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Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens

Dramatic.

Spectator

Immensely powerful.... The songs are uniformly good; the final song is sensational.

Financial Times

Bursts with humor, rage and hope.

Backstage

More information

Description

  • Full Length Musical
  • Drama
  • 90 minutes

  • Time Period: Contemporary
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult, Senior
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Cautions: Strong Language, Drugs, Mild Adult Themes

  • Performance Group:
  • Large Stage, Community Theatre, Professional Theatre, Shoestring Budget, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, College Theatre / Student
A celebration of lives lost to AIDS told in free verse monologues with a blues, jazz and rock score, this piece is designed to include the community in a theatrical response to the AIDS crisis. It is often performed as a benefit for fund raising and consciousness raising.
REVIEWS:

Dramatic.

Spectator

Immensely powerful.... The songs are uniformly good; the final song is sensational.

Financial Times

Bursts with humor, rage and hope.

Backstage

Generates a feeling of love, humanity and common cause that sends you out glowing.

Glasgow Herald
Premiere Production: The first full staging of Elegies for Angles, Punks and Raging Queens was presented by T.W.E.E.D. in association with Justin Ross as part of the Sixth Annual New Works Festival at the Ohio Theater in New York City on May 18, 1989.

The musical was subsequently presented at the RAPP Arts Center in New York on February 21, 1990. The musical's first London fringe production was first presented by The King's Head Theatre and Giacomo Capizzano on November 10, 1992. The musical was subsequently presented on the West End by Giacomo Capizzano, Ltd. at the Criterion Theater in London on June 28, 1993. All original productions were directed by Bill Russell.

Characters

  • Casting: 20M, 11F
  • Casting Attributes: Local Celebrity Cameo, Minority casting, Flexible casting, Room for Extras, Parts for Senior Actors, Expandable casting, Features Children, Color blind casting
  • Casting Notes: Cast can expand up to 25 males and 16 females. It is the author's intent that actors from ethnic minorities are cast whenever possible. 
  • Chorus Size: No Chorus

  • SINGERS - Wide open but a few considerations follow. All should be comfortable performing in pop styles. This version indicates 4 SINGERS. The piece has been performed with a different singer or group performing each song, making for a total of 18.

  • JUDITH - Soprano. BUD's sister, so those roles need to be co-ordinated.

  • DOUG - Baritone. Has traditionally been black.

  • BRIAN - Tenor. Should be believable as RAY's friend.

  • ANGELA - Alto. CLAUDIA's secretary. Has often been black.

  • PATRICK - A man in his 30s or 40s (old enough to have achieved success as a designer). Important that the actor can find the humor in the monologue.

  • BILLY - Young, early 20s, a typical all-American mid-Western boy.

  • MITCH - Any type, traditionally has been costumed in leather.

  • JOSH - A clown and ring-leader of the group of friends (the first four characters plus DOUG).

  • TIM - A teenager who can find the laughs in this. The younger and more energetic the better.

  • TRACEY - Young, gorgeous, sexy and spoiled. She should find the laughs and stay away from pathos.

  • CHARLOTTE - A young, tough drug-abuser.

  • FRANCIS - A gentleman of a certain age. Outrageous.

  • RAY - A regular guy, party animal, athletic. His friendship with BRIAN should be easily accepted.

  • PACO - An hispanic teenager, the younger the better.

  • SALLY - Many possibilities as long as she's not too old to have recently given birth.

  • ORVILLE - Middle-age, middle-class, 'an ordinary Joe.'

  • NICK - Drop-dead gorgeous, traditionally costumed in a towel, so a great body is a plus. The audience should be seduced by his charm and beauty.

  • PATRICK - Could be any type who can play comedy.

  • DWIGHT - A typical, young, Broadway-chorus-boy type, Southern accent can work.

  • REBECCA - Mid-Western, typical housewife.

  • CLAUDIA - A high-power corporate executive. A contrast to her secretary, ANGELA, is helpful. British accent can work.

  • ROSCOE - A big old drag queen.

  • HELEN - A typical grandmother.

  • WALTER - Old enough to attend a high school reunion, different somehow (ethnic? heavy? off-beat?) so we can see why he was something of an outcast.

  • LAMAR - A black, street-hangin', story-tellin' drug abuser. Essential that the actor find the humor here.

  • RAFAELLA - A very young hispanic mother.

  • NANCY - Wide open as to age and type, but a no-nonsense kind of woman.

  • KHADIJA - Experience has proven that small, eight-year-old girls work best. Younger is heart-breaking but often includes projection problems. An ethnic minority is highly preferable.

  • PAUL - A strong, leading man type with a great speaking voice. Old enough to have served in Vietnam (though he could have died from AIDS in the early 80s. He should be at least in his 30s).

  • NAT - A fire and brimstone orator, traditionally costumed as a priest or minister. Should be at least 50 or preferably even older.

  • JOANNE - Best comedienne available.

  • BERTHA - Preferably black, middle-aged.

  • BUD - Believable as JUDITH's brother.

  • JOE - A comedian of any type or age, as long as he can get the laughs.

  • GRACE - A professor type, strong dramatic actor. Often played by a man (GRANT), but now prefer a woman.

  • MILES - Should be believable as DOUG's lover. Often cast with a black actor.

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Perusal Material Shipped immediately. This is optional. Order Now

    1 x Script / Piano/Conductor's Score

    		$24.00
    Libretto This is optional. Order Now

    The LIBRETTO is available for SALE ONLY and is not available for hire as part of the Rehearsal Material set. It must be purchased separately and is available through our office.

    		$24.95
    Rehearsal Material Shipped a minimum of 3 months before the last performance. This must be hired as a condition of the License to produce this show.

    1 x Piano/Conductor's Score

    		$30.00 +$30.00/pm
    Orchestral Material Shipped a minimum of 1 month before the last performance. This is optional.

    1 x Cello
    1 x Harp

    		$60.00 +$30.00/pm

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