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Dead Ringer (DiIorio)

  • Gino DiIorio
  • Full Length Play, Dark Comedy, 19th Century, Wild West
  • 2M, 1F
  • ISBN: 9780573698439

"You don't see a lot of film noir westerns, but that genre turns out to be a winning combination."

The New York Times

More information

Description

  • Full Length Play
  • Dark Comedy
  • 90 minutes

  • Time Period: 19th Century, Wild West
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult
  • Set Requirements: Exterior Set
  • Cautions: Gun Shots, Strong Language

  • Performance Group:
  • Community Theatre, High School/Secondary, Professional Theatre, Shoestring Budget, College Theatre / Student

  • Accolades:
  • Winner! 2005 BBC International Playwriting Contest
Tyrus Cole, a horse trainer, lives on a ranch with his invalid sister Mary. Because he can't watch her during the day, Tyrus has Mary confined to a root cellar. When Dwight Foley arrives at the ranch seeking help with his horse, he and Mary fall in love and begin plotting the demise of Tyrus and their eventual escape. Their plan escalates and in the end, the three find themselves trapped in a complex web of greed and secrets. 
REVIEWS:

"You don't see a lot of film noir westerns, but that genre turns out to be a winning combination... Humor was never a big factor in 1940s and '50s film noir, but it has a place here. Mr. Dilorio's low-key jokiness comes from attitude and from the smooth use of western vernacular... Forcefully absorbing. "

The New York Times

Premiere Production: Dead Ringer was first produced by the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch, New Jersey on October 15, 2009. It was directed by Suzanne Barabas.

Characters

  • Casting: 2M, 1F
  • Casting Attributes: Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle), Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle)

  • DWIGHT FOLEY - 30. A heavyset man with a thin beard. He has an innocence about him that borders on naiveté. He is not confident and can easily be hurt with harsh words.

  • MARY COLE - 28. The woman in the hole. She is never seen throughout the course of the play. She has many physical ailments and deformities. Her head is misshapen and she cannot walk. But she manages to feed and clean herself as the strength of her arms allows her to move about the small space. Mary is very intelligent, carrying herself with a hard edge of sarcasm and wit. She has a voice like an angel and at times, displays a mystical quality. Mary has no self-pity whatsoever and one gets the impression that had it not been for her physical defects, she could easily win a fist fight with her brother.

  • TYRUS COLE - 35. Mary's older brother. He is tall and muscular, clean shaven with hard, angular features. Ty wears the burden of his sister's ailment on his sleeve. His cruelty toward her is born more of self-loathing than sadism.

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Dead Ringer (DiIorio) Script Order Now

    Tyrus Cole, a horse trainer, lives on a ranch with his invalid sister Mary. Because he can't watch her during the day, Tyrus has Mary confined to a root cellar. When Dwight Foley arrives at the ranch seeking help with his horse, he and Mary fall in love and begin plotting the demise of Tyrus and their eventual escape. Their plan escalates and in the end, the three find themselves trapped in a complex web of greed and secrets.

    Read about Gino Dilorio's creative process during writing DEAD RINGER on [Breaking Character]!

    		$24.95

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