The Showboat Majestic Will hold Auditions for a Pulitzer Prize-winning comedic play You Can't Take It With You
The Showboat's 88th season opener! at the following dates and times:
Monday, January 4th and Tuesday, January 5th 2009 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Auditions will be held at the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, 4990 Glenway Avenue in West Price Hill.
Cast includes many roles for adult men and women:
Penelope Sycamore Penelope "Penny" is the mother of Essie and Alice, wife of Paul, and daughter of Martin. She writes plays and paints as hobbies because it makes her happy but is unfortunately terrible at both. She is a loving mother and wife who is constantly concerned with the welfare of her family, her main goal is to make sure everyone is happy-particularly in this show her daughter Alice.
Essie Wife of Ed, daughterof Penny and Paul Sycamore, Granddaughter of Martin, sister of Alice. She is childish. As a hobby she makes candy that Ed sells. Essie dreams of being a ballerina. She has spent 8 years studying with Boris Kolenkhov but in reality is terrible at dancing.
Rheba The black maid and cook to the Sycamore family. She is dating Donald. In the words of Mrs. Sycamore, "The two of them are really cute together, something like Porgy and Bess."
Paul Sycamore Father of Essie and Alice, husband of Penny, Son-in-law of Martin. He is a tinkerer who manufactures fireworks in the basement with the help of his assistant Mr. De Pinna. His hobby is playing with erector sets.
Mr. De Pinna The ice man who came inside to speak to Paul and never left. He helps Mr. Sycamore build fireworks, and moonlights as a model in Mrs. Sycamore's paintings. He is somewhat of a nutty guy.
Ed Car
Michael Husband of Essie, son-in-law of Paul and Penny. He is a xylophone player, and distributes Essie's candies. Ed is an amateur printer who prints anything that sounds good to him. He prints up dinner menus for his family and little quotes that he places in the boxes of Essie's candy. He also likes to make masks.
Donald The black boyfriend of Rheba. In the words of Mrs. Sycamore, "The two of them are really cute together, something like Porgy and Bess."
Martin Vanderhoff Referred to mostly as Grandpa in the play. Father-in-law to Paul, father of Penny, grandfather of Alice and Essie. He is an eccentric happy old man who has never paid his income tax because he doesn't believe in it, as he feels that the government wouldn't know what to do with the money if he paid for it. He lives his life by the philosophy, don't do anything that you're not going to enjoy doing. He goes to circuses, commencements, and collects snakes. He is the main male character in the play.
Alice Sycamore Fianceé of Tony Kirby, daughter of Paul and Penny, Granddaughter of Martin, sister of Essie. She the only "normal" family member. She has an office job, and is rather embarrassed by the eccentricities of her family when she has Tony and his parents at her house, yet she still loves them. She tends to be a pessimist.
Wilbur C. Henderson An employee of the IRS. He comes to collect the tax money owed by Grandpa, and can't understand why he won't pay income tax.
Tony Kirby Fiancé of Alice, Son of Mr. and Mrs. Kirby. He sees how even though the Sycamores appear odd, they are really the perfect family because they love and care about each other. His own family is very proper and has many issues none of them will admit. He is vice-president of Kirby and Co.
Boris Kolenkhov A Russian who escaped to America shortly before the revolution. He is very concerned with world politics, and the deterioration of Russia. He is friends with many ex Russian leaders including the Grand Duchess Olga Katrina. He is the ballet instructor of Essie, he knows she's not good at dancing, but knows that she enjoys dancing so he keeps working with her. He has a very renaissance attitude, meaning he likes the Greeks and the Romans, questions society, and is interested in world affairs.
Gay Wellington An actress who Mrs. Sycamore meets on a bus and invites home to read one of her plays. She is an alcoholic and gets very drunk and passes out shortly after arriving at the Sycamore's home.
Anthony W. Kirby Husband of Mrs. Kirby, father of Tony. He is a very proper man who is president of Kirby and Co. and secretly despises his job. His hobby is raising expensive orchids. He is also a member of the Harvard Society, the Union Club, the National Geographic Society, and the Racquet Club.
Miriam Kirby Wife of Mr. Kirby, mother of Tony. She is a very prim and proper woman. She stays up with the fads of the times. Her hobby is spiritualism.
G-Man 1, G-Man 2 (Jim), G-Man 3 (Mac) Three agents who come to investigate Ed because of the communist things he prints up, such as "God is the State - the State is God".
The Grand Duchess Olga Katrina She was one of the Grand Duchesses of Russia before the revolution, the other was the Grand Duchess Natasha. Since then she has been forced to flee to America where she has found work as a waitress in Childs Restaurant. The rest of her family has had a similar fate, such as her Uncle Sergei, the Grand Duke, who is now an elevator man. She loves to cook for a hobby.
ALL ROLES ARE AVAILABLE - NO ROLES HAVE BEEN PRE -CAST
REQUIREMENTS: Must be 17 years of age or older to audition. MUST PROVIDE A PERFORMANCE RESUME at auditions, listing theatrical experience.
Please prepare: To read from the script
Rehearsals begin: Monday, March 29, 2010. General schedule: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, in the evenings.
Performance dates: May 5 - 23, 2010. All roles are paid positions.
The Show: At first the Sycamores seem mad, but it is not long before we realize that if they are mad, the rest of the world is madder. In contrast to these delightful people are the unhappy Kirbys. The plot shows how Tony, attractive young son of the Kirbys, falls in love with Alice Sycamore and brings his parents to dine at the Sycamore home on the wrong evening. The shock sustained by the Kirbys, who are invited to eat cheap food, shows Alice that marriage with Tony is out of the question. The Sycamores, however, though sympathetic to Alice, find it hard to realize her point of view. Meantime, Tony, who knows the Sycamores are right and his own people wrong, will not give her up, and in the end Mr. Kirby is converted to the happy madness of the Sycamores, particularly since he happens in during a visit by an ex-Grand Duchess, earning her living as a waitress. No mention has as yet been made of the strange activities of certain members of the household engaged in the manufacture of fireworks; nor of the printing press set up in the parlor; nor of Rheba the maid and her friend Donald; nor of Grandpa's interview with the tax collector when he tells him he doesn't believe in the income tax.
Directed by Showboat Artistic Director, Tim Perrino
For more information on auditions, contact us, (513) 241 - 6550. Check us out on the web @
www.cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com
