In this standalone sequel to THE THIN MAN IN THE CHERRY ORCHARD, Anya convinces Nora to take part in an amateur theater production. As is par for the course, a murder takes place and Nick must solve the crime before opening night.
CHARACTERS (in order of appearance)
WAITER (40s) Reformed felon. Respects Nick and Nora. Doubles as LT. CALLAHAN.
NICK CHARLES (40s) – World famous detective. Witty and urbane. Devoted to his wife.
NORA CHARLES (40s) – A charming and witty sophisticate. Independently wealthy and madly in love with her husband.
ANYA RANEVSKAYA (20s) – Formally Nick and Nora’s charge, recently out on her own to pursue her acting career. Enthusiastic, hopeful, naive.
BRIAN TALBOT (30s) Stage manager extraordinaire. Been with the company for years.
CHESTER McNEILL (40s) Director of an amateur theater company. Desperate, Arrogant. Passionate about his work.
SHELDON STUART (40’s -50s) Longtime actor in the Chester’s plays. Jaded.
GLORIA WRAY (40s-50s) Ex-movie queen of the Silent era. Her career has been stalled due to scandal but she is “rising like a Phoenix” or so she thinks.
LT. CALLAHAN – doubles as WAITER – Impatient, career police officer. Has had many run-ins with Nick. There is rivalry, playful competition. Lt. Callahan has been “helped” by Nick before and might harbor some resentment.
PLACE: A church theater in the west 50s Manhattan, and Nick and Nora’s upscale NYC apartment.
TIME: 1938.
SETS AND LIGHTING:
Single/ Double interior set; Most of the action takes place in a theater, or the apartment of Nick and Nora.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Nick and Nora (of “The Thin Man” fame) are the perfect sophisticated couple. They drink a lot but should never appear drunk (hung over, yes, but never drunk). Their banter with each other is teasing and light-hearted, never angry. They speak in the quick, snappy mode of 1940s screwball comedies.
Bambi Everson is a playwright, actor, and teaching artist. Her full-length, THE THIN MAN IN THE CHERRY ORCHARD enjoyed a sold out run at the 2019 New York Fringe Festival, and is available in paperback from The Drama Book Shop and Amazon. Her plays have been produced at Manhattan Repertory Theatre, Hudson Guild, Emerging Artists Theatre, and The Little Theatre of Alexandria, VA. Her work tends to incorporate oddball characters and situations, from from screwball comedy to dark melodrama.
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