The Wood$tock Tontine by Steffi Rubin

FULL LENGTH. Five women met at the Woodstock Music Festival in August, 1969. Now they are reunited 50 years later at the funeral of the group’s emotional pulse, Valerie. Finding their bond in danger, they decide to invest in their friendship—literally—by forming a tontine, each contributing a substantial amount of money to ensure that the last gal standing will be taken care of financially. It is a tantalizing...
FULL LENGTH. Five women met at the Woodstock Music Festival in August, 1969. Now they are reunited 50 years later at the funeral of the group’s emotional pulse, Valerie. Finding their bond in danger, they decide to invest in their friendship—literally—by forming a tontine, each contributing a substantial amount of money to ensure that the last gal standing will be taken care of financially. It is a tantalizing and morbid proposition that will test the bonds of their friendship.

"The Wood$tock Tontine" was an official selection of the Road Theatre Company’s Summer Playwrights Festival, 2018. Scott Alan Smith Festival Director as well as an online performance through Mad Cow Theatre Women's Voices, 2020.
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The Wood$tock Tontine

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Character Information

Cast of Characters: all women aged c.65+

  • Roberta
    65-70,
    Female
    ROBERTA is unsentimental, logical, traditional. She is Jewish, originally from Brooklyn. According to her world-view, we are the product of our history and the tribes that we connect with. She maintains a small, manageable world that consists of listening to opera and watching the ducks on the pond behind her house. A retired financial planner, she is the driving force behind the investment idea for the tontine. As immovable as a rock she learns most about herself late in life.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • B.J.
    65-70+,
    African American / Black
    ,
    Female
    B.J. is an African American who was adopted by a Jewish family from the Bronx, NY and raised as a Jew. Growing up, she was confused, not knowing how to identify: Am I Black? Am I Jewish? Whose history do I connect with? Which tragedy should I embrace? B.J. paints and writes. Over the top and unfiltered, the arts are her way to make sense of the world.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Trudy
    60-70+,
    White
    ,
    Female
    B.J. is an African American who was adopted by a Jewish family from the Bronx, NY and raised as a Jew. Growing up, she was confused, not knowing how to identify: Am I Black? Am I Jewish? Whose history do I connect with? Which tragedy should I embrace? B.J. paints and writes. The arts are her way to make sense of the world.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Shelley
    65-70+,
    White
    ,
    Female
    Shelley, a lapsed Catholic from Boston, is usually thinking about men and sex. She is very feminine, flirty, stylish. Though she has suffered deep personal loss, she sustains an optimistic outlook. Shelley’s philosophy is to embrace all the opportunities (men) that life throws at her. In her own way, she is fearless.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Veronika
    late 60s-70+,
    White
    ,
    Female
    Veronika grew up in post-war Germany and has lived in the US since 1967. She retains a slight accent and some endearing miscues in her English. In her youth, recent German history was hardly referenced and never morally examined. When she finally learns more about it, she experiences conflict and guilt. As she gets older, she finds that, conflicted or not, she needs to return to her roots.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    The Road Theatre
    ,
    2018
  • Reading
    ,
    Private
    ,
    2017

Production History

  • Community Theater
    ,
    Mad Cow Theatre, Orlando, FL
    ,
    2020
  • Fringe
    ,
    The Women's Theatre Festival
    ,
    2017

Awards

Finalist
,
Woman's Playwright Initiative
,
Ivoryton Playhouse
,
2017