CASA VALENTINA

by Harvey Fierstein

Dramaturgy

Compiled by Jessica López-Barkl

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Table of Contents
Concept Page
Synopsis Pages
Playwrights Pages
Production History Page
Cast List Page
YouTube Playlist Link Page
The Form Pages

Vocabulary Pages
Dialects Page

*Most of the information in this compilation was gathered from internet resources, utilizing Google,
unless specifically noted before the entry.

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Concept
These images will be in the dramaturgy packet and in the Pinterest Board.

Our collective of artists:

1. Director: Nick López

2. Scenic Designer: Aaron Kaplan
3. Costume Designer:
4. Lighting Designer:
5. Props Master:
6. Sound Designer:
7. Company Manager:
8. PSM:
9. ASM:
10. Production Manager: Jessica López-Barkl
11. Technical Director: Beau Brazfield

CASA VALENTINA by Harvey Fierstein

Synopsis on the back of the script
Nestled in the Catskills - 1962’s land of dirty dancing and Borscht Belt comedy - an
inconspicuous bungalow colony to a very special clientele: heterosexual men who
delighted in dressing and acting as women. These white-collar professionals would
discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen
female alter-egos. But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world,
the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freecom gained by openness
was worth the risk of personal ruin. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein’s
trademark wit, this moving, insightful, and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse
into the lives of a group of “self-made women” as they search for acceptance and
happiness in their very own Garden of Eden.

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Harvey Fierstein, playwright

An American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He is best known for his theater work in
TORCH SONG TRILOGY and HAIRSPRAY and movie roles in MRS. DOUBTFIRE,
INDEPENDENCE DAY, and as the voice in Yao in MULAN and MULAN II. Fierstein won two
Tony Awards, Best Actor in a Play and Best Play, for TORCH SONG TRILOGY. He received his
third Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, for the musical LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and his
fourth, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, for playing Edna Turnblad in
HAIRSPRAY. Fierstein also wrote the book for the Tony Award-winning musicals KINKY
BOOTS, NEWSIES, and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner A CATERED
AFFAIR. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.

Production History
CASA VALENTINA premiered on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in a
Manhattan Theatre Club production on April 1, 2014, in previews, officially on April 23,
2014. Directed by Joe Mantello, the cast featured Patrick Page (George/Valentina),
Gabriel Ebert (Jonathan/Miranda), John Cullum (Terry), Reed Birney (Charlotte), Tom
McGowan (Bessie), Larry Pine (The Judge/Amy) and Mare Winningham (Rita). Scenic
design was by Scott Pask, costumes by Rita Ryack and lighting by Justin Townsend.
The play had music by Fitz Patton, with Christopher Gattelli as dance consultant. The
play closed on June 29, 2014, after 79 performances and 24 previews.

The play made its London debut at the Southwark Playhouse on September 10, 2015,
in previews, running through October 10. Directed by Luke Sheppard, the cast featured
Tamsin Carroll (Rita), Ben Deery (Miranda), Charlie Hayes (Eleanor), Bruce Montague
(Terry), Robert Morgan (Amy), Matt Rixon (Bessie), Ashley Robinson (Gloria), Gareth
Snook (Charlotte) and Edward Wolstenholme (Valentina).

The play made its Chicago debut with Pride Films and Plays on August 22, 2019, in
previews, running through September 29. Directed by Michael D. Graham, the cast
featured Patrick Byrnes (George/Valentina), Micah Kronlokken (Jonathan/Miranda),
Kingsley Day (Terry), Danne W. Taylor (Charlotte), Michael Hagedorn (Bessie), Robert
Koon (The Judge/Amy), Josh Marshall (Michael/Gloria), Nicholia Q. Aguirre (Rita), and
BethAnn Smukowski (Eleanor).

Characters 7M, 2W
Rita - female, fifties. Ten years older than George. A resigned determined but worn
earth-mother. Her love of the girls barely covers her inner sadness.

Jonathan/Miranda - male, thirty. Masculine, shy, and bookish. Overly polite and cautious
as a male. As a female, she is ebullient (Appears in and out of drag.)

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Albert/Bessie - male, fifties. Chubby. Willy Loman by day, Ethel Mertz at night.
Quick-witted and friendly. Unaffectedly feminine. (Appears in drag only.)

George/Valentina - male, forties Married to Rita. An insurance-salesman type as a man.

Assured and charming as a woman. (Appears in and out of drag.)

Isadore/Charlotte - male, fifties. The ultimate WASP. A buttoned-down, strict

disciplinarian. Not your favorite aunt. (Appears in drag only.)

Michael/Gloria - male, thirties. A very handsome and sexually-charged chap who is

accustomed to compliments, whether dressed as a male or female. (Appears in drag
only.)

