Alien Voices - Dramatic Publishing

Transcription

RADIO PLAYS
Remember the good old days of radio—when people had to use their imaginations—when the
mind was a stage? Those days are back—only better! Come into the studio and see the show.
Philip Grecian
It’s a Wonderful Life -
Radio drama. Adapted by Philip Grecian.
Based on the film by Frank Capra. Cast: 63 speaking roles which may be
played by as few as 7m., 3w., 2 boys, 2 girls. Here is the beloved story of George
Bailey, unsung hero of Bedford Falls. George is a giving, dependable man whose
countless small deeds affect the life of the town. As George prepares to go to
college to fulfill his dream of building skyscrapers, his father, the president of
the small Bailey Building and Loan Company, dies, and George postpones his
dreams, manages the family company, and finds happiness in his marriage to
Mary Hatch. When Uncle Billy misplaces company deposits, George faces financial ruin and almost certain imprisonment. Seeing no way out, he heads to the
bridge over the river, prepared to plunge to his death. Enter Clarence, George’s
lovable, bumbling guardian angel, who has come to Bedford Falls to prove to
George that his life is worth living and to earn wings for himself. He grants
George one wish: to see what the world would be like if he had never been born.
Suddenly Bedford Falls is a very unpleasant place: the bustling small town main
street is lined with pool halls and saloons; none of his friends or family recognize
him, not even his beloved wife, Mary, who, in this world without him, is a prim
spinster. Pursued by police, George returns to the bridge and begs to have his life
back. When George goes home he finds his children, his wife, and a whole town
that rallies to support him, and George realizes … it truly is a wonderful life. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Radio
Manuscript: $12.50. Code: I89.
Dracula! - Radio drama. Adapted by Philip Grecian. Based on the novel
field than meets the eye. Despite Van Helsing’s efforts, Lucy dies. He now turns
his attention to Jon. Under hypnosis, Jon remembers his time in Transylvania,
and that Count Dracula is a supernatural monster. Alone, Van Helsing turns to
find Dracula in the room with him. A struggle ensues as Seward and Harker enter. Dracula leaves through a window just as Renfield is discovered, broken and
bloody, at the door. Before he dies, Renfield reveals his role in Dracula’s plot,
including the vampire’s double life as Jack the Ripper in London. Renfield begs
Van Helsing to save Mina, whom Dracula has begun to convert to vampirism.
In a climactic sunrise battle at Dracula’s mansion, the vampire is vanquished
and Mina is purified. Single set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes.
Royalty: $60/ performance. Manuscript: $12.50. Code: D91.
Frankenstein -
Justine, have gone on a picnic at the edge of the forest. Catherine encounters
the Creature, who demands that she deliver a message to Frankenstein. “Tell
him! Tell him I did not die in the fire! Tell him—it begins now!” It disappears
into the thick forest just as the girl dies. No one believes Justine’s stories of a
monster, and she is tried, convicted and hanged for the murder of Catherine.
Later the Creature seeks Victor out and promises to disappear in return for a
wife. Victor builds a second creature but, before giving it life, realizes what he
is about to do and destroys it. In retaliation, the Creature murders Elizabeth,
prompting Clerval and Victor to pursue it to the North Pole, where the Creature murders Clerval, leaving Victor alone. The story ends with Victor’s death
and the Creature’s self-exile on an ice floe as the ice field breaks up and the
ship continues on. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. Royalty:
$60/ performance. Manuscript: $12.50. Code: F94.
