Gruff, streetwise artist of Austrian-Jewish parents from the Lower East Side of Manhattan. An incredible combination of inner-city toughness and transcendental, cosmic dreamer. The play tracks his life literally from the age of 8 to 80.
First Jack’s protegee, then, later, his boss, then, even later, his nemesis. Bombastic and melodramatic, born to be a media darling. Begins the play at 16, ends at 60.
Jack’s artistic partner through the first part of his career. Practical to a fault, he is the cynical voice-of-reason to Jack’s tendency of day-dreaming. Jack sees comics as a calling; Joe sees comics as a job. The big brother in their friendship.
Another tough Jewish Brooklynite, fiercely protective of her husband. In many ways a much bigger fighter than he is. Next to the phrase “Doesn’t suffer fools gladly” in the dictionary is Roz’s picture.
One actor plays a revolving door of business-savvy, tyrannical, and just plain bizarre owners of comic book publishers in the mid-1940s.
The primary actors will likely double up in numerous smaller roles, delineated in the script breakdown, depending on company size.
Crank callers, soldiers, secretaries, animators, spacemen, union organizers, radio announcers, and more.
