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| The Violet Hour by Richard Greenberg
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 | John Pace Seavering - Mid 20's, a waspish, pleasant young man who aspires to become a literary publisher. He is a graduate of Princeton University who went on to serve as an officer in the army during World War I. From a wealthy family, with just enough money to publish one book, he chooses to strike out on his own rather than do his father's bidding. |
| Denis McCleary - Mid-20's, from a middle class background. A talented, aspiring novelist (think F. Scott Fitzgerald). A former Princeton classmate of Seavering who was most likely a scholarship student. He is desperate to get his first novel published so he can demonstrate to the family of the woman he loves that he can provide for her in the very privileged manner to which she has become accustomed. His drinking will ultimately affect his life dramatically. |
| Rosamund Plinth - Early to mid 20's. Very attractive (think Zelda Fitzgerald). Daughter of a wealthy cattle baron, she is used to the finer things in life, but is willing to give them up to be with Denis her own true love. She is somewhat fragile and given to bouts of suicidal depression. |
| Jessie Brewster - 40-50. African-American. Very attractive and outspoken, she is a famous songstress who made a huge career for herself in Europe (think Josephine Baker). She is the mistress of John Pace Seavering and is pressing him to publish her somewhat risqué and revealing memoirs. |
| Gidger - 30-40. Assistant to publisher Seavering. He is sharp-tongued, quirky, very funny, and prone to hysteria. Highly educated, he feels undervalued by his employer and tends to wallow in his martyrdom. |
About the show:
Synopsis:
Originally commissioned and produced by the South Coast Repertory Theatre in
California, this thought-provoking drama received its Broadway debut in 2003 at
the Manhattan Theatre Club. The play is set in 1919 in the New York office of
novice publisher John Pace Seavering, who has obtained just enough money from
his wealthy father to publish one novel. He is faced with a dilemma: Whether to
publish the gargantuan first novel of his former Princeton roommate or the
provocative and revealing memoirs of his African-American mistress, an older
woman who happens to be a famous chanteuse. His former roommate is pressing him
to publish his novel because he desperately needs to prove to his wealthy future
in-laws that he has prospects as a writer. Otherwise they'll cut his fiancée off
without a dime. The chanteuse is equally anxious because she knows that time is
running out for her. Into the middle of this muddle steps the quirky and
acid-tongued assistant to the publisher who provides a great deal of comic
relief and announces that a very strange machine has just been delivered to the
office. This sci-fi twist will have audiences gaping in amazement.
It is generally believed that the character of the publisher Seavering is loosely based on the well-known publisher of the time, Maxwell Perkins, (mentor to Hemingway, Wolfe, Fitzgerald and others) and that the former college chum and his fiancée are based on F. Scott and Zelda Fitzerald. The black Jazz-age songstress Josephine Baker is thought to be the model for Seavering's mistress.
Richard Greenberg has written more than 25 plays, many of which have won awards. He received the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Play for "Take Me Out" His play "Three Days of Rain" was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1998 and also received the Olivier, Drama Desk, and Hull Warriner nominations and won the L.A. Critics Circle Award.
Performance Dates: January 22 - February 13
January 22, 23, (24), 29, 30, (31), February 5, 6, 11(tbd), 12, 13
All performances at 8 pm except Sunday, the 24th at 3 pm, and Sunday the 31st at
7 pm. (no Sunday show on Feb 7 -- aka Super Bowl Sunday)
Please note there is also a TBD Thursday performance (the 11th, also at 8 pm -
if ticket sales warrant the extra performance)
All roles OPEN, no pre-casting is allowed at ESP. All roles are volunteer positions.
For more information:
You can contact the director or producer by sending a message to webmaster @
eldenstreetplayers.org
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Send mail to "webmaster @ eldenstreetplayers.org" with questions or comments
about this web site.
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