Auditions set for
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
The Newport Opera House Association announces auditions for its fall production of Joseph Kesselring’s classic American comedy, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE. The farcical black comedy will be presented in the Opera House on November 19 and 20, 2010. This play has remained popular since its original Broadway production in 1941, and enjoyed a very successful movie version starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. Both Jean Adair (Martha Brewster) and Josephine Hull (Abby Brewster) recreated their stage roles in the movie.
A cast of three women and eleven men will be directed by Charles H. Massey, Executive Director of the N.O.H.A. He will be assisted by Laura Thompson as Assistant Director and Don Boxwell as Production Stage Manager. Auditions will be held in the Opera House on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 7:00 pm. Please use the Stage Door or the Side Door on the ramp, as the front doors will be locked. Anyone interested in auditioning for the show is encouraged to read all of the information posted on the Call Board section of the N.O.H.A. website. Character breakdowns and audition scenes are posted there.
A limited number of scripts are available at the Opera House and may be checked out for a short period of time. We will be using the Dramatists Play Service acting edition of the play. The Frank Capra movie is available on DVD. If you do watch the movie please understand that it does not follow the play exactly. It will, however, give you a good idea of the characters and the basic story.
The audition process should last several hours and individuals will be asked to do cold readings as well as group scenes. The director will assign various groups as he sees fit. Please be prepared to read a variety of scenes and take direction as well. If you are unable to commit to the rehearsal period you should not audition. Rehearsals will start on Monday, September 27, 2010 and run until the show opens. Weekend rehearsals are not scheduled except the weekend before the production. There will be a Technical Rehearsal on Sunday, November 14, 2010.
This Community Theatre Production of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE is sponsored by Lake Sunpaee Bank and MJ Harrington & Co. Anyone interested in working on sets, costumes or props should contact the Opera House Office at (603) 863-2412. The Set will be designed by Charles H. Massey, with David Hoyt as Technical Director, Sally Phennicie as Costume Designer, Kathi Seastrand as Props Master and Lighting by Keith Carey. Please visit www.newportoperahouse.com to learn more about the Newport Opera House Association and view photos of past productions.
Character Breakdowns:
ABBY BREWSTER: Abby and her sister Martha have interchangeable personalities in the play. Neither exhibits distinct characteristics that are identifiable as separate from the other. Abby, like her sister Martha, is an old-fashioned character in an ironic sense. She appears to be a quite conservative elderly woman who values the conventions of the past. She attends church regularly and donates toys to the local Christian fund. Her traditional values, however do not extend to her treatment of the elderly man who come to their home looking for lodging. While her desire to help the man find peace is aligned with their Christian faith, she and her sister’s methods reflect modern, violent sensibilities as they resort to murder to achieve their goal. Abby is the one who gives the poisoned wine to the first of their murder victims. This is a major role and requires being in most of the play. As far as the physical type is concerned, the only requirement is that she and her sister are different types. While they should look old, I am willing to work with make up and costumes.
MARTHA BREWSTER: Martha is as ironically old fashioned as her sister. She exhibits kindness and compassion with the neighbors and follows social conventions of behavior. For example, when Mortimer breaks tradition and asks Elaine to meet him at the Brewster’s instead of calling for her at her home, she criticizes him for his lack of chivalry. She also condemns the theatre for its provocative subject matter and popular films that frighten their audiences. Like Abby, Martha’s charity is limited by the macabre nature of the murders they commit and by their own prejudices. Abby would rather ignore the devastation of the war in Europe because it is beyond their scope. When Jonathan arrives, Martha, with Abby’s help, does everything in her power to get rid of him from the moment he walks in the door, insisting that he is too much trouble. The two also have no time for foreigners, refusing to let Jonathan bury one in their basement along with their “good Methodist” Mr. Hoskins. Physically the look must be unlike Abby. Think Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick in “The Snoop Sisters.” These are both great roles for character actresses.
