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Breakdown
The Old Globe - 2013-14 Season
THE FEW
by Samuel D. Hunter
Dir: Davis McCallum
1st Reh: 9/3/13. Runs; 9/28 – 10/2713
In a small northern Idaho town, QZ keeps her struggling newspaper going by running personal ads from lovelorn long-haul truckers. When her publisher and former lover returns, QZ’s romantic life jackknifes sharper than a runaway 18-wheeler on the I-90. A funny and bighearted play about our longing for connection and the barriers we place in our way.
Roles will not be understudied.
Seeking:
Bryan
Male, Late 30s to mid 40s. Launched the newspaper with dreams and ideals, but ran away when things got tough. Now he’s back - still restless, still searching. His grand visions have not panned out and now he’s trying to hold onto a little piece of the world that he can call his own.
QZ
Female, Late 30s to mid 40s. Female. Has been running the newspaper by herself for 4 years. Grand designs have given way to blunt practicality. But the exterior she has created to protect herself shields a softness that yearns to be released.
Matthew
Male, 19. An idealist, a believer, despite all evidence to the contrary. Awkward yet earnest, he has put his faith in the dream of the newspaper as a refuge from the world beyond. As the layers are exposed, his carefully constructed reality is shaken.
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DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS!
Book/Lyrics: Timothy Mason
Music: Mel Marvin
Dir: James Vasquez.
1st Ltd. Reh: 10/25/13. Runs: 11/16-12/29/13
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a wonderful, whimsical musical based upon the classic Dr. Seuss book. Back for its 16th incredible year, the family favorite features the songs “This Time of Year,” “Santa for a Day” and “Fah Who Doraze,” the delightful carol from the popular animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Celebrate the holidays as the Old Globe Theatre is once again transformed into the snow-covered Whoville, right down to the last can of Who-hash.
Roles will be understudied.
Seeking:
The Grinch
Male, 30s-40s. A beastly, charming curmudgeon. Scary but with a heart underneath his gruff exterior. Has the size and presence of a Music Hall superstar with deft athleticism. A triple threat. Needs a strong, booming baritone singing voice with falsetto.
Young Max
Male, 20s. The Grinch's dog, a young pup at heart. Endlessly energetic and acrobatic. Extremely loyal, shows great patience and humor in the face of adversity. Needs a strong Tenor singing voice.
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BETHANY
by Laura Marks
Dir: Gaye Taylor Upchurch
1st Reh: 12/30/13. Runs: 1/25-2/23/14
At the height of the foreclosure crisis, single mother Crystal loses more than her house. She’s staying positive, though – with plenty of help from a roommate with theories, a motivational speaker with a secret and her colleagues at the Saturn dealership downtown. But optimism is no match for a bad economy, and before long Crystal’s quest for what she’s lost turns into something else: the fight of her life. Laura Marks’ dark comedy explores just how far we’ll go to get back what’s ours.
Roles will not be understudied.
Seeking:
Crystal
Female, 29-40. Single mother who’s hit hard times. Charming car saleswoman- warm, big smile, girl-next-door, American. She follows the rules until her circumstances force her to bend them.
Charlie
Male, 48-60. Motivational speaker who’s slick, but has folksy charm—has a preacher/politician sensibility. Upper middle class, takes care of himself well. Feels embarrassed by his wife’s power over him. Has a mean streak.
Gary
Male, 28-40. Incredibly intelligent, paranoid schizophrenic who’s functioning but sometimes mistaken for having autism. Not clean. Capable of eerie quietness. Laughs at his own jokes. Not good with people. Not too physically imposing.
Toni
Female, 40-65. Social worker for child protective services. Keeps distance because of her profession but has a heart. Sharp, smart, and intuitive. Overworked because of government layoffs.
Shannon
Female, 30-45. Crystal’s supervisor. Worked hard to get where she is and now the company is going under. Strong personality, sarcastic, and very suspicious of Crystal.
Patricia
Female, 48-60. Charlie’s wife. Upper middle class and well dressed. She has the power in her marriage. Smart, passive-aggressive, vulnerable. She has a real drive and tries not to let emotions get in her way. In denial about her life.
