Superior Donuts

I. Synopsis
This Play takes place in 2009/2010, Uptown Chicago in a small Donut Shop that, at the
start of the play, has been defaced in an act of vandalism. It centers on the main character
of Arthur Przybyszewski, a 59 year old polish-american who runs the donut shop
“superior donuts”, and his friendship with Franco Wicks--a lively, young african-
american man who starts working in the donut shop. They both help each other grow and
learn to see each other’s perspectives, and when Franco is violently assaulted Arthur
sacrifices the shop he so loves to help Franco get out of debt with the men who assaulted
him. We see the relationships between all of the characters grow, and Franco and
Arthur’s relationship brings all of the characters together.
II. Characters
A. Arthur Przybyszewski
1. S.O. : Arhur wants comfort in order to heal.
2. Function/Role: Arthur is the main character of this play, he functions as a
character we empathise with a root for as he grows throughout the play.
3. Change: At the beginning of the play, Arthur is very reclusive and quite literally
a “mess”. As the play progresses, he becomes more and more open to his
growing friendship with Franco, and he lets his walls down and opens up to him.
He becomes a much more sociable and positive person as the play goes on.
4. Casting Characteristics: Polish American; 59 Years Old; Greasy, Scraggly &
Scruffy;
5. Behavior:
a) Social: In the beginning of the play, Arthur is very reclusive; He is kind
and giving to those around him; he is very un-abrasive; As the play goes
on, he grows increasingly excitable and passionate along with Franco;
b) Emotional: Arthur is not one to let his emotions overcome him, he is
very controlled as a character; He doesn’t necessarily have strong
emotional reactions to things that happen to him, but rather when things
happen to those around him; He has a hard time expressing his emotions
to those close to him, but as the play progresses he becomes more and
more expressive.
6. Moral Analysis: Arthur is a man who believes in the good of those around him;
he believes in helping others; he is not a violent person, and does not necessarily
condone violence except when he deems it necessary;
7. Animal:
B. Franco Wicks
1. S.O. : Franco wants success in order to support those close to him (Family &
Arthur)
2. Function/Role: Franco is the character that is introduced to help Arthur grow. At
the top of the play, he is quite the opposite of Arthur--this helps us see the depth
and multitude of layers to both of the characters. Without Franco, Arthur’s life
would have stayed stagnant and thus the play would have no meaning. He brings
hope and life into Arthur.
 3. Change:
At the top of the play, Franco is purely light, energy and optimism. He
rolls into the store determined to get the job, with infinite ideas about
how to turn the shop around. He is passionate about getting the Donut
Shop to be the most succesful business it can be for him and Arthur. We
soon see him question Arthur’s intentions, getting verbally accusatorty of
Arthur being racist but this soon subsides as Arthur proves himself and
wee see Franco route his care of making profit monetarily for him and
Arthur into him caring about bettering both of their lives. However, after
the threatening and violent assault, towards the end of the play we see
Franco and Arthur switch roles--Franco is defeated, hopeless, sad, and
emptier than he was at the top of the play.
4. Casting Characteristics: African American, 21 Years Old, Man, Needs to be able
to play opposite of highly-energetic and lively to defeat and reclusiveness.
5. Behavior:
a) Social: Witty and clever, always knows how to uplift a situation; Highly
optimistic and imaginative; Always looking for a way to improve the
situation around him, even if that means getting those around him into a
better move; doesn’t like to let others completely into what is going on in
his life.
b) Emotional: Franco is fairly open with his emotions; he is, for most of the
play, ever an optimist; he experiences all emotions to their fullest
potential, passionately and without restrictions; he cares deeply for those
he lets into his life.
6. Moral Analysis: Franco is not someone who follows a pre-determined set of
morals; he is not religious, he is not anti-religious; he questions those around
him, the rules enforced on him and the society he lives in; he believes in a
brighter future, and that he can achieve it through trying.
