Auditions

Auditions will take place on Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2, by appointment, at Albuquerque Little Theatre. Each audition appointment will consist of a group of 8-10 actors that will be asked to read a variety of scenes from the script. The script pages will be available to peruse prior to the audition. There is nothing to formally prepare or memorize, but you are welcome to familiarize yourself with the material.

Callbacks will be held on Monday, August 3.

First Rehearsal: Monday, August 10

Roles available for adults 18+

Click here to sign up for an audition appointment!

Director: Ryan Jason Cook

If you have any questions about the production or the auditions or would like access to the script, please reach out directly to ALT Production Coordinator Jesse Herb: jesse@abqliltheatre.org

These pages may be used throughout the audition process:

5-8 Abby, Teddy, & Harper 

10-13 Abby, Martha, Teddy, Harper, Brophy, & Klein 

16-18 Mortimer & Elaine 

22-25 Abby, Martha, & Mortimer 

27-28 Mortimer & Elaine 

29-31 Abby, Martha, Mortimer, & Gibbs 

34-39 Abby, Martha, Jonathan, & Einstein 

61-62 Mortimer & O’Hara 

75-78 Mortimer, Jonathan, & Einstein 

83-85 Teddy, Rooney, O’Hara, Brophy, & Klein 

94-95 Abby, Martha, & Witherspoon 

Characters:

FEMALE CHARACTERS

Abby Brewster (Female, age range: 55-75) is a darling lady, and the very model of Victorian charm and grace, who poisons elderly gentlemen as an act of charity, with her sister, Martha. She and her sister seem to be the absolute embodiment of the values and polite society of a bygone age. She is more dominant and a bit older than Martha. She is the Aunt to Teddy, Jonathan, and Mortimer. *Actors seeking this role will require a slight Brooklyn accent.

Martha Brewster (Female, age range: 50-70) is a very sweet and strong lady, but more submissive than Abby, who poisons elderly gentlemen as an act of charity, with her sister. She and her sister have lived together for many, many years. Their personalities and pecking order around each other have been firmly rooted for eons. Always wears a high collar to hide a burn scar from her childhood. She is the Aunt to Teddy, Jonathan, and Mortimer. *Actors seeking this role will require a slight Brooklyn accent.

Elaine Harper (Female, age range: 20-30) is an attractive young lady who lives next door to Abby and Martha with her father, the Reverend Dr. Harper. She is Mortimer’s fiancée and is surprisingly wise in the ways of the world for a minister’s daughter. *Actors seeking this role will need to show genuine zest and spunk. She will also need to display a wonderful sense of versatility. We witness her progress from casual happiness, to utter bliss, to twisted confusion, to stark fear, to godsend relief, and back to casual happiness again.

MALE CHARACTERS

Mortimer Brewster (Male, age range: 25-35) is very likable drama critic who is in love with, and engaged to, Elaine. He is a good-hearted cynic who is about to have his world turned upside down. He is the nephew of Abby and Martha, and the youngest brother to Teddy and Jonathan. *Actors seeking this role must be comfortable to utterly “let go.” Mortimer drives the show; from the discovery of the first body, he must be electrified. He carries that energy all the way through the end of the show. It is a very physical show with a need for comedy, perfection of timing in dialog delivery, likability in presence, and an ability to display agility in navigating the rapidly changing circumstances of each scene. He also will require a slight New York accent.

Teddy Brewster (Male, age range: 30-40) is the very likable, kindhearted, middle brother to Mortimer and Jonathan, and the live-in nephew of Abby and Martha. He is a man who believes he is the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. *Actors seeking this role will require an extreme dedication and energy. It is a very physical role in which the character charges up a flight of stairs multiple times while screaming, “CHARGE!”

