THE  CHARACTERS

This play is written for 14 characters (some doubling may be cast)

Each cast member will also be required to work at least one day of set construction.

ABBY BREWSTER (Female 50-70 years old) A darling lady, and the very model of Victorian charm and grace, who poisons elderly gentlemen, with her sister as an act of charity. She and her sister Martha seem to be the absolute embodiment of the values and polite society of a bygone age. More dominant, and a bit older than Martha, both ladies are happy, healthy, lucid, and spry. The Aunt to Teddy, Jonathan, and Mortimer.

MARTHA BREWSTER (Female 50-70 years old) Very sweet, but more submissive than Abby, Martha still is a strong woman. She and her sister have lived together for many, many years. Their personalities and pecking order around each other have been firmly rooted for eons. Always wears a high collar. The Aunt to Teddy, Jonathan, and Mortimer.

MORTIMER BREWSTER (Male 30-50 years old) Nephew of Abby and Martha, brother to both Teddy and Jonathan Brewster. A very likable, Mortimer is a drama critic who is in love with, & engaged to Elaine Harper. A good-hearted cynic who is about to have his world turned upside down. PHYSICAL ROLE. Special Note: The actor who plays this role must be comfortable to utterly “LET GO.” Mortimer controls the show. From the discovery of the first body, Mortimer must be electrified. He carries that energy all the way through the show. Physical comedy, perfection of timing in dialog delivery, likability in presence, andan ability to display agility in navigating the rapidly changing circumstances of each scene, absolutely necessary.

TEDDY BREWSTER (40-60 years old) Very likable, kindhearted brother to Mortimer and Jonathan, Nephew of Abby and Martha Brewster, Teddy is a man who believes that he is the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. Extreme dedication and energy is necessary while charging up a flight of stairs and screaming “CHARGE!” PHYSICAL ROLE.

ELAINE HARPER (Female 25-40 years old) An Younger woman, daughter of Rev. Dr. Harper, and Mortimer’s fiancée. She is surprisingly wise in the ways of the world for a minister’s daughter. She is a little bit wily, sassy, and absolutely sharp (Actor seeking this role will need to show genuine zest and spunk. She will also need to display a wonderful sense of versatility.) We witness Elaine progress from casual happiness, to utter bliss, to twisted confusion, to stark fear, to godsend relief, and back to casual happiness again.

JONATHAN BREWSTER (40-60 years old) Nephew of Abby and Martha Brewster, brother to Teddy and Mortimer. Jonathan is a psychopath who has numerous murders to his credit and no scruples whatsoever. He is creepy. Jonathan is a killer, that loves his business and he’s got an unbelievably short temper. Dr. Einstein has changed Jonathan’s face three times, currently resulting in a Boris Karloff resemblance (to which he is a bit sensitive.) Some PHYSICAL work.

DR EINSTEIN (45-55 years old) A German plastic surgeon, with an accent to prove it. Right hand to Jonathan, Dr. Einstein is mousey and submissive to Jonathan. Einstein should be viewed as a good guy whose life has gone bad. The audience truly has to sympathize with this guy. With somewhat of a ratty appearance, his face wears the benevolent smirk of a man who lives in a pleasant haze of alcohol.

THE REVEREND, DR. HARPER (50-70 years old) (Cameo) We only see Elaine Harper’s father in the opening scene; a doctor of divinity, and the minister to the church next door to the Brewster house. The Brewster sisters have seen many ministers come and go over the years, but they seem to be particularly fond of Dr. Harper and vice versa. The actor portraying Dr. Harper should display a sense of polish, refinement, and mild mannered sensitivity towards others. He is not in favor of Mortimer and Elaine’s relationship.

OFFICER BROPHY (25-45 years old) (Cameo) The first police officer we meet in the show, Brophy is a thoroughly likable sort of fellow. Is making his rounds collecting Christmas toys for the needy. Some PHYSICAL work.

OFFICER KLEIN (25-45 years old) (Cameo) A flatfoot Brooklyn officer who makes his rounds with Officer Brophy collecting Christmas toys.

OFFICER O’HARA (any age) (Cameo) He is the quintessential example of an Irish-American police officer: Full of life, good natured and played big. He is on very good terms with the Aunts. O’Hara is a would-be playwright, and needs to plainly display the nagging, persistent drive that’s kindled within him once he discovers that Mortimer is a famous dramatic critic. Well intentioned, O’Hara really doesn’t mean to come across as annoying as he does.