7. Animal: An Otter; they thrive off of their relationships to those close to them and
make small communities of connections; they are energetic and lively; otters are
seen as natural care-givers, and people who have otters as a spirit animal are seen
as people who try to brighten the mood of those around them; they have a sense
of humour, kinship, and loyalty.
C. Max Tarasov
1. S.O. : Max wants power in order to achieve the American Dream.
2. Function/Role: Max provides an opposite to Arthur in a different way than
Franco does. While Franco shows us who we want Arthur to grow into, Max
shows us what we want Arthur to grow away from. He provides an early entrance
into the racist themes of the play, and is an obstacle from the get-go for Arthur to
be comfortable.
3. Change: At the beginning of the play, Max is much more outspoken about his
hatred of black people than at the end of the play. He changes in a sense in that
he ‘wins’ by Arthur eventually selling the shop to him.
4. Casting Characteristics:
 a) Russian, 49 Years Old, Speaks in Russian,
5. Behavior:
a) Social: Max is not a ‘politically correct’ character, he is plump full of
racist biases against people of color (specifically black people); he
doesn’t care about how he affects those around him, he only cares about
getting ahead; he wants a wife, but has no respect for women; he is
abrasive, and not someone desired around; alcohol-problems
b) Emotional: Max doesn’t express too many emotions, a part from false-
seeming hope and anger; he is quick to become angry when people do
not immediately bow-down to his wishes; he longs for an emotional
connection, but doesn’t have the resources (personality) to obtain it.
6. Moral Analysis:
a) Believes in God, and follows his interpretation of religion; he has no
problem swearing and participating in violent, and offensive behavior
because he truly believes in his biases against other groups of people;
thinks he is in the right most of the time.
7. Animal: Max is a hyena; he is a scavenger who is always looking for a come-up,
gluttonous in the sense that when presented with an opportunity (food for a
hyena) he will take and take no matter the repurcussions; live in a distorted
‘tribe’, much like Max and the other Russians he brought to America; Hyena’s
have a strong individual will.
D. Kiril Ivakin
1. S.O. : Kiril wants connection in order to be fulfilled.
2. Function/Role: Kiril is a symbol of Russian strength and masculinity, he serves
as an idea of protection in the fight scene and yet reminds us of the depth of
humanity as he is a soft, shy character beneath that.
3. Change: Kiril is introduced as a brute symbol of strength, but grows into a
character with much more depth as we see how shy and longing for the love of
the bartender he is. He is a kind man.
4. Casting Characteristics: Russian, 35 Years Old, Very large buff man, Speaks in
Russian,
5. Behavior:
a) Social: Kiril is shy, he has not only a language barrier but a confidence
barrier in America; he is a very kind man underneath his strength (we see
as he helps Lady and questions Max); for the most part he blends into the
social situations around him, happy to take part but not trying to intrude
b) Emotional: He is shy and thus doesn’t know what to do with his
emotions or how to express them; he has a strong love for his bartender
lady, but fears rejection; for the most part suppresses or rejects his
emotions to stay out of the way.
6. Moral Analysis: Kiril has no problem executing violence or posing as a
threatening force when asked to (or required to), but he doesn’t believe in
violence when not necessary; He wants to be kind, and doesn’t believe that
 humanity is bad; he cares about others around him more than he cares about
rules.
7. Animal: Moose; mostly gentle creatures, but giant and intimidating at the same
time; can be violent, but typically only when they feel it is absolutely necessary--
they or their loved ones are being threatened; don’t like being around lots of
noises or people.
E. Lady Boyle
1. S.O. : Lady wants stability in order to find hope.
2. Function/Role: Lady is some-what a ‘trope-y’ role, that of a homeless/kooky
woman who carries a deep underlying insight into the lives of those around her.
She sees all that is going on and is able to provide actual advice to the other
characters, and also gives us an impression of the other characters humanity
based on how they treat her.
3. Change: As the play goes on, Lady gets much more depth and we see her as more
of a lucid character. She provides actual advice to Arthur, but for the most part
stays pretty consistent as she only appears a few times.
