Changes: Martha Bessell

Revision as of 06:03, 18 June 2017

Martha Bessell is the friend of Wendla, Anna, and Thea.

In both the play and the musical, she accidentally reveals that she is being physically -- and in the musical, sexually -- abused by her father, and her mother is either oblivious or uncaring. She begs the girls not to tell anyone because she is afraid she will end up like Ilse, a childhood friend who is homeless because her parents kicked her out of the house.

She has a crush on Moritz, calling him a "sad, soulful sleepyhead."

Fun Facts

played by Lili Cooper in the original
Deaf in the revival (by Treshelle Edmond with Kathryn Gallagher as her voice.)
In the Deaf West production, she is always separated from her voice (except for at Moritz's funeral).
Implied to have a want to be a boy in the play, leading to discussion of trans boy Martha
in the Deaf West she signs "bruise" on Anna's forehead center stage and they have a brief moment together during the staging of Word of Your Body Reprise with romantic implications. In addition other implications in staging during the production imply romantic tension but we cannot know for sure.
Says she will dig up her family's roses and plant them for Moritz on/near his grave in the play.
She begs Ilse for the gun Moritz used to kill himself

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Infobox|Box title = Martha Bessell|Row 1 title = Age|Row 1 info = 14-16|Row 2 title = Occupation|Row 2 info = Student|Row 3 title = Relationships|Row 3 info =
+[[Anna]] ''Friend (Possibly Romantic Interest in the Deaf West)''
+[[Thea]] ''Friend''
-	Martha is the friend of Wendla, Anna, Thea, and Ilse. In both the play and the musical, she accidently reveals that she is being physically and sexually abused by her father, and her mother is either oblivious or uncaring. Even though the other girls are horrified to hear it, she begs them not to tell anyone because she is afraid she will end up like Ilse, a childhood friend who is homeless because her parents kicked her out of the house. She's a sweetheart and should be protected at all costs.
+[[Wendla Bergmann]] ''Friend''
+[[Ilse]] ''Former friend (possible sister according to some versions of the script)''
+[[Moritz Stiefel]] ''Crush''
+}}
+'''Martha Bessell''' is the friend of Wendla, Anna, and Thea.
+In both the play and the musical, she accidentally reveals that she is being physically -- and in the musical, sexually -- abused by her father, and her mother is either oblivious or uncaring. She begs the girls not to tell anyone because she is afraid she will end up like Ilse, a childhood friend who is homeless because her parents kicked her out of the house.
+She has a crush on Moritz, calling him a "sad, soulful sleepyhead."
+== Fun Facts ==
+* played by Lili Cooper in the original
+* Deaf in the revival (by Treshelle Edmond with Kathryn Gallagher as her voice.)
+* In the Deaf West production, she is always separated from her voice (except for at Moritz's funeral).
+* Implied to have a want to be a boy in the play, leading to discussion of trans boy Martha
+* in the Deaf West she signs "bruise" on [[Anna]]'s forehead center stage and they have a brief moment together during the staging of Word of Your Body Reprise with romantic implications. In addition other implications in staging during the production imply romantic tension but we cannot know for sure.
+* Says she will dig up her family's roses and plant them for Moritz on/near his grave in the play.
+* She begs Ilse for the gun Moritz used to kill himself
+[[Category:Character]]
+[[Category:The Girls]]