The Orbit of Mercury

by Bob Bartlett

(O'Neill Finalist) "A derelict city diner becomes a portal to the past - and the future." Mercury's future is bright. He's the star player on his prep school basketball team and is being recruited by the best colleges in the country as much for his ball handling skills and blazing speed as for his talent in the sciences and passion for astronomy. But lately Mercury's orbit is behaving oddly, and sometimes it...

(O'Neill Finalist) "A derelict city diner becomes a portal to the past - and the future." Mercury's future is bright. He's the star player on his prep school basketball team and is being recruited by the best colleges in the country as much for his ball handling skills and blazing speed as for his talent in the sciences and passion for astronomy. But lately Mercury's orbit is behaving oddly, and sometimes it even feels as if he's moving backwards. He's come home to a place he doesn't remember, a girl who remembers everything about his past that he's forgotten, and a changing relationship with the man who raised him, a retired cop who does everything he can to help a forgotten Baltimore neighborhood, even buying and restoring an historic corner diner. And then he dies. And sees the universe for what it is.

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The Orbit of Mercury

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear: The Orbit of Mercury

    A revealing story about one's orbit changing as things aren't operating as they were and it brings to question what we can do for ourselves and those around us as we become aware. Well done.

    A revealing story about one's orbit changing as things aren't operating as they were and it brings to question what we can do for ourselves and those around us as we become aware. Well done.

  • Unicorn Theatre: The Orbit of Mercury

    This play was a FINALIST for the 2017-2018 In-Progress New Play Reading Series at Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. It is our pleasure to support THE ORBIT OF MERCURY.

    This play was a FINALIST for the 2017-2018 In-Progress New Play Reading Series at Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. It is our pleasure to support THE ORBIT OF MERCURY.

  • Eugene O'Neill Theater Center: The Orbit of Mercury

    It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Bob Bartlett and their play The Orbit of Mercury as a finalist for our 2017 National Playwrights Conference. The play rose through a competitive, anonymous, multileveled selection process that took nearly nine months to execute. As one of 55 finalists out of more than 1,300 submissions, the strength of its writing has allowed this work to prosper in such a competitive selection process. Our readers responded to the play’s compelling supernatural elements and heightened sequences.

    It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Bob Bartlett and their play The Orbit of Mercury as a finalist for our 2017 National Playwrights Conference. The play rose through a competitive, anonymous, multileveled selection process that took nearly nine months to execute. As one of 55 finalists out of more than 1,300 submissions, the strength of its writing has allowed this work to prosper in such a competitive selection process. Our readers responded to the play’s compelling supernatural elements and heightened sequences.

View all 4 recommendations

Character Information

  • Mercury
    a terrific student and prep school athlete headed to Stanford to study physics and play basketball
    Character Age
    17
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    African American
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Stoney
    a retired and widowed Baltimore city police officer; Tim, Hank and Mercury’s father
    Character Age
    65
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    White
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Tim
    a Baltimore city police officer; Stoney’s son and Mercury and Hank’s brother
    Character Age
    32
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    White
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Hank
    a Baltimore city police officer and Tim's partner; Stoney’s son and Tim and Mercury’s brother
    Character Age
    37
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    African American
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Ida B
    a bright and driven girl from the neighborhood
    Character Age
    17
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    African American
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Man
    Character Age
    40s/50s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    African American
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Gunman
    The actor playing Hank may double the role of Gunman.
    Character Age
    20s and up
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Non-Speaking Roles
    A Gathering of Ancestors (non-speaking roles - these should be projections) - an elderly Black woman and man; a Black nine-year-old boy; a thirty-something-year-old Black male

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization 1st Stage Tysons, Year 2018
  • Type Reading, Organization Rep Stage, Year 2017
  • Type Workshop, Organization Spooky Action Theatre, Year 2017
  • Type Reading, Organization id Theatre, Year 2016
  • Type Reading, Organization Spooky Action Theater, Year 2016
  • Type Reading, Organization Theater Alliance (as AMERICAN COP), Year 2015
  • Type Reading, Organization Theater Alliance (as AMERICAN COP at The Kennedy Center's Page-to-Stage Festival), Year 2014

Awards

  • In-Progress New Play Reading Series
    Unicorn Theatre
    Finalist
    2018
  • Magic in Rough Spaces
    Rorschach Theatre
    Finalist
    2018
  • Finalist
    O'Neill National Playwrights Conference
    Finalist
    2017
  • Award for Excellence in Playwriting
    ATHE - American Association of Theatre in Higher Education
    Finalist
    2017