A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Turtle Soup

Short Play, Comedy  /  1w, 1any gender (adult)

Rosary Hartel O'Neill

Turtle Soup is a short play that builds tension between a 'dying' uncle (or aunt) and a young niece who is after the family inheritance.

Turtle Soup

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 1any gender (adult)
  • Duration
    Duration
    10 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Not Applicable
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for all audiences, Adult, Senior, Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary
Turtle Soup is a short play that builds tension between a 'dying' uncle (or aunt) and a young niece who is after the family inheritance. A tirade occurs over Turtle Soup and ends in the spilling of soup and the breaking of the secret as the old invalid guffaws about a joke being played on that day, April first - All Fools Day. Note: the role of the old uncle may be cast with a female playing it as an aunt. The bedroom setting in an old New Orleans mansion creates an evocative sense of place.
History

Turtle Soup premiered at the Westchester Collaborative Theatre in New York after being awarded the Invitational Staging Award.

Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
GENE SONIAT - 69.; a clever man; deaf; lies on his sickbed. He stares blankly ahead, and breathes through a partially opened mouth. When he speaks, he shouts. This can be played by a woman.
LUCILLE - 29; the pregnant niece of Gene.
  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting Noon, the present, in the master bedroom of a New Orleans mansion.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration 10 minutes
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

Photos

  • Turtle Soup

    Image: Courtesy of Rosary O'Neill

  • Turtle Soup

    Image: Courtesy of Rosary O'Neill

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size No Chorus

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $65 per performance

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Rosary Hartel O'Neill

Rosary Hartel O'Neill

Rosary Hartel O’Neill is the author of 25 plays, 18 published by Samuel French, Inc., and four books of nonfiction. The fourth edition of her text The Actor’s Checklist is used in schools nationwide.

Her book New Orleans Voodoo: A Cultural History (co-written with Rory Schmi ...

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