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Follows the legendary performer from the day he first walks on stage to the last days of his life. Regardless of how he tried to run away from the hardships of his childhood, Chaplin was forced to embrace them in his art. From his early abandonment by his mother to the ultimate abandonment by his adopted country of America during the McCarthy era, his obsessive artistry, perfectionist personality and insatiable appetite for young women made for extreme friction with his closest associates while catapulting Charlie to become the most famous human being on the planet. In the end, he was able to forgive his past only when he found true love in Oona O’Neill. Only her unconditional dedication and support allowed him to retire his alter-ego, the eternal orphan, his famed character of The Little Tramp.
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Sydney Chaplin / As Cast:
AVAILABLE ROLE. (Tenor/Bari-Tenor) Late 20’s to late 30’s – Charlie’s brother, performing partner, and business manager. He sticks by Charlie through thick and thin, through marriages and women far too young and through political upheavals and exile. Sydney serves as a reminder of what little good their childhood had to offer and, until Oona arrives on the scene, the only one Charlie can truly count on no matter what.
Hedda Hopper / As Cast:
AVAILABLE ROLE. (Alto/Belt) 30’s-early 40’s –A mediocre actress - turned notorious gossip columnist who has made it her personal mission to expose Charlie as a womanizing, cheating, communist foreigner who is making too much money on American shores. If she cannot find exact proof of any of the above, she will invent a rumor mill to convince America that what she says could have a grain of truth. Hedda becomes an ally to the American government and Charlie’s nemesis in bringing about the latter’s downfall. She serves as the ruthless reminder of everything he is trying to run away from.
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NOTE FROM EQUITY ON THE ROLES LISTED BELOW: These six roles are being offered to actors who participated in CHAPLIN's developmental process. Until these offers are accepted, the roles are considered available. If any role listed below is accepted prior to the EPA, this EPA notice will be altered immediately to list the role as cast. Check notice for casting-status updates.
Charlie Chaplin:
AVAILABLE (but will be offered to actor from the show's developmental process; see NOTE FROM EQUITY above). (Tenor/Bari-Tenor): late-20-s to mid-30’s – One of the world’s true geniuses – a natural and intuitive performer with remarkable comedic and movement skills. After surviving a poverty-stricken and difficult childhood he turned luck into skill and skill into unprecedented opportunity and success. He ages from late teens to late 40’s as he displays unmatched talent on the vaudeville stage, in Keystone pictures and as producer, director and star of his own film studio. As often as he tries to rescue innocent women in each of his films, his volatile personality drives him to discard young woman after young woman, all of whom want to get close to Charlie Chaplin, and all of whom cannot hold his interest too far beyond the bedroom. To ensure that he is no longer abandoned, he pushes away all who get close before they have a chance to do the same to him. This all changes, of course, when he meets his true love, Oona O’Neill, who helps him forgive the past he has spent his life trying to run away from.
Oona O’Neill:
AVAILABLE (but will be offered to actor from the show's developmental process; see NOTE FROM EQUITY above). (Soprano) - (as cast): 20’s – A wannabe actress who meets Charlie when she turns up late for an audition. Shortly thereafter, she gives up her aspirations for a career in Hollywood and becomes the first woman to appreciate Charlie for who and not what he is. Their love is true from the start and she forces him to see that love, home and family are more important than the adoration of audiences all around the world. When Charlie makes a last-ditch effort to become the Tramp one more time, Oona has to fight hard to make him see that his Tramp years were wonderful for what they were but that they cannot last forever. He must let go of his past to move on to his present with her and his future as the man born of film legend who will never be forgotten.
Hannah Chaplin:
AVAILABLE (but will be offered to actor from the show's developmental process; see NOTE FROM EQUITY above). (Mezzo/Belt) - (as cast): mid 30’s – early 40’s – Charlie’s mother. She is his inspiration – and also his first abandonment. We first meet her as an angelic creature on the Music Hall stage but she soon deteriorates rapidly into a very troubled woman who cannot fend for her or her boys. Because she could not afford to keep their flat, Charlie and his brother Sydney are carted away to the horrible Hanwell Orphanage. Hannah promised she’d return to get them but she never did. Once Charlie is finally released, he runs to his mother who no longer recognizes him. Hannah spent the rest of her life in and out of asylums much to Charlie’s disgrace. Once Charlie found fame in Hollywood, his brother Sydney kept imploring him to bring Mum over from London. Time and again, Charlie keeps promising, “After this picture is finished.” Once he finally brings her over, he barely visits her. She is the source of his first inspiration as well as his greatest humiliation.
Sennett/McGranery/Emcee:
AVAILABLE (but will be offered to actor from the show's developmental process; see NOTE FROM EQUITY above). (Baritone) - (as cast): 40’s-50’s As Sennett, he is the master of his Keystone universe – the rather arrogant yet perfectly knowledgeable creator of a factory of short, slapstick films. He finds Charlie in Vaudeville and gives him his first break in pictures. He helps market the Little Tramp to unparalleled fame and then looses Charlie to other studios. Also plays McGranery and Emcee.
Alf (as cast):
AVAILABLE (but will be offered to actor from the show's developmental process; see NOTE FROM EQUITY above). 30’s – 40’s. Clever, intuitive, fields phone calls and starlet requests brilliantly - and knows Charlie sometimes better than Chaplin knows himself. Must have strong comedic timing.
Young Charlie/Jackie:
AVAILABLE (but will be offered to actor from the show's developmental process; see NOTE FROM EQUITY above). 7 to young-looking-10 yrs. old – Strong natural singer, unchanged voice. From the moment this child walks onstage at age 5 – he is destined for greatness. His connection to the audience is instantaneous. He sings, dances and suffers great sorrow when he returns to his mother after getting out of the County Home to find she no longer recognizes him. He later plays Jackie Coogan, the famous child actor who co-starred in “The Kid” with Chaplin and the Usher. He must be adorable, charming and funny yet have great depth as well.
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