by Bram Stoker. Cast: 7m., 3w. 1888, Whitby, England. Lucy Westenra has
fallen ill, and her fiancée, Jack Seward, has brought her to his sanitarium and
called in a battery of physicians, but nothing helps. Desperate, he sends for Van
Helsing, a specialist in obscure diseases. Van Helsing’s visit coincides with that
of Jonathan Harker and his wife, Mina, Seward’s former nurse, who resigned to
care for Jon during his recent illness. Better now, Jon remarks that his law firm
has purchased the old abbey next door to Seward’s sanitarium for Count Dracula, a Transylvanian client. It was during his time in Transylvania that Jon fell ill,
though most of his memory of the visit has been lost. R.M. Renfield, a resident
at the asylum, seems a lunatic, but Van Helsing perceives there is more to RenRadio drama. Adapted by Philip Grecian from the
novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Cast: 6m.,4w. with doubling. May be
expanded. Trapped aboard a ship caught in the arctic ice, Captain Walton and
his crew see a giant figure on a dogsled heading north. Later that day they
rescue a man from an ice floe. As he regains consciousness, a bizarre story
unfolds. With his friend Clerval, Victor Frankenstein sets out to create life using corpses stolen from graveyards. He succeeds but, too late, realizes he has
created a misshapen, inarticulate creature. One fateful night, his house burns to
the ground, and believing the Creature dead, Victor feels free to marry his fiancée, Elizabeth. The Creature, however, has escaped alive and befriends a blind
hermit who teaches it to speak and read. One evening two hunters stop by the
cabin. Shocked and repelled by the Creature’s appearance, they drive it into
the forest. Meanwhile, Victor’s young sister, Catherine, and her governess,
Leonard Nimoy
Alien Voices®
“Imagine students on stage, in front of microphones,
scripts in hand. Behind them, and all around them, Foley artists are creating wonderful sound effects with glass
bottles, celery stalks, flapping umbrellas, you name it!
And of course, music—performed live—to accompany
the action. Rehearsals can be as short as one week be-
John de Lancie and Leonard Nimoy. Photo by Richard Cartwright/USA Network.
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John de Lancie
cause there are no sets to build, no costumes to sew,
and no lights to focus. And best of all, everyone can be
included because there are so many talents involved:
writing, acting, music, sound effects, audiovisual—it’s
not just for the group who want to be actors!”
—John de Lancie
The Dramatic Publishing Company and Alien Voices,® a multimedia production company created by Star Trek actors Leonard Nimoy
and John de Lancie, bring you a series of plays based on science fiction classics, presented in ways that are so unique your audience will
feel as though they’re seeing them for the very first time. The Alien
Voices® performance style, which features actors, sound-effects artists and musicians in full view and interacting simultaneously on
stage, has earned unanimous raves from critics and audiences everywhere. Nimoy and de Lancie started their Alien Voices® enterprise
by writing, producing and fully dramatizing state-of-the-art audio
dramas. These plays require very little rehearsal time and money and
can be staged with as many or as few actors as are available to you.
The two basic requirements for any of the shows in this series are
artists and imagination. You don’t need to budget for costumes—the
students will agree on a style of everyday dress. You don’t have to
hire an orchestra or rent music—students will create their own by
using the play as their guide. And the sound effects for your play
will be created on stage by Foley artists who will use materials they
have on hand. All of these elements will come together during a performance, and your audience will feel as if they are attending a live
show back in the golden age of radio!
Click on a title to visit our website www.dramaticpublishing.com for ordering, script excerpts, music clips and more.
RADIO PLAYS
Leonard Nimoy
Alien Voices®
John de Lancie
“They’re a treat for the eye and the ear.”—Leonard Maltin “Single-handedly reviving radio-style dramatizations.”
—Billboard Magazine
“The radio shows are fun and easy—we have five rehearsals, then perform. The sound effects are fun to research
and test. The sound effects people are the busiest folks in the show! The radio shows appeal to all ages—
the older folks enjoy the nostalgia, the younger folks are introduced to a whole new style of entertainment.”
-Sandi Ceason Weber, LaCrosse Community Theatre, LaCrosse, Wis.
The Lost World - by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adapted by John The Time Machine - by H. G. Wells. Adapted by John de Lande Lancie from the script by Nat Segaloff and John de Lancie. Cast:
4m., 2w., 11m. or w., extras. Challenged by his colleagues to prove his
extraordinary claim that prehistoric animals exist and that he has seen
them, Professor Challenger leads a harrowing four-man expedition
through the remote jungles of South America to settle once and for all
the validity of his claim. Royalty: $50/ performance. Radio Manuscript:
$12.50. Code: LA3.
The First Men in the Moon - by H.G. Wells. Script by Nat
Segaloff and John de Lancie. Cast: 2m., 9 m. or w. Upon discovering a way to neutralize gravity, two men travel to the moon in an antigravity machine, where they discover that there are other intelligent
life forms in the galaxy. Unfortunately, their all-too-human need to
profit makes a poor first impression with this newfound race, landing the explorers, and possibly the entire human race, in dire straits.