Theodore/Terry - male, seventies. Sweet and gentle and slightly silly, like a favorite old
auntie. (Appears in drag only.)

The Judge/Amy - male, seventy, Large, distinguished, powerful, and imposing as a

man, and a clunky sort of TUGBOAT ANNIE woman. (Appears in and out of drag.)

Eleanor - female, fifty. Judge’s daughter. Brittle, cold, and damaged.

YouTube Playlist
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2eVZ45jkcXuIbv-5ZpSt9mi2-ZOL2qvF

Place
A bungalow colony outside Hunter Mountain in the Catskills

1. The main level has a porch, dining room, kitchen, and staircase
2. The Upper level consists of at least three bedrooms appointed with vanities, chairs,
clothing racks, etc.
3. Apart from the main house sits a small barn with a makeshift stage surrounded by
colored light bulbs. There are chairs and a record player and piles of 45s.

Time
Fourteen continuous hours in June of 1962

Chevalier d’Eon Resort

https://www.speakeasystage.com/2015/10/21/cultivating-the-girl-within/
Harvey Fierstein’s CASA VALENTINA is modeled on the Chevalier d’Eon Resort, a real-life,
mid-20th century house and bungalow retreat for cross-dressers in the Catskills, named for
a notorious 18th century French diplomat, spy, and transvestite. Susanna/Tito and Marie
Valenti (Fierstein’s inspiration for Valentina/George and Rita in CASA VALENTINA)

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purchased the property in the mid-1950s, then relocated the business in 1964 to a
rambling Victorian surrounded by 150 acres in Hunter, New York. They called it Casa
Susanna.
Both locations were off-season hideaways where avowedly straight men - husbands,
fathers, and sons who liked dressing up as women - got together to unwind in wigs, hose,
and heels. Guests paid $25 (just shy of $200 in 2015) for room, board, and lessons on
passing for female. Marie Valenti, who owned a New York city wig boutique that catered to
professional female impersonators, cooked for guests and assisted her husband, who gave
advice on such essentials as applying lipstick, highlighting the eyes with jet-black liner, and
teasing wigs into bouffant hairdos.
By most accounts, Tito Valenti was a court translator who emigrated to the U.S. from
Cuba some time in the mid-1940s. As Susanna, Valenti wrote a popular opinion column
called “Sussana Says” for TRANSVESTIA, a bimonthly magazine published by Virginia Price,
a pioneer transgender activist, founder of Tri-Ess (Society for the Second Self), and the
basis for the character Charlotte Price.
Initially, according to independent historians and academics who’ve written about
TRANSVESTIA, “Susanna Says” was a mix of gossip, fashion tips, and advice on
self-awareness and self-improvement. The column evolved into a platform on which Valenti
developed and extolled her belief the transvestites who practiced and extolled her belief
that transvestites who practiced the art of cross-dressing harbored a second self - a
dormant feminine personality she called “the girl within.” That “inner femininity” is what
distinguished true transvestites from drag queens and fetishists, according to Susanna.
TRANSVESTIA, according to its own description, was “dedicated to the needs of the sexually
normal individual” who has discovered his “other side’ and seeks to express it.” “Sexually
normal,” in this context, meant heterosexual; Prince and Valenti were adamant about
maintaining distinction between transvestites and homosexuals, transsexuals, and others
they considered deviant.
Transvestism isn’t portrayed much on page, stage, or screen, and the Valentis’ lives
and livelihood might never have to light - or caught the attention of Harvey Fierstein - were
it not for Robert Swope, a musician and mid-century furniture dealer. Rummaging through
old snapshots in New York City’s West 26th Street flea market some time in 2004, he came
across and image of “what was obviously a drag queen on an ugly sofa with plastic
slipcovers happily knitting while dressed in conservative women’s daywear.” It turned out
to be one among a trove of more than 300 photos - some loose snapshots, other arranged in
albums that had once belonged to Susanna Valenti, a “professional female interpreter,”
according to a business card affixed to one of the albums. Swope bought the lot, and he and
his partner Michel Hurst turned the best into Casa Susanna, which was published in 2005
by PowerHouse Books.
The book is an extraordinary publication. Sometimes striking (a few photos show
men vamping in provocative outfits), it is more often as mundane and touching as a family
photo album, put together to preserve memories of ordinary people making happy
moments. Page after page feature men posed in well-put-together outfits, frequently
wearing the requisite hats, gloves, and tasteful jewelry ladies of the era donned for an
evening out. There are also candid shots of people cooking, playing cards and Scrabble,
smoking and drinking a little early in the day. These weekenders are dressed casually, but

