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...
(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:
    16 Jun. 2021
    “ 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:
    28 Mar. 2019
    “ 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:
    1 May. 2017
    “ 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
    17,
    African American
    ,
    Male
    a terrific student and prep school athlete headed to Stanford to study physics and play basketball
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Stoney
    65,
    White
    ,
    Male
    a retired and widowed Baltimore city police officer; Tim, Hank and Mercury’s father
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Ida B
    17,
    African American
    ,
    Female
    a bright and driven girl from the neighborhood
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Hank
    37,
    African American
    ,
    Male
    a Baltimore city police officer and Tim's partner; Stoney’s son and Tim and Mercury’s brother
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Tim
    32,
    White
    ,
    Male
    a Baltimore city police officer; Stoney’s son and Mercury and Hank’s brother
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Man
    40s/50s,
    African American
    ,
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Gunman
    20s and up,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    The actor playing Hank may double the role of Gunman.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      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
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Female, Male

Development History

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

Awards

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