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THE WINTER’S TALE
by William Shakespeare
Dir: Barry Edelstein
1st Reh: 1/7/14. Runs: 2/8-3/16/14
Shakespeare’s sublime late masterpiece sweeps breathtakingly from jealousy, rage and loss to redemption, reconciliation and, finally, wonder. Along the way it visits kings and queens, a singing street hustler, dancing shepherds, a most extraordinary statue – and one notoriously hungry bear. A profound exploration of the simple miracles in life and the forces that shape them: love, friendship and forgiveness.
Roles will not be understudied.
Seeking:
Tracks TBD. Available roles:
King Leontes (Male, 40s- 50s)
Hermione (Female, 40s)
Autolycus (Male, 30s-40s)
Antigonus/Old Shepherd (Male, 50s-60s)
Clown (Male, 20s-40s)
Emilia/Dorcas (Female, 20s)
Cleomenes (Male, 20s-30s)
Florizel (Male, 20s)
Polixenes (Male, 40s)
Dion (Male, 20s)
Camillo (Male 30s-40s)
Perdita (Female, 20s)
Mamillius (Male, Juvenile)
Paulina (Female, 30s-40s)
Mopsa (Female, 20s)
Jailer (Male, 20s-40s)
TIME AND THE CONWAYS
by J.B. Priestly
Dir: Rebecca Taichman
1st Reh: 3/4/14. Runs: 3/29-5/4/14
Yorkshire, 1919: The Great War is over and it’s a new Golden Age. The six Conway siblings gather for a birthday celebration filled with laughter and hope, and they dream of the shining futures awaiting them. Same house, same room, 1937: the world is a darker place and things haven’t quite panned out. Perhaps 1919 wasn’t as bright as it seemed? English stage giant J.B. Priestley (An Inspector Calls) bends time and space in a powerful family drama that is a theatrical exploration of how past, present and future are finally all one.
Roles will not be understudied.
Seeking:
Mrs. Conway
Female, 40s. A charming woman with an easy, vivacious manner.
Alan Conway
Male, early 20s. A shy, quiet young man who can have a slight stammer.
Madge Conway
Female, 20s. A year or two older than Hazel and a far more serious and responsible person.
Robin Conway
Male, 23. A rather dashing and good looking young man. An RAF officer.
Hazel Conway
Female, 20s. A tall, golden creature.
Kay Conway
Female, 21. An intelligent, sensitive girl, who need not be a pretty as Hazel.
Carol Conway
Mid teens. The youngest of the Conways.
Joan Helford
Female, 20s. Hazel’s friend. Pretty and rather foolish.
Ernest Beevers
Male, 30s. A little man. Still socially shy and awkward. His social background is rather lower in scale, but there is a suggestion of a growing force and self-confidence in him.
Gerald Thornrton
Male, Early 30s. A solicitor. Fairly tall and good looking. He has a pleasant, man-of-the-world air, very consciously cultivated.
Each actor also plays the same character 19 years later.
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WATER BY THE SPOONFUL
by Quiara Alegria Hudes
Dir: Edward Torres
1st Reh: 3/18/14. Runs: 4/12-5/11/14
After serving in Iraq, wounded soldier Elliot Ortiz returns home to reconnect with his family and start a new life. At the same time, four lonely souls with wounds of a different sort reach out across the internet to an online support group in search of healing connections of their own. Soon the real world and the virtual one come together in ways neither could ever have foreseen.
Roles will not be understudied.
Seeking:
Elliott
Male, Latino, mid 20s. Soldier having recently returned from duty in the Iraq war, now running a Subway sandwich shop in North Philly. His hard, tough exterior masks his huge heart and giving soul. Haunted by what he did and saw in war, Elliot is struggling to reconcile his past with his present.
Odessa/Haikumom
Female, Latina, mid 40s – early 50s. Elliot’s birth mother, still living in North Philly. Ex-addict who created and runs a chat room for other ex-addicts under the handle HAIKUMOM. A little more “street” than the rest of her family. Warm, irreverent, funny, kind; fierce temper. Having walked a hard road filled with temptations, disappointments, and lost chances, Odessa endeavors day-to-day to maintain her own sobriety while also trying to offer hope/help to those with similar struggles.