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with care. Most of them appear to be wearing nylon stockings - garments that, it should be
noted, were held in place by girdles and garter belts in those pre-pantyhose days.
With the book’s release, one-time guests at Chevalier d’Eon and Casa Susanna
emerged to share their recollections. Researchers and writers also developed an interest.
The story that emerges from their accounts is the source of the dramatic tension in
CASA VALENTINA. Set in June of 1962, seven years before Stonewall and at a time when
second-wave feminism was gathering strength, the play anticipates questions and conflicts
over sexuality, gender, and social expectations that would emerge within the gay pride and
women’s liberation movements. It also foreshadows a convention of transvestites Susanna
hosted at Chevalier d’Eon on Halloween of 1962 to consider strategies that would make
cross-dressing legal and socially acceptable.
Some 70 male cross-dressers, several of their spouses and a handful of psychologists
from the Kinsey Report are said to have attended the retreat, where Susanna and Virginia
were distressed to find more diversity of beliefs, tastes, and opinion in thei loosely knit
community than they would have preferred. Not all conventioneers shared their concerns
about respectability and social decorum. That was particularly true of at least one guest,
who didn’t bother dressing up and at one point lit a cigar.
In October of 1969, Susanna told TRANSVESTIA readers she had decided to live
full-time as female. She had lost the “fabulous thrill” that came from transforming Tito to
Susanna, and loathed switching back. She said nothing about her relationship with Marie,
or what Marie thought about her decision.
Prince wrote, published, and, continually generated controversy over her positions
on the traditional family (which she supported) and homosexuality (which she scorned).
Prince died in 2009. No one seems to know what happened to Susanna/Tito or Marie.

Tri-Ess: The Sorority for the Second Self

An international educational, social, and support group for heterosexual cross-dressers,
their partners, and their families
Tri-Ess was founded in 1976 by the merging of two existing groups for
crossdressers, MAMSELLE, a group formed by Carol Beecroft, and another group called the
FOUNDATION FOR PERSONALITY EXPRESSION (FPE), which was formed by Virginia
Prince.
Tri-Ess has five chapters nationwide in the United States, and is a member of the
WORLD CONGRESS OF TRANSGENDER ORGANIZATIONS.
THE FEMME MIRROR: a quarterly magazine covering a wide range of topics in
crossdressing, including coming out stories, community news, etc.
SWEETHEART CONNECTION: A quarterly newsletter produced by wives, for wives
of other crossdressers.
BIG SISTER PROGRAM: New members joining Tri-Ess have the option of being
assigned a correspondence BIG SISTER, serves a supportive role during their first year of
membership.
PEN PAL PROGRAM: For members who live far away from any chapters, Tri-Ess has
a PEN PAL program.
SISTERS ACROSS THE SEA PROGRAM: This program encourages international
correspondence between Tri-Ess chapters in the United States and similar organizations
abroad.

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HOLIDAY EN FEMME: A holiday for crossdressers, hosted each November.

SPOUSES’ AND PARTNERS’ INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION
(SPICE): Non-crossdressed event for wives and couples.

Kinsey Institute Study

https://kinseyinstitute.org/collections/archival/homosexuality-polyamory-transgender-as
ia-sexuality-and-erotica-collections.php

For 75 years, the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University has been the trusted souce
for scientific knowledge and research on critical issues in sexuality, gender, and
reproduction.
Edythe Fallon Ferguson was a pseudonym used by a transvestite living in Long
Beach, California. The collection of selected lectures on the topic, a few short essays, and a
collection of correspondence (primarily to Dr. Alfred Kinsey) by Ferguson between 1951
and 1956.
Ferguson had developed a system for instruction in “legitimate female
impersonation developed thru [sic] personalized lectures” that she sent through the mail to
interested individuals whom she deemed qualified. Prospective students were asked to
send her photos, physical descriptions, and information regarding their temperament and
mannerisms. Her course included instruction in physical expression, vocal training, fashion,
movement, and “encouragement of the psychological aspect and suggestions for acquiring
the feminine ‘state of mind’.” Students were required to report their progress to Ferguson
who would furnish between 100 and 120 lectures to the student depending on their
perceived rate of progress.
The Ferguson Collection consists of one box containing one hardback bound volume
and one archival folder under one series heading: 1) Lectures and Correspondence which
includes copies of correspondence course lectures, essays, and letters (primarily to Alfred
Kinsey) written by Edythe Fallon Ferguson between 1951 and 1956.

Vocabulary/Timeline

Timeline

Aberration (pg. 37): a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically one
that is unwelcome. A characteristic that deviates from the normal type. Late 16th
century: from Latin aberratio(n- ), from aberrare ‘to stray’.

