Accidentally Yours (farce in 3 acts)
Written by Pauline Williams Snapp, 1945
Directed by Michael Wood
Performances Friday, June 5 thru Sunday, June 21
Performances Fridays & Saturdays at 7 pm, Sundays at 2 pm
Auditions:
1 pm, Saturday, April 11;
6 pm, Sunday, April 12;
6 pm Monday, April 13
Cast of 14 (at least 7 females; at least 3 males)
Accidentally Yours was first produced in 1947. The original production relied on a quality and experienced cast that among others included Billie Burke (with an extensive career, but perhaps best known today for her role as Glinda in The Wizard of Oz) and Barbara Billingsley (who 10 years later played Beaver’s mother in Leave It to Beaver). The cast of 14 includes a range of memorable characters that make producing this show an actor’s delight. The “story of the play” from the script only touches upon the delightful nature of this farcical, light-hearted production: The Mosbys, Spencer and Gladys, are a lovable, child-like couple who believe in the unbelievable.
Gladys believes that anything can happen; Spencer is resigned to the conviction that it usually does. When Spencer wins a coveted award with a novel, Gladys is blissful and not surprised. Spencer, however, accepts the miracle with mixed emotions, for he, alone, knows that he didn’t write the book – he wished for it. For the bewildered Spencer, an unbelievable but undeniable accumulation of evidence points to only one explanation – the strange Arabian antique he received as an anniversary present is really the fabled Aladdin’s lamp.
What neither Gladys nor Spencer know is that the novel was actually written by a young author, Lawrence Conwell, who inadvertently left a copy of his manuscript at the Mosby home. An uproariously funny situation builds to the point of explosion when the same novel is discovered running concurrently in a confessions magazine. Gladys is heartbroken, the rightful author, Conwell, is shocked at Spencer’s supposed plagiarism, and the chairman of the award for the novel is outraged.
Things are very black until Gladys accidentally succeeds in extricating husband Spencer from the entire situation. Without ever quite understanding how it happened and still believing in the lamp, Spencer is delighted to find that he has regained his reputation, retained the award, and Gladys’ love.
List of Characters:
Gladys Mosby: 40 to 60, gently but firmly vague about almost everything. Her clothes throughout the play are feminine but simple and inexpensive.
Marietta Delman: 40 to 60, Glady’s friend but a more typical small-town matron. Well-meaning and likable but not too brainy. Her clothes are stylish and becoming.
Olive: 15 to 30, the Mosbys’ “help.” Awkward but matter of fact. Her clothes are unsuitable combinations, chosen for their individual rather than their collective effect.
Vivienne: 25 to 30, the Mosbys’ niece. Attractive and intelligent, but a bit uncertain. Smartly dressed.
Spencer Mosby: 40 to 60, wholly appealing in manner and appearance. A man who finds the world totally unpredictable and at times alarming. A small-town college professor, he dresses the part.
Lawrence Conwell: 30 to 35 (but appears a bit younger). Away from the pages of the books he writes, he is a bit shy but sensitive and intelligent and wholly engaging. His clothes are well-tailored, casual but not careless.
Jean Erwin: 25 to 35, Conwell’s cousin. She is an attractive and stylish dresser (who appears at one point dressed in a harem costume after attending a costume party).
Miss Featherby: 25 to 65, Spencer’s secretary. She is brisk and businesslike, wearing severely tailored suits and blouses.
Llewellyn Johnson: 20 to 35, Olive’s boyfriend. Good-natured in spite of his “biker” persona.
Mrs. Esterhazy: 30 to 65, effusive – “destined from birth to be the president of a woman’s club.”
Martin: 20 to 65, a small-town reporter (can be cast as a female if needed)
Photographer: 20 to 65. Matter-of-fact, brisk and businesslike.
Cavendish: 35 to 70. A well-stuffed shirt with a pompous and self-important manner, he is aware of the importance of the contest he runs to authors around the world (can be cast as a female if needed).
Dr. Field: 25 to 65. A suave and soothing counselor called in to help Spencer (can be cast as a female if needed).