Royalty: $50/ performance. Radio Manuscript: $12.50. Code: F68.
Journey to the Center of the Earth - by Jules Verne.
Adapted by John de Lancie from the script by Nat Segaloff. Cast: 2m.,
6 m. or w. Following their discovery of the 16th-century Icelandic alchemist’s map detailing his journey to the center of the earth, a professor and
his nephew set off to retrace the famed explorer’s footsteps and make
their mark on history. Royalty: $50/ performance. Radio Manuscript:
$12.50. Code: J34.
cie from the script by Nat Segaloff. Cast: 7m., 2w., extras. A British
inventor travels in his time machine to the future, where he finds that
the human race has not progressed as expected. He encounters a race
of people called Eloi who enjoy a life of “mindless abandon,” but, as he
soon discovers, that life comes with a price. Royalty: $50/ performance.
Radio Manuscript: $12.50. Code: TC5.
The Invisible Man - by H. G. Wells. Adapted by John de Lancie
from the script by Nat Segaloff and John de Lancie. Cast: 8m., 4w. A
young scientist discovers an ability to make himself invisible, affording
him a unique and exciting opportunity to study the people around him.
But what will happen when the novelty wears off and the invisibility does
not? Royalty: $50/ performance. Radio Manuscript: $12.50. Code: I76.
The Wright Brothers’ First Flight -
Script by John de
Lancie and Nat Segaloff. Cast: 2m., 4 m. or w. In 1903, Orville and
Wilbur Wright made history with their first sustained flight over Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina, in their heavier-than-air contraption, nicknamed
the Wright Flyer, which is now recognized as the first airplane. Who
were Orville and Wilbur Wright, and what motivated them to attempt
such a momentous feat, which guaranteed them a page in American history books forever? This 20-minute show is ideal for schools and competitions where varied cast sizes are preferred. Royalty: $35/performance.
Radio Manuscript: $7.50. Code: W87.
The Halloween Trilogy
Scripts by Cecilia Fannan and John de Lancie
Rudyard Kipling’s The Mark of the Beast.
Cast: 6m. A lack of respect for the spiritual power of
the Monkey God exacts a horrible price on a soldier.
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado.
Cast: 3m., 1w. Driven by his burning desire to avenge
his family’s suffering and father’s death, Montressor
tricks his arrogant and boastful archrival into assisting
in his own hideous demise.
Oscar Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost.
Cast: 5m., 3w., 1m. or w. Doomed to spend the rest of
his life haunting, a ghost’s wish is finally granted due
to an act of kindness by a child. Royalty: $50/ performance. Performance script: $12.50. Code: H74.
Chandler High School Theatre, Chandler, Ariz. The Cask of Amontillado from The Halloween Trilogy.
Instructional Video/Study Guide
This video, featuring Nimoy and de Lancie working with a group of students, captures important lessons and techniques
for directors to use, including creating special effects, sound and original music—everything you need for a masterful
production. Video $25.00. Code: X04.
Alien Voices Collection—Get one reading copy of each radio script
Price: $45.00
Code: 999
Call our office at 800-448-7469 or 815-338-7170 M-F 8:30-5:00 Central time to talk to a real person.
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RADIO PLAYS
Andrew J. Fenady
“ A FAST-MOVING STORY WITH ACTION AND STACCATO DIALOGUE THAT LITERALLY BRING BOGART TO LIFE.” —Variety
Based on his Edgar Allen Poe Award-winning book and feature film. The movie video
The Man With Bogart’s Face was recently re-released by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Rich Little and Samantha Eggar in the California Artists Radio Theatre world premiere.
The Man With Bogart’s Face - Radio comedy/drama. By
Andrew J. Fenady. Based on his Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning book.
