Information for the Fenton Village Players production of Run for Your Wife (auditions are January 13 and 14 at 6:30 at the Fenton Village Playhouse). Performance dates are March 5-15. PLOT: A London cab driver, John Smith, literally has two lives, complete with two different wives, Mary and Barbara. Somehow, he manages to juggle them both without arousing suspicion. However, he gets caught up in a mugging, and he wakes up in a hospital. He ends up with Mary instead of with Barbara, with whom he should be at the moment, and he now has to deal with explaining this problem to both of his wives and the police all at once. CHARACTER BREAKDOWNS (SIX MALE ROLES, TWO FEMALE ROLES): John Smith Late 20s to early 30s John is a cab driver who by all appearances is absolutely average. Except, as it happens, he is secretly married to two women at the same time. He’s somewhat high-strung and prone to panic . . . especially when it becomes obvious his secret is about to be revealed to both the wives and the police. Stanley Gardner Late 20s to late 30s Stanley rents a loft above John and Mary Smith. He’s an eternal moocher, and is drawn into John’s deception and despite himself, can’t help but go to great lengths to help John pull it off. Mary Smith Late 20s to early 30s Mary is a short, attractive blonde who thinks the biggest problem in her life is her annoying neighbor, Stanley. She has no clue that her husband, John, secretly married another woman a few months after marrying her. Mary is rather conservative, and becomes hysterical when a police officer convinces her that Stanley and John are gay lovers shacking up in the next town over. (Note: Mary ends up in her underwear for a short period on stage.) Barbara Smith Late 20s to early 30s Barbara met the nicest cab driver named John Smith, and after a short time, asked him to marry her. He accepted, and they had a nice civil ceremony. Unfortunately, Barbara is completely unaware that John was already married to Mary. Barbara is tall and seductive (preferably a redhead or a brunette, to contrast with Mary). She’s very much a modern woman, quite into fashion and trendiness, and doesn’t bat an eye when a gay neighbor moves in upstairs. She wants nothing more than to spend the day in bed with her husband. Det. Sgt. Troughton Early 30s to early 40s Det. Sgt. Troughton is a plainclothes detective with the Wimbledon police department. He has been assigned to a case in which an old woman was mugged by a gang of youths, and a cab driver named John Smith came to her rescue. Mr. Smith suffered a head injury in the process, and all Det. Sgt. Troughton wants to do is get the poor man home safely and clear up some confusion over his proper address (since Mr. Smith gave one address to the police and a different address to the hospital). He’s a bit old-fashioned, and is clearly disapproving (to the point of rudeness) when John announces that he and Stanley are lovers. Det. Sgt. Porterhouse Mid 40s to mid 50s Det. Sgt. Porterhouse is a plainclothes detective with the Streatham police department. He has been tasked with finding Barbara’s missing husband and clearing up why the hospital thinks Mr. Smith lives in Wimbledon. He’s quite happy to share his wisdom regarding marriage, whether anyone wants to hear it or not. Bobby Franklyn Mid 20s to early 50s Bobby is Barbara’s new upstairs neighbor. He is partners (in more than one sense of the word) with Cyril (who we, sadly, never get to meet) and they design dresses for a living. Bobby is over-the-top exuberantly flamboyant, and is completely unapologetic about it . . . he’s very much like Richard Simmons without the workout gear. Outgoing and extremely gregarious, Bobby wants to be friends with everyone . . . and you get the impression he usually gets his way. Reporter Age Indeterminate This newspaper reporter got a great scoop on a local hero: a cab driver who saved a little old lady from certain doom as she was being attacked by a gang of local thugs. He’s been assigned to get the story and a photo for the front page of The Standard, and he’s going to get his story, no matter what. (Unfortunately, he may also get a black eye for his troubles.)
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 02:49:29 +0000
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