Affidavit (pg. 37): a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, for use as
evidence in court. Mid 16th century: from medieval Latin, literally ‘he has stated on
oath’, from affidare.

Allay (pg. 42): Diminish or put at rest (fear, suspicion, or worry). Old English ālecgan ‘lay
down or aside’.

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Badger (pg. 55): repeatedly ask (someone) to do something; pester. Early 16th century:
perhaps from badge, with reference to its distinctive head markings. The verb sense
(late 18th century) originates from the sport of badger baiting.

Beguiled (pg. 19): charm or enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way. help
(time) pass pleasantly. Middle English (in the sense ‘deceive, deprive of by fraud’): from
be- ‘thoroughly’ + obsolete guile ‘to deceive’.

Betwixt (pg. 21): between (two people or things). In the space separating two people or
things; in between. Old English betwēox, from be ‘by’ + a Germanic word related to two.

Bouffant (pg. 16): (of a person's hair) styled so as to puff out in a rounded shape. Early
19th century: from French, literally ‘swelling’, present participle of bouffer .

Bridles (pg. 49): Show one's resentment or anger, especially by throwing up the head
and drawing in the chin.

Caledonia County, Vermont (pg. 49): Caledonia County is a county located in the
northeastern part of the U.S. state of Vermont.

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Cheval Mirror (pg. 29): The cheval mirrors were invented in France during the 1700s.
They were used as a dressing mirror; it got the name due to four feet at the base, which
resembles the horse. In France, cheval means "Horse." The cheval mirrors are the
full-length mirror that you usually see in the bedrooms.

Chevalier d’Éon (pg. 21): Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d’Éon de

Beaumont or Charlotte-Geneviève-Louise-Augusta-Andréa-Timothéa d’Éon de
Beaumont (5 October 1728 - 21 May 1810), usually known as the Chevalier d’Éon or
the Chevaliére d’Éon (chevalière is the female equivalent of chevalier, meaning knight),
was a French diplomat, spy, and soldier. D’Éon fought in the Seven Years’ War, and
spied for France diplomat, spy, and soldier. D’Éon fought in the Seven Years’ War, and
spied for France while in Russia and England. D’Éon had androgynous physical
characteristics and natural abilities as a mimic and a spy. D’Éon appeared publicly as a
man and pursued masculine occupations for 49 years, although during that time, d’Éon
successfully infiltrated the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia by presenting as a
woman. Starting in 1777, d’Éon lived as a woman. Doctors who examined d’Éon’s body
after death discovered “male organs in every respect perfectly formed”, but also
feminine characteristics.

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Circumspect (pg. 36): wary and unwilling to take risks. Late Middle English: from Latin
circumspectus, from circumspicere ‘look around’, from circum ‘around, about’ + specere
‘look’.

Commodities (pg. 48): In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a

resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the
good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. The word
commodity came into use in English in the 15th century, from the French commodité,
"amenity, convenience". Going further back, the French word derives from the Latin
commoditas, meaning "suitability, convenience, advantage".

Connubial (pg. 16): relating to marriage or the relationship of a married couple;

conjugal. Mid 17th century: from Latin connubialis, from connubium ‘marriage’, from
con- ‘with’ + nubere ‘marry’.

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Contraband (pg. 49): Goods that have been imported or exported illegally. Late 16th
century: from Spanish contrabanda, from Italian contrabando, from contra- ‘against’ +
bando ‘proclamation, ban’.

Coronary (pg. 58): Relating to or denoting the arteries which surround and supply the
heart. Mid 17th century (in the sense ‘resembling a crown’): from Latin coronarius, from
corona ‘wreath, crown’.

Crinoline (pg. 28): A crinoline is a stiff or structured petticoat designed to hold out a
woman's skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline
described a stiff fabric made of horsehair and cotton or linen which was used to make
underskirts and as a dress lining. Mid 19th century (originally in crinoline (sense 2),
early crinolines being made of such material): from French, formed irregularly from Latin
crinis ‘hair’ + linum ‘thread’.

DAR (pg. 35): The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based

membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person
involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they
promote education and patriotism.

Dearth (pg. 17): a scarcity or lack of something.

Demarcated (pg. 35): set the boundaries or limits of. Early 19th century: back-formation
from demarcation: early 18th century: from Spanish demarcación, from demarcar ‘mark
the bounds of’, ultimately of Germanic origin and related to mark. Originally used in the
phrase line of demarcation (Spanish línea de demarcación, Portuguese linha de
demarcação ), the word denoted a line dividing the New World between the Spanish
and Portuguese, laid down by the Pope in 1493.

Depravity (pg. 42): Moral corruption; wickedness. Mid 17th century: alteration
(influenced by deprave) of obsolete pravity, from Latin pravitas, from pravus ‘crooked,
perverse’.

