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How old can Martha be?I am interested in trying out for the role of Martha, but think I'm too old. I saw a 35 year old play it once, but I thought that was overdoing it a little. Any ideas?
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wicked_diva
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really, it's not just age, but also, how old do you look?ou could be 18, but look 30, and you'd be too old. Or you could be thirty, but look only 20, and that would probably work. I'd say if you look older than maybe 22, you're too old.
But then again, when I did Beauty and the Beast, we had a 50 yr-old silly girl. So really, it's up to the director. It never hurts to try.
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momsterv
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I definitely agree with wicked diva. My daughter was in a professional production, and their Martha was in her mid to late 20's, but looked younger.
In the book, Martha is about 18. so if they're trying to stay true to the book, she should be about that age. She has to be a litle older than Dickon, who is often played by men in their 20's.
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ConverseSneaker
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Depends on the ages. Is it children's theater?Usually Martha is anywhere from 15-26.
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The Very Angry Woman
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| momsterv wrote: | I definitely agree with wicked diva. My daughter was in a professional production, and their Martha was in her mid to late 20's, but looked younger.
In the book, Martha is about 18. so if they're trying to stay true to the book, she should be about that age. She has to be a litle older than Dickon, who is often played by men in their 20's. |
I saw a regional production where Dickon was in his late 30s (but looked much younger) and Martha was an older teenager (but looked older). It really worked, although it may not have worked with different actors.
I've heard of other productions not doing it that way -- the original Aussie version had a Martha and Dickon who appeared to both in the late 20s range.
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Anita4ever
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I was 30 when I played Martha, but I look like I'm in my early- to mid-20s. Dickon was 18, but looked early-20s. So, it was a good pairing. I think it helps to have a slightly older Martha to bring some maturity and wisdom to the role. To me, Martha is very much like Wendy in Peter Pan in that she herself is on the brink of adulthood. She has the energy and exuberance of a teenager, but she's at the age (and in the position) where she has adult responsibilities. It's a very interesting dynamic to play, especially considering the parallels with other characters, such as Lily, Archie, and Neville. Something to think about...
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Amy_Vocalist
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Our Martha is around 25
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ellemenope
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Ours was 11! grrr... younger than Mary! What were they thinking! She was horrible, too. Everybody else was fabulous though.
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Red Head Curls
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Ours was almost 30... and EVERY SINGLE ONE of the other girls called back for Martha was no older than 22. The 30 yr old got cast in the part because she was the president of the theatre company. isn't that just grand?
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Amy_Vocalist
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That's quite often how things go. Sadley, it's not what you know but who you know
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elphclaudia
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According to what I read, Martha is 14-17 years old. I was 15 and I played Martha. If you're younger, it helps with working off of Mary.
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*BroadwayLights*
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I'm in the Secret Garden right now as a chorus member, but at the callbacks, they had me audition for Martha. I was actually auite surprised by this. For some reason, I had always pictured Martha to be an older character, not a teenager. I'm 16, pretty short for my age, and have a history of playing younger characters, and since Martha is older than Dickon I didn't think i would even be eligible for the role. But I guess height didn't make a difference in this audtion, because the boy who got Dickon is at least a foot taller than the girl who got Martha.
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Moci
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This thread is over a year old, so this is pretty irrelevant, but I believe that Alison Fraser was in her early 30s when she originated the part on Broadway and Linzi Hateley was 31 when she did it in the original London cast.
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SuperKabob
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In the book, Martha is in her teens.
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