The Underlying Chris
by Will Eno

Name: The Underlying Chris
Brand: Will Eno
SKU: 9780573708824
Rating: 4.25 (8 reviews)

The Underlying Chris Book Cover — The Underlying Chris Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

90 mins Present Day Ensemble Cast Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes

Synopsis

The Underlying Chris is a life-affirming and high-spirited look at how a person comes into their identity, and how sometimes it’s life’s tiniest moments that most profoundly change our lives.

In these divided times, The Underlying Chris serves as a celebration of our differences, our individuality and the many mysterious, difficult and beautiful things we share simply by being alive.

Press Reviews

"Tricky and compelling... Will Eno’s new play about the many people each person contains... grows, like life, from trick to tragicomedy."
— Jesse Green, The New York Times

"Ambitious... an abstract of the human race in all its genius and splendor – and all its stupidities and frailties."
— Marilyn Stasio, Variety

"Wry and metaphysical... [Eno is] looking long and lightly at a life, rather as Thornton Wilder would... Chris and the play both are interested in a progress of investigation, from the body through the mind and finally into the pretended self. The play never so much as winks at the supernatural, yet there’s still a sensation of … lifting up and off."
— Helen Shaw, Vulture

"[A] quietly haunting, uplifting new play... Chris may be [Eno’s] most open-hearted, spiritually ambitious effort yet—a journey from the beginning of a life to its end."
— Elysa Gardner, New York Stage Review

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
CHRISTINE and Others – female, 10-12	female	10	and Others – female, 10-12
MOTHER and Others– female, 30s	female	30s	and Others– female, 30s
LISA and Others– female, 40s	female	40s	and Others– female, 40s
TOPHER and Others – male, 50s	male	50s	and Others – male, 50s
GABRIELLA and Others – female, 20s	female	20s	and Others – female, 20s
PHILIP and Others – male, 12	male	—	and Others – male, 12
KRISTA and Others– female, 60s	female	60s	and Others– female, 60s
KIT and Others – male, late 60s	male	60s	and Others – male, late 60s
PAUL and Others – male, late 20s-30s	male	20s	and Others – male, late 20s-30s
BARBARA and Others – female, 70s	female	70s	and Others – female, 70s
REGGIE and Others – male, 70s	male	70s	and Others – male, 70s
A NOTE ON CASTING There is ample opportunity to double- and triple-cast many of these roles. A scene-by-scene breakdown follows, with suggested doubling. There are of course other ways this might be accomplished – what is most important is diversity, particularly in the “Chris” (Christine, Kris, etc.) characters. We will meet them in roughly chronological order, though they will be changing constantly in terms of gender, race, and personality.	male	—	There is ample opportunity to double- and triple-cast many of these roles. A scene-by-scene breakdown follows, with suggested doubling. There are of course other ways this might be accomplished – what is most important is diversity, particularly in the “Chris” (Christine, Kris, etc.) characters. We will meet them in roughly chronological order, though they will be changing constantly in terms of gender, race, and personality.
GIRL 10-12 [CHRISTINE]	—	10	10-12 [CHRISTINE]
MOTHER 30s	—	30s	30s
NURSE 20s-60s [KRISTIN]	—	20s	20s-60s [KRISTIN]
FATHER 30s	—	30s	30s
NANNY female, 20s	female	20s	female, 20s
CHRIS male, 12	male	—	male, 12
CHRISTINE female, 16	female	—	female, 16
JUSTINE 40s [MOTHER]	—	40s	40s [MOTHER]
DR. RIVINGTON male, 40s [FATHER]	male	40s	male, 40s [FATHER]
RADIO HOST male, 60s [KIT]	male	60s	male, 60s [KIT]
ADVERTISEMENT ACTOR female, 40s [KRISTIN]	female	40s	female, 40s [KRISTIN]
RADIO PRODUCER [KRISTA]	—	—	[KRISTA]
KRIS 21 [NANNY]	—	—	[NANNY]