I have chosen Catherine for this essay. If an actress were to play her part I would choose Natalie Portman. I would choose her because she could come off to be a 17-year-old girl and her innocent nature, like Catherine’s would come through. She is attractive which makes it easier to believe that she is Catherine and would therefore allow the audience to sympathise with her character. At the same time, she would also be able to show a strong character, which she would have to be at the end of the play.
This is a picture of Natalie Portman:
She would be a good actress to play Catherine, because she has a certain innocence about herself. She is attractive, which fits the character of Catherine.
If an actress were to play her part, she would have to be innocent at the start. She would have to show that she is scared of her uncle by acting nervous around him. Her character would have to demonstrate a good girl who loves her family and who is devoted only to her family. Catherine shows all of this in the beginning of the play: when she is dressed up, Eddie says, “Listen, I could tell you things about Louis which you wouldn’t wave to him no more”, this shows that Catherine still does not know about boys. She shows that she is scared of her uncle when she acts nervous around him. She wants a job but Eddie is not happy with that, so Catherine does not get a job. She cannot stand up for herself. She suggests that she loves her family when she wants a job to make money for the family: “ I’m gonna buy all new dishes with my first pay! I mean it! I’ll up the whole house! I’ll buy a rug!” The clothes she wears in the beginning are attractive, and Eddie does not like this. Because Catherine respects Eddie’s wishes, she does not wear the clothes. So, in the beginning of the play, she would be wearing not so attractive clothes.
In the middle of the play she would start to become more independent and would have more control of her life. She starts to see the world in a different way and becomes more adventurous, although she is still intimidated by her uncle. She starts to stand up for herself. She still should show respect to her uncle and she still should feel upset if her uncle is upset. Catherine shows all of this in the middle of the play: She starts to go out with Rodolfo. She shows that she is more adventurous and she appears to be growing more confident. She learns more about the world from Rodolfo, he tells her about Italy. She stands up for herself when she tells Eddie that she likes Rodolfo and she knows that Eddie does not like him, she goes against him. When Eddie tells her that Rodolfo is just using her to become an American citizen, she starts to cry. This shows that she is still intimidated by her uncle.
At the end of the play she is a more independent and stronger character. She has no fear of Eddie and has little respect for Eddie because of his recent actions with the immigration office. She should be less innocent and more aggressive. She would get angrier much more easily, she would not be scared to show her feelings. Catherine shows all of this at the end of the play: When Eddie comes home when he is drunk; Eddie overpowers Rodolfo and kisses him. Catherine says, “Eddie! Let go, ya hear me! I’ll kill you! Leggo of him!” She shows that she is more aggressive and shows no respect for Eddie. She tells Eddie that she has to move out. She is standing up for herself. When the police officers arrest Marco and Rodolfo, Catherine finds out that Eddie has told the immigration office about Marco and Rodolfo’s staying in America illegally. She is shocked and this is when she loses all respect of him. At this point, she would be wearing the attractive clothes, the clothes that Eddie despised her wearing, because she would not have any respect for Eddie. She is desperate to save Rodolfo. She says, “ He was born in Philadelphia! What do you want from him!” This suggests that she is not afraid to show her feelings.
If an actress were to play Catherine she would have to be able to act all the above. This would be a perfect Catherine.