9543 Broadview Rd.
Broadview Heights, Ohio  44147
Phone: (440) 526-4404
Click here for directions to the
Broadview Heights Cultural Arts Building.
The Very Persistent
Gappers of Frip
Our Annual Summer Youth Musical

Auditions:
Monday, May 10 or Tuesday, May 11 at 6:00PM  (choose one day to attend)

Callbacks, if needed will be Wednesday, May 12 at 6:00PM

Rehearsals begin May 26.  The show runs from July 15 - 25, 2010.  

Click here to print an audition form to fill out and bring to auditions.
(Adobe Reader required to view and print the *.pdf file)

Show Information:
Book and lyrics by Doug Cooney.
Music by David O.
Based on the novel by George Saunders.

Gappers are fuzzy orange creatures that wreak havoc on the seaside town of Frip. They latch onto the goats (whom
they love) in the three-family village and jeopardize the community's goat-milk-based economy. Every day, the
children of Frip brush gappers off their goats to toss them back into the ocean, and every day the gappers return.
When the pesky critters target only one of the houses and the neighbors unexpectedly refuse to help, 10-year-old
Capable must cope single-handedly with the gapper invasion—which she does with her own special brand of
compassion and resourcefulness. After the tables turn on Capable's neighbors, will she rally to their assistance or
revel in their comeuppance?

A tuneful, hilarious and wildly theatrical youth musical presented by quick-change actors and a bevy of puppets,
Gappers received its world premiere at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in a Mark Taper Forum P.L.A.Y. production.

Casting Information:

  • Capable, a plucky 10-year-old girl.  A strong singer, alto-range.  

  • Capable's Dad, her father.  Baritone
  • Capable's Mom, the memory of Capable's deceased mother

  • Bea Romo, Capable's neighbor.  A larger-than-life, operatic (sorta) soprano
  • Robert Romo, her son. Alto or Tenor.
  • Gilbert Romo, her other son. Alto or Tenor.

  • Sid Ronsen, Capable's conservative neighbor. Tenor
  • Carol Ronsen, Sid's wife. Alto
  • Beverly Ronsen, their daughter.  Soprano.
  • Gloria Ronsen, their other daughter. Soprano/Alto.

The following roles will be performed by actors using puppets.  The actors will be visible on stage:
  • Gappers, Orange, prickly sea-urchins with bulgy eyes that sing in 5-part harmony.
  • Smart Gapper, the smartest of the bunch of Gappers


Note: The show is originally written to be performed by six performers, with each actor playing several of the above
roles.  In an effort to involve more performers, and because the Spotlights' show is a youth production, we will be
expanding the cast quite a bit.  

For more information, contact Tim Anderson, Director.

Audition Scenes:

Capable's Opening Monologue:

    CAPABLE. Ow! (To the audience.)  Ever had a burr in your sock? A gapper's
    like that. Only bigger.  (She tugs off her boot, removes a gapper and
    replaces her boot.)  And gappers love goats. Anytime a gapper gets near a
    goat, it gives off a high-pitched, happy shriek of pleasure that makes it
    impossible for the goat to sleep. (We hear tiny shrieks of pleasure from
    the goat's coat. CAPABLE applies her brush to the goat.)  And if a goat
    can't sleep, a goat gets skinny. Goats get skinny and stop giving milk. No
    goat milk, no money. No money, no food, no clothes, no house.  So unless
    you like being hungry and cold and stuck outside in your underwear, you
    gotta keep those gappers off those goats. Such a town is Frip.


Scene with Bea Romo & Carol Ronsen:

    CAROL RONSEN. Such a good good girl, Capable.

    BEA ROMO. Why, Carol Ronsen. I just said the same thing myself.

    CAROL RONSEN. Did you?

    BEA ROMO. Wouldn't her mother be proud?

    (BEA and CAROL coo with sympathy and regret over the memory of CAPABLE'S
    MOM-as girls do.)

    BEA ROMO (cont’d). Her mother was my closest, dearest, very best friend.

    CAROL RONSEN. Actually, she was my closest, dearest, very best friend.

