Show | What the Butler Saw |
Company | Hardscrabble Theater |
Director | Patrick A. Reilly |
Producer | Joe DiPietro |
Notes | Dr. Prentice, a psychiatric doctor in an exclusive private clinic, is attempting to interview (and seduce) an attractive would-be secretary, Geraldine. Unwittingly surprised by his wife, he hides the girl. The affairs multiply as Mrs. Prentice, being seduced and blackmailed by young bellhop Nicholas Beckett, has promised him the secretarial post. When a government inspector arrives, chaos, underpants, and cross-dressing lead the charge. The final tableau reveals “the missing parts of Winston Churchill” held aloft as the curtain falls. |
Instructions | British accents required |
Rehearsal Dates | September and October, dates TBA |
Performance Dates | Friday Nov 9th & Saturday Nov 10th @ 8pm Sunday Nov 11th @ 2pm Friday Nov 16th & Saturday Nov 17th @ 8pm Sunday Nov 18th @ 2pm |
Questions | Send Mail |
Show Info | The rarely performed raucous farce by Joe Orton, proving the old adage, "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." |
Type | Location | Date | Time |
Open | Hardscrabble Theater, St. Thomas Church 298 Conklin Street Farmingdale | Sep 09 | 7:30 PM |
Open | Hardscrabble Theater, St. Thomas Church 298 Conklin Street Farmingdale | Sep 10 | 7:30 PM |
Roles
Role | M/F | Age | Description | Dr. Prentice (Lead) | M | Dr. Prentice runs the psychiatric clinic in which the play takes place. He is married to Mrs. Prentice and is the father of Geraldine and Nick, although he does not know of his offspring until the end of the play. Dr. Prentice is a sexual predator who is completely lacking in ethics. | Geraldine Barclay (Lead) | F | Geraldine is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Prentice and the sister of Nick. | Mrs. Prentice (Lead) | F | Mrs. Prentice is married to Dr. Prentice and discovers at the end of the play that she is the mother of Geraldine and Nick, whom she abandoned at birth and, consequently, does not recognize. She is characterized as a nymphomaniac who pursues young men. | Nicholas Beckett (Lead) | M | Nick is a hotel page, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Prentice, and the brother of Geraldine, though he only finds out about these relationships at the end of the play. | Dr. Rance (Lead) | M | Dr. Rance is a government official in charge of psychiatric facilities. He is a figure of authority who boasts that he would “have sway over a rabbit hutch if the inmates were mentally disturbed.” Dr. Rance sees everything that happens as a validation of his own preconceived notions. | Sergeant Match (Supporting) | M | Sergeant Match is a policeman who arrives at the clinic searching for Nick, because of Nick’s assault on a group of schoolgirls, and Geraldine, because she possesses the missing piece of the statue of Winston Churchill. |