Production Notes
Characters
(5 females / 8 males / 2-6 neutral)
TOBY VECK
THOMAS RICHARD MEG PETRICH ANNA PETRICH FERN WILLS MR. LOWELL MADAM LIL MAYOR CUTLER MRS. CUTLER MR. WALLACE MR. DANVERS STORYTELLERS |
1 — An eleven-year-old boy.
2 — A middle-aged deliveryman. A young man on the run. Toby’s out-of-work son. Richard’s sweetheart. Meg’s late mother. A clever tomboy. A crotchety news reporter. A late bawdy-house proprietress. Frazierville’s corrupt mayor. The mayor’s flighty wife. A prejudiced man. A man with a roving eye. Also goblins & incidental characters. |
Time |
A late December in the thick of the Great Depression.
|
Place |
The towns of Frazierville and Ripley Heights.
|
Storytellers & Incidental Characters: The number of storytellers may range from two to six. Lines may be doubled or tripled, combined or divided. With a small cast, characters such as Mrs. Cutler and Young Toby may rotate in as storytellers. At times, storytellers assume the roles of incidental characters, most notably the goblins.
Locations: Frazierville and Ripley Heights were inspired by settlements in Fremont County, Colorado. Though buildings and institutions mentioned in the play can be found in the area, plausibility, in all cases, takes precedence over accuracy.
Historical Characters: Lowell Thomas, much like Thomas Lowell, was a journalist who hailed from a Colorado mining town. Thereafter, the similarities between the two men stop abruptly. In his nineties, Mr. Thomas was a gentle and soft-spoken man who loved to tell amusing stories—clearly nothing like his fictional counterpart, whose inverted name merely pays homage to Victor’s most famous son. Madam Lil actually lived until 1960—an example of accuracy seeming less plausible than fiction. Her infamous establishment, incidentally, wasn’t closed [permanently] until 1950.
Set Pieces & Projections: Meticulous attention to pictorial realism would be a waste of resources. Select pieces of furniture, even projections, can establish specific locations. Generally, the play should have a fluid, almost storybook quality about it.
Locations: Frazierville and Ripley Heights were inspired by settlements in Fremont County, Colorado. Though buildings and institutions mentioned in the play can be found in the area, plausibility, in all cases, takes precedence over accuracy.
Historical Characters: Lowell Thomas, much like Thomas Lowell, was a journalist who hailed from a Colorado mining town. Thereafter, the similarities between the two men stop abruptly. In his nineties, Mr. Thomas was a gentle and soft-spoken man who loved to tell amusing stories—clearly nothing like his fictional counterpart, whose inverted name merely pays homage to Victor’s most famous son. Madam Lil actually lived until 1960—an example of accuracy seeming less plausible than fiction. Her infamous establishment, incidentally, wasn’t closed [permanently] until 1950.
Set Pieces & Projections: Meticulous attention to pictorial realism would be a waste of resources. Select pieces of furniture, even projections, can establish specific locations. Generally, the play should have a fluid, almost storybook quality about it.
Bibliography
Bancroft, Caroline. Six Racy Madams of Colorado. Boulder: Johnson Publishing Co., 1965.
Buchanan, Sue. Town of Prospect Heights. Cañon City: Fremont County Historical Society, 2019.
Florence & Its Environs, 3rd Ed. Florence: Chamber of Commerce, 2001.
Morris, Steve. Boomtown: A Brief History of Florence & Surrounding Area, 1890—1920. Florence: Fremont Middle School, 1981.
Tom Mix: The Myth on Horseback. WKY-TV/KTVY/KFOR. Produced by Gene Allen & Jerry Powell. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Historical Society.
Ward, Larry Thomas. Cañon City, Colorado: Every Picture Tells a Story. Los Angeles: Nicholas Lawrence Books, 2005.
Wintz, Mildred. Florence, Colorado, Self-Guided Heritage Tour. Cañon City: Fremont County Heritage Commission, 2015.
Special thanks as well to Steve Blackburn, Darleen Mergelman, & Gayle MacKinnon at the Florence Pioneer Museum.
Buchanan, Sue. Town of Prospect Heights. Cañon City: Fremont County Historical Society, 2019.
Florence & Its Environs, 3rd Ed. Florence: Chamber of Commerce, 2001.
Morris, Steve. Boomtown: A Brief History of Florence & Surrounding Area, 1890—1920. Florence: Fremont Middle School, 1981.
Tom Mix: The Myth on Horseback. WKY-TV/KTVY/KFOR. Produced by Gene Allen & Jerry Powell. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Historical Society.
Ward, Larry Thomas. Cañon City, Colorado: Every Picture Tells a Story. Los Angeles: Nicholas Lawrence Books, 2005.
Wintz, Mildred. Florence, Colorado, Self-Guided Heritage Tour. Cañon City: Fremont County Heritage Commission, 2015.
Special thanks as well to Steve Blackburn, Darleen Mergelman, & Gayle MacKinnon at the Florence Pioneer Museum.