The Cat's Meow
by Steven Peros

Name: The Cat's Meow
Brand: Steven Peros
SKU: 9780573696244
Rating: 3.52 (21 reviews)

The Cat's Meow Book Cover — The Cat's Meow Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins 1920s Ensemble Cast Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes

Synopsis

Based on the true story of a mysterious Hollywood death, The Cat's Meow offers a fascinating cross section of Jazz Era characters who intersect for one notorious weekend on board William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924.

The play was adapted for film in 2002, with a screenplay by the author, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, and Edward Herrmann.

Weekend guests include: Charlie Chaplin, who has been carrying on with movie star Marion Davies, a secret known to Davies' paramour, the married – and much older -- Hearst; and movie mogul Thomas Ince, who is hoping to revive his flagging fortunes by forming a partnership with Hearst.

Playing with fire, Ince tries to convince Hearst that he can handle both Marion's movie career... and her private life as well.

During its 1997 Los Angeles premiere, audiences and critics were both entertained and moved by this darkly comic morality play, laced with clandestine romance, Hollywood excess, and steadily heating tensions, which erupt in a shocking act of violence.

Press Reviews

"Hearst Yacht Mystery is The Cat's Meow...A stylish and sardonically funny expose of corrupt Tinseltown values. " - The Los Angeles Times"Recommended – Hands Down! Will have you on the edge of your seat." - CBS Radio"A Terrific New Drama." - The Los Angeles Daily News"Steven Peros' intriguing fictionalized speculation imagines the worst as everyone cavorts through an oceanic orgy of intrigue, seduction, infidelity, blackmail, booze, drugs, and murder."
— The Daily Variety

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
ELINOR GLYN 60; British romance novelist, screenwriter, and social dictator.	—	60	60; British romance novelist, screenwriter, and social dictator.
THOMAS INCE 40s; a silent film pioneer and studio mogul.	—	40s	40s; a silent film pioneer and studio mogul.
MARGARET LIVINGSTON 20s; an actress and mistress to Ince.	female	20s	20s; an actress and mistress to Ince.
GEORGE THOMAS Ince’s business manager.	male	—	Ince’s business manager.
MARION DAVIES 27 (but passing for 23); a movie star and Hearst’s public mistress.	—	27	27 (but passing for 23); a movie star and Hearst’s public mistress.
CHARLIE CHAPLIN 35; British; an internationally known movie star.	—	—	35; British; an internationally known movie star.
LOUELLA PARSONS 40s; a Hearst movie reviewer from the East Coast.	—	40s	40s; a Hearst movie reviewer from the East Coast.
WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST 62; Newspaper and silver mining magnate. A large, wealthy, powerful, married man.	male	—	62; Newspaper and silver mining magnate. A large, wealthy, powerful, married man.
JOSEPH WILLICOMBE Hearst’s loyal and discreet personal secretary.	—	—	Hearst’s loyal and discreet personal secretary.
DR. DANIEL GOODMAN 40s; former physician, now a Hearst movie studio executive.	male	40s	40s; former physician, now a Hearst movie studio executive.
MRS. GOODMAN 30s; Dr. Goodman’s conservative wife.	female	30s	30s; Dr. Goodman’s conservative wife.
CELIA MOORE 20s; a flapper/actress.	—	20s	20s; a flapper/actress.
DIDI DAWSON 20s; also a flapper actress.	female	20s	20s; also a flapper actress.
MRS. INCE (VOICE ON PHONE) 40s, Ince’s recently awoken wife, who remained at home. (NOTE: For “Mrs. Ince”, some productions have had an actress appear on stage, with a phone in her hand. If this method is utilized, doubling is possible with “Mrs. Goodman.”)	female	40s	40s, Ince’s recently awoken wife, who remained at home. (NOTE: For “Mrs. Ince”, some productions have had an actress appear on stage, with a phone in her hand. If this method is utilized, doubling is possible with “Mrs. Goodman.”)