Auditions: Monday 18th December 2006 - Prompt – 8pm, Tuesday 19th December 2006 – Rehearsal Room – 8pm Performances: Tuesday 3rd – 7th April 2007, Bell Theatre
A cynical play of family greed and revenge not unlike a Greek classical tragedy. Set in the 1900s, the wealthy Hubbard family steal, deceive and plot against each other in their efforts to invest in one of the first cotton mills to industrialize the Deep American South - a plan which will make them millions of dollars. Regina takes dramatic revenge on her sick husband when he obstructs her from taking part in her brothers’ investment. Their daughter, Alexandra, is too young to defy their plans and neither can Aunt Birdie, who drinks to anaesthetize the pain of having married a bully and having lost her own family's plantation to the rapacious Hubbards.
The satiric element of the play consists of its condemnation of the family’s crimes against society. Their ancestors attained wealth by overcharging newly freed slaves and now the Hubbards will create a larger dynasty on the toil of poor workers, who will flock to the cotton mill for its paltry wages.
Cast
Regina Giddens (née Hubbard) – a handsome woman late 30s/40
Horace Giddens – her husband, once good looking, now faded by serious illness, 40s
Alexandra Giddens – their daughter, a pretty, delicate-looking girl about 17
Addie – a lovely- natured Negro woman in charge of household and was Alexandra’s nursemaid
Cal – a cheerful Negro manservant – not too bright
Oscar Hubbard –one of Regina’s brothers, serious and with a streak of cruelty, late 40s
Birdie –his pretty, well-bred, slightly faded wife -swings from nervous/timid to overexcited 40ish
Leo Hubbard - their son, fairly good looking but with a weak and crafty disposition, 20s
Ben Hubbard – another of Regina’s brothers, cheerful, jovial and plump, in his 50s
William Marshall –a pleasant looking, self-possessed businessman of about 40+
As with all our casting at SLT, we can be flexible here on ages to a certain extent as long as we can match people together. This is set in the Deep South and accents would be preferable. I have tapes to help you but I don’t want it sounding like something from "Gone with the Wind"! This is also very non PC as we have two Negro servants which are absolutely integral to the action of the play and all it stands for. They do not just come on and off serving drinks – they are wonderful parts with plenty of speaking lines. I have not included ages for them but obviously Addie has to be mature enough to be head of the household. Cal can be younger if necessary.
For more details, please contact Jenny Gammon Director