4. Casting Characteristics: Irish American, 72 Years Old, Homeless Woman
5. Behavior:
a) Social: Lady has some social limitations, and we know she is struggling
with alcoholism and homelessness; she is kind to those around her but
not afraid to be snippy when needing to as a defense mechanism; she
pays a lot of attention to those around her and is not ‘crazy’ in any sense,
just a product of a bad situation.
b) Emotional: She is pretty removed from her emotions as a defense
mechanism from living on the streets and experiencing the death of 3 of
her children, however she still carries empathy for others around her.
6. Moral Analysis: Lady rejects the idea of the American Dream; she believes in
doing ‘good’, but her definition of ‘good’ varies based upon her circumstantial
needs; she understands that people are driven to do bad things based on their
situations, but doesn’t think too deeply about any of this at any specific time; she
doesn’t have the resources to care too much about forcing herself into better
decisions, but recognizes and understands her choices.
7. Animal: An Iguana; they are observant animals that aren’t necessarily ‘active’
and ‘productive’, but that are highly observant on what is going on around them;
have many defense mechanisms against predatory species, and are resilient in the
wild.
F. Officer Randy Osteen
1. S.O. : Randy wants companionship in order to find comfort.
2. Function/Role: Randy is the love interest of Arthur, however she also functions
as a person who symbolizes compassion and gentleness from the top of the play.
While she is still quippy, and knows how to do her job in comparison to Max and
James she is gentle, calm, and kind. She is also the only other representation of
femininity we see besides Lady, which through her relationship with Arthur we
begin to see his and her desire for human connection.
 3. Change: At the top of the play Randy is gentle and we see her eager to connect
and help Arthur. We see her emotions grow more and more towards Arthur
resulting in her eventually having a mini-explosion through her frustration with
the situation. She then at the end of the play is seen back closer to herself at the
beginning of the play, and we learn she and Arthur have started a new
relationship.
4. Casting Characteristics: Irish American, 49 Years Old, Female, Graying
5. Behavior:
a) Social: More of a gentle cop who gives those around her the time to
speak, even when it is something she doesn’t agree with;
b) Emotional: Cares genuinely and deeply about those in her life around
her; Tries to only express as much emotion as what is convenient to
those around her, which results in her exploding over time when not
properly addressed; she cares much deeper and feels things much more
than she lets on.
6. Moral Analysis: She believes that people are good in nature, and does not hold
biases against people for things out of their control; She believes it is important
to help others; She gives everyone a fair chance, and while she doesn’t hold
racial biases she also tries to help those who do; She is not vulgar or profain in a
way that would harm people; Believes in people helping people.
7. Animal:
G. Officer James Bailey
1. S.O. : James wants
2. Function/Role:
3. Change:
4. Casting Characteristics:
a) African American, 43 Years Old
5. Behavior:
a) Social: More of an agressive cop from the get-go, doesn’t have time to
entertain people slowing down his work;
b) Emotional:
6. Moral Analysis:
a) Mild racial Bias against Russians and Polish people, most likely rooted
in experiences of Russians and Polish people being racist to him;
7. Animal: Blackbird; Blackbirds are territorial and when they feel threatened puff
themselves up to intimidate opponents; they have strong familial connections
however, and care a lot about protecting their nests; Blackbirds are symbolic of
grounded and anchored people in changing times.
H. Luther Flynn
1. S.O. :
2. Function/Role:
3. Change:
4. Casting Characteristics:
a) Irish/Italian American, 45 Years Old
 5. Behavior:
a) Social:
b) Emotional:
6. Moral Analysis:
7. Animal:
I. Kevin Magee
1. S.O. :
2. Function/Role:
3. Change:
4. Casting Characteristics:
a) Irish American, 28 Years Old,
5. Behavior:
a) Social:
b) Emotional:
6. Moral Analysis:
7. Animal: