Overview
Four survivors of a storm-sunken pirate ship—the legendary Isabella, Neptune’s bastard daughter; pirates Jenny (a runaway whore) and Sally (an electrified girl); and the Viscountess Marlene (a drag queen)—seize a half-wrecked ship crewed only by Captain Joppa and two sailors, young Jack and ex-slave Horatio. Joppa is determined to get back to the war. Isabella has other plans. Amidst time lurches, shifting loyalties, hearts lost and secrets revealed, the seven souls find themselves without wind or current on a slowly sinking ship, until an unexpected event offers either hope or doom.
Casting & Production
Casting
ISABELLA — Pirate Queen
JENNY — Woman, Isabella’s right arm
SALLY — Young woman
VISCOUNTESS MARLENE — Drag queen.
HORATIO — Man, Black
CAPTAIN JOPPA — Man, white
JACK — Young man
Casting Note:
Bearing in mind that Joppa and Jack are each other’s love interests, the captain should not be radically older; he might be in his early 30s to Jack’s early 20s, for example. Horatio must be Black and Joppa should be white; the rest of the characters may be any race or ethnicity. The setting and style is theatrical and not specific to any exact historical moment.
Setting
The middle of the ocean, some other time.
First and briefly, a life boat.
After that and for the rest of the play, the deck of a sailing ship that has been through battle, wreck, and storm.
Reviews
“Adams’ writing is lyrical and circuitous, with an almost Shakespearean weight to it… [WET] showcases her sly, literary sense of humor.”
— CurtainUp.com
“The play is by turns a funny, poignant, angry, searching, yearning glimpse of a ship of disparate souls in search of their destination and destinies.”
— SanDiego.com
