Town Players Announce Auditions for SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER 5/9 & 5/11

Auditions will be held May 9 and 11 at 7:00 at The Little Theater, Orchard Hill Rd., Newtown, for Town Players' July production, Oliver Goldsmith's 1773 comedy She Stoops to Conquer, directed by Ruth Anne Baumgartner The famous eighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson said of this play, "I know of no comedy that has answered so much the great end of comedy-making an audience merry."

Deception and dramatic irony abound in this love tale. Mr. Hardcastle, a country gentleman of substance and experience, has hopes that his darling daughter Kate will marry young Charles Marlow, son of an old friend, and has arranged for young Marlow to come for a visit. Everything in his description interests Kate until she hears that he is extremely "bashful and reserved"; but she decides that he might be worth it anyway. Meanwhile, her cousin, Constance Neville, has arranged to elope with Marlow's close friend, and the plan is that he will come along on the visit. But Mr. Hardcastle's wife is intent on Constance's marrying her son by her first marriage, Tony Lumpkin, in part so that he can inherit the Neville jewels. Tony has no interest whatsoever in Con, but the two have been pretending affection to please his doting mother. On the night of the play, Tony runs into Marlow and Hastings at a tavern where they have stopped to ask directions to the Hardcastle manor and, for a bit of fun, he convinces them to stay the night at the excellent Buck's Head Inn nearby (actually Hardcastle's home). The confusion that ensues is all worth it, because although Marlow is tongue-tied around women of his own social class he is charming and articulate with barmaids, servants, and other lower-class women, and when he mistakes Kate for a barmaid he not only enchants her but also falls in love with her. Tony's resourceful manipulations of reality to further the elopement, Hardcastle's indignation at being treated like an innkeeper instead of a gentleman, Marlow's serial embarrassment as the various levels of his erroneous assumptions are revealed, the various hysterics of Mrs. Hardcastle, the lovers' joy, and the zany coach ride in the dark are all treated with good will by the playwright and add up to an evening of laughter and pleasure.

The principal roles are Mr. Hardcastle, the fond and somewhat pompous pater familias; Mrs. Hardcastle, his vain and foolish second wife; Tony Lumpkin, her lazy but playful son by her first marriage; Kate Hardcastle, lovely and pragmatic; her clever friend Constance Neville; the good-looking but bashful Charles Marlow; and his best friend, George Hastings. Four additional supporting male actors are neeed to play Sir Charles Marlow (young Marlow's father), the local tavern-keeper; several of Tony's drinking cronies; and three or four servants. Additionally, there is a Maid who has one very nice scene. The director plans to cast supporting actors in more than one role each.

The play is set in the countryside in England. British accents, or suggestions of British accents, both high- and low-class, would be welcome. There is a tavern song, and other singing may also be incorporated into the play, so singing ability is a plus. The play is essentially a comedy of manners, but more broadly played than most of this genre. The text is widely available in libraries and online.

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the play. Actors interested in auditioning but unable to make auditions are urged to contact the director (ruthanneb@mindspring.com) for possible alternative dates.

People interested in working backstage as stage manager, props assistant, or lights/sound operator are invited to attend the audition and speak with the director and producer.

Production dates for She Stoops to Conquer are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays July 8-24. Call 203-270-9144 for directions to the theater.

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