Diversion (pg. 49): an activity that diverts the mind from tedious or serious concerns; a
recreation or pastime. Late Middle English: from late Latin diversio(n- ), from Latin
divertere ‘turn aside’ (see divert).

Elixir (pg. 37): a magical or medicinal potion. Late Middle English: via medieval Latin
from Arabic al-'iksīr, from al ‘the’ + 'iksīr from Greek xērion ‘powder for drying wounds’
(from xēros ‘dry’).

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Emancipating (pg. 37): set free, especially from legal, social, or political restrictions.
Early 17th century: from Latin emancipat- ‘transferred as property’, from the verb
emancipare, from e- (variant of ex- ) ‘out’ + mancipium ‘slave’.

Ethel Mertz (description of Albert/Bessie): Ethel Mae Mertz, played by Vivian Vance, is
one of the four main fictional characters in the highly popular 1950s American television
sitcom I Love Lucy. Ethel is the middle-aged landlady of the main character, Lucy
Ricardo, played by Lucille Ball.

Ether (pg. 40): A pleasant-smelling colorless volatile liquid that is highly flammable. It is
used as an anesthetic and as a solvent or intermediate in industrial processes. Late
Middle English: from Old French, or via Latin from Greek aithēr ‘upper air’, from the
base of aithein ‘burn, shine’. Originally the word denoted a substance believed to
occupy space beyond the sphere of the moon.

Exaltation (pg. 21): a feeling or state of extreme happiness. the action of elevating
someone in rank, power, or character. late Middle English (in the sense ‘the action of
raising high’): from late Latin exaltatio(n- ), from Latin exaltare ‘raise aloft’.

Femmepersonator (pg. 38): The “true transvestite” is a “FemmePersonator” who

“personates,” that is, makes a real person out of and brings to life his feminine self.

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Fetishistic (pg. 38): Having an excessive and irrational devotion or commitment to a

particular thing. A fetish (derived from the French fétiche, which comes from the
Portuguese feitiço, and this in turn from Latin facticius, 'artificial' and facere, 'to make') is
an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object
that has power over others.

Floral Brocade (pg. 15): brocade, in textiles, woven fabric having a raised floral or
figured design that is introduced during the weaving process.

Flotsam (pg. 38): The wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on or washed up by
the sea. People or things that have been rejected and are regarded as worthless. Early
17th century: from Anglo-Norman French floteson, from floter ‘to float’.

Folio (pg. 49): An individual leaf of paper or parchment, numbered on the recto or front
side only, occurring either loose as one of a series or forming part of a bound volume. A
sheet of paper folded once to form two leaves (four pages) of a book. Late Middle
English: from Latin, ablative of folium ‘leaf’, in medieval Latin used in references to
mean ‘on leaf so-and-so’. The original sense of in folio (from Italian in foglio ) was ‘in the
form of a full-sized sheet or leaf folded once’ (designating the largest size of book).

Four Fox Fur (pg. 20): a four-tiered fox fur stole.

Gangway (pg. 57): A raised platform or walkway providing a passage. Make way!; get
out of the way! This word stems from an old-fashioned definition of gang, "a going,
journey, way, or passage." In the early 20th century, gangway was also a common
command meaning "clear the way!"

Garden of Eden (pg. 36): In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden or Garden of God,
also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2-3 and

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Ezekiel 28 and 31. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Genesis as the
source of four tributaries. The real Garden Of Eden has been traced to the African
nation of Botswana, according to a major study of DNA. Scientists believe our ancestral
homeland is south of the Zambezi River in the country's north.

GG’s (pg. 26): Genetic Girls.

Harangue (pg. 45): A lengthy and aggressive speech. Lecture (someone) at length in an
aggressive and critical manner. Late Middle English: from Old French arenge, from
medieval Latin harenga, perhaps of Germanic origin. The spelling was later altered to
conform with French harangue (noun), haranguer (verb). "A public address; a formal,
vehement, or passionate address;" also "any formal or pompous speech; a declamation;
a tirade," mid-15c., arang, Scottish (in English from c. 1600), from French harangue "a
public address" (14c.), from Old Italian aringo "public square, platform; pulpit; arena,"
from a Germanic source such as Old High German hring "circle". But Watkins and
Barnhart suggest a Germanic compound, *harihring "circular gathering, assembly,"
literally "host-ring, army-ring," with first element *hari- "war-band, host".

