Male Audition Sides
You Can't Take It With You
Paul Sycamore
Paul, Penny’s husband, is in his mid-fifties, with “a quiet, enthusiastic charm and mild manners that are distinctly engaging.” Paul has married into this family and assumed its value system and quirky customs. An inventive soul with a passion for designing Fourth of July fireworks. Usually seen with his BFF, Mr. DePinna.
Mr. De Pinna
One of several eccentric add-ons to the Sycamore household. While delivering ice to the Sycamore home eight years earlier, Mr. De Pinna struck up a conversation with Paul and never left. He is ready to throw himself into whatever the family is devoted to at the moment. Great comic role; not afraid to look ridiculous (as when he dons a toga and poses as a discus thrower for another of Penny’s creative passions, painting).
Ed Carmichael
Essie’s husband, son-in-law to Paul and Penny. Ed seems to have many interests. He plays the xylophone, enjoys crafting masks, and is an amateur printer, printing up slogans and slipping them into the candy he and his wife Essie create in the kitchen. Ed is a naively innocent man who expresses larger ideas, the wisdom of which even he sometimes doesn’t fully appreciate.
Donald
Rheba’s longtime boyfriend, Donald is one of the many visitors who frequent the Sycamore residence. He often lends a hand to Paul and Mr. DePinna with their sideline business of selling fireworks during the peak season. Like Rheba, he offers commentary and insights about the family that show his natural talents for reading people.
“Grandpa” Martin Vanderhof
A singular personality. Though some might regard him as eccentric, he boldly chooses to chart his own path through life. He was once a man of business, much like Mr. Kirby, and concerned himself with things that society said should warrant his attention. He was driven, passionate, successful. And not happy. Financially secure, Martin has the freedom to spend his days indulging his interests and pursuing his own sources of happiness. He quietly preaches a better direction to travel to his loved ones (and his loved ones include everyone). He knows people, and he shares his philosophies with them. The old Shaker hymn, “T’is a gift to be simple, t’is a gift to be free” resonates with and through him.
Wilbur C. Henderson
Great cameo. An investigator with the IRS, Mr. Henderson’s understanding of the world is sound and based on logic and reason. He is a rule follower, and as such is flummoxed by the eccentricities of the Sycamore clan. However, he’s not to be seen as a villain; his humor lies in the fact that he takes his job seriously, and is a true believer in society and people’s roles in it. The world of the Sycamores is alien to him.
Tony Kirby
Tony is genuinely a good guy, a pretty modest guy, and of course, he’s highly attracted to Alice. Though a product of his father’s vision of success in life, Tony recognizes in Alice something far removed from the ordinary, but right now he may not be able to exactly articulate just why he is so utterly attracted to her.
Boris Kolenkhov
Great character role - larger than life. Essie’s dance instructor, a Russian immigrant (comic – even exaggerated — Russian accent required) who escaped the Russian Revolution and is highly critical of his homeland. In a sense, Kalenkhov shares with Grandpa a common life philosophy: do as you please in pursuit of happiness.
Mr. Kirby
A prototypical — and at first glance perhaps stereotypical — businessman. He is driven, passionate, worldly successful, but in his secret life he wonders why he’s not happier and why he must constantly be popping antacid tablets. Kirby struggles against accepting the reality that Martin Vanderhof proposes because it runs in utterly stark contrast to his understanding of the world. By the end of the play, however, we are led to believe Mr. Kirby’s years forward will be happier and more fulfilling.