No Way to Treat a Lady
by Charles Laurence

Name: No Way to Treat a Lady
Brand: Charles Laurence
SKU: 9780573626333
Rating: 4 (3 reviews)

No Way to Treat a Lady Book Cover — No Way to Treat a Lady Cover

Highlights

Small Cast

Female

Male

120 mins 1970s Interior Set Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes American

Awards & Recognition

Outer Critics Circle

Winner! 1987 Richard Rodgers Grant Nominee: 1997 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Synopsis

Genre: Drama Characters: 2 males and 2 females Scenery: Interior Alice Hogan, the widow and favorite model of renowned American sculptor Matthew Hogan, is having a bad birthday.

In London, she has attended her best friend's funeral with Ned, an old friend who is critical of the way she devoted her life to her husband's genius.

To make matters worse, she has to deal with Peggy, the manipulative representative of an American publisher interested in compiling a biography of the famous sculptor, and a delightful hustler from New York.

Peggy has a hidden agenda; she maneuvers Alice into revealing secrets from her younger days.

Ned, who is left to pick up the pieces of a shattered Alice, is driven to indulge his own insatiable curiosity.

Peggy and Alice realize that facing the future will require some fundamental adjustments.

Press Reviews

"Terrific! Hilarious! Dynamic! An unabashedly histrionic romp with plenty of laughs, a fair share of romance and a welcome abundance of drollery."
— The Los Angeles Times

"The best news about this 1987 off-Broadway vehicle, which incorporates an oddball premise for a musical into a surprisingly conventional framework, was the arrival of a major musical-theatre tunesmith. Cohen’s delightful songs (love ballads, soft-shoe ditties, jazz, and more), boasting smart lyrics and lilting melodies, display a hand adept at revealing character nuances and advancing the story. Four triple-threat performers maximize the pleasures here… fresh and vibrant offering is a splendid way to treat an audience."
— Backstage

"★★★★★ CRITIC’S PICK “A divinely fresh entertainment!"
— StageHappenings

"A fine way to treat a musical! A real winner."
— The New York Post

"Catchy tunes and snappy lyrics… Mr. Cohen’s score is a reassuring fusion, a mastery of traditional musical comedy style adorning and informing an offbeat story. A beguiling musical!"
— The New York Times

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Christopher “Kit” Gill 30s-40s; Kit is athletic and agile with exceptionally strong hands. His youthful, almost angelic face masks his demonic tendencies. For Kit, murder is the ultimate performance and not a gruesome exercise. An actor oozing with charm is essential if the audience is to be seduced along with his victims. Kit is all about style and panache - like John Barrymore. Everything he knows about life is as a result of watching theatre. His performance should demonstrate he is a musical comedy performer gone awry.	male	30s	30s-40s; Kit is athletic and agile with exceptionally strong hands. His youthful, almost angelic face masks his demonic tendencies. For Kit, murder is the ultimate performance and not a gruesome exercise. An actor oozing with charm is essential if the audience is to be seduced along with his victims. Kit is all about style and panache - like John Barrymore. Everything he knows about life is as a result of watching theatre. His performance should demonstrate he is a musical comedy performer gone awry.
Sarah Stone 30s; svelte; attractive; sunny; funny; sophisticated. She is a modern-day Carole Lombard. Sarah, on the surface, has led a “charmed” existence, but on closer examination one can read the painful lessons of the past.	female	30s	30s; svelte; attractive; sunny; funny; sophisticated. She is a modern-day Carole Lombard. Sarah, on the surface, has led a “charmed” existence, but on closer examination one can read the painful lessons of the past.
Flora Brummell/Victims (Alexandra Gill, Carmella, Sadie, Mrs. Sullivan) More than sharing an obvious physical resemblance, these women are all mature, strong and maternal. Yet in the case of Flora and Alexandra, their “maternal” instincts are sometimes questionable. Alexandra is guilty of giving Kit too little love (the theatre is her one and only love), while Flora is guilty of lavishing too much attention on Morris. Both women at times belittle their sons, robbing them of their pride and self-confidence. Flora does this for self-preservation: if Morris continues to depend on her, she will never be alone. (The actress playing these roles need not be mature as long as she is able to project maturity.) This role has been successfully divided into two roles in both United Kingdom productions: One actress plays FLORA and the other portrays ALEXANDRA and the three victims.Note: The actor playing Kit Gill disguises himself as seven other characters in the course of the play: an Irish priest, an Arthur Murray dance class instructor, a French waiter, a telephone repairman, a pizza delivery messenger, a New York cop and a female barfly. The actress playing the character woman portrays five different women: Det. Morris Brummell’s Jewish mother; Kit Gill’s legendary actress-mother, Alexandra Gill; an Irish widow; an Italian former Queen of the Roseland Ballroom; and a lonely barfly. In both productions in England, the part was split between two actresses, although it is strongly preferred that one actress play all five roles.	female	—	More than sharing an obvious physical resemblance, these women are all mature, strong and maternal. Yet in the case of Flora and Alexandra, their “maternal” instincts are sometimes questionable. Alexandra is guilty of giving Kit too little love (the theatre is her one and only love), while Flora is guilty of lavishing too much attention on Morris. Both women at times belittle their sons, robbing them of their pride and self-confidence. Flora does this for self-preservation: if Morris continues to depend on her, she will never be alone. (The actress playing these roles need not be mature as long as she is able to project maturity.) This role has been successfully divided into two roles in both United Kingdom productions: One actress plays FLORA and the other portrays ALEXANDRA and the three victims.Note: The actor playing Kit Gill disguises himself as seven other characters in the course of the play: an Irish priest, an Arthur Murray dance class instructor, a French waiter, a telephone repairman, a pizza delivery messenger, a New York cop and a female barfly. The actress playing the character woman portrays five different women: Det. Morris Brummell’s Jewish mother; Kit Gill’s legendary actress-mother, Alexandra Gill; an Irish widow; an Italian former Queen of the Roseland Ballroom; and a lonely barfly. In both productions in England, the part was split between two actresses, although it is strongly preferred that one actress play all five roles.
Morris Brummell 30s-40s; fairly well built; a man of physical strength who hasn’t quite figured out how to use it to his advantage. Although he is far from being classically handsome, Morris’ looks are appealing and he possesses a warm, inviting smile and “mensch”-like presence. Even though he lives with his mother, he should not be a typical “mama’s boy.” Kit unleashes a darker, more ambitious side to Morris’ personality, but one should be careful not to go too far: after all, Morris is the hero of the show.	female	30s	30s-40s; fairly well built; a man of physical strength who hasn’t quite figured out how to use it to his advantage. Although he is far from being classically handsome, Morris’ looks are appealing and he possesses a warm, inviting smile and “mensch”-like presence. Even though he lives with his mother, he should not be a typical “mama’s boy.” Kit unleashes a darker, more ambitious side to Morris’ personality, but one should be careful not to go too far: after all, Morris is the hero of the show.