HELLZAPOPPIN’ (pg. 25): A 1941 film adaptation of HELLZAPOPPIN, the musical that
ran on Broadway from 1938 to 1941. It was a production for Universal Pictures directed
by H.C. Potter. Although the Broadway cast was initially slated to appear in the film,
except for Olsen and Johnson and the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, no one else from any of
the stage productions appeared in the movie. The Broadway production was a musical
revue written by the comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, consisting of John “Ole” Olsen
and Harold “Chic” Johnson, with music and lyrics by Sammy Fain and Charles Tobias.
The revue was a hit, running for over three years, and was at the time the
longest-running Broadway musical, with 1,404 performances, making it one of only
three plays to run more than 500 performances in the 1930s. HELLZAPOPPIN’ is an
absurdist, fourth-wall breaking musical comedy; the comedy made fun of the very idea
of making a show. Musical numbers are interrupted by animals, scenes are run
backwards and restarted. A loose patische of comedy and musical bits, it featured a
host of fourth-wall breaking inventions including a delivery man wandering around the
audience trying to deliver a plan, a confederate in the aisles selling tickets to a
competing Broadway musical, and even seats that delivered electric shocks. The stage
production featured a very popular lindy hop number.

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Howard Cosell (pg. 24): (March 25, 1918-April 23, 1995). An American sports journalist,
broadcaster and author. Cosell became prominent and influential during his tenure with
ABC Sports from 1953 until 1985. Cosell was widely known for his blustery, confident
personality. Cosell said of himself, “I’ve been called arrogant, pompous, obnoxious,
vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. And, of course, I am.” Cosell was sardonically
nicknamed “Humble Howard” by fans and media critics. In its obituary for Cosell, THE
NEW YORK TIMES described Cosell’s effect on American sports coverage: “He entered
sports broadcasting in the mid-1950s, when the predominant style was unabashed
adulation, [and] offered a brassy counterpoint that was first ridiculed, then copied until it
became the dominant note of sports broadcasting.” He also brought and antagonistic,
almost heel-like commentary, notably his giving criticism of Terry Bradshaw by
suggesting that he did not have the intelligence to win in the league. In 1993, TV Guide
named Howard Cosell The All-Time Best Sportscaster in its issue celebrating 40 years
of television.

Idyll (pg. 36): an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene, typically
an idealized or unsustainable one. A short description in verse or prose of a picturesque
scene or incident, especially in rustic life. Late 16th century (in the Latin form): from
Latin idyllium, from Greek eidullion, diminutive of eidos ‘form, picture’.

Impenetrability (pg. 21): the quality or state of being impenetrable (cannot be passed
through or solved). The inability of two portions of matter to occupy the same space at
the same time. "Impossible to penetrate," mid-15c., from Old French impenetrable
(14c.) or directly from Latin impenetrabilis "that cannot be penetrated," from assimilated
form of in- "not, opposite of”.

Impugning (pg. 47): Dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of (a statement or motive); call
into question. Late Middle English (also in the sense ‘assault, attack physically’): from
Latin impugnare ‘assail’, from in- ‘towards’ + pugnare ‘fight’.

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Jacquard (an apparatus with perforated cards, fitted to a loom to facilitate the weaving
of figured and brocaded fabrics) attachment. The design, appearing only on the fabric
face, is usually made in a satin or twill weave.

Jake (pg. 38): All right; satisfactory.

Johnny Walker Red Label (pg. 25):

Lunkhead (pg. 20): a slow-witted person. mid 19th century: probably from an alteration
of lump: Middle English: perhaps from a Germanic base meaning ‘shapeless piece’;
compare with Danish lump ‘lump’, Norwegian and Swedish dialect lump ‘block, log’, and
Dutch lomp ‘rag’.

Leper (pg. 48): A person who is avoided or rejected by others for moral or social
reasons. late Middle English: probably from an attributive use of leper ‘leprosy’, from
Old French lepre, via Latin from Greek lepra, feminine of lepros ‘scaly’, from lepos, lepis
‘scale’.

Liturgies (pg. 38): A form or formulary according to which public religious worship,
especially Christian worship, is conducted. Mid 16th century: via French or late Latin
from Greek leitourgia ‘public service, worship of the gods’, from leitourgos ‘minister’,
from lēitos ‘public’ + -ergos ‘working’.

Mead (pg. 44): Mead is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with
water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops.
The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The English

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mead – "fermented honey drink" – derives from the Old English meodu or medu, and
Proto-Indo-European language, *médʰu. Its cognates include Old Norse mjǫðr,
Proto-Slavic medъ, Middle Dutch mede, and Old High German metu, and the ancient
Irish queen Medb, among others.

Miracle Gel (fake breasts) (pg. 24):

Mules (pg. 12): a slipper or light shoe without a back. mid 16th century: from French,
‘slipper’.

Négligée (pg. 19): The negligee or négligée (French: négligé [negliʒe]; lit. 'neglected'),
also known in French as déshabillé ([dezabije]), is a form of see-through clothing for
women consisting of a sheer, usually long, dressing gown. It is a form of nightgown
intended for wear at night and in the bedroom.