    BEA ROMO. Actually, mine.

    CAROL RONSEN. Mine.

    BEA & CAROL (as girls do). Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine!

    BEA ROMO, Oh! How silly. You and I should be best friends now!

    CAROL RONSEN. You and I? Best friends?

    BEA ROMO. I was just going to suggest that myself!

    CAROL RONSEN. Oh! Isn't that funny? I was just going to-oh dear, I’ve
    forgotten what I was going to say—

    BEA ROMO. You should come over! And visit!

    CAROL RONSEN. Yes! Come over! But call first!

    BEA ROMO. Oh, yes. You call.

    CAROL RONSEN: You call too.

    BEA & CAROL: (as girls do) Will do!


Scene with Smart Gapper and Gapper-1

    GAPPER-1. Excuse me, sir. If all of us gappers converge on one goat yard,
    isn't it possible we'll upset the balance of life in Frip?

    SMART GAPPER. Gappers are invertebrates. We don't have a conscience.

    GAPPER-1.Oh.

    SMART GAPPER. Hey, have you heard this one? What do you get if you cross a
    goat and a duck?

    GAPPER-1. A goat and a duck. What?

    SMART GAPPER. A goat that wakes up at the quack of dawn! (They laugh.)

    GAPPER-1. That's a good one. I'm gonna have to remember-

    SMART GAPPER. I got another. How do you stop a goat from charging?

    GAPPER-1. Stop a goat from charging. How?

    SMART GAPPER. Make it pay cash! (They laugh-a little forced.)

    GAPPER-1. I gotta go now.

    SMART GAPPER. Wait! I got a million of 'em.

    GAPPER-1. No, I gotta go. (GAPPER-l exits.)

    SMART GAPPER (to the audience). So okay. Here goes. Knock-knock. (Audience:
    Who’s there?) Goat. (Audience: Goat who?) Goat-to the next scene!


Sid Ronsen Monologue

    (Writing a letter to Capable)
    WE ARE IN RECEIPT OF YOUR LETTER OF THE OTHER DAY.
    THAT OTHER DAY, WHENEVER THAT DAY WAS.
    WHEN YOU SENT THAT LETTER THAT YOU SENT US

    WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU
    ALTHOUGH WE ARE VERY SYMPATHETIC
    TO YOUR SIGNIFICANT HARDSHIPS
    DON'T YOU THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER
    IF YOU TOOK RESPONSIBILITY
    FOR YOUR OWN LIFE?

    WE FEEL STRONGLY THAT
    ONCE YOU RID YOUR GOATS OF GAPPERS
    AS WE HAVE
    YOU WILL FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF
    AND ALSO
    WE WILL FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOU.
    NOT THAT WE'RE SAYING WE'RE BETTER
    THAN YOU.

    NECESSARILY.

    IT'S JUST THAT
    SINCE GAPPERS ARE BAD
    AND YOU AND YOU ALONE HAVE THEM
    IT ONLY STANDS TO REASON
    THAT YOU ARE NOT, PERHAPS,
    QUITE AS GOOD AS US.

    NOT THAT WE HATE YOU!
    WE DON'T!
    WE SORT OF EVEN LIKE YOU.
    JUST PLEASE GET RID OF THOSE GAPPERS!

    PROVE THAT YOU CAN DO IT.
    JUST AS WE PROVED WE COULD DO IT.
    AND AT THAT TIJVIF:
    AND THAT TIME ONLY
    PLEASE COME OVER.
    AND WON'T THAT BE FUN?


Gapper Scene:

    GAPPERS. What the-? NO GOATS?! (The GAPPERS turn on the SMART GAPPER.)

    GAPPER-l You lied to us!

    GAPPER-3. You traitor!

    SMART GAPPER. But I-I

    GAPPER-2. I feel so dirty!

    GAPPER-4. I'm so ashamed!

    GAPPER-1. Ah, the humanity!

    SMART GAPPER. Wait! I see a goat! I see goats!

    GAPPER-2. Where?

    SMART GAPPER. In the yard next door!

