The character of Jolene is interesting...she's set up as another lead, but, of course, disappears before the halfway mark of the first act, before the arrival of Christine, the actual female lead. The audience has to see Lawrence and Freddy run a "successful" con, so they know how this is supposed to work before everything goes down with Christine later on, but the character can't stick around after that.
I've always thought it would be interesting if there was a way for the actress playing Christine to also play Jolene. It could add another layer to that character, that "Jolene" is also a con, trying to take these exiled princes for what she can get before she figures out that he's also running a con and bails...only to return as "Christine," armed with the knowledge that she needs take $50K from these two. It would also eliminate one actor, which would be helpful for smaller theatres with more limited budgets. But I just don't see that bit of double-casting actually working in a more practical sense. The audience would know that they're seeing the same actress and that would likely give away the whole plot for those that don't know the story coming in. |