Palsied (pg. 13): affect with paralysis and involuntary tremors. Middle English: from Old
French paralisie, from an alteration of Latin paralysis

Parity (pg. 18): the state or condition of being equal, especially regarding status or pay.
of a number) the fact of being even or odd. the value of one currency in terms of
another at an established exchange rate. a system of providing farmers with consistent
purchasing power by regulating prices of farm products, usually with government price
supports. late 16th century: from late Latin paritas, from par ‘equal’.

Parochial (pg. 18): relating to church parish. Having a limited or narrow outlook or
scope. Late Middle English ‘ parochialis’ relating to an ecclesiastical district.

Petticoated (pg. 27): Petticoating or pinaforing is a type of forced feminization that

involves dressing a man or boy in girls' clothing as a form of humiliation or punishment,
or as a fetish.

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Picasso Creatures (pg. 27):

Prattle (pg. 18): talk at length in a foolish or inconsequential way. foolish or

inconsequential talk. mid 16th century: from Middle Low German pratelen, from praten.

Proselytize (pg. 39): Convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief,
or opinion to another. Advocate or promote (a belief or course of action). It has come to
be seen as a form of involuntary forced conversion through bribery, coercion, or
violence, as such, proselytism is illegal in some countries. Proselytize comes from the
noun proselyte (meaning "a new convert"), which comes from the Late Latin noun

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proselytus. Proselytus means "stranger" or "alien resident," and comes from a similar
Greek word (prosēlytos).

Prosthetics (pg. 39): An artificial feature or piece of flexible material applied to a

person's face or body to change their appearance temporarily. Via late Latin from Greek
prosthesis, from prostithenai, from pros ‘in addition + tithenai ‘to place’.

Sado-masochistic (pg. 38): characterized by or deriving sexual gratification from both

sadism and masochism. "Sexual pleasure in being hurt or abused," 1892, from German
Masochismus, coined 1883 by German neurologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing
(1840-1902), from name of Leopold von Sacher- Sacher-Masoch's parents merged their
name when they married; von Masoch is his mother's surname. Masochism was defined
as' sexual enjoyment derived from suffering, while sadism was the inflicring of physical
or psychological pain upon another person for the purpose of achieving sexual
excitement.

Sanctimonious (pg. 51): Making a show of being morally superior to other people. Early
17th century (in the sense ‘holy in character’): from Latin sanctimonia ‘sanctity’ (from
sanctus ‘holy’).

Scepter (pg. 28): an ornamented staff carried by rulers on ceremonial occasions as a

symbol of sovereignty. Middle English: from Old French ceptre, via Latin from Greek
skēptron, from skēptein (alteration of skēptesthai ) ‘lean on’.

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Sierra Madre (pg. 26): Sierra Madre is a city in Los Angeles County, California, whose
population was 10,917 at the 2010 U.S. Census, up from 10,580 at the time of the 2000
U.S. Census. The city is in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley below the southern
edge of the Angeles National Forest

Silver Mouton Lamb Chubby (pg. 26): a silver colored jacket similar to the photo above
made from Mouton fur (North America) or beaver lamb (UK) is sheepskin which has
been processed to resemble beaver or seal fur (mouton is French for "sheep"). Mouton
fur is lambskin whose hair has been straightened, chemically treated, and thermally set
to produce a moisture-repellent finish.

Snake-Oil (pg. 37): While snake oil did at one point refer to the actual oil or grease
made from snakes for believed medicinal purposes, today it means "poppycock" or

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"nonsense." Over time, the term eventually referred to mixtures sold as medicine
without any regard to health or medicinal worth.

Sodomy (pg. 40): Sexual intercourse involving anal or oral copulation. Middle English:
from medieval Latin sodomia, from late Latin peccatum Sodomiticum ‘sin of Sodom’
(after Gen. 19:5, which implies that the men of Sodom practiced homosexual rape)

Standard-bearer (pg. 35): a soldier who is responsible for carrying the distinctive flag of
a unit, regiment, or army. A leading figure in a cause or movement.

Stoic (pg. 49): A person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings
or complaining. Late Middle English: via Latin from Greek stōïkos, from stoa (with
reference to Zeno's teaching in the Stoa Poikilē or Painted Porch, at Athens).

The Ballad of Reading Gaol (pg. 28): The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem by Oscar
Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand, after his release from Reading Gaol on 19
May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of gross
indecency with other men in 1895 and sentenced to two years' hard labour in prison.