    (The GAPPERS press between the fenceposts into the Romo yard.)

    GAPPER-3. Push past the fence!

    GAPPER-4. Squeeze between the fenceposts!

    GAPPER-2. Stupid fence!

    GAPPER-1. I hope I never see another fence in my life!


Scene with the Romo Family (Bea, Gilbert, and Robert)

    BEA ROMO. Robert, Gilbert! We don't help people with gappers. We try not to
    think of people with gappers.

    ROBERT ROMO. But weren't we people with-?

    BEA ROMO. Robert, ridiculous! Did we ever? It was so long ago I hardly
    recall. Put away your brush, Robert darling! We're not brushing gappers
    anymore! We don't have any.

    ROBERT ROMO.What are you saying, Ma? We don't have to brush gappers?

    GILBERT ROMO. Is that what you're saying, Ma?

    BEA ROMO. It's a good thing you boys are such excellent singers because
    you're certainly not going to win any prize rot brains...

    ROBERT ROMO. A prize for brains?

    GILBERT ROMO. I know. Ouch.

    BEA ROMO. Put away the brushes, boys! From now on, you boys will dedicate
    yourselves to your singing careers!  Your potential has heen trapped all
    these years under the weight of those dreadful gappers-but now that the
    gappers are gone-sing, boys, sing!


Scene with the Beverly & Gloria Ronsen and Capable

    BEVERLY RONSEN. Well, we don't have gappers anymore.

    CAPABLE. You don't have gappers?

    BEVERLY RONSEN. --and neither do the Romas.

    CAPABLE. You don't? And the Romos don't?

    GLORIA RONSEN. The only one with gappers is you.

    CAPABLE. How did that happen?

    GLORIA RONSEN. It's a miracle--

    BEVERLY RONSEN. --only not such a miracle--

    RONSEN GIRLS. --'cause we deserve it.

    CAPABLE. "Deserve" it?

    GLORIA RONSEN. Uh-huh. Too bad about you though.

    BEVERLY RONSEN. Look at your goats.

    GLORIA RONSEN. They look baaaa-aaaad. (The RONSEN GIRLS laugh.)

    BEVERLY RONSEN. You should build them little fences.

    GLORlA RONSEN. You should dress them up in dresses.

    BEVERLY RONSEN. You should send out S.0.S.'s- .

    TOGETHER. With pretty please-in the P.S.'s-

    (BEVERLY and GLORIA exit.)


Scene with the Capable and Capable's Dad

    CAPABLE. Knock-knock, Daddy.

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Who's there?

    CAPABLE. Doris.

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Doris who?

    CAPABLE. Doris closed.

    TOGETHER. Ha-ha. Ha-ha.

    CAPABLE. Daddy. The Ronsens and the Ramos moved their houses into the swamp.

    CAPABLE'S DAD. What in the world? Why would they do that?

    CAPABLE. To get away from the gappers.

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Ah! Those gappers.

    CAPABLE. Now they're shivering wet in a dinghy.

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Oh~ (CAPABLE and her DAD suppress giggles.)

    CAPABLE. And their goats ran away. (CAPABLE and her DAD snicker harder.)

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Knock-knock, Capable.

    CAPABLE. Who's there?

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Ida.

    CAPABLE. Ida who?

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Ida wish you hadn't closed the door!

    CAPABLE. Oh, Daddy. (She gasps at the window.) Beverly Ronsen almost fell
    into the water.

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Knock-knock.

    CAPABLE. And I think Mr. Ronsen is crying.

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Knock-knock, Capable.

    CAPABLE. Who's there?

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Bea.

    CAPABLE. Bea who?

    CAPABLE'S DAD. Bea Romo in the swamp. (CAPABLE and DAD giggles.)

    CAPABLE. That's not funny, Daddy.

    CAPABLE'S DAD. It's just a joke.

    CAPABLE. Not funny.

    CAPABLE'S DAD. It was just a joke.

    CAPABLE. I know, Daddy. I made a joke too.

For more information, contact Tim Anderson, Director.