Produce an American original play!
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Hi, my name is Jill Hughes and I am a writer/performer in Los Angeles. I am currently planning to produce my first play. The money will be used as follows: to pay the actors, to rent the theatre, to print the programs and to design & create the rather simple set. I am hoping to raise the needed funds by January 15, 2016 and to produce in March.
I honestly believe this play could be an American classic. I workshopped it a couple summers ago and it was magic. This play not only entertains but educates as the cast of characters are all (but one) famous American women who are no longer with us. Even though everyone knows much about these women, the audience will learn many more interesting details about them they never knew as well as their connections to one another in life. Below is a short synopsis.
Thank you for reading and helping me to entertain and educate!
SYNOPSIS - “LITTLE NELL’S” by Jill Hughes
The play takes place during one day in heaven in a café called Little Nell’s. The cafe has only been open for a couple of weeks and the grand opening party is that night. Little Nell’s is owned and operated by partners ELEANOR ROOSEVELT and SUSAN B. ANTHONY. Susan, no longer the strict Quaker woman, runs the bar with Eleanor, while running in and out of the kitchen to cook. JACKIE KENNEDY ONASSIS, no longer the ultra-private icon, rounds out the staff as an outspoken waitress with a sharp tongue and a keen interest in everyone’s business. Susan and Jackie do NOT get along. AMELIA EARHART, a chum of Eleanor’s, hangs around a lot, doing anything she is asked to do. BABE DIDRICKSON runs (literally) most of the errands for the cafe, and badgers everyone in her efforts to organize athletic teams for the ladies. Babe also does any and all manual labor and has a crush on Jackie. DOROTHY PARKER and her sidekick EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY sit at the bar to drink and crack wise all day, having something to say about everything and everyone. GRANDMA MOSES (no slouch herself in smart-assism) comes in to finish painting a portrait of the café to be unveiled at the party. MARIAN ANDERSON, who is singing for the festivities, stops by to talk over song selections with her hero Eleanor. Marian is floored by a surprise from Eleanor: an introduction to HARRIET TUBMAN, who comes in every afternoon for tea. A moving scene ensues as Harriet recounts events from her amazing life. From not one, but two drop-in visits by a progressively tipsy (and lost) QUEEN ELIZABETH, to Susan and Jackie literally coming to blows, it’s never a dull moment at Little Nell’s.
Eleanor, who means a great deal to them all for various reasons, is the human centerpiece as all through the day, her good friends and café regulars come in to chat. Adding to the tension of party planning is the fact that Susan and Jackie are at each other’s throats for some very deep-seated, personal and psychological reasons. Lessons are learned on both sides before the conflict between the two is resolved. Facts about these historical women’s careers and their personal and public lives are woven into the interactions with one another, not only entertaining the audience but educating as well. The melding of fact, fiction and fantasy tied together by “divine” common threads propels the action and keeps your interest piqued.
I honestly believe this play could be an American classic. I workshopped it a couple summers ago and it was magic. This play not only entertains but educates as the cast of characters are all (but one) famous American women who are no longer with us. Even though everyone knows much about these women, the audience will learn many more interesting details about them they never knew as well as their connections to one another in life. Below is a short synopsis.
Thank you for reading and helping me to entertain and educate!
SYNOPSIS - “LITTLE NELL’S” by Jill Hughes
The play takes place during one day in heaven in a café called Little Nell’s. The cafe has only been open for a couple of weeks and the grand opening party is that night. Little Nell’s is owned and operated by partners ELEANOR ROOSEVELT and SUSAN B. ANTHONY. Susan, no longer the strict Quaker woman, runs the bar with Eleanor, while running in and out of the kitchen to cook. JACKIE KENNEDY ONASSIS, no longer the ultra-private icon, rounds out the staff as an outspoken waitress with a sharp tongue and a keen interest in everyone’s business. Susan and Jackie do NOT get along. AMELIA EARHART, a chum of Eleanor’s, hangs around a lot, doing anything she is asked to do. BABE DIDRICKSON runs (literally) most of the errands for the cafe, and badgers everyone in her efforts to organize athletic teams for the ladies. Babe also does any and all manual labor and has a crush on Jackie. DOROTHY PARKER and her sidekick EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY sit at the bar to drink and crack wise all day, having something to say about everything and everyone. GRANDMA MOSES (no slouch herself in smart-assism) comes in to finish painting a portrait of the café to be unveiled at the party. MARIAN ANDERSON, who is singing for the festivities, stops by to talk over song selections with her hero Eleanor. Marian is floored by a surprise from Eleanor: an introduction to HARRIET TUBMAN, who comes in every afternoon for tea. A moving scene ensues as Harriet recounts events from her amazing life. From not one, but two drop-in visits by a progressively tipsy (and lost) QUEEN ELIZABETH, to Susan and Jackie literally coming to blows, it’s never a dull moment at Little Nell’s.
Eleanor, who means a great deal to them all for various reasons, is the human centerpiece as all through the day, her good friends and café regulars come in to chat. Adding to the tension of party planning is the fact that Susan and Jackie are at each other’s throats for some very deep-seated, personal and psychological reasons. Lessons are learned on both sides before the conflict between the two is resolved. Facts about these historical women’s careers and their personal and public lives are woven into the interactions with one another, not only entertaining the audience but educating as well. The melding of fact, fiction and fantasy tied together by “divine” common threads propels the action and keeps your interest piqued.
Organizer
Jill Hughes
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