Tonier (pg. 10): fashionable among wealthy or stylish people. late 19th century: from
tone: Middle English: from Old French ton, from Latin tonus, from Greek tonos ‘tension,
tone’, from teinein ‘to stretch’.

Traverse (pg. 21): travel across or through. Move (something) back and forth or
sideways. Cross a hill or mountain by means of a series of sideways movements from
one practicable line of ascent or descent to another. Middle English (in traverse (sense
3 of the verb: oppose or thwart (a plan).)): from Old French traverser, from late Latin
traversare ; the noun is from Old French travers (masculine), traverse (feminine), partly

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based on traverser :

Tugboat Annie (character description of The Judge/Amy): TUGBOAT ANNIE is a 1933

American pre-Code film directed by Mervyn LeRoy, written by Norman Reilly Raine and
Zelda Sears, and starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery as a comically
quarrelsome middle-aged couple who operate a tugboat. Dressler and Beery were
MGM’s most popular screen team at that time, having recently made the bittersweet
MIN AND BILL (1930) together, for which Dressler won the Academy Award for Best
Actress. The boisterous Tugboat Annie character first appeared in a series of stories in
the SATURDAY EVENING POST written by the author Norman Reilly Raine were
supposedly based on the life of Thea Foss of Tacoma, Washington. There is also a
theory that her character is loosely based on Kate A. Sutton, secretary and dispatcher
for the Providence Steamboat Company during the 1920s. TUGBOAT ANNIE also
features Robert Young and Maureen O’Sullivan as teh requisite pair of young lovers.
Captain Clarence Howden piloted Annie’s tugboat “Narcissus” (real name Wallowa),
which was owned by Foss Tug and Barge of Tacoma and had been leased to MGM for
the movie. Howden’s son Richard Howden is seen rolling rope during the credits.

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Filmed in Seattle, Washington, TUGBOAT ANNIE, used local residents as extras,

including then-mayor John F. Dore. The tugboat used in the film, renamed ARTHUR
FOSS in 1934, is the oldest wooden tugboat afloat in the world and remains preserved
by Northwest Seaport in Seattle.

Tulle (pg. 28): a soft, fine silk, cotton, or nylon material like net, used for making veils
and dresses. Early 19th century: from Tulle, a town in SW France, where it was first
made.

Turban (pg. 12): A type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations,
it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. mid 16th century: via
French from Turkish tülbent, from Persian dulband . Compare with tulip: late 16th
century: from French tulipe, via Turkish from Persian dulband ‘turban’, from the shape of
the expanded flower.

“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.” (pg. 46): From Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”. “Brillig”:
four o'clock in the afternoon — the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.
“Slithy”: lithe and slimy. ' Lithe' is the same as 'active'.“To gyre”: to go round and round
like a gyroscope. “To gimble”: to make holes like a gimblet. “Wabe”: the grass-plot round
a sun-dial. It is called like that because it goes a long way before it, and a long way
behind it. And a long way beyond it on each side.

VFW (pg. 35): The Veterans of Foreign Wars, formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of
the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service
members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or
airspace.

Wheedled (pg. 50): Use flattery or coaxing in order to persuade someone to do

something or give one something. Mid 17th century: perhaps from German wedeln
‘cringe, fawn’, from Wedel ‘tail, fan’.

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Willy Loman (description of Albert/Bessie): William "Willy" Loman is a fictional character

and the protagonist of Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman, which debuted on
Broadway with Lee J. Cobb playing Loman at the Morosco Theatre on February 10,
1949. Willy Loman's character, including his salesman career, symbolizes an ordinary
man in American society. He acts as a representation of the ordinary man leading a
fruitless life in a flourishing nation. Miller based Willy Loman on his uncle Manny
Newman, a salesman brought low by the Depression. He tried out earlier versions of the
character in stories he wrote in his teens and 20s about salesmen with apparently
Jewish surnames — Schoenzeit and Schleifer.

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Winchester double-barrel (pg. 26): Engraved and gold inlaid Winchester 28 gauge
Model 21 Grand American shotgun with two barrel set and Winchester case. The
Winchester Model 21 was a high-quality American double-barreled side-by-side shotgun
designed by Frank F. Burton in 1924 and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms
Company from 1931 to 1959.

Wresting (pg. 55): forcibly pull (something) from a person's grasp. Old English wrǣstan
‘twist, tighten’, of Germanic origin; related to Danish vriste, also to wrist.

Zealot (pg. 41): A person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their
religious, political, or other ideals. Late Middle English (as an epithet of the apostle
Simon): via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek zēlōtēs, from zēloun ‘be zealous.

Dialects

If you would like to use a dialect, here are some links to the typical ones in the show. I
am a good resource for this in rehearsal, but…if you want to toy around before we
begin, here are some resources:

● Brooklyn

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