Clinically Un-Depressed
Audiences love this two-act dramatic comedy. They come back with friends and family.
‘This is the play the world needs right now. There’s a reason this is the only play we’ve ever done twice.’ ~ john daniels, jr. — Director of Playhouse Smithville
If you want a funny, socially relevant, and thought-provoking play that is not preachy, Clinically Un-Depressed hits the mark.
Cole Black, a boy with a chemical imbalance that renders him unable to be sad or angry, changes everyone around him. The story is told from the perspective of a Vietnam veteran, Millard Anderson, who is the grumpy old man of the neighborhood. His main pleasure in life is yelling at kids from his front porch. Most kids run, but Cole sticks around, starts talking to him and transforms Milliard’s miserable life into something wonderful. Cole’s father, Blake Black, a high-strung lawyer, is psychologically abusive to his wife and Cole. But his father is a source of fascination to Cole as he tries to understand the emotions that are a mystery to him. Because Cole responds differently, people have to respond to him differently. The school bully becomes his best friend, the uppity girl becomes his girlfriend, he becomes his boss’s go-to person for how to run a business and other lives are changed.
Cast
Millard Anderson: The grumpy old man of the neighborhood. He is a Vietnam veteran, gunsmith and avid gardener. Cole Black: A boy with a brain chemistry condition which will not allow him to be angry or sad. He appears as a 12-year-old and 17-year-old which might need two actors but can be done with one. Linda Black: Cole’s mother. She spans the ages of a new mother to the mother of a 17-year-old. Linda is a generally nice person but is psychologically beaten down at the start of the play by her husband, Blake. Blake Black: Cole’s father. He spans the ages of a new father to the father of a 17-year-old. A high-paid lawyer with anger issues. That changes as the play progress. Jimmy Masters: School bully of the 12-year-old Cole. Sandy: Counter clerk at Big Bite Burger and the girlfriend of the 17-year-old Cole. Dean: Thug who robs Cole Jim Masters: Jimmy’s father Mr. Thompson: Big Bite Burger customer Nancy Masters: Jimmy’s mother Nurse: Nurse in maternity ward (Male or female) Mr./Mrs. Barns: Owner of Big Bite Burger Mr./Mrs. Reynolds: Defending attorney Amelia Anderson: Millard’s wife. Only appears at the very end of the play. Her age could be from a young woman to an older lady depending on how the director wants to portray her in the scene. Mr. Brown: Expecting father in waiting room. Mrs. Latham: Old woman in Cole’s line at Big Bite Burger. This character is optional.
Authors
Will Holcomb