Yazmin
Female, Latina, late 20s – early 30s. Elliot’s cousin and close confidante. An assistant professor of music at Swarthmore College; she’s the cool “hip” teacher with whom all the kids want to take class. Super smart, articulate, educated, and level headed. Bears the weight of her family’s struggles on her shoulders, but with a divorce pending and at a career crossroads, Yazmin is not without struggles of her own.
Chutes&Ladders*
Male, African American, late 40s – 60, Ex- addict. Average-looking, probably out of shape; drives a beat-up Tercel and should kind of look like it; the dude with TP stuck on his shoe. Works a middle management position in the IRS that he’s had for decades. Struggles with and is succeeding at keeping his life simple, pursuing simple pleasures, so as not to fall back into destructive patterns. A warm, steady, sardonically funny and no-nonsense member of Odessa/Haikumom’s cyber-community; develops a particular rapport with and concern for fellow chat room member Orangutan. (*Chutes&Ladders is his cyber name; given name is Clayton.)
Orangutan*
Female, Asian American, late 20s – early 30s. Another ex-addict who is a part of the chat room; not an optimist by nature. Recently clean and sober, she has moved to Japan to teach English and to start a new life away from her old habits; fiercely independent and strong-willed, she is nonetheless searching --- for her birth parents, for ways to clean her slate and keep it clean --- and perhaps most importantly for ways to understand the darkness she feels inside of herself. (*Orangutan is her cyber name; given name is Madeline.)
Fountainhead *
Male, Caucasian, late 30s – early 40s. The newest addition to the chat room and only a few days sober. A super-smart, very successful and financially secure entrepreneur/alpha-guy; a ‘soccer Dad’ whose wife and two kids do not know about his addiction, or that when he leaves the house to buy groceries he sometimes buys and smokes crack in a public park. His swagger and self-deprecating wit mask the shame and despair he feels about himself and his addiction; fighting sobriety and those in the chat room at every turn, even as his life is spiraling out of his control. (* Fountainhead is his cyber-handle; real name is John.)
Professor Aman/ Ghost
Male, Middle Eastern, 30s. Ghost is the soul of a man who Eliott killed during his time over seas. Prof. Aman is Yazin’s colleague at Swarthmore College. Smart and worldly – he knows his stuff.
VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE
by Christopher Durang
Dir: Nicholas Martin
1st Reh: 4/22/14. Runs: 5/17-6/22/14
Your heart has to go out to three siblings whose artsy parents named them after characters from Chekhov. Vanya and Sonia have lived at home while sister Masha has travelled the world starring in B-movies. Now Masha is back, with her boy toy Spike in tow, and she’s intent on selling the house. Farce ensues. Award-winning playwright Christopher Durang and director Nicholas Martin (Pygmalion) are in sidesplitting top form with this hilarious Broadway smash.
Roles will not be understudied.
Seeking:
Vanya
Male. 50-62. After caring for his aging parents with his step-sister Sonia, he lives on in their home in Bucks County, PA. His dreams never materialized, but he is ok with where he is in life. More or less. Often in the middle, he tends to have to resolve disputes between the family.
Sonia
Female. Early to mid-50s. Lives in the family house with her step brother, Vanya. Her life never materialized in the way she had envisioned. Lonely and embittered, she is jealous of the life her sister has been able to lead.
Masha
Female. 50 to 62. The famous sibling, she has found success as a glamorous movie actress. Has a bit of the diva in her, but likeable underneath. Personally, she has had a slew of failed marriages and is currently seeing a much younger man. Her career has been footing the family’s bills.
Spike
Male. Late 20s. An up and coming actor and Masha’s new flame. Very sexy and in great shape, he knows how to use his gifts to his advantage.
Nina
Female. Early to late 20s. The beautiful girl next door who finds her way into the family’s home. An inspiring actress, she earnestly responds to the world of the house – fixated on Masha and very dear to Vanya.
Cassandra
Female. 30-55. Part cleaning lady, part soothsayer, she mixes classical and contemporary references in her prophecies. The precision on her visions varies, but is closer than one might expect. Her tough love for the family comes from a place of love. Role requires intense verbal dexterity.
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