Characters in Off the Rails
By: April Navarro
“Set in the mid 1880’s, we see an Indian boarding school. The jail is also in the school. Across an active main-street in the stewed Prunes Saloon and brothel. It is an idyllic time of year”
(Randy Reinholz)
Madame Overdone (Lakota and French):
(Madame Overdone and Isabel at the Saloon)
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Madame Overdone is a very peculiar woman, she is very independent and has lived a very rough life. She is a mature woman of considerable charm, personal power and beauty. She is Lakota and French descendent. Madame Overdone has been a widow nine times and just obtained an estate from her last marriage. She’s the keeper of the saloon/ brothel. Her relationship with General Gatt is positive but not with Angelo. Angelo has enforced an old rule that women cannot own property in Genoa, and she is struggling to maintain her property. Overdone is a kind- hearted woman that helps Isabel find justice.
Pryor:
Significance of the name: based on “Richard Pryor who could make us laugh at hard truths.” (Reinholz)
Pryor is the bartender, tapster at the saloon owned by Madame Overdone. He is a fast-talking clown/ a Wild West character. According to the author, he is the funniest character in town. He always speaks when it is less appropriate, and not always makes things go smoother for the rest of the characters. In some scenes, it seems that he is doing things on purpose to create some type of small conflict. He always makes a joke of hard truths that no one else would dare to blurt out in a normal situation. He acts very much like a truth teller, with a clownish twist.
Mariana:
Meaning of the name: Bitter; the name was originally used in Shakespeare original play, Measure for Measure for the same character.
Mariana is a dance hall girl at Madame Overdone’s saloon, she is also Angelo’s fiancée. Her family died in the Indian wars. Mariana is in the center of the action towards the end of the play. Mariana has to spend a night with Angelo, in Isabel’s place. She is at peace with this idea because she loves Angelo, and she wants to marry him. Mariana seems to be a very passionate girl, she sings throughout the play and acts very hopeful. She wants to be with her true love, Angelo, even though he is not a good person.
Angelo:
Significance of the name: same name as the original character in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure.
Angelo is the Captain of the army in Genoa and the superintendent at the Boarding school. Angelo believes that the people of the town do not respect the law and when given the opportunity, he takes action. He is very strict and appears to be true to the law, but appearances may deceive. He runs the boarding school very strictly; beating and starving the children. Once General Gatt leaves him in command, Angelo takes it upon himself to make an example of Momaday for impregnating Caitlin before marrying her in the Catholic church.
Momaday (Pawnee):
Significance of the name: Based on (Kiowa) poet, novelist leading figure in Native American literature, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969.
Momaday is a sixteen year old boy who is in love with Caitlin. He married her in the old Pawnee tribe way, but not under the Christian religion. Because his marriage is not Christian, he is sentenced to death by Angelo’s orders. Momaday’s character is very set on old ways. He does not like to speak English and prefers to go back to his tribe. He does not accept the White man’s way of living, trying to domesticate the Native Americans.
Isabel (Pawnee):
Meaning of the name: To follow God.
The name is also the original from Shakespeare’s play Measure for Measure.
Isabel is Momaday’s older sister, she is attending a Normal school to become a teacher. She is said to be the smartest girl in all the Genoa territory, and this causes men to fall at her feet. Isabel is still pure and innocent, she is on a mission. She plans to better herself to help her people progress. Isabel is unsatisfied with the circumstances her fellow Pawnee people are living in at the boarding school, and wants to help them succeed in the new world ran by colonizers. She want to teach at the boarding school, and teach the students to embrace the English language. She is stuck in two worlds, the Native American world and the English World.
Caitlin:
Significance of the name: Jean Bruce Scott’s character from “Air Wolf” which underwrote Native Voices.
Caitlin’s father died in the Indian wars and her mother died during child birth. She is an orphan that goes to the boarding school in Genoa. Caitlin is a sixteen year old girl whom married Momaday in the old Pawnee way, but not in the Christian church. She is deeply in love with Momaday, but she is an Irish girl and he is an Indian boy. The difference in skin color also impacts Angelo’s decision to separate them. She becomes pregnant after her marriage but the representative of the law does not recognize their Pawnee wedding as legitimate. She is a girl that suffers because her husband is in prison and she cannot do anything about it. She also struggles because she wants to stay close to Momaday until his last day but Angelo want to send her away.
General Gatt:
Significance of the name: Winking at Richard Henry Pratt who coined the term, “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” The general of Genoa.
The general is genuinely noble but has trouble enforcing the law because of his generosity. When he goes to attend business out of town, he leaves Angelo in charge because he knows that Angelo will rail the town back into place. What the general does not expect is for Angelo to takes things to the extremes. The general returns to find things very changed and finds out all the harm that Angelo has caused. At the end of the play the general restores the balance, as the good leader he is. His character is very powerful and just.
(McDonald and General Gatt)
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James McDonald (Choctaw):
Meaning of the name: The name is based on a Choctaw who was the first American Indian lawyer.
McDonald is a person that does not like injustice, but he can’t do anything about it because even though he has power, Angelo has more power than him, and he cannot disobey him. He looks out for those less fortunate, like Momaday and Isabel. McDonald is the general’s counselor, but once the general leaves, he is left second in command against Angelo. He thinks that Angelo is a bad person and tries to tell the general but he gets ignored. He is a Princeton graduate, and former unit Pratt commanded soldier.
Cowboy:
“A low COWBOY CURTIS from Pee Wee’s Playhouse, a campy cowboy in an era when being a ‘campy cowboy’ can be rough.”(Reinholz)
The Cowboy is not an essential character, but this does not mean he is not important. He is struggling a battle of his own. During this period, 1800’s, it was very difficult to be a cowboy and especially if one was black. The colonizers were not very friendly and could make the cowboys life miserable. He is the conveyor of a subplot that is not strongly emphasized but present. His character overall is very happy and upbeat. He likes spending time at the saloon and spending time with the ladies.
The Sheriff: (also plays Cowboy):
A good-hearted person in a bad job. The sheriff has to execute Momaday but he instead lets him live despite straight orders from Angelo.
Alexie (Creek):
Significance of the name: based on Sherman Alexie, a contemporary Native American author.
Alexie is the son of a Chairman, a la “Prince Hal” from Henry IV, Also plays the preacher. He is a smooth talking character, with eccentric dressing picks him apart from everyone else.
Elbow:
He’s the deputy. His character was taken from Shakespeare’s play Much Ado about Nothing
Grandmother:
She is Momaday’s grandmother and only appears on the prologue
Grandfather:
He is Momaday’s grandfather and also only appear on the prologue.
From Page to Stage 