ACT I /15 scenes ACT II 16 scenes / 120 minutes
DEAR MOTHER & ALL is based on the actual letters between a 19 year old boy, his family, friends and relatives in Massillon, Ohio during a few months in 1918 while he served as a Marine in World War I, and again when his body came home from France in 1921. The play's structure is meant to counterpoint how one ordinary boy's experiences, life and death affected all of those who knew him as parent, sister, relative, friend, schoolmate and boyfriend. Often humorous as well as poignant, this play is written for a cast which may easily be doubled* or tripled* for smaller equity casts or enlarged to accommodate larger community, high school or university productions.
Though not a musical, the playwright recommends songs of the period to underscore the play's social, political and personal themes and action. This script is already written to accommodate the inclusion of live or taped music
Cast List
Lena Brown – Mother
Charles Brown – Father
Ethel Brown – 25, oldest sister
Charles Vernon Brown – (Chas)19, son
Dorothy Brown – (Dofe) 21, middle sister
Young Helen Brown – 16, youngest sister
Old Helen Brown – 70's
Grace Hering – Vernon's Girlfriend
Helen Scott* – Classmate
Henry Jones – Young neighbor boy
Ralph Bowers* – Friend
Roy Hartung* - Friend
Charles Brown – Father
Ethel Brown – 25, oldest sister
Charles Vernon Brown – (Chas)19, son
Dorothy Brown – (Dofe) 21, middle sister
Young Helen Brown – 16, youngest sister
Old Helen Brown – 70's
Grace Hering – Vernon's Girlfriend
Helen Scott* – Classmate
Henry Jones – Young neighbor boy
Ralph Bowers* – Friend
Roy Hartung* - Friend
Marie Haas* – Young girl with the big hat
Marine Officer*
Murray Spidle* – Aviator
Sunday School Girl*
Mortimer Duffield, MD* – Lena's brother
Phebe Long* – Lena's sister
Miriam Johnson* – Neighbor
Reverend Grant Perkins* – Methodist Minister
Soldiers*– as needed
Nurse* – as needed
Chester Potts – Best friend and fellow Marine
Marine Officer*
Murray Spidle* – Aviator
Sunday School Girl*
Mortimer Duffield, MD* – Lena's brother
Phebe Long* – Lena's sister
Miriam Johnson* – Neighbor
Reverend Grant Perkins* – Methodist Minister
Soldiers*– as needed
Nurse* – as needed
Chester Potts – Best friend and fellow Marine
Action
The action of the play, which takes place between the spring of 1918 and the winter of 1921, always takes place simultaneously in the Brown family kitchen and wherever Vernon's life takes him. Production requirements should be kept simple and casting may be diverse.
Playwright's Note: Willing to rewrite this script for a smaller cast.
History
1993 Youngstown State University, OH, Readers Theatre
1989 Lincoln Theatre, Massillon (OH)
1989 NORTHERN OHIO LIVE MAGAZINE, Museum winner ( for collaboration)
1988 Ohio Arts Council/ Humanities Council (commission)
The action of the play, which takes place between the spring of 1918 and the winter of 1921, always takes place simultaneously in the Brown family kitchen and wherever Vernon's life takes him. Production requirements should be kept simple and casting may be diverse.
Playwright's Note: Willing to rewrite this script for a smaller cast.
History
1993 Youngstown State University, OH, Readers Theatre
1989 Lincoln Theatre, Massillon (OH)
1989 NORTHERN OHIO LIVE MAGAZINE, Museum winner ( for collaboration)
1988 Ohio Arts Council/ Humanities Council (commission)
"The impact was all the greater because the drama's dialogue was mostly drawn from an exchange of letters by Marine Pfc. Charles Vernon Brown and his family, Lena and Charles Brown, and friends in ordinary chitchat that, in better times, might pass aimlessly across the family's dinner table. But they build to high drama when the marine's mother continues to write to her son, painfully wondering about his welfare, unknowing that he has been mortally wounded."
Abe Zaidan, Akron Beacon Journal
Dear Mother and All touches us where we live.
The Massillon Evening Independent
Abe Zaidan, Akron Beacon Journal
Dear Mother and All touches us where we live.
The Massillon Evening Independent
Dear Mother and All (full play) Dear Mother (monologue)Playwright's note: Dear Mother - a war mother's monologue of love and loss (Excerpted from the full length play)