The Cabots on Broadway by Greg Hatfield

"Effective" "Clearly a lot of thought and care (were) put into each of these individual characters" -- Austin Film Festival

"Hatfield presents a compact historical fiction, an American theater dynasty. It's a charming portrait of "the life" and the sacrifices folks made to live it.”

Synopsis of The Cabots on Broadway by Greg Hatfield...
"Effective" "Clearly a lot of thought and care (were) put into each of these individual characters" -- Austin Film Festival

"Hatfield presents a compact historical fiction, an American theater dynasty. It's a charming portrait of "the life" and the sacrifices folks made to live it.”

Synopsis of The Cabots on Broadway by Greg Hatfield

The Cabots on Broadway is the story of an American theatrical family and how they became one of the foremost dynasties of the stage.

Cast Size: Eight Men, Six Women. Each act’s setting is either a bare stage or backstage dressing area. Minimal props and costuming.

Act One: San Francisco, 1924.
Act One starts with John and Katherine Cabot, who operate their own theatrical company in the early 1920’s. John is the lead actor, director and writer, while Katherine is the company’s manager. John wrote a play about Lincoln, the play became a success, and John and Katherine have traveled with the play all over the country and are expecting to bring it to Europe this spring. John and Katherine are visited by John’s sister, Tess, who stars in a popular movie serial, “Tess in Terror”, and John’s brother, Terrance, who is also in the movies as Cowboy Tennessee West. Their unplanned visit backstage during the play is viewed as suspicious when revealed the Cabots have another visitor who may just change their lives forever.

Act Two: Kansas City, Missouri, 1948.
Act Two highlights the three Fleming sisters, particularly the youngest, Virginia, in 1948. The sisters are traveling in a repertory company and Virginia has the lead in all the plays. Joining her is Charles Cabot, the son of John and Katherine. Virginia and Charles don’t see eye-to-eye on approaches to acting, but need to work it out quickly because the shows open in just a matter of days.

Act Three: New York City, 1978.
Act Three finds the three children of Charles and Virginia making plans to attend the funeral of the “World’s Greatest Shakespearean Actor”, Gregor Stalinski. John Charles Cabot, brother Monty, and sister Veronica have all made their mark in the theater, but it looks like the family dynasty is about to end with their reign.


  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

The Cabots on Broadway

Recommended by

  • David Hansen:
    19 Apr. 2019
    “ Hatfield presents a compact historical fiction, an American theater dynasty. The Cabots suffer triumph and tragedy that spans the 20th Century, offers of fame and wider audiences (European tours, the allure of Hollywood, and later TV) elusive and sometimes fraught. It's a charming portrait of "the life" and the sacrifices folks made to live it. How could they not? ”

The Cabots on Broadway

Cast of Characters (in order of appearance)

Act One

John Montgomery Cabot, Educated, tall, slender, as someone might be who plays Abraham Lincoln. The older brother of Tess and Terrence. Mid 30’s.

Katherine Cabot: More than just Charles’ wife, she runs the family business.
Early 30’s.

Ed McGinty: Stage manager for the theatrical company. Ed’s one of those guys who’s been backstage forever. Age known only to himself.

Tess Cabot: John’s younger sister. Pretty, as befitting a Hollywood starlet. Early 30’s, but claims to be much younger.

Terrence Charles Cabot: John and Tess’s youngest brother. Terrence took advantage of the his siblings’ success and went out to Hollywood, California, where he had heard that some filmmakers were looking for actors. Rugged and tall as you’d expect from a cowboy action hero. Late 20’s.

Joseph Willicombe: Dressed nicely, as the personal assistant to William Randolph would be. Mid 40’s.

Act Two

Eve Fleming: The older sister of Roz and Virginia. Married multiple times and doesn’t shy away from a good time. Mid-40’s.

Roz Fleming: A natural beauty, with a personality to match. She married for money the first chance she got and never looked back. She is the middle sister to Eve and Virginia and was instrumental in Virginia’s upbringing. Late 30’s.

Virginia Fleming: The youngest sister, practically raised by her sisters when her parents just collapsed under the stress of the Depression. Eve and Roz made sure Virginia went to school and it was there, Virginia found her confidence in the theater. She was cast as the lead in every production. Mid 20’s.

Ed McGinty: Yep, the same Ed as in Act One.

Charles Randolph Cabot: The son of John Montgomery Cabot. Charles was raised by his father and grew up loving the theater and it was fairly ordained that he would make it his profession. At this point in his career, Charles is still working his way to the top, working with traveling theatrical companies as the lead actor. Late 20’s.

Teddy Monroe: A boy Virginia met back home and he fell in love with her. Early 30’s.

Act Three

John Charles Cabot: The oldest son of Charles and Catherine Cabot and the bother of Montgomery and Veronica. Jack is a famous actor who has a very high opinion of himself and loves to let his younger brother and sister know it. Mid-40’s.

Ed McGinty: The very same.

Montgomery Terrence Cabot: The youngest brother of Jack and Veronica, who is famous in his own right, but is always in the shadow of his older brother. Mid 30’s.

Veronica Katherine Cabot: The youngest of the family, who is also a famous actress. A very confident woman, who doesn’t put up with Jack’s constant teasing. Late 30’s.