The Howland Company has announced its cast for the North American premiere of Casimir and Caroline!
Written by celebrated European playwright Ödön von Harváth, the 1932 tragicomedy has been a frequently staged production in the modern German collection and is considered a modern German classic. The play is coming to North America for the first time, at Crow’s Theatre’s East-end arts hub Streetcars Crowsnest. This adaptation by Paolo Santalucia, Holger Syme, and The Howland Company is based on an original translation by Holger Syme and will be directed by Paolo Santalucia.
“Casimir and Caroline cares little for decorum,” says director Paolo Santalucia, “It relentlessly reminds us that we’ll never be rich enough, happy enough, or important enough to satisfy our desires. And when faced with the disappointment of falling short, it laughs at how outrageously we try to prove everyone otherwise.”
The play is about two people who find love in the cold atmosphere of modern capitalism. Follow these star-crossed lovers as they experience clingy co-workers, superficial best friends, questionable HR representatives, the playboy boss, and many more colourful characters. Every single one of them longs for a deeper connection and none of them knows what that might be. But hey…as long as their lives look #goals on Instagram.
The creative team consists of lighting designer and Howland Company member Jareth Li, with set and costume design by Ken MacKenzie and sound design by Evan MacKenzie. With stage manager and Howland Company member Sam Hale, and associate director Thom Nyhuus.
Casimir and Caroline runs from January 14 to February 9, 2020, at the Scotiabank Community Studio Theatre at Streetcar Crowsnest. Opening night is on January 16, 2020, and for more information, click here.
The cast:
- Alexander Crowther (Pure – CBC/WGN) – Casimir
- Hallie Seline (The Wolves – Howland Company/Crow’s Theatre) – Caroline
- Cameron Laurie (Punk Rock – The Howland Company) – Frank
- Caroline Toal (To Kill a Mockingbird – Young People’s Theatre) – Liz
- Michael Ayres (The Boys – Amazon) – Sanders
- James Graham (Othello – Shakespeare BASH’d) – Rankin
- Kimwun Perehinec (Fortune of Wolves – Theatre New Brunswick) – Shira
- Shruti Kothari (Three Seasons – Stratford Festival) – Ellie
- Veronica Hortiguela (Dryland – Cue6) – Mary
- Michael Chiem (A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare in Action) – Trevor
The Howland Company: Established in 2013, The Howland Company is one of Toronto’s independent ensemble theatre companies that is dedicated to telling stories that impact their generation. Their productions, training opportunities, and free community play reading group aim to connect and encourage a community that will feel ready to take on the challenges of tomorrow. For more information about The Howland Company click here.
The cast of Casimir and Caroline answer the following question:
“What is the most embarrassing/awkward thing that has happened to you/you have done/ you have seen at a party?”
Shruti Kothari
Ellie
"You have to keep in mind, I was much younger, and less refined... I was on the dance floor and I thought I could handle one more tequila shot—it made its way down my gullet all right, but before the lime made it to my mouth I knew I was in trouble. I turned away from my group and vomited on the dance floor and immediately turned back to my group, covered in throw up, exclaiming “Oh my god! Someone threw up on me!!"
Michael Chiem
Trevor
"I work at a catering company and weddings are a pretty common event that we do. One wedding, I couldn't tell if he was the best man or just a groomsman, but this guy was giving a speech and kept making comments about how he'd met her first and how they had a "thing" before she met him, but would kinda laugh about it, (I think he was a little intoxicated). But no one was really laughing and eventually it got so awkward that our supervisor asked everyone to go back into the kitchen and wait until the speeches were over."
Hallie Seline
Caroline
"On the theme of awkward dancing, one of my favourites was watching an event unfold at a job of mine where the organizer wanted the dance floor to really HAPPEN at her corporate party. And when it didn’t, she made an announcement over the microphone, telling people to get on the dance floor right now because they were going to do a DANCE OFF to get this party going and it was going to be FUN! She also wanted the lights to be up so people could see each other better. Watching an entire company awkwardly shuffle to this clearing to move uncomfortably in florescent lighting while the organizer kept demanding over her microphone that people have MORE FUN was one of the most uncomfortable corporate parties to witness and so much fun to watch as a fly on the wall. "
Michael Ayres
Sanders
"The most embarrassing thing I’ve seen at a party is me from 2006-2016."
Alexander Crowther
Casimir
"I was told my 10-Year High School Reunion was going to be a “Jetsons/Flintstones” themed costume party... it wasn’t."
Kimwun Perehinec
Shira
"At what might have been my own birthday, where people had surprised me by requiring me to do karaoke, I once thought that I could sing a Pearl Jam song. I learned that I could not."
Caroline Toal
Liz
"In my last year of high school there was a legendary New Years Eve house party on the outskirts of my small town. It was nuts - hundreds of people, thousands of dollars in damages. I saw many a terrifying thing at that party, but one of the more embarrassing/ bizarre things was when I witnessed a tiny woman run face first into a wooden door so hard that she mysteriously knocked the door off of its hinges and fell on top of it to the ground on the other side."
James Graham
Rankin
"The summer after high school, I hosted the final party before everyone left for university. I went a little overboard and ended up throwing up in a plate of chicken fingers, running down the street in the pouring rain with no shoes on, and after my friends had stripped my bed sheets I came into the room and said "that's bizarre, somebody stole my sheets." They proceeded to write the quote down in a word document that I still have it to this day."
Cameron Laurie
Frank
"I was at a work party for a brunch place and my co-worker Kim brought home-made brownies. No one else but Kim and I wanted any brownies. Kim and I ate the whole pan. Kim and I also had to open the next morning. After asking our a customer for their brunch order 5 times each, our manager Josh apologized and explained that it was our staff party last night. Kim and I took a good hour-and-a-half timeout on the smoke break milk crates in the back while Josh held down the fort. Josh was real solid that day."
Veronica Hortiguela
Mary
"I fell (headfirst) into a City of Toronto residential garbage can. I can say no more."
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