Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: The Man Who Came to Dinner

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Juliet
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Topic: The Man Who Came to Dinner
Posted: 4/12/05 at 9:53pm

Could someone give me the cast list and a short description of each character in "the man who came to dinner"? It would be greatly appreciated.

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Kathy S
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Posted: 4/13/05 at 2:05am

This is a big job -- this is a BIG cast. A better way to approach this question is to go to a Samuel French catalog and look it up...(I'm pretty sure that is the company that handles the rights.) You can probably find the information on their website.

It is still a very funny show, although many of the 1930's references seem terribly obscure.

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JCCTony
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Posted: 4/13/05 at 9:53am

sam french has jack about it....I think that's why the poster asked. I could only find movie info. Best thing would be to just order one script and read it.

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countbio
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Posted: 4/14/05 at 8:49am

Dramatists has the show...web site has basic cast info and plot summary.

www.dramatists.com

Good luck,

Countbio

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Juliet
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Posted: 4/17/05 at 12:55am

Thank you so much!

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Dustmac
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Posted: 5/25/05 at 5:49pm

We did that play at the Ruffin Theater three or four years ago. I played the character of Bert Jefferson. It is a large cast and I was deeply concerned that we were going to have to cancel it due to some technical problems. I would make sure I had a solid three months of rehearsal. Fortunately, we were able to pull it off but it didn't do that well at our box office. It's a funny play but one of the comments I getting was some of the references to things of the past. There were a lot of jokes that went over people's heads, so watch out for that. Good luck

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NickH.
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Posted: 6/17/05 at 9:17am

The basic problem with the Man who came to Dinner is the fact that it was written to spoof Alexander Woollcott, a personality of the pre WWII era. Besides your great grandmother, is there any one else who knows who Alexander Woollcott was? And do they care?
That robs the play of its main voyeristic appeal (what's Alexander Woollcott really like?) for a modern audience and leaves only a rather lame comedy and low farce burdened with a whole bunch of one-line characters.

If all the world is a stage, what am I doing in the wings?

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dougb
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Posted: 6/17/05 at 11:36am

There are many references to people that don't work today. How many people remember Katherine Cornell? Booth Tarkington? Zazu Pitts? If the audience doesn't remember them, the humor is lost.

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tristanrobin
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Posted: 6/17/05 at 12:06pm

I agree wholeheartedly - it's one of those plays (like "Li'l Abner,"
"Oh, Kay!," - and the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, for that
matter!) that requires a knowledge of the history of the period in
order to even get the jokes - let alone think that they're funny.

When plays are about specific people in popular culture, it's
like watching the political satires on EARLY Saturday Night
Live re-runs ... who knows what the audience is laughing
at????

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Kathy S
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Posted: 6/17/05 at 12:18pm

I was in that play about the same time that tristanrobin was in butterflies are free...110 years ago in high school...most of the references to the pop culture icons of the 30s had to be explained to us, too, but we still thought it was funny.

By the way, how many of those present understand the humor in Shakespeare without any explanation?

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Acting
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Acting

Topic: The Man Who Came to Dinner( Topic Closed)
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Author	Message
Juliet Star Joined: 8/26/04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 73	Topic: The Man Who Came to Dinner Posted: 4/12/05 at 9:53pm
	Could someone give me the cast list and a short description of each character in "the man who came to dinner"? It would be greatly appreciated.

	IP Logged

Kathy S Celebrity Joined: 8/21/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 303	Posted: 4/13/05 at 2:05am
	This is a big job -- this is a BIG cast. A better way to approach this question is to go to a Samuel French catalog and look it up...(I'm pretty sure that is the company that handles the rights.) You can probably find the information on their website. It is still a very funny show, although many of the 1930's references seem terribly obscure.
	IP Logged

JCCTony Star Joined: 2/03/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 73	Posted: 4/13/05 at 9:53am
	sam french has jack about it....I think that's why the poster asked. I could only find movie info. Best thing would be to just order one script and read it.
	IP Logged

countbio Player Joined: 5/03/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 25	Posted: 4/14/05 at 8:49am
	Dramatists has the show...web site has basic cast info and plot summary. www.dramatists.com Good luck, Countbio
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Juliet Star Joined: 8/26/04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 73	Posted: 4/17/05 at 12:55am
	Thank you so much!
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Dustmac Lead Joined: 5/25/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 42	Posted: 5/25/05 at 5:49pm
	We did that play at the Ruffin Theater three or four years ago. I played the character of Bert Jefferson. It is a large cast and I was deeply concerned that we were going to have to cancel it due to some technical problems. I would make sure I had a solid three months of rehearsal. Fortunately, we were able to pull it off but it didn't do that well at our box office. It's a funny play but one of the comments I getting was some of the references to things of the past. There were a lot of jokes that went over people's heads, so watch out for that. Good luck
	IP Logged

NickH. Player Joined: 10/05/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 6/17/05 at 9:17am
	The basic problem with the Man who came to Dinner is the fact that it was written to spoof Alexander Woollcott, a personality of the pre WWII era. Besides your great grandmother, is there any one else who knows who Alexander Woollcott was? And do they care? That robs the play of its main voyeristic appeal (what's Alexander Woollcott really like?) for a modern audience and leaves only a rather lame comedy and low farce burdened with a whole bunch of one-line characters.
	If all the world is a stage, what am I doing in the wings?
	IP Logged

dougb Celebrity Joined: 3/30/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 148	Posted: 6/17/05 at 11:36am
	There are many references to people that don't work today. How many people remember Katherine Cornell? Booth Tarkington? Zazu Pitts? If the audience doesn't remember them, the humor is lost.
	IP Logged

tristanrobin Celebrity Joined: 4/25/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 704	Posted: 6/17/05 at 12:06pm
	I agree wholeheartedly - it's one of those plays (like "Li'l Abner," "Oh, Kay!," - and the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, for that matter!) that requires a knowledge of the history of the period in order to even get the jokes - let alone think that they're funny. When plays are about specific people in popular culture, it's like watching the political satires on EARLY Saturday Night Live re-runs ... who knows what the audience is laughing at????
	IP Logged

Kathy S Celebrity Joined: 8/21/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 303	Posted: 6/17/05 at 12:18pm
	I was in that play about the same time that tristanrobin was in butterflies are free...110 years ago in high school...most of the references to the pop culture icons of the 30s had to be explained to us, too, but we still thought it was funny. By the way, how many of those present understand the humor in Shakespeare without any explanation?
	IP Logged