MORTIMER BREWSTER: Mortimer is teasing and flirtatious with his fiancée Elaine and exhibits genuine affection for her, his aunts, and for Teddy. As soon as he discovers the dead body in the window seat, his immediate goal is to protect his aunts. He bravely stands up to his brother Jonathan at the risk of his own safety. His bravery, however, is tempered by his arrogance, which sometimes blinds him to what is really happening around him. He insists that he is much more intelligent than the plays he must review and refuses to agree to Elaine’s claim that they often have a humanizing effect on him. His pride gets him in trouble when he does not take the proper precautions with Jonathan, and as a result, he almost loses his life. He also proves himself to be quite excitable and does not handle the stressful situation in the Brewster household very rationally. All ends well, less through Mortimer’s actions and more through coincidence and the fact that the police cannot fathom the sweet Brewster sisters could ever have twelve bodies buried in their basement. Physically this character could be almost any type as long as he is charming and has great comic flare. In the movie version of this play the role was played by Cary Grant. This is the major male role.
JONATHAN BREWSTER: Jonathan is a vicious criminal with a penchant for torture. Not much background information is given on him other than the details provided by Mortimer that he was “the kind of boy who liked to cut worms in two---with his teeth.” He has no consideration for his aunts as he plots to turn their home into a surgery for criminals who need to alter their appearance. When Mortimer threatens to interfere, he plans on causing a slow, painful death for his brother. His pettiness surfaces when he becomes jealous that his aunts have committed more murders than he has. Physically he should be rough around the edges. He has had plastic surgery and now looks like Boris Karloff. The real joke here is that the role was originally played by Karloff.
TEDDY BREWSTER: Teddy has lost all contact with reality, completely immersed in the delusion that he is Teddy Roosevelt. This static character is used primarily as a plot device. He covers up the aunts’ murderous activities as he buries the dead bodies in the basement, which he insists contains the locks of the Panama Canal. It would be nice if he looked something like Teddy Roosevelt, but with proper costumes anything is possible. The role is memorable but not necessarily a large one.
DR. EINSTEIN: Dr. Einstein, Jonathan’s evil sidekick, is little more than a stock figure. He adds to the comedy through his alcoholic tendencies, which cause him to remake Jonathan into the image of Boris Karloff. He also stirs up the action when he chides Jonathan about the fact that the aunts have murdered exactly as many men as he has. As a result, Jonathan decided to kill Mortimer so that he will tip the balance in his favor. Physically this character could be almost anything as long as he and Jonathan are not too much alike. An accent would be a plus.
ELAINE HARPER: Elaine exhibits a modern sensibility for a woman during this period. She is self confident, quick witted, and “surprisingly smart for a minister’s daughter.” She engages in witty, flirty banter with Mortimer and shows a great deal of patience with him. Elaine is the romantic character in the show and should look believable with Mortimer.
REVEREND DR. HARPER: Like the Brewster sisters, the Reverend Harper maintains old-fashioned values, appreciating the “gentle virtues” that have gone out of style in the twentieth century. His disapproval of the theatre makes him initially wary of the union between his daughter Elaine and Mortimer. The age and look of the character is open to consideration by the casting director. It is important that not everyone look alike.
OFFICER BROPHY / OFFICER KLEIN: These two characters are interchangeable. They help the plot develop by providing background information on the Brewster family and rescuing Mortimer from Jonathan’s clutches. It is Brophy that provides some foreshadowing at the start of the play that Teddy has been disrupting the neighbor’s sleep with his midnight bugle calls. Physical types can vary as long as they do not look alike.
OFFICER O’HARA: Officer O’Hara distinguishes himself from his fellow officers by the fact that he has written a play. He adds to the farcical action when he leaves Mortimer tied up all evening in order to ensure that the theatre critic will listen to the entire summary of his play.
OFFICER KLEIN: Klein, like his partner Brophy, appreciates the sisters’ charity and believes them to be among the kindest inhabitants of the neighborhood. He also serves as a plot device, especially when he suggest that Jonathan looks like Boris Karloff, which sends the latter into a murderous rage.
MR. WITHERSPOON: Mr. Witherspoon is an elderly, tight-lipped disciplinarian who is the superintendent of the Happy Dale Home where teddy will soon be living. He comes in at the end of the play and Teddy thinks that he is Taft ready to move into the White House even before he has moved out. Mortimer convinces Teddy that Witherspoon is in fact his tour guide to Africa. Mr. Witherspoon plays a major role in the final plot development of the play. Is he the final victim.
Please note that when casting it will be important to consider how the whole cast looks together. We need to believe these people and we will be looking for different character types. I have not given specific ages, as they will all be determined by the ages of the two sisters. I am not looking for really old actresses; I am looking for smart comedic actresses who can act old. I have already divided the play into French Scenes so I will be able to pull scenes and work them without the whole cast. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions.
