Audition Dates: November 20 & 21

7:00pm

Adapted by: Neil Simon | Directed by Julie Macklin

Characters: 

• JAY (Male* – Age range: 16-20) – Independent, jokester type who sometimes gets carried away with the situations going on around him; the play tells his coming-of-age story. *Per the script this character must be played as a male but any gender welcome to audition. Possible double cast.
• ARTY (Male* – Age range: 13-17) – Jay’s younger brother, he is 13 years old. More of an observer than the rest of his family, he often goes with the flow of things, but also can be a little childish. *Per the script this character must be played as a male but any gender welcome to audition. Possible double cast.
• EDDIE (Male – Age range:40-50) – Jay’s middle-aged father. After the death of his wife, he is forced to send his two sons to live with their grandmother, while he repays his large financial debts. He is shown to be, much like his sisters, a nervous wreck around Grandma
• BELLA (Female – Age range: 30-40) – Jay’s thirty-five-year-old aunt. She is sometimes a bit off-center and is mentally challenged, but despite this she is also loving and protective of her nephews. Much of the second half of the play focuses on her attempts at independence from her stern mother.
• GRANDMA KURNITZ (Female – Age range: 40-70) – Eddie and Bella’s mother, a big woman, buxom, with a strong and erect body, 70 odd years of age. Jay’s grandmother. A very old and stern woman. Owing to her harsh childhood, she has always been very intolerant of what in others she calls “weaknesses”. She is blunt, sometimes even in a funny way, and always knows what is going on with the people around her
• LOUIE (Male – Age range: 30-40) – Jay’s flamboyant, jovial uncle, in his late 30s, who comes to live with the family when he is hiding from the local mob. He is considered by Grandma Kurnitz to be the “survivor” of the family. He has a strong, mercurial nature, and a certain underlying dark side, which the kids uncover in the second act of the play. He works as a “bag-man” for the mob.
• AUNT GERT (Female – Age range: 30-40) – Jay’s aunt, and Grandma’s daughter. She is a very interesting addition to the family. Her most noticeable issue is that when she breathes she has a tendency to suck in while still speaking, as a result of trauma instilled in her by Grandma from a young age.

Preparation for Auditions: 

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script.