SCAPINO: A con artist and a trickster. Also a lawyer.
SYLVESTER: SCAPINO’s anxious sidekick but OCTAVIO’s number two.
DON JERRY GERONTE (pronounced GERONT-EE): The brutal, bull-headed, skinflint boss of one of the most notorious crime families in Naples.
DON ALBERT: The brutal, calculating, coiffed boss of one of the other most notorious crime families in Naples.
OCTAVIO: DON ALBERT’s handsome, devoted, very emotional and self-obsessed son. In love with CHLOE.
CHLOE: The beautiful, devoted, very emotional and driven secret-wife of OCTAVIO.
LEO: DON GERONTE’s large and dangerous son. Also devoted puppy dog in love with FEATHER.
FEATHER: A free spirit. The fiery and socially aware lover of LEO.
In terms of non-traditional casting, please cast this show freely and funnily.
Note from the Playwright:
Scapino embraces an old commedia style, but delivers it in a fully
modern way – please feel free to replace or update topical references as
noted, change Chicago to a more relevant city that will connect more
with your local audience, or otherwise embrace the unique timing of
found lazzis to bring a fresh, contemporary sensibility to the humor.
Make the jokes your own.
What makes or breaks Scapino is Scapino’s
relationship with the audience. The character Scapino in particular
should feel free to look at them, smile at them, toss lines to them,
wink and nod at them, seduce them, and otherwise break the fourth wall
with comic impunity to enlist them into his or her machinations and make
them feel as though they’re part of the scheming and "in on the joke." Exploring that interplay with the audience will only help heighten the
comedy in performance.
It’s equally important to find and land
those moments when the play becomes deadly serious – don’t shy away from
pulling the rug out from under the audience mid-laugh. Keep them
guessing and off balance. It’s a comedy, but the undercurrent of love,
fury, need, violence, and betrayal keeps the stakes high and the ball in
the air as much as the fun. Don’t lose sight of the fact that this is a
dangerous game they’re all playing - the cost of failure (for all of
them) is catastrophic. And hilarious.