A Poison Squad of Whispering Women by Kelly McBurnette-Andronicos

FULL LENGTH - In 1924, an unlikely union of women lead a righteous whisper campaign against the Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan, exacting a bitter reckoning that ends in the brutal murder of one of their own.
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A Poison Squad of Whispering Women

Recommended by

  • Maximillian Gill:
    28 Feb. 2020
    “ McBurnette-Andronicos’s thrilling play has a lot to say about how our current political situation can be traced through the country’s history. Her portrait of a town with a normalized KKK presence is chilling and effortlessly convincing. Yet again, I have to remark on the writer’s incredible feel for language in the dialogue. How she is able to convey the rhythms and peculiarities of American English from a century ago is beyond me. The use of antiquated slang always feels authentic, yet the characters are so real I never feel like I’m reading a period piece. ”
  • Molly Wagner:
    21 Feb. 2020
    “ Kelly does a tremendous job of drawing us completely into this world, transporting the audience into a completely different place. I loved that the language added flavor to the characters, location and time period without ever feeling stilted or forced. This play is a fascinating look at a group of women involved in such an abhorrent organization and she laid down just enough clues that left me feeling smug while alos biting my nails to figure out what was coming next. ”
  • Dana Leslie Goldstein:
    6 Feb. 2020
    “ Wow! The historical context, the comic elements, the moral ambiguity, the specificity of the characters, the very high stakes, the subject matter, the use of language, the evocative atmosphere - all these things made this play a great read and an important piece of theater. This is yet another play by Kelly McBurnette-Andronicos that I really want to see fully staged! ”
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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
    , Array
    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

  • Reading
    ,
    Something Something Theatre Company
    ,
    2019
  • Reading
    ,
    Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette
    ,
    2017

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