteran, his view of the war and the human race in general is deeply pessimistic, but he greets even the worst of situations with a finely honed sense of gallows humor. Despite his pessimism, he is a man who enjoys life to the fullest.
Eric
(male, early 20s): Joyce’s fiancé. A handsome enlisted man, a proud though ineffective soldier who’d rather be home with his new wife than off seeing action. Eric is also immature and not too clever, and resents the cold shoulder he sometimes receives from Joyce. At times, he also displays an explosive temper.
Norman
(male, early 30s): A friend of Eric’s and fellow soldier, he takes an interest in Helen while on leave. He’s fastidious in appearance, charming, and seems sturdy. Though his romance with Helen is serious, he’s married and fathers a son during the war, before ultimately leaving Helen to return to his family.
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