Auditions for You Can't Take It With You!


The Franklin Performing Arts Company is excited to announce open auditions for You Can't Take it With You!
Auditions open to ages 16+ on Saturday, December 15 at 1 pm OR by appointment. To schedule an appointment, call 508-528-3370 or email Raye Lynn Mercer at rlmercer@fpaconline.com. 
You may prepare a monologue or sides will be available.
The show runs January 25-27 at THE BLACK BOX.

You Can't Take It With You, by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, is a classic comedy about a family living “to the beat of a different drum”. Set in the summer of 1938 in New York City, the play introduces audiences to the freethinking Sycamore family and the mishaps and mayhem that ensue when their daughter's fiancé brings his conservative, straight-laced parents to dinner on the wrong night. You Can’t Take It with You won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the screen adaptation won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director.

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Penelope “Penny” Sycamore (to play 40s)
Usually goes by Penny, Penelope is the mother of Essie and Alice, wife of Paul, and daughter of Martin. She writes plays and paints as hobbies because it makes her happy, but is terrible at both. Penny is a loving mother and wife and is constantly concerned with the welfare of her family. Her main goal is to make sure everyone is happy, particularly her daughter Alice.
Martin “Grandpa” Vanderhof (to play 60s)
Referred to mostly as Grandpa in the play. Father-in-law to Paul, father of Penny, grandfather of Alice and Essie. He is an eccentric happy old man who has never paid his income tax because he doesn't believe in it, as he feels that the government wouldn't know what to do with the money if he paid for it. He lives his life by the philosophy: “Don't do anything that you're not going to enjoy doing.” He goes to circuses, commencements, throws darts, and collects stamps. 
Alice Sycamore (to play 20s)
Fiancé of Tony Kirby, daughter of Paul and Penny, Granddaughter of Martin, sister of Essie. She the only "normal" family member. She has an office job, and is rather embarrassed by the eccentricities of her family when she has Tony and his parents at her house, yet she still loves
them. She tends to be a pessimist. 
Tony Kirby (to play 20s)
Fiancé of Alice, Son of Mr. and Mrs. Kirby. He sees how, even though the Sycamores appear odd, they are really the perfect family because they love and care about each other. His own family is very proper and has many issues none of them will admit. He is vice president of Kirby and Co. 
Anthony W. Kirby (to play 40s)
Husband of Mrs. Kirby, father of Tony. He is a very proper man who is president of Kirby and Co. and secretly despises his job. His hobby is raising expensive orchids. He is also a member of the Harvard Society, the Union Club, the National Geographic Society, and the Racquet Club. 
Essie Carmichael (to play mid 20s)
Wife of Ed, daughter of Penny and Paul Sycamore, Granddaughter of Martin, sister of Alice. She is childish. As a hobby she makes candy that Ed sells. Essie dreams of being a ballerina. She has spent 8 years studying with Boris Kolenkhov, but is a terrible dancer. 
Boris Kolenkhov (to play 30s)
A Russian who escaped to America shortly before the Russian Revolution. He is very concerned with world politics, and the deterioration of Russia. He is the ballet instructor of Essie, aware that she is untalented at dancing, but knows that she enjoys dancing so he keeps working with her. He likes the Greeks and the Romans, questions society, and is interested in world affairs. He is opinionated and often loudly declares that something "stinks"! 
Paul Sycamore (to play 40s)
Father of Essie and Alice, husband of Penny, Son-in-law of Martin. He is a Tinker who manufactures fireworks in the basement with the help of his assistant Mr. De Pinna. His hobby is playing with erector sets. 
Ed Carmichael (to play mid 20s)
Husband of Essie, son-in-law of Paul and Penny. He is a xylophone player, and distributes Essie's candies. Ed is an amateur printer who prints anything that sounds good to him. He prints up dinner menus for his family and little quotes that he places in the boxes of Essie's candy. He also likes to make masks. 
Mr. De Pinna (to play 30s)
The iceman who came inside to speak to Paul five years before, and never left. He helps Mr. Sycamore build fireworks, and moonlights as a model in Mrs. Sycamore's paintings. He is a nutty guy. This is kind of a side-kick role to Paul.
Donald 
The boyfriend of Rheba, who seems to serve as volunteer handyman for the Sycamores. In the words of Mrs. Sycamore, "The two of them are really cute together, something like Porgy and Bess." 
Rheba 
The maid and cook to the Sycamore family. She is dating Donald. She is onstage a lot, but doesn’t necessarily say anything. 
Wilbur C. Henderson 
An employee of the IRS. He comes to collect the tax money owed by Grandpa, and can't understand why the latter won't pay income tax. A one-scene role that has brought out tons of laughs and stomach cramps from audience all over. 
Miriam Kirby (to play 40s)
Wife of Mr. Kirby, mother of Tony. She is an extremely prim and proper woman and is horrified by the goings-on in the Sycamore household. Her hobby is spiritualism.
The Grand Duchess Olga Katrina (to play 40s)
She was one of the Grand Duchesses of Russia before the Revolution, another being her sister, the Grand Duchess Natasha. Since then she has been forced to flee to America where she has found work as a waitress in Childs Restaurant. The rest of her family has had a similar fate, such as her Uncle Sergei, the Grand Duke, who is now an elevator man. She loves to cook as a hobby. 
Gay Wellington 
An actress whom Mrs. Sycamore meets on a bus and invites home to read one of her plays. She is an alcoholic, gets very drunk and passes out shortly after arriving at the Sycamore's home. 
G-Man 1 “The Man,” G-Man 2 “Jim,” G-Man 3 “Mac”
Three agents who come to investigate Ed because of the
communist things he prints up, such as "God is the State – the State is God".


Saturday
15 December
2018
ALL DAY

Location

THE BLACK BOX
15 West Central Street
Franklin MA 02038
United States


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