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Where the Audience Is the Lucky One! Lucky StiffBook& Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty Based on The Man Who Broke The Bank At Monte Carlo by Michael Butterworth Directed by Timothy D. Turner Musical Direction by Timothy D. Turner Set & Lighting Design by Timothy D. Turner auditions in Jaunary 2007, information below! 6 male and 4 females needed Performances on March 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 30, 31 @ 8 p.m. // 18, 25, April 1 @ 2:00 p.m. at The Daytona Playhouse of Daytona Beach, Florida (click for map) Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the authors of “Once On This Island,” “My Favorite Year,” “Ragtime” and the animated film “Anastasia” exploded on the musical theatre scene with this zany, offbeat, and very funny murder mystery farce about an unassuming English shoe salesman forced to take the corpse of his recently-murdered Atlantic City croupier uncle on a week-long vacation to Monte Carlo. Should he succeed, Harry Witherspoon stands to inherit $6,000,000. If not, the money goes to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. The proceedings are sheer lunacy as Harry comes up against his uncle’s insanely jealous and legally blind mistress, her much put-upon optometrist brother and Annabel Glick, a zealous representative from the Universal Dog Home determined to see Harry’s inheritance “go to the dogs.” Originally played on a unit set, “Lucky Stiff” is an intimate show with extremely modest production requirements. A small ensemble cast has plenty to do, playing a variety of bizarre, memorable roles. Exuberant, energetic, and impeccably crafted, “Lucky Stiff” is above all fun, with a sly, contemporary sensibility.LUCKY STIFF was the first Ahrens & Flaherty work to be produced. It opened at Playwrights Horizons in New York on April 26, 1988, and was enthusiastically received, earning the 1988 Richard Rodgers Production Award. In 1990, a production at the Olney Theater in Maryland was awarded the Helen Hayes Award for Best Musical. In 2003, Lucky Stiff was revived for five performances as part of the York Theatre's Musicals in Mufti series. Five members of the original Playwright's Horizons cast (Stuart Zagnit, Mary Testa, Barbara Rosenblat, Paul Kandel and Ron Faber) returned to recreate their roles. That cast also included Malcolm Gets as Harry and Janet Metz as Annabelle Glick. Based on the novel The Man Who Broke The Bank at Monte Carlo by Michael Butterworth, Lucky Stiff is a musical farce in the best sense of the word!! The complicated and hysterically funny plot involves one dead body, a nerdy English shoe salesman, six million bucks in diamonds, and a lot of dogs!! Although it might seem hard to folllow, listen to the CD and you will be able to follow the story effortlessly, thanks to the brilliantly concise and witty lyrics. On the first listening, the two songs which stand out are "Nice" and "Times Like This," but as you become more familiar with the score, you will really begin to appreciate the humor that is the foundation of the show. Opened at Playwrights Horizons April 26, 1988 CastCorey Sowers portrays Harry Witherspoon
Mathew Hudson portrays Body of Tony Hendon / Commuter on Train Christa Toney portrays Annabel Glick / Commuter Nicole Hopper portrays Rita La Porta / Commuter Danny Crile portrays Vincent Di Ruzzio / Commuter Dan Kerr portrays Luigi Gaudi / Voice of Tony Hendon (On Tape) / Commuter / Arab Kylie Koscoe portrays Landlady / Miss Thorsby The Secretary / Puerto Rican Nurse / Southern Lady #1 / French Airline Voice (Taped) / Dancing Portrait / Drunken Maid Nicole Smith portrays Spinster / Southern Lady #2 / Dancing Roulette Wheel / Dominique Du Monaco David Snodgrass portrays Surly Lorry Driver / Solicitor / Prosperous Man On Train / Clothing Salesman / French Emcee / Croupier / Nun / Old Texan Nikki Scofield portrays Offstage Telegram Deliverer / Vicious Punk / Mr. Loomis The Eye Patient / French Waiter On Train / Stationmaster’s Voice (Taped) / Bellhop / French Waiter in Club / Dapped Gambler / Leper Director BiographyTimothy D. Turner has been performing professionally for 27 years in professional & commercial productions, on stage and screen, with celebrities such as Rita Marino & Marvin Hamlisch and groups like Canadian Brass & the King’s Singers. He has directed and produced theatre, cabarets, stage shows, concerts and film for more than 20 years throughout the continental United States and Europe. Although this is his 6th production at Daytona Playhouse, this show marks his 73rd production in the area since his relocation to Central Florida in 2001. He holds a BM in Performance from Millikin University and works as a director, performer, performance coach, clinician, producer, composer, community organizer and writer. Currently, he resides in Longwood, Florida just north of Orlando, but he travels extensively as a working professional.
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Author's NotesDOUBLING PARTS: Although you may want to assign each of the small supporting parts to a different actor, we think alot of the fun of LUCKY STIFF comes in seeing the same four people playing a myraid of comic characters. It's almost magical when a raucous English landlady transforms herself seconds later to a prim secretary, and seconds after that into a Puerto Rican nurse. We learned in our first production that the fast offstage costume changes can be frantic, so please be kind to your actors and use a lot of Velcro!
