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Breakdown
LOST IN YONKERS
By Neil Simon
Director: Jenn Thompson
Rehearsals: June 23rd – July 15th
Runs: July 16th – August 1st
Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, set in Yonkers in 1942, chronicles the story of two young brothers, Arty and Jay Kurnitz, left in the care of the dysfunctional extended family they hardly know. Hard-hearted Grandma Kurnitz extols her own punishing brand of tough love while their tender and mentally challenged Aunt Bella offers unintended lessons in courage and resolve. As a war rages halfway across the world, a subtler generational battle is waged in the Kurnitz home, echoing the growing pains and hard truths of a nation and a family.
SEEKING:
Aunt Gert:
Grandma Kurnitz's daughter and Arty's and Jay's aunt. As the result of her harsh upbringing, Gert has developed a breathing problem that causes her to start each sentence breathing out and to end the sentence sucking in. This problem is more pronounced when she is visiting her mother. late 30s–40s.
Eddie Kurnitz
Grieving widower and the son of Grandma Kurnitz and the father of Jay and Arty Kurnitz. Forced into debt by his late wife’s illness he leaves his boys with his mother as he works to pay off his loans. 40s
Grandma Kurnitz
Mother of Eddie, Bella, Louie, and Gert, and the grandmother of Jay and Arty Kurnitz. A closed-off and stern widow, who has raised her four children with an iron fist leaving each of them debilitated in some way. German accent. 70s.
Jay Kurnitz
15-year-old boy, is Eddie's oldest son. Jay is forced to live with his Grandma Kurnitz for ten months while his father works off a debt to a loan shark. Smart and responsible, Jay takes on the role of protector in his father’s absence.
Arty Kurnitz
13 -year-old boy, is Eddie's youngest son. Arty is forced to live with his grandma Kurnitz for ten months while his father works off a debt to a loan shark. Resilient and adaptable, he often uses wise-cracks to cope with his stress and fear.
Louie Kurnitz
Son of Grandma Kurnitz and the uncle of Jay and Arty Kurnitz. Louie is a low-level thug and henchman who is wanted by the mob. Mercurial and charming, his young and impressionable nephews are immediately drawn to his glamorous persona. Late 30s
Bella Kurwitz
Grandma Kurnitz's mentally impaired daughter and the aunt of Jay and Arty Kurnitz. Bella is a dreamer caught in a perpetual state of adolescence. Desirous of a life, beyond working and caring for her mother, Bella dreams of falling in love and having a family of her own. Mid 30s.
**ALL CHARACTERS, with the exception of Grandma Kurnitz, should have New York accents
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HIS GIRL FRIDAY
Adapted by John Guare from The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur and the Columbia Pictures film
Director: Julianne Boyd
Rehearsals: July 14-August 5th
Runs: August 6th – August 30th
Editor Walter Burns will do anything to find an ace reporter to cover a major story in the fast-paced, cutthroat Chicago press world, even if it means turning to his ex-wife, Hildy Johnson, who's come back to the newsroom one last time before leaving the game for good. In Guare’s version, the play takes place on August 31, 1939, the day before war breaks out in Europe, which adds a political framework to the otherwise antic proceedings. One of the greatest screwball comedies of all time. All actors must have brilliant comic timing.
SEEKING:
Walter Burns
40s. The editor of a top Chicago newspaper. Smart, clever, suave and cutthroat. Willing to do anything to get a great story but is also one of the few newspapermen in Chicago not afraid to report the truth. ROLE CAST.
Hildy Johnson
Mid 30s-early 40s. An ace reporter tough enough to be the best in a man's world. Sassy, smart, sophisticated. Walter’s ex-wife.
Bruce Baldwin
Mid 30s-early 40s. Well-to-do insurance salesman and fiancé of Hildy. A bit of a stiff but he means well. Unprepared for the high-octane newsroom. Loves to spoil Hildy but unaware of her deep love for the newsroom - and Walter. ROLE CAST.
Mrs. Baldwin
60s. Bruce's mother. A no-nonsense, humorless dowager who's not a huge fan of her son's choice of bride. Tough but easily flummoxed when things don’t go her way. ROLE CAST.
Bensinger
Late 20s-30s. A prissy reporter. Uptight. Germaphobe. A loner who wants to fit in. Naïve, believes what anyone tells him. Also plays Pinkus - (late 20s-30s) An aide to the Governor. A nebbish with a backbone who the Mayor and Sheriff think they can take advantage of. They learn differently. Nervous he’ll do something wrong and disappoint his wife and children.
Sheriff
Late 30s-50s. A less than upstanding member of Chicago’s finest. Cheats on his wife and the people of Chicago. In cahoots with the Mayor. Pompous, dogmatic, out for himself.
Mayor
40s-60s. Will do anything to win reelection. In cahoots with the Sheriff. Impatient, dictatorial, and doesn’t like it when the Sheriff messes up plans. Also plays Minister - (40s-60s) - Quiet, shy, very patient. ROLE CAST.
Earl Holub
20s-30s. A Jewish immigrant set to hang for killing a German cop. Frightened, desperate, knows he’s been set up. Understands what’s happening in Europe with Hitler while many of the Chicago reporters and cops either don’t understand or refuse to admit it. Also plays Ralph Sweeney - (20s) Young reporter and expectant father. Very green. Very nervous. Looks 16.
Mollie Malloy
20s-30s. A hooker with a heart of gold. Tries to stand up for what’s right. Has a soft spot for Earl Holub – knows he’s been railroaded and is upset by it. (role intended to be cast Non-Equity)
Woodenshoes Eichorn
30s-40s. A big oaf of a cop, not too bright. Caretaker of the newsroom, which includes the reporters. Amiable, with German accent. Also plays Diamond Louie - (30s-50s) A hustler who has Chicago's underbelly in the palm of his hand. (role intended to be cast Non-Equity)
The following reporters are the mainstay of the newsroom. Looking for 5 different types of character men who are totally comfortable in a fast-paced, wise-cracking newsroom. These men are more interested in a sensational story than in reporting the truth.
Schwartz
30s-40s. Hard-hitting reporter with great comic style. Has a sick wife and two kids. Nervous about his family.
Wilson
40s-50s. Hard-hitting reporter with great comic style.
McCue
40s-50s. Hard-hitting reporter and aspiring novelist. He has a flair for the dramatic and great comic style.
Kruger
30s – 40s. Would rather play his harmonica than hustle to get a great story. Must play the harmonica well.
Endicott
20s-30s. Hard-hitting reporter with great comic style. The youngest of the group. Non Equity.
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VEILS
By Tom Coash
Director: Giovanna Sardelli
When Intisar, an African American Muslim student, arrives in Cairo for a year abroad, she hopes to finally be understood. She’s quickly enlisted by her exuberant Egyptian roommate, Samar, to help create a blog debating the practice of wearing veils, but when the Arab Spring intervenes, revolution threatens to overtake their friendship.
Rehearsals: September 8th – September 30th
Runs: October 1st – October 18th
SEEKING:
Intisar
Female, African American Muslim, 20-23 years old, wears a veil (hijab) that is wrapped snugly around her head covering her hair but not her face. Inti is a strong-willed, intelligent, passionate young woman who is doing a year abroad at the American Egyptian University, a Middle-Eastern/Religious Studies major.
Samar
Female, Egyptian Muslim, 20-23 years old, does not wear a veil. Samar dresses in chic, western clothes, modestly dressed when she goes out, not so modest at home or among friends. She often wears a NY Yankees baseball hat. She is also a student at AEU, studying journalism. Well off, cosmopolitan, speaks Arabic, French and English. Friendly, outgoing.
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