Leopoldstadt
About the project
Carey Perloff, dir.; Tom Stoppard, writer
Casting Equity actors for roles in "Leopoldstadt," a play.
Roles in this project
Dates & Locations
Rehearsals begin Aug. 13; runs Sep. 12-Oct. 13 in Boston, MA; rehearsals begin Nov. 21; runs Nov. 30-Jan. 5, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Compensation & Contract
Key Details
For consideration, submit a headshot and resume to janetfostercasting@gmail.com. Auditions will be held May 30-31 in NYC.
Dates
are subject to change. Actors must be available for both runs. In this
production, the adult cast size will be reduced down to a 15-person cast
with actors required to double and triple roles. For characters/tracks
whose ages span across a wide range, we are interested in seeing actors
who fall anywhere within that spectrum and could play older or younger
throughout the course of the play.
Equity’s contracts prohibit
discrimination. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its
employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed
to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages
performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as
performers with disabilities, to submit.
Additional Materials
HERMANN:
Ages from his 40s through his 70s. Jewish, but converted to
Catholicism. He is married to Gretl and is the father of Jacob.
Ebullient patriarch. Warm, sympathetic and loving with a good sense of
humor. He believes strongly in the process of assimilation and will do
anything in his power to give a better life to his only son.
LUDWIG:
Ages from his 40s through his 70s. Jewish. Husband of Eva, father of
Pauli and Nellie, brother of Wilma and Hanna. He is a mathematician:
clever, witty, and a true intellectual. He is Hermann's ideological
opposition. Despite his strong opinions, he will put his love for his
family before all else.
ERNST/KURT: ERNST: Protestant. A doctor.
Husband of Wilma; father of Rosa and Sally. A kind, caring family man
with a level head and distaste for danger and violence. KURT: Jewish.
Husband of Hanna, father of Hermine. A respectfully dressed philosopher
and a Marxist academic. He is a very supportive husband to Hanna and
respects her need to distance herself from his political reputation.
ROSA/HILDE:
Ages from her 30s through 60s. Jewish. Born in Vienna, moves to New
York as a student and becomes a psychoanalyst. Authoritative and witty. A
kind person with a ferocious temper. Despite living through a period of
great historical and familial despair, she maintains that her worst
moment was forgetting where she hid the afikomen as a child. HILDE: a
parlor maid.
GRETL: Ages from her 30s through 60s. Gentile,
married to Hermann. So enthusiastic and curious about her husband's
Jewish culture that she is unaware of her place of privilege. She is
beautiful and wants to be remembered.
YOUNG HANNA/HERMINE: HANNA:
18. Jewish. Younger sister of Wilma and Ludwig; wife of Kurt, mother of
Hermine. She starts a bit naïve and innocent, but grows to be tough.
Plays piano.
HERMINE: 20s through 30s. Jewish. Daughter of Hanna
and Kurt, wife of Otto and mother of Heini. Flirtatious. A good dancer.
Despite her love of romance, she is very understanding of her
circumstances and approaches relationships with practicality in mind.
FRITZ/DR.
OTTO/PERCY: FRITZ: 20s. A gentile. Military officer who enters an
affair with Gretl. Passionate, prideful, and cunning. OTTO: 30s. Married
to Hermine, father of Heini. A charming doctor of law and economics. He
is in favor of the merging of Austria and Germany as one nation; he
does not mince his words. PERCY: 40s. An intelligent Englishman who
extends his kindness to the family after developing a deep understanding
of the danger they are in. Friendly, honest, and worrisome. RP accent.
WILMA:
Ages from 20s through her 50s. Ludwig's sister. Married to Ernst and
mother to twins Sally and Rosa. Yearns to regain the love and approval
of her parents after marrying a gentile and does everything in her power
to earn it.
PAULI/ZAC/CIVILIAN: PAULI: a young Jewish boy. Son
of Ludwig and Eva. Sweet brother to Nellie. ZAC: Jewish, 30s. Caring
father of Nathan, Mimi, and Bella. Balances his appreciation for
tradition with his love for his hesitant wife. CIVILIAN: a powerful,
intimidating, and authoritative figure; an outsider.
JACOB/LEO:
Ages from age 10 through his 30s. Son of Hermann and Gretl. After
deciding he wanted to be a soldier from a young age, he is severely
wounded in World War One. This experience makes him a realist with
strong opinions on government, politics, Judaism, and revolution. LEO:
Ages from childhood through 20s. Jewish, with a slight British accent as
he ages. Fled Austria as a young boy and has since become unaware of
his family's history and devastation. He is proud of his upbringing as
an Englishman while remaining empathetic. RP accent.
EVA/NELLIE:
EVA: 30s. Self-proclaimed "bad Jew." A devoted wife and mother with a
quick wit, unafraid to speak her mind. NELLIE: Ages from her 20s through
40s. Jewish. The daughter of Eva and Ludwig, sister of Pauli, and
mother of Leo. Educated, warm, witty, and intelligent; a socialist.
POLDI/OLDER
HANNA: POLDI: Ages from 40-60. The family's housekeeper-cook. She is
unreasonably powerful yet incredibly loyal. HANNA in her 50s: Jewish.
Poised. Full of protective love for her family. Plays piano as HANNA.
AARON/NATHAN:
AARON: in his late 20s. Jewish. Husband of Nellie, father of Leo. A
working-class intellectual who doesn't take himself too seriously.
NATHAN: Ages from childhood through 30s. Jewish. Son of Sally and Zac.
Auschwitz survivor. Mathematician. He has strong opinions and the
ability to articulate them passionately and effectively. Proud of his
heritage, outspoken about what he and his family have endured.
EMILIA/OLDER
EVA: EMILIA: 80s. Jewish. A loving matriarch with a quick wit who
passively resents her family's turning away from tradition. She cares
deeply about the preservation of family memories and identities. EVA: in
her 60s. She has faith in her and Ludwig's ability to persevere.
Believes that the worst is behind them, making her immobile to the
possibility of the danger to come. Proudly and defiantly Austrian,
Jewish, and a mother.
JANA/ADULT SALLY: JANA, the family's
nursemaid, tasked with caring for several children of various ages
during holidays. SALLY: Ages 30s through 50s. Jewish. A devoted mother
who wants what is best for her children and is forced to navigate the
uncertainty of what that might be in real time. Her passion can become
loud, unabashed, and frantic at times.
CHILD SALLY/MIMI: SALLY:
9-11. Jewish. Daughter of Wilma and Ernst. Rosa's twin. Bold and sure of
herself. MIMI: Daughter of Sally and Zac. Bella's twin. Insistent.
Protective. Loves when her mom reads to her.
CHILD ROSA/BELLA:
ROSA: 9-11. Jewish. Daughter of Wilma and Ernst. Sally's twin. Finds joy
in simple things, was thrilled to be asked to hide the afikomen. BELLA:
Daughter of Sally and Zac. Mimi's twin. Has a habit of sucking her
thumb. Always self-soothing.
CHILD HEINI: young child, 7-9.
Jewish. Son of Hermine and Otto. The youngest and smallest of the
children in 1938. Loves playing his toy piano.