GIBBS (55-80 years old) (Cameo) An elderly gentleman who wishes to rent a room from the Brewster sisters; and nearly falls victim to the sisters “charity”. He is a little gruff, but he warms up fairly quickly upon being offered a treat he hasn’t had since he was a child.

LIEUTENANT ROONEY (50 years old) (Cameo) The man in charge at the local police precinct. Very early in the show we gain a pretty strong understanding of the caliber of men he has to manage under his watch. As such, he has very little patience for blunder and mistakes, and needs to run a pretty tight ship. He is loud, decisive, and clearly in-charge of every situation in which he finds himself.

WITHERSPOON (50-60s years old) (Cameo) The superintendent of Happy Dale Sanitarium. Very mild mannered and kind.

*Some doubling may occur*
**Some smaller roles may be filled by members of the stage crew.*

CREW POSITIONS (15-34 students chosen)
Note: Some students may be staffed into multiple departments, depending on need.

Assistant Director(s) – 2-3 chosen. Must be 10^th,11^th or 12^th grader. AD’s participate in the audition and casting process and work alongside Mr Cohen throughout the rehearsal process. AD’s take blocking notes, work with actors on their character development process, run some of the rehearsals and provide additional support to cast in their preparation. Assistant Directing a production with Mr. Cohen is a pre-requisite for anyone hoping to direct the annual Student Production.

Stage Manager – 1-2 chosen. Must be 11^th or 12^th grader. The SM works with Mr Cohen in helping to lead the stage crew through the production process. They deal with much of the production business and, with their ASM’s, oversee most of production. During the rehearsal process, they track the technical elements that are being introduced to the staging to ensure prop and costume lists are up to date. The Stage Manager is expected to be a part of the crew interview process.

Assistant Stage Manager/Crew Leads – 2-5 chosen. Must be 10^th,11^th or 12^th grader. ASMs work with the SMs and Mr Cohen to help make sure that the staging side of production is in coordination with the technical side. Maintaining prop lists, managing small crew departments and build groups and house management fall under the purview of the ASM’s. As Department leads, ASM’s will are expected to be a part of the crew interview process.

Production Interns – 1-2 chosen. Production Interns work with the Assistant Directors learning from them and assisting in the business side of the production as well.

Dramaturgs – 1-2 chosen. A dramaturg is the expert on the show, conducting in-depth research about the text and the playwright to understand references made in the script. This may include additional research of any source material used in the creation of the show, consulting on design, directing or acting choices. Dramaturgs are at most cast calls.

Lighting – 2-5 chosen. All grades. Members of the lighting crew will learn about how our lighting system works and about the concepts of lighting design and implementation. Student lighting crew will work with the lighting designer and electrician team from StreetLite, LLC on the light hang and focus days. 1-2 students from lighting crew will run the light board during performances.

Sound – 3-6 chosen. All grades. Members of the sound crew will learn about how our sound system and about the concepts of design and implementation. Student sound crew will receive training in mixing and microphone maintenance. Two students will be working in the sound booth during performances mixing and cue-ing the show. In addition, an A3 from sound crew will work backstage as additional microphone support.

Props – 3-5 chosen. All grades. Working with an AD and a crew lead, the Props team will build and maintain a props list for the production. They will built or coordinate acquisition of props from off campus. As props are brought in, they will work to organize and track props and provide prop support to cast.

Running Crew – 2-5 chosen. The Running Crew works backstage during performance executing scene shifts. Most members of Running Crew also serve on Set Construction.

Publicity – 2-5 chosen. All grades. Working with a crew lead, the publicity helps to implement the publicity plan for the production; including, but not limited to poster/program/artwork design, advertising creation and trailer creation.

Costumes/Makeup – 4-8 chosen. All grades. Working with a crew lead, the costume crew helps to track costume needs of actors. Working with our costume designer, they help to track and maintain costume pieces throughout the tech and performance weeks, as well as help with makeup/hair design and implementation. Basic sewing skills are a plus, but not a must.

Set Construction Crew – Up to 10. All grades. At PVPHS we build our own set pieces. Working with Mr. Cohen, the entire stage crew is involved in this process. Depending on interest and number of crew applications some members may be brought in as set construction only. If anyone has the experience and interest, a construction foreperson will be assigned.

*Some smaller roles in the cast may be filled by members of stage crew.*