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ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
AUDITION SCENES
Abby / Teddy / Reverend Harper: (page 6t – page 8m) Start with Abby’s line, “Yes, indeed, my sister Martha and I have been talking…” End with Abby’s line, “But, as he says, the theatre can’t last much longer…”
Abby / Mortimer / Martha: (page 19b – page 27t) Start with Abby’s line, “Mortimer, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you quote the Bible.” End with Abby’s line, “I’ll come and help you, dear.”
Elaine / Mortimer: (page 16t – page 18m) Start with Elaine’s line, “Well, can’t you take a hint?” End with Mortimer’s line, “No---we’ll have to see what’s in rehearsal.”
Jonathan / Einstein / Abby / Martha: (page 34m – page 37b) Start with Jonathan’s line,“Come in, Doctor.” End with Einstein’s line, “Chonny---I got to eat first. I’m hungry---I’m weak.”
Teddy / Abby / Martha: (page 45m – page 46m) Start with Teddy’s line, “General Goethals was very pleased.” End with Teddy’s line “It seams to be spreading.”
Elaine / Jonathan / Einstein: (page 48m – page 50b) Start with Elaine’s line, “Miss Abby!” End with Jonathan’s line, “Doctor-.”
Officer O’Hara / Mortimer: (page 61m – page 62m) Start with O’Hara’s line, “Don’t bother. I’m due to ring in in a few minutes.” End with O’Hara’s line, “ You would!”
Officer Brophy / Officer Klein / Officer O’Hara / Mortimer / Jonathan: (page 79b – 82t) Start with O’Hara’s line, “I pulls my guns---braces myself against the wall---and I says---‘Come in.’” End with Brophy’s line “Turn him over.”
Mortimer / Elaine / Mr. Witherspoon / Rooney / Teddy: (page 84b – page 86t) Start with Mortimer’s line, “Will you excuse me?” End with Teddy’s line, “Charge!”
comes to the
Newport Opera House Stage
The Newport Opera House Association to pleased to announce that ANNIE has been selected as its spring musical presentation. The popular American musical will be presented on April 15, 16 and 17, 2011. Inspired by the "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip by Harold Gray, the musical actually is created around the events that occur prior to the story told in the comic strip. The musical tells us where Annie came from and how she and Oliver Warbucks actually got together. The story takes place in the two weeks prior to Christmas in 1933. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is in his first term as President and the country is starting to recover from the Great Depression.
The book for the musical is written by Thomas Meehan, with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin. The show first appeared on Broadway in 1977 under the direction of Mr. Charnin. An earlier version of the show had been performed at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Ct., where it came to the attention of Mike Nichols who got behind the show and was instrumental in moving it to the Kennedy Center and then on to Broadway.
The rest is history. The production won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical. It was also awarded the N.Y. Drama Critics' Circle award for Best Musical as well as the Outer Critics' Circle Award and Drama Desk Awards. The original production ran for 2377 performances and was soon followed by a London Production as well as a National Tour. The show has remained popular in community theatres and schools throughout the world. A new Broadway revival is in the works for the spring.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the show is encouraged to listen to the Original Broadway Cast recording which stars Andrea McArdle as Annie and Dorothy Loudon as Miss Hannigan. This is the version of the show we will be doing and it is best to hear the real thing. The movie version of the show changed the script to include several new characters and retooled some of the existing characters. Carol Brunette's Miss Hannigan is not the Miss Hannigan of the stage show. Watching this movie will not help you to understand the show. The video you should watch is the version that Disney did for television and stars Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan and Victor Garber as Oliver Warbucks. This version follows the stage show and will give you a good idea of the story and the characters.
The NOHA version of the show will be very loyal to the original. To quote Mr. Charnin, "Annie is a real story about a child's search for her parents, as well as a love story between her and the fifty-five-year-old man who ultimately adopts her." The production will be directed by Charles H. Massey, Executive Director of NOHA. This will be his second time directing the show, and he agrees completely with Martin Charnin and will do all in his power to keep it from becoming a cartoon.
One casting note: all of the orphans are girls and they range in age from seven to fourteen. They must all be able to sing independently and work well as a group. They have several numbers and figure strongly into the plot of the show.