A Poison Squad of Whispering Women by Kelly McBurnette-Andronicos

Finalist - BAPF Playwrights Foundation

FULL LENGTH 100 pgs - When a professor withdraws to a small-town boarding house to finish her manuscript on the ‘model American town,’ she becomes involved in her student’s soured romance with an abusive politician. Finding herself aligned with the ‘poison squad’, she helps launch a whisper campaign to end the future congressman’s harassment and ultimately...
Finalist - BAPF Playwrights Foundation

FULL LENGTH 100 pgs - When a professor withdraws to a small-town boarding house to finish her manuscript on the ‘model American town,’ she becomes involved in her student’s soured romance with an abusive politician. Finding herself aligned with the ‘poison squad’, she helps launch a whisper campaign to end the future congressman’s harassment and ultimately his career. But she underestimates how far the corrupt politician will go to protect his empire, and learns how far she will be pushed to save herself.
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A Poison Squad of Whispering Women

Recommended by

  • Donald E. Baker:
    18 Jan. 2024
    “ Klan dominance of Indiana in the 1920s lends itself to drama. (I've written two plays on the subject myself.) McBurnette-Andronicos has taken recognizable personalities and events from that era and completely reworked them into a brand-new story centering on the Klan affiliations (or not) of five fictional women in a small-town boarding house. The play is dramatic and emotional and the tension keeps ratcheting up to an explosive conclusion. The Indiana local color is spot on and the youngest woman's flapper slang is hilarious. Great work with juicy roles for women of all ages. (Caution: don't eat the pie.) ”
  • Angels Theatre Company:
    25 Mar. 2023
    “ 2022-23 Salon Reading Series Selection

    Andronicos adeptly weaves a thread between historical fiction and contemporary allusion in A Poison Squad of Whispering Women. While the politics and divisions of a small Indiana town in 1924 may seem distant, the language of generational misunderstanding and community protectionism is eerily familiar. It is easy to imagine Andronicos's characters speaking in 2023, particularly with regards to whisper campaigns (or perhaps social media campaigns) and their effectiveness in a divide-and-conquer strategy. By shining a light on the complexity of our world, the play ultimately serves to remind us that there are no easy answers. ”
  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend:
    6 May. 2021
    “ This full length play about a group of women who take on the Grand Dragon is great! The women are complex and surprising, and I loved watching the story unfold. ”
View all 18 recommendations

Character Information

  • SYLVIA OTIS
    30s,
    White
    ,
    Female
    Professor, researcher and recent divorcee from Chicago. Focused and stoic, she is driven to complete her non-fiction book on the model American town. She probably drinks and smokes too much.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • OPAL HIGHTOWER
    20s,
    White
    ,
    Female
    College student and flapper. Educated, flirtatious, and high-spirited, she prefers to be called ‘Liberty.’ Both affectionate and mocking with her aunt.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • PEARLENE HIGHTOWER
    50s, 60s,
    White
    ,
    Female
    Opal’s verbose aunt, owner of the boarding house, and a still politically active former Suffragette. She walks with a noticeable limp.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • DELL GUFFEY
    40s,
    White
    ,
    Female
    Live-in housekeeper and low-level civic official. She is Midwestern friendly but also hard, rustic, ambitious, and entitled by her religion.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • EULA ROMAN
    20s,
    Latinx/Mixed
    ,
    Female
    A mole masquerading as a transitory stranger. She speaks with an indiscernible Eastern European accent.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic, Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • ADOLPHUS BECK
    40s,
    White
    ,
    Male
    Charismatic, suave, and attractive congressional candidate with a penchant for women and an obsession for ‘Liberty’ Hightower.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male

Development History

Production History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette
    ,
    2020

Awards

Individual Artists Grant
,
Indiana Arts Commission
,
2020
Semi-Finalist
,
2020 Plays in Progress
,
Athena Project
,
2019
Winner
,
World Premiere Staged Reading of a New Play
,
Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette
,
2017