breakinglight11 | Casting the Godmother

So, even though I know it's utterly useless, I've spent the last fifteen minutes mentally casting my gender-reverse show, "The Godmother", which is harder than I'd have thought.

I have four roles nailed down, out of all the roles in the show. The most obvious one to me was Reagan as the Godmother, Donna Vita Corleone. I mean, the character is the most famous in all of cinema, and played by Marlon freaking Brando, so it's not like it's an easy job. I think Reagan would be perfect; not only could she handle the difficulty, she could convey the character's simple dignity and power.

Lizzie would be the Sonny character, Sandra Corleone. She could capture way the character's fire, and how her basic good intentions and love for family are obscured and tainted by the wrongs in her nature, the coarseness, the fierceness, and the violence.

Jen would be the Michael character, Mica. I wanted the actress to be small and dark, to contrast with the character's fiance, who must be tall and fair. Moreover, the part requires subtlety of expression, as well as of the change from resisting the family ways to becoming part of them. So Jen would be perfect.

For the Tom character, the Donna's consigliere Teresa Hagen, I decided on Abby. Teresa's the only one of the four that managed to maintain the Godmother's strange honor in the face of their criminal activities, and Abby would be great for the sole voice of reason and sense as bad things start happening to the family.

Beyond them, however, I really don't know. Part of the problem has to do with the lack of guy roles. Of the ones of any importance, there's Kevin Adams, Conner Corleone, maybe Mark McCluskey, and, if you simply count time needed to be on stage, Carmello Corleone.

Okay, who would be Kevin Adams, the Kay character, and Mica's fiance? Maybe Ryan? Or Drew? I couldn't see Lenny in that role, and anyway, I wouldn't want to waste him by having him play a WASP in a show about Italians. Not Casey either, for similar reasons. He needs earnestness and dignity, and I'd prefer him to be tall and fair, so as to best contrast with his Italian girlfriend. What about Conner Corleone, the Connie character? I could maybe see Ryan as Conner, but not Drew. Conner has to be a basically sweet, easygoing guy, but can be set into a rage when his wife's shameful behavior goes too far. Could Lenny be Conner? Well, actually, I think Casey would make a better Conner. But I could also see him as the crooked police captain, Mark McCluskey, and I don't know if any of the others could be gruff enough. My insinct is to make Lenny Papa Carmello Corleone, the Godmother's husband, but I'd also like him as Apollonio Vitelli, the man Mica marries while she is hiding in Italy. And what about Greg? Not Kevin. Maybe McCluskey? Or Conner? And what about Luca Brasi? No clue who I'd cast in that role!

And of course, with the multitude of female roles, that presents a whole different set of problems. What to do with, say, Ally, or Becca? I don't have a Freda, or a Carla, or a Clemenza or Tessio, or a Sollozzo. Joanie Fontane sings, so I'd have to have someone with a nice voice in that role, someone who can alternate being incredibly charming and pathetic. Freda must be sweet and friendly but kind of low-class, the least intelligent of the Corleone children, the least disciplined. Carla has to be able to appear nice and goodhearted, but really be trash who cheats on and is cruel to her husband Conner. Tessio has some intelligence and class but is totally ruthless, and Clemenza is jolly and friendly but at heart a street thug. There's real evil in Sollozzo, who has the veneer of a gentlewoman over a greedy and murderous heart. As you can tell, lots of double-sided people, lots of contrasts within a character. So who would fit in each role? Becca's good at playing disingenuous, affected characters, as I have seen her do Columbine to perfection, so... maybe Freda? Or Carla, I could see that. Or even Joanie. Though I kind of like the idea of Kristin as Joanie. What about Ally? I think she could pull off as intense a character as Sollozzo. But what if she were Carla?

So you see my dilemma-- ignoring, of course, the one in which this entire exercise has no point.