Elevator Family play

🎭Elevator Family Play
Elevator Family Play Scripts and Licensing

"Beneath its blissfully buoyant surface, The Elevator Family has something important to say about the effect of one family on the world and vice versa. But that theme never overwhelms the gentle humor."

Margaret Quamme, The Columbus Dispatch

"A delightful surprise... In an age where we are taught to be suspicious, The Elevator Family may be a nod to a simpler time. But it's a nice reminder that if we took to the time to get to know the people swirling around us, we'd likely find a lot of good."

Dennis Thompson, Theatre Roundtable of Central Ohio

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DIRECTOR’S NOTES: Choosing an unfamiliar title
Why did I choose The Elevator Family to bring to the CCT stage? I doubt any of you had every heard of the show - I hadn’t either until I read it. lt was one of the 30 or 40 new scripts that come across my desk every year. I read them all. Most of them aren’t very good, or they aren’t right for CCT for one reason or another. But once in awhile I get a new script that calls out to me. Elevator Family was one of those. When I read Douglas Evans' play l found a charm and an innocence that reminded me of my childhood. I grew up in a time and place when one assumed the best in people. It was a time when if you met a stranger, you would simply smile and think “Hello! What do you do?” We were open to all the good things people had to offer.
Sadly, in today’s world it seems the majority of what we hear about is negative: bad people, bad events, and bad things. We naturally want to protect our children, and we teach them to be wary of danger, but I have a fear that today’s children are growing up focusing on the “possible” negatives in people instead of the positives. Despite the violence and horrors we hear about today, I truly believe that the vast majority of people in this world are really good people. We just don’t hear about them as much.
The Elevator Family is a play about good people: It’s a family that assumes the best in people. They welcome strangers, make friends easily and openly, and are a positive influence in their world, but they also have the wisdom to observe when things aren’t quite right. I don’t expect this world to ever return to the innocence of my youth. But I take pleasure in presenting this unique family from a different time and place. So, welcome to the world of the Wilson Family, where looking at the positive side of humanity is just the way things are done.

William Goldsmith, Artistic Director Columbus Children's Theater

Cast of Characters:

Walter Wilson: about 40, big-bellied father. Wears suspenders.
Winona Wilson: about 40, easy-going mother.
Whitney Wilson: age 10, daughter, twin of Winslow.
Winslow Wilson: age 10, son, twin of Whitney.
Gavin: age 18, bellhop, wears red jacket and black bowtie.
Housekeeper: woman about 20
Elderly Man and Woman: hotel guests. Double role as kidnappers.
Mr. Brown: about 30, salesman of fads. Wears brown suit.
Cathy: age 18, clerk in flower stall,
Mrs. Goldengate: 70, society woman, lives in penthouse with white poodle Oui-Oui.
Joe: about 50, night watchman, wears security guard hat.
Natacha: about 25, waitress at party, wears long apron.
Woman Kidnapper: black outfit and sunglasses,
Man Kidnapper: wears black outfit and sunglasses.
Lizzy Chronicle: age 12, bratty rich girl.
Hotel Manager: 40, wears tie and blazer

7 male / 7 female roles

Staging Suggestions:

The simple framework of an elevator stands center stage. Flower stall stands stage left. An elevator bell rings to indicate elevator door opening. An elevator hum is heard to indicate elevator moving.

Prop List:

Small table
Two clothes trunks
Two folding chairs
Housekeeping cart holding linen, pillows, and blankets
Newspaper for WALTER
Sketch pad for WINONA
Paperback books for WHITNEY and WINSLOW
Flowers in vases to set around room.
Embroidered framed sampler that reads HOME SWEAT HOME
Food cart for GAVIN filled with dishes.
White stuffed poodle for MRS. GOLDEN GATE
Pick-up sticks for FOUR WILSONS
Two baseball caps with visors front and back
Sound effects: elevator hum, elevator bell, dog yapping

Photos- William Goldsmith, director Columbus Children's Theatre

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