Cast: 6m., 4w., and supernumeraries. A man whose identity we never
know has his face altered to look like Bogart and is involved in a Maltese
Falcon-type caper—like the old days when there were causes and dames
and flags worth fighting for. And LAUGHS. Lots of LAUGHS. “A fastmoving story with action and staccato dialogue that literally bring Bogart
to life.” (Variety) “The Man With Bogart’s Face is a loving tribute to the
Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus - Radio drama. By
Andrew J. Fenady. Based on the teleplay by Val DeCrowl and Andrew
J. Fenady. Cast: 7m., 5w., extras. The movie of the week starred Richard Thomas, Katharine Isobel, Charles Bronson and Ed Asner. When
Virginia O’Hanlon writes a letter to the editor of the New York Sun,
genre of hard-boiled detectives of the 1940s and the Hollywood movies
that glorified their derring-do ... Fenady obviously has a strong affection
for those tough private eyes and gorgeous women who both plagued
and pursued them.” (The Hollywood Reporter) Now Fenady brings his
action to the stage in an utterly unique way that is entertaining, hilarious,
and suspenseful. Royalty: $65/ performance. Radio Manuscript: $12.50.
Code: MD7. Radio Playbook: $7.50. Code: MD9.
Frank Church—a reporter on the verge of self destruction—is assigned
to answer her politically charged question. Church’s reply has become
one of the world’s most quoted and beloved editorials. Royalty $65/
performance. Radio Manuscript: $12.50. Code: Y26. Radio Playbook:
$7.50. Code: Y27.
Nicholas A. Patricca
Winner of the DePaul University Cunningham Prize.
“EXQUISITELY WRITTEN—INTELLIGENT AND POETIC.”
—The Chicago Sun-Times
An Uncertain Hour: A Memory Play for Radio - Radio drama. By
Nicholas A. Patricca. Cast: 8 to11 actors (flexible gender) playing multiple roles.
An Uncertain Hour is a memory play telling the story of the transformation of
Primo Levi, an Italian-Jewish chemist, into a writer because of his experience in
Auschwitz. The memories of the Holocaust constantly interrupt and overwhelm
the consciousness of Primo Levi causing him to see himself as a spiritual kin of
the ancient mariner who had no choice but to voice his tale “at an uncertain hour”
to anyone who would listen. The play poetically explores the spiritual struggle at
the heart of all of Primo Levi’s writing: the dual effort of every person to resist
spiritual as well as physical extinction and to construct a meaning for human
existence. It portrays Primo Levi as a Dante for our times, calling us from the
“infernos” of our own making, the various false lights of modern ideologies and
dominating powers, to a genuine, human “paradiso,” the light of sympathetic
understanding, courageous compassion, and generous creativity for the good of
all—the true purpose of science and art. Approximate running time: 90 minutes.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Manuscript: $12.50. Code: U30.
Diane Ney
“A wonderfully idiosyncratic take on love and marriage in a future age by a writer whose radio plays
never fail to charm and delight the BBC’s world audiences.”—Gordon House, former head of BBC Radio Drama
Pilgrims - Radio drama. By Diane Ney. Cast: 3 to 4m., 2w.
The sounds
of a future world find their voice in the distant past, as snatches of poetry
(“Good Pilgrim, you do wrong your hand.”) provide the inspiration for
this light-hearted fantasy about love and commitment. Marriage has been
forbidden because the Ancients discovered it led to breakdowns, insanity
and object throwing. Instead, people renew their coupling vows every seven
years, often taking advantage of the escape clause. This seems perfectly
natural to Celia, who’s celebrating her 20th birthday, her Woman’s Birthday,
when she becomes legally free to choose her first coupling partner. She’s
hoping that will be Mike, her fellow literary restorer, who’s working with
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her on creating a story for the upcoming Festival of the Ancients from the
poetry fragments. Mike loves Celia, and, inspired by those heady fragments
and by a book on ancient coupling practices, he’s decided to convince her
to marry him. Given that this radical practice will mean they must leave the
City and live in the wilderness without any technology or rent control, Mike
is going to have to do a lot of convincing. And fast. The boat leaves in three
hours and they still have to take care of all the preliminaries listed in the book
