Ace
- Full Length Musical, Drama, 1940s / WWII, 1910s / WWI, 1960s
- 9M, 7F
- ISBN: 9780573709753
Set in 1964, Ace follows the journey of a young man returning home to discover the truth about his mother's hidden past. Uncovering a saga spanning three generations of Ace fighter pilots through two World Wars, this original musical soars with the trials and triumphs of a family in search of true heroism.
Description
- Full Length Musical
- Drama
- 120 minutes
- Time Period: 1940s / WWII, 1910s / WWI, 1960s
- Target Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
- Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
- Cautions: No Special Cautions
- Performance Group:
- Large Stage, Community Theatre, High School/Secondary, Professional Theatre, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, College Theatre / Student
- Accolades:
- Winner! Mickey Kaplan Prize for New Play (2006)
Winner! Six Kevin Kline Awards including Best New Musical (2007)
Nominee! Five Helen Hayes Awards including Outstanding New Musical (2009)
A story about the sacrifices parents can make to protect and defend their children, Ace explores how history is made and memorialized, and how truth is defined from one generation to the next.
REVIEWS:
"A refreshingly innocent voyage that’s just right for these cynical times."
Variety
"A packed arsenal of delightful tunes topped by the robust 'In These Skies,' the pilot’s paean to the wild blue."
Variety
"Oberacker and Taylor's score is moving and exhilarating, and the recurring song 'In These Skies,' drives home the main theme of the show – how to choose your own destiny and make it fly – beautifully."
TheatreMania
Ace was first presented in the National Alliance for Musical Theater's Festival of New Works. Ace received its regional premiere in a co-production between The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Cincinatti Playhouse in the Park and The Old Globe Theatre of San Diego. A newly revised Ace premiered at The Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. The world premiere of the definitive version of Ace was presented at The Nevada Conservatory Theatre in 2015, directed by David H. Bell.
Characters
- Casting: 9M, 7F
- Casting Attributes: Parts for Senior Actors, Ensemble cast, Expandable casting
DANNY LUCAS is male identifying and 21 years old. He bears family resemblance to his father, Ace, and grandfather, John-Robert, and his mother, Elizabeth.
RUTH ANDERSON is female identifying and 65 years old. She is still strikingly beautiful and maintains a graceful but powerful sense of aristocracy.
ELIZABETH LUCAS is female identifying and presents throughout the play between late teens to early 40s. This arc of age is defined almost entirely by her personal energy, her physicality and voice.
ACE (CHARLES "ACE" ANDERSON) is male identifying and presents in his early 20s. He is fit and athletic in a classic late 1930s aesthetic, and has a timelessly handsome appearance.
JOHN-ROBERT ANDERSON is male identifying and presents in his early 20s. He is lean and lithe which belies his meager and humble upbringing.
YOUNG RUTH is female identifying and presents between late teens and early 40s. This arc of age is defined almost entirely by her personal energy, her physicality and voice.
GENERAL CHENNAULT/COL. WHITLOW these two roles are intended to be played in double by the same actor, but they can certainly be split in two. Chennault is based on the real-life General, a male identifying Texan who presents in his 40s. He is a big personality, full of swagger and humor, but with the military acumen to have earned it. Col. Whitlow is equally confident, a military man through and through, but with the gentility and manner of extraordinary wealth, privilege and the decorum of the era.
SOLDIERS and PILOTS are male identifying and present between the ages of late teens to early 20s.
ENSEMBLE WOMEN present between the ages of late teens to mid-30s.
