A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Black Jack: The Thief of Possession

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  4w, 2m, 12any gender (adult)

Rosary Hartel O'Neill

Nominee! Pulitzer Prize for new American Drama
Winner! NYC Alice's Fourth Floor Prize for new plays

Black Jack: The Thief of Possession

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 2m, 12any gender (adult)
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior
Accolades
Accolades
  • Nominee! Pulitzer Prize for new American Drama
    Winner! NYC Alice's Fourth Floor Prize for new plays

Details

Summary

Black Jack the Thief of Possession exposes the greedy machinations of an eccentric Southern family squeezed into the close quarters of a Mississippi paddlewheel cruise ship for the New Year's holiday. Matriarch Irene Dubonnet is determined to unravel the mystery of why her gorgeous daughter thinks she is a 19th century poet. Kaitlyn is channeling the poet Baudelaire, and hiding a secret. Family members don costumes for New Year's Eve, casting off their old identities and trying to figure a new way to face Kaitlin's disturbing news with a buoyant attitude. Blackjack is a sequel to O'Neill's card plays Wishing Aces, and Solitaire. The selective setting of deck of a paddleboat provides atmospheric staging possibilities for sounds and flashing lights.

Keywords
Performing Groups

IRENE SONIAT DUBONNET (MIMI) - 60's; a ravishing matriarch. Her family has roots in the nineteenth century, and she still presides over a vast Garden District house in New Orleans.
LUISA GARCIA - Early 20s; an Hispanic medical student, too pretty for her office as Irene’s companion; sleek and firm; she is poured into a shirt, jeans, and a nurse’s jacket.
BUNKY DUBONNET LEGERE - 20s; a rock star and Irene’s grandson; he has mood eyes that change colors and wild hair.
JAMES BEAUREGARD ELLIS(BEAU) - 40s; Bunky’s stepfather; athletic and tanned; he dresses in Ivy League, navy and black blazers with shirts and sweaters of gray, blue, and wine.
KAITLIN ELLIS - 40s; Bunky’s mother; a delicate beauty with the clearest eyes and a porcelain complexion just beginning to crack from the strain of illness.
RORY DEBANGO - 40s-50s; single; there is something striking about her, an exotic strain of wild, unpredictable whimsy.

Up to 12 m/f extras may be added.

  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes, Fantasy Costumes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"The dialogue has a poetic quality and intensity of meaning that even surpasses its three predecessors. O'Neill finds a bombshell combination of '90s sexual dialogue, psychology, and occult metaphysics to move her plot line along." - Spotlight

Photos

  • Black Jack: The Thief of Possession

    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: $110 per performance

Scripts

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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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