(like the “shower”). Complicating Mike’s plans is Celia’s intended, Drake,
who’s rarin’ to couple with the birthday girl. Approximate running time: 45
minutes. Royalty: $35 /performance. Manuscript: $7.50. Code: PB3.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Rebecca Gilman
“Rebecca Gilman’s The Sweetest Swing in Baseball Gets a Home Run.” —www.talkinbroadway.com
“The parallels the playwright draws between the artist and baseball player are always smart and amusing.you
might be tempted to leave the theate chanting ‘Gil-man! Gil-man!’”—Boston Globe
“Resonates with ideas about art, identity and being who you want to be.” —Sunday Express
“The Sweetest Swing in Baseball is remarkably funny, with wry and knowing dialogue that reveals
truths about the characters as it entertains and darkly delights.” —www.bohemian.com
“Ms. Gilman succeeds in taking the genre of ‘great artists struggling
to create’ into something more universal.” —CHICAGO, John Olson
The Sweetest Swing in Baseball - Drama /Comedy. By Rebecca Gilman. Cast: 2m., 3. with
doubling. “In The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, artist Dana Fielding is suffering slump in both her career
and her personal life. After a disastrous gallery showing, her paranoia and depression send her boyfriend
packing. When Fielding attempts suicide, she lands in a mental ward and finds she enjoys the structure of
the days. But when she learns her health insurance will pay for only a 10-day stay, she cooks up a scheme
with two fellow patients to fool the doctors into believing she’s psychotic. Without knowing much about
him, she takes on the personality of troubled baseball star Darryl Strawberry. Known for having the
‘sweetest swing in baseball,’ Strawberry also struggled with ... the darker side of fame, including rejection by fans and the effort to make a comeback ... When Dana chats with fellow patients Michael, an alcoholic, and Gary, a stalker, the dialogue here is hilarious as Dana instructs a would-be killer on drawing
negative space and the two men coach her on Strawberry’s stats.” (The Boston Herald) Commissioned
by The Royal Court Theatre. Approximate running time:1 hour, 45 minutes. Multiple locations, minimally
staged. Royalty: $75 /performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SM2.
Eclipse Theatre Company, Chicago. (l-r) Gary Simmers and Janelle
Snow. Photo: Elizabeth G. Lent.
Lisa Dillman
“An Adirondacks town is thrown from its routine when
a glamorous newcomer enters.” —Playbill
Rock Shore - Drama. By Lisa Dillman. Cast: 3m., 6w. Saranac Lake, New York, 1913. For the
“lungers” at Rock Shore Sanatorium for the Tubercular, each day is a blend of pulmonary calisthenics,
gossip, and feverish inertia. Walled in by illness, their world is the intersection of the unchangeable past
and the questionable future, a present tense held together by shaky promises and doctors’ orders. Mary
Cartmill awaits a letter from her husband that may never arrive. Ida, her teenage daughter, longs to fall
in love. Mary’s elder daughter, Emma, has spent her life in service to tuberculosis, as caretaker to her
mother and younger sister. Now 34, she has contracted the disease. Smart, articulate, and gravely disappointed with her lot in life, Emma has grown bitter and old before her time. Mrs. Palmer is an eight-year
veteran of “The San,” so at home there that she has lost all interest in ever returning to her family. Mr.
Caleb, another long-term tubercular, has lost the use of his limbs, and the medical staff allows him to
live in the women’s section. Into this hothouse environment comes Lillian Corelli, 40, a woman who
has always depended on her sexuality as a means to fulfill her financial and emotional needs but now
faces her disease and her advancing age alone. Lillian’s arrival—and the very public perception of both
her sexual freedom and her failing health—arouse a passion for life in Emma that has long been held in
check by rules and regulations. As Emma increasingly admires Lillian and the life she has led, Emma
discovers the surprising key to her own future. Unit set. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R76.
Theatrework, Santa Fe, N.M. Angela Janda and Jonathan Dixon.
Photo: Richard Gonzales.
Charlie Shanian Shari Simpson
“NO ‘MAYBE’ BABY, IT’S A WINNER. Maybe Baby is
smart, funny, adorable.”— New York Post
Maybe Baby, It’s You -
Shari Simpson and Charlie Shanian at the SoHo Playhouse, N.Y.
Photo: Gerry Goodstein.
