Currently Casting - PECKING ORDER

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BREAKDOWN

Albert Jones, m, 30s, African American/Dominican. Born and raised in The Bronx, the lovable dreamer is the veteran doorman of a luxury Manhattan building passes his time as an avid “birder.” Dragged into a building-wide dispute over Red-Tailed Hawks nesting atop the residence while caring for his diabetic half-sister, Rosie, Albert holds tightly to his dreams of a girlfriend and a job at Wild Bird Rescue. NY Spanish familiar.

 

Rosie Gutierrez, f, 40s, Latinx/Afro-Latinx, plus-sized. Fun, feisty, argumentative, diabetic contending with end-stage disease and self-sabotage. A caretaker at heart, she’s now incapacitated and angry about it. Desperately wants her younger half-brother, Albert, to find his true love. NY Spanish v. familiar/fluent.

 

Tony Russo, m, 20s, native New Yorker. Wise-cracking, know-it-all, NY “bada-bing” style. He displays his dazzling intellect through prolific use of malapropisms. The new doorman, he sees the world as made of winners and losers, zero-sum, and he intends to win.

 

Sorrell Soffit, f, turning 21 today. A TikTok influencer and the daughter of a real estate mogul, she lives in Soffit Suites with her oft-divorced, emotionally neglectful tycoon father. Yearning for his approval, she takes on the task of removing a pair of Red-Tailed Hawks and their nest from atop the luxury building.

 

Bootsie Chestnut, f, “a certain age” (late 50s-60s). A former Broadway diva and resident of Soffit Suites. An animal lover, she puts aside preparation for her big “comeback” audition to champion the Red-Tailed Hawks nesting atop the suites, putting her squarely at odds with the building owner’s daughter, Sorrell.

 

Helen Herskovitz, f, 40s-50s. Bronx native, loud, loyal, tough but sensitive, she’s the building’s “kochloeffel” and mensch. Checks in on her frenemy, Rosie, before and after her night shift. Once extremely close, they’ve become estranged over the course of Rosie’s illness.

 

May, f, 20s-30s. A songbird (as in avian) who transforms into a woman and finds the world new and exciting. She remembers Albert from her bird’s-eye view and is very fond of him. Never quite shakes her avian instincts.

 

Synopsis

Red-Tailed Hawks Pale Male & Lola have built their 300 lb nest atop Manhattan's swank "Soffit Suites" where middle-aged, Bronx-born Albert is the long-time doorman. While juggling the care for his ailing sister by night and fending off the new hotshot doorman angling for his job by day, he's suddenly dragged into the building's celebrity brouhaha to decide the birds’ fate. A devout birder, Albert is determined to save the pair. Torn between his responsibilities, Albert yearns for a new life and love. When a bird crashes into the luxury building and transforms into the woman of his dreams, Albert embarks on a journey of true love, deepest loss, and finds himself.

Weaving gritty reality, comedy, and elements of magical realism, Pecking Order explores the love, struggle, and dreams of an "essential" worker within the pecking order.