Overview
In this funny, moving and wistfully haunting play, a deceased man guides us through his past and present, as his apartment fills to the brim with family, friends, friends of friends, and even total strangers. As the guests grapple, both with his loss and with each other, the action weaves from room to room, jumping through time by minutes and years. Separate Rooms is a stunning meditation on loss, friendship, and the traces of ourselves we leave behind. A Big Chill for the 21st Century.
Casting & Production
Casting
This shouldn’t need to be said but diversity is greatly encouraged in the casting beyond what is already designated in the script.
CAST OF CHARACTERS (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
HIM: 30ish. Likes to build things. “Beautiful.” Deceased.
BOB: Mid to late 30s. A first generation American. (There is flexibility in terms of where his parents are from, but be thoughtful and don’t make it Canada.) A lawyer and a good one. Deeply empathetic even when the circumstances don’t warrant it. Married to Anna. Close friend of the deceased.
ANNA: Mid 30s. Searching. She lives a very accomplished life but has a glass half empty personality and craves to be the opposite but the evidence around her doesn’t ever seem to support that plan. Sister of the deceased.
MELISSA: 30ish. A smoker. A drinker. A fierce friend. Lives a passionate, sometimes messy, life but despises cheap sentiment. Close friend of the deceased.
FRANK: Mid 30s. From Jersey. Married. He holds a well paying, nine to five, job that he hates. Knew the deceased only tangentially.
THE GUEST: Female. Early 20s. Susceptible. Lost. Co-worker of the deceased.
JOSH: 30ish. Jewish. Carries his guilt and neuroses almost proudly. Smart to a fault. Deeply sensitive. Reeling. Hasn’t slept in days. Partner of the deceased.
SIMON: Mid to late 20s. African American. Works as a doorman to support much bigger goals. A guilt free soul. Neighbor of the deceased, but they never met.
JANIE: 30ish. Ordered. She has constructed a very good, very successful life for herself. Never met the deceased.
Time:
Late January 2011 and thereabouts.
Place:
A one-bedroom apartment in midtown Manhattan and… someplace else.