Jonathan Brewster (Male, age range: 35-45) is the unbelievably short tempered nephew of Abby and Martha, and the oldest brother to Teddy and Mortimer. He is a creepy psychopath, who has numerous murders to his credit, and no scruples whatsoever. He loves his work in the killing business. Dr. Einstein has changed his face three times to escape capture by the police, currently resulting in a Boris Karloff resemblance (to which he is a bit sensitive about). *Actors seeking this role should bear some resemblance to Boris Karloff’s character in the 1931 film, Frankenstein, and will need to be able to handle some physicality and stage combat.

Dr. Einstein (Male, age range: 35-55) is a German plastic surgeon, with an accent to prove it, and the right hand man to Jonathan. He is mousey and submissive to Jonathan. He should be viewed as a good guy whose life has gone bad. The audience truly has to sympathize with this guy. With somewhat of a ratty appearance, his face wears the benevolent smirk of a man who lives in a pleasant haze of alcohol. *Actors seeking this role must be able to sustain a strong German accent while also on the edge of being tipsy throughout the performance. This role requires some physicality.

The Reverend Dr. Harper (Male, age range: 40-50) is Elaine’s father. He is a doctor of divinity, and the minister to the church next door to the Brewster home. The Brewster sisters have seen many ministers come and go over the years, but they seem to be particularly fond of Dr. Harper and vice versa. He is not in favor of Mortimer and Elaine’s relationship. *Actors seeking this role must portray him with a sense of polish, refinement, and mild mannered sensitivity towards others.

Officer Brophy (Male, age range: 25-45) is a thoroughly likable sort of fellow. He is making his rounds collecting Christmas toys for the needy. *Actors seeking this role will require a strong Brooklyn accent and some stage combat.

Officer Klein (Male, age range: 25-45) is a flatfoot Brooklyn officer who makes his rounds with Officer Brophy collecting Christmas toys. *Actors seeking this role will require a strong Brooklyn accent and some stage combat.

Officer O’Hara (Male, age range: 25-45) is the quintessential example of an Irish-American police officer: Full of life, good natured, and played big. He is on very good terms with the Brewster sisters. He is a wanna-be playwright who is persistently trying to pitch his latest bright idea for a play once he discovers Mortimer is a famous dramatic critic. He is well intentioned, and doesn’t mean to
come across as annoying as he might be. *Actors seeking this role will require a strong Irish accent.

Mr. Gibbs (Male, age range: 65-75) is an elderly gentleman who wishes to rent a room from the Brewster sisters; and nearly falls victim to the sisters “charity.” He is a little gruff at first, but warms up fairly quickly upon being offered a treat he hasn’t had since he was a child.

Lieutenant Rooney (Male, age range: 45-55) is the man in charge at the local police precinct. Very early in the show we gain a pretty strong understanding of the caliber of men he has to manage under his watch. As such, he has very little patience for blunder and mistakes, and needs to run a pretty tight ship. He is loud, decisive, and clearly in-charge of every situation in which he finds himself. *Actors seeking this role will require a strong Brooklyn accent.

Mr. Witherspoon (Male, age range: 55-65) is the superintendent of the Happy Dale Sanitarium where the family is intending to send Teddy. He is very mild mannered and kind.

Mr. Hoskins (Male, age range: 55-75) is a dead body that was victim to the Brewster sister’s arsenic laced wine and has to be disposed of before anyone else finds him. *Actors seeking this role require some physicality and the ability to flop around like a dead body while being handled by Teddy.

Mr. Spenalzo (Male, age range: 25-35) is the dead body Jonathan and Dr. Einstein are trying to dispose of throughout the evening. He is a gangster that rubbed Jonathan the wrong way and therefore met his end by Jonathan’s hand. *Actors seeking this role require some physicality and the ability to flop around like a dead body while being handled by Jonathan and Dr. Einstein.

11 Dead Bodies (Male, age range: 55-75) are only seen for the curtain call of the production for the final laugh to button the show. They represent the other 11 elderly gentlemen the Brewster sisters helped to usher on to the afterlife with their poisoned elderberry wine. They come up out of the cellar to join the rest of the cast in a grand bow covered in dirt. *Some of these roles will understudy other roles in the production.

Click here to sign up for an audition appointment!