Tropical Heat
a steamy new comedy
by Rich Orloff
Cast: 4 M, 1 W* – cross-gender casting encouraged
When a fire-and-brimstone minister clashes with a tropical temptress, he doesn’t have a prayer!
TROPICAL HEAT is an outrageous, over-the-top comedy where passionate fury succumbs to furious passion. Set in a 1920’s tropical hotel, TROPICAL HEAT pits a proselytizing pastor against a passionate party girl with a past. Other characters include the acerbic hotel owner named Pops, a bum named Doc, and a tormented young painter who hasn’t painted anything yet because he’s still learning how to be tormented.
Loosely based on the early Joan Crawford film RAIN (and the Somerset Maugham story from which it's adapted), the play's tone is inspired by the camp comedic style of Charles Ludlam and Charles Busch. TROPICAL HEAT has had several hit readings around the country, usually with the female lead played by a man (80 min.).
Developed in readings and workshops in New York, Phoenix and New Jersey, TROPICAL HEAT has not yet been produced.
