M – they/them, 20. The star. Our MC. Swinging wildly between pissed, sweet, and mystical, maybe mythical. Sometimes in control of the narrative, sometimes being swept away by the story. M is an emerging drag performer moonlighting as a bar back at the local hole-in-the-wall gay bar downtown.
GREG – he/him, 40s-50s. M’s father. The earth. Clumsily making his way through this world. A terminal diagnosis brings out a complicated core of wants and desires and regrets. He’s been stuck in an office with fluorescent lights overhead and has never felt much of a purpose... until now.
VIV – she/her, 40s-50s. M’s mother. The space between. Slightly neurotic and easy to get riled up, she wants with all her might to spend her last days with Greg, alone in a bed with M by their side. A bit of “I’d like to speak to the manager” energy. A bit of a ferocious tornado, ready to protect her family, wondering how the fuck she can fix this.
LILA & OTHERS – she/her, 20s-30s. Viv’s younger sister, a high-maintenance yoga gal, the center of her own universe. But she’s ride-or-die for family and can be a surprisingly great listener. Also plays: GRETA – Part-Greta Thunberg, part-Peter Pan, part-screaming-teenage-girl-at-a-Taylor-Swift-concert, part-Angel of Death, as well as GROCERY CLERK, SHELLY, KATHY, and ENSEMBLE A.
WILL & OTHERS – he/him, 20s-30s. Good-natured and well-meaning but uncomfortable in social situations and too smart for his own good. M’s boyfriend. Also plays: TV NARRATOR, FRANK, KEV, ARMY GUY, MELOMYS, and ENSEMBLE B.
JANET & OTHERS – she/her, 60s. Dealing with her wife’s cancer diagnosis by at times lashing out, at times being the best older sister you could ever hope for. Blue collar. Also plays: DR. THOMAS – Greg’s doctor with a near-robotic, perhaps excessively cold bedside manner, TOAD – A now extinct Golden Toad. A kind of washed-up rockstar and quick to sob, as well as DOORDASH GAL, SUZIE, and ENSEMBLE C.
The cast should feel like it’s full of different colors, backgrounds, body shapes, etc.
The playwright also always envisioned the Murphys as a mixed-race family.
The cast should feel like it’s full of different colors, backgrounds, body shapes, etc.
The playwright also always envisioned the Murphys as a mixed-race family.