The Character Breakdown is:
Jay (Male presenting, 15-20): Jay is Eddie's older son. He is 15 1/2 years old. He is strong-willed and is struggling to figure out how to take on the responsibilities of a man. Jay tries to be a good role model for his brother and to make their father proud by figuring out how to manage living with their temperamental grandmother.
Arty (Male presenting, 12-15): Arty is Eddie's younger son and is 13 1/2 years old. Of the two brothers, he is more outrageous and comical in his outlook. He looks to Jay for approval but develops his own opinions about his family's situation. While he has a hint of childish humor and stubbornness in him, he grows up visibly throughout the play.
Grandma Kurnitz (Female presenting, 50-70): Grandma Kurnitz is mother to Louie, Eddie, Bella, and Gert, and grandmother to Jay and Arty. She escaped Germany during the first World War with her husband and her six children, two of which, Aaron and Rose, died. She is calloused by her struggles in life, incredibly strict, and a proponent of "tough love."
Louie (Male presenting, 35-45): Louie is the oldest son of Grandma Kurnitz, uncle to Jay and Arty, and brother to Bella, Gert, and Eddie. It's speculated that he is a henchman or a bagman for the mafia. Though he does not like his mother, he respects her and demonstrates great affection for Bella and the boys in his own way.
Bella (Female presenting, 35-45): Bella is a daughter of Grandma Kurnitz, aunt to Jay and Arty, and sister to Gert, Louie, and Eddie. She is as warm and congenial as she is emotionally arrested. Bella has a tendency to make little to no logical sense when holding a conversation, jumping back and forth between the present and previous experiences and getting overwhelmed with what is happening in the moment. However, she has a warm heart, is hospitable and kind, and cooks well. She has dreams of having a family of her own someday.
Eddie (Male presenting, 35-45): Eddie is one of Grandma Kurnitz's sons, father to Jay and Arty, and brother to Louie, Bella, and Gert. He recently lost his wife to cancer and now finds himself with a massive amount of debt. This forces him to leave for 10 months to earn money to pay off his debts, leaving his boys with his mother and his sister, Bella. He is a loving father to his sons and an emotional, sensitive man.
Gert (Female presenting, 30-40): Gert is one of Grandma Kurnitz's daughters, aunt to Jay and Arty, and sister to Bella, Louie, and Eddie. She has a breathing condition which causes her to suck in her breath in the middle of her sentences. She developed this condition as a child out of fear of her mother. Gertrude acts as the referee between siblings, particularly for Bella and Louie.
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Audition page for audition details.