Comedy. By Charlie Shanian and Shari Simpson. Cast: 1m.,
1w., may be expanded up to 14m., 11w. This clever comedy about the search for that most elusive
of entities, the soul mate, is told in a series of 11 vignettes that cover everything from the first kiss
to the not-so-golden years of marriage. Take a raucous ride through male-female relationships with
two searchers, each with a laundry list of must-have qualities for a mate that swiftly dwindles down
to “warm and breathing” as the only prerequisite; a mild-mannered Midwesterner whose blind
date turns out to be the Greek goddess Medea; a film noir couple who realize that their razor-sharp
banter is hiding their fear and vulnerability; a gorgeous, charming brain surgeon who is always
“Mr. Wrong” due to his penchant for spastic, arhythmic club dancing; a couple celebrating their
wedding anniversary who realize that marriage may not have ended their search for a soul mate;
an elderly divorced couple who entertain the fantasy of a reconciliation at their grandson’s soccer
game; and other would-be and shouldn’t-be couples trying to find each other. Maybe Baby, It’s
You. Or maybe … it isn’t. Simple set. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: ME5.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Nathan Sanders
“Hilarious!” —The Los Angeles Times
“A wildly funny script.” —L.A. Weekly
“Sanders has a colorfully twisted imagination, a sharptongued way with one-liners and uniquely vulnerable
characters that have no desire to live ordinary lives.”
—The San Francisco Bay Times
“Authentic Southern Gothic comedy ... deliciously
lunatic lines!” — New York Newsday
The Sugar Bean Sisters - Comedy. By Nathan Sanders. Cast: 1m.,
4w. In this Southern Gothic comedy of romance, murder and alien abduction,
the Nettle sisters are determined to escape spinsterhood—Willie Mae by going
to Salt Lake and finding a good Mormon husband and Faye by hopping on the
spaceship when the “space people” return for another visit. Faye and Willie
Mae have returned to their ramshackle swamp dwelling in Sugar Bean, Florida, after a disastrous day-trip to Disney World, where Willie lost her prized
Eva Gabor wig on Space Mountain. Having witnessed the landing of an alien
spacecraft some 25 years ago in her daddy’s sugarcane field, Faye prepares
for the return of her celestial visitors on this night, the very anniversary of that
fateful day. A strange bird-like woman suddenly appears out of the darkness of
Buster Swamp, setting in motion a chain of extraordinary events. Lies begin to
unravel and the truth is revealed as the Sugar Bean Sisters hatch a diabolical
plot to ensure the space people’s return. “Deliciously offbeat ... Sisterhood as
an extreme sport ... It’s just plum impossible to resist the flights of whimsy!”
(The San Jose Mercury News) Unit set. Approximate running time: 2 hours,
15 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SL7.
Hippodrome State Theatre, Gainesville, Fla. (l-r) Diane Bearden, Nell Page and Lauren Caldwell.
Photo: Randy Batista,Media ImagePhotography.
Lynne Kaufman
“It moves like gangbusters, barreling right through the
intermission to the final moving scene ... a vital story
colorfully and creatively told.” —TalkinBroadway.com
“Captivating!” —Variety
“Extraordinary! Rarely do we find a play like Daisy in the
Dreamtime.”—Back Stage West
“Stunning! Critics’ Choice!” —Los Angeles Times
Daisy in the Dreamtime -
Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles. Lisa Pelikan and Anthony J. Haney. Photo: Ed Krieger.
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Drama. By Lynne Kaufman.
Cast: 3m., 3w. In 1913, Irish émigré Daisy Bates pitched a tent in the
Australian outback and lived there with the aborigines for 30 years.
She fed them, doctored them, and recorded their stories and rituals.
She was the first white woman to be initiated into aboriginal dreamtime. Her only enemies were the Trans-Australian Railway and Annie
Lock, the Lutheran missionary. Daisy’s people called her Kabbarli,
the great white spirit of the never-never. This is her story and theirs.
The play explores why Daisy abandoned her husband, child and all
of civilization to live in the bleakest place on earth with the most
primitive people and proclaim herself blessed. It traces the spiritual
quest of a woman in a culture that is free of the two great obsessions
of modern civilization: the pressure of time and the accumulation of
goods. Unit set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D89.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Carson Kreitzer
“Best of the Best...
Kreitzer has huge
vision…Oppenheimer
is superb theater ...
if you love theater,
see this play.”
—The Cincinnati Enquirer
University of South Carolina production, directed by
Tom O’Connor. Photo: Sandy Underwood.
“So much brilliance, ambivalence, ego, history, myth, science, moral
argