At first the Sycamores seem mad, but it is not long before we realize that if they are mad, the rest of the world is madder! In contrast to these delightful people are the unhappy Kirbys. The plot shows how Tony, attractive young son of the Kirbys, falls in love with Alice Sycamore and brings his parents to dine at the Sycamore home on the wrong evening. The shock sustained by the Kirbys, who are invited to eat cheap food, shows Alice that marriage to Tony is out of the question. The Sycamores, however, though sympathetic to Alice, find it hard to realize her point of view. Meantime Tony, who knows the Sycamores are right and his own family wrong, will not give her up, and in the end Mr. Kirby is converted to the happy madness of the Sycamores, particularly since he arrives the next evening during a visit by an ex-Grand Duchess from Russia, who earns her living as a waitress in a Times Square restaurant. No mention has as yet been made of the strange activities of certain members of the household engaged in the manufacture of fireworks; nor of the printing press set up in the parlor; nor of Rheba the maid and her friend Donald; nor of Grandpa's interview with the I.R.S. tax collector when he tells him he doesn't believe in the income tax. 

Leads:

Alice: She is only the "normal" member of her family; sweet, if not a little nervous, beautiful, and in love with Tony. 

Tony Kirby: Vice-President of his dad’s Wall Street firm. Intelligent, willful, handsome, and in love with Alice. 

"Grandpa" Martin Vanderhoff: This wizened kook presides over the crazed Vanderhoff /Sycamore household. 

Penelope Sycamore: Grandpa’s daughter, Alice’s mother. She is as nutty as a loon. Writes plays, paints, helps Grandpa preside over resident nut house. She is sweet, and loves both her daughters. 

Major Roles:

Essie Carmichael: Alice’s sister. Essie is a ballet dancer--the most devoted and the worst ballet dancer in the world.  She is also as batty as a loon. 

Rheba: The Vanderhoff / Sycamore maid. She is willful, full of life and charming. Oh, and she’s a little bit crazy. 

Donald: Rheba’s boyfriend. He’s sort of wise, not unlike Grandpa.  He is poor and doesn't really have a job; he helps out Rheba. 

Paul Sycamore: Penelope’s husband, Alice and Essie’s father. He’s a pyromaniac who should be locked up; but he’s very sweet. 

Mr. DePinna: He is also a pyromaniac. Oh, and he’s crazy. 

Ed Carmichael: Essie’s husband. Obsessed with playing Beethoven on the xylophone, and likes to print everything on a printing press in living room. Except for those two things, he’s not crazy at all. 

Boris Kolenkhov: Essie’s Russian ballet instructor. Loud, boisterous, egotistical and unable to mince words. A plum role. 

Mr. Kirby: President of a Wall Street firm. His role plays the pivotal part in the final act. Mr. Kirby suffers from indigestion, breeds orchids on the side, and is utterly, completely normal. Really, he is. 

Other Cool Roles:

Gay Wellington: A drunken middle-aged actress. She doesn’t have a lot of lines, but she could steal the show. Spends much of one act lying passed out on stage. 

Mrs. Kirby: A down-to-earth middle-aged wife of Mr. Kirby. She’s in only one scene, but it’s a great scene where she get’s to play a sexy word game with her husband. She doesn’t get enough sex from Mr. Kirby. 

Olga: Doesn’t appear till the last Act, but what a role! A lost Russian princess working as a cook in a diner. Vivacious, passionate. 

Minor Roles:

Henderson: A young, slavish tax-man. Has one great scene. 

First G-Man: Rough, commanding FBI man. Once fun scene. 

Second G-Man: Rough FBI man. One fun scene. 

Third G-Man: Rough FBI man. One fun scene.
 
 

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff	Rick Owens
Penelope Sycamore	Dee Baldock
Alice Sycamore	Katie Wehrley
Tony Kirby	Brian Schultz
Essie Carmichael	Kristin Reuschlein
Boris Kolenkhov	Donavon Armbruster
Mr. De Pinna	Steve Witherspoon
Paul Sycamore	Jim McNeill
Ed Carmichael	David Woldseth
Rheba	Tracey Phillips
Donald	Todd Bramson
Mr. Kirby	David Lonsdorf
Mrs. Kirby	Jeannie Pitsch
Gay Wellington	Therese Kattner
Grand Duchess Olga	Deborah Holbrook
Henderson	Richard Lonsdorf
First G-Man	Edric Johnson
Second G-Man	Dale Nickels
Third G-Man	Dick Vock