Town Players of Newtown will hold auditions in September for its upcoming production of Dancing at Lughnasa. Written by Brian Friel and directed by Sherry Asch, Newtown’s community theater will host a production of the drama on weekends, November 16-December 8.

The play is the story of five unmarried sisters eking out their lives in a small village in Ireland in 1936. The action is told through the memory of the illegitimate son of one of the sisters as he remembers the five women who raised him.

Auditions will be Sunday and Monday, September 9-10, 7 to 9 pm each night.

The cast has five females and three males.: Kate Mundy is 40, the eldest sister, with strong religious beliefs and a no-nonsense personality; Maggie (late 30s), spirited family housekeeper, with good humor;

Christina (20s), the youngest sister and mother of Michael, is a romantic who believes Michael’s unreliable father will return permanently; Agnes (35), quiet and strong, and a protector of Rose, who is 32 and described by the playwright as “simple” (naïve, childlike, vulnerable);

Gerry Evans (30s), charming, disarming father of Michael; eternal optimist, believes he is meant for bigger things;

Michael Evans (adult, non specific age) son of Christina and Gerry, and the narrator (who will also speak the lines of young Michael; and Father Jack (50+), a frail, forgetful priest, the brother of the five sisters, just returned from Uganda after many years and having a difficult transition back to Irish life.

Sides will be provided. Those auditioning should be familiar with the play. Irish accents are encouraged, but not required. A dialect coach may be available.

Ages may vary, depending on the cast. A PDF of the play is available upon request from the director at yipi2@comcast.net

The Little Theatre is at 18 Orchard Hill Road in Newtown. For additional information, visit newtownplayers.org.