SETS: The script is written in a filmic way with fast scene changes, and many different locales, so the simpler, more stylized and fluid the sets, the better. The Playwrights Horizons production used sliding panels which opened and closed to indicate different places, and painted cutouts to create atmosphere--a palm tree for outdoor Monte Carlo, a giant eye chart for the optometrist's office, a spinning propeller for the airplane, etc. CHARACTERS: We've found that LUCKY STIFF works best when the characters are played with real conviction. Don't let them turn into cartoons, you'll have a funnier show. SOME SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS: In the Playwrights version of the "Day Around Town Dance" in Act I, ensemble people physically became the different sights and activities that Harry and Annabel encountered. For instance, when they went shopping, one man WAS the clothing store. (He wore a stack of hats, a suit made out of ties and pocket handkerchiefs.) Similarly, another actor became a dancing portrait in a museum, and still another was a dancing roulette wheel. This is one stylized solution which eleiminates the need for additional sets. The nightmare in Act II was done with blacklighting, and glow-in-the-dark dog masks, each mask styled so that you could recognize the character. (Dominique Du Monaco was a poodle with long eyelashes and a feather headdress; Uncle was a bulldog with dark glasses and a hat; etc.) Again, this is only one solution. In the Club Continentale, cutout silhouettes of people were used to give the feeling of a crowded club full of romantic couples. UNCLE: We feel Uncle should be played by a live actor and not a dummy, if at all possible. It's funnier, darker, and more shocking to see a real person in that wheelchair. You can also have a lot of fun with "Uncleography"--choreographing small moments in whih he can lurch forward on a fast stop, bounce in rhythm to the train's motion, etc. Int the New York production, all VOICE OF TONY HENDON sections were taped. BLACKOUTS:The fewer better. We tried to eliminate most blackouts, and only kept them when absolutely necessary. We like scenes overlapping. In a few places where we did use a blackout, we used taped voice-overs and music to cover the blackout. If you can eliminate the need for these blackouts in your production, so much the better. PACING: We like it breakneck, and have tried to write the show that way. "LUCKY STIFF" is a bubble that ought to be kept in the air at all times. OUR best wishes for a great production. Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty Production Company Information
The Daytona Playhouse
Since 1946, they have entertained appreciative audiences with wonderful performances in the very best community theater tradition. The Playhouse, a nonprofit organization, is also a source of numerous and varied volunteer opportunities in theater management and production. CLICK HERE for information page |
"The Story That You're About to Hear Is Strange we Know
But there's a little saying and it's apropos Where there's a will There's a Way" 
Audition InformationPlease prepare a monologue or “an interesting story” and an upbeat musical selection--bring sheet music in your key. An accompanist will be provided. Please bring music in your key. CD accompaniment discouraged as this will be a live musical production. Please come dressed and prepared to learn a short partnered dance routine for your audition.
January 21 & 22 7 - 10 p.m. Daytona Playhouse of Daytona Beach, FL (click for map) Daytona Playhouse information (386) 255-2431 CAST OF CHARACTERS Characters Role Age Sex Voice Range Dancing HARRY WITHERSPOON - A shy sweet-natured and insecure young Englishman, working as an underpaid shoe salesman in a dreary London suburb. Lonely, and beset by dogs and prying neighbors in his boardinghouse, Harry knows that life is passing him by, but feels incapable of making any changes or taking chances. Lead 28 – 36 M Tenor Light ANNABEL GLICK - A representative of the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. Annabel is a young woman with a natural bent for causes. She takes life very seriously, and denies herself any small pleasures, for fear that if she waits for happiness to knock, it won't. Instead, she dedicates herself to good works. Annabel is the type who wears protests buttons and carries a bag full of useful things like tire guages and granola bars. Lead 26 – 34 F Alto Light RITA LA PORTA - A handsome, hard-edged woman with an extremely volatile nature and a severe case of nearsightedness. Rita is passionate, impulsive, jealous, manipulative and very insecure about her looks. She is also putty in the hands of the man she adores. Things often get out of control when Rita is present. She is a chain smoker. Supporting 38 – 46 F Alto Light Dominique Du Monaco — A French night club singer. Supporting 23 – 33 F Alto Intense DR. VINCENT (VINNIE) DI RUZZIO - Rita La Porta's brother. An optometrist. A nervous and conservative man, a pillar of the community and a person who would never do anything out of the ordinary, risky or controversial. Vinnie is allergic to smoke. Supporting 38 – 46 M Baritone Light LUIGI GAUDI - A boisterous and gregarious Italian. Luigi is a pivotal character, although his part is relatively small. He wears a beard, and perhaps an eye patch. Supporting 46 – 54 M Tenor Light ENSEMBLE PLAYERS - These performers (2 Men, 2 Women) double a variety of parts, including: An English landlady; her boarders; an English solicitor; travelers on a train; a French waiter; a bellhop; tourists; gamblers; an emcee; a French nightclub entertainer and others. Chorus 20 – 65 N/A N/A Medium THE DEAD BODY OF ANTHONY HENDON Supporting 45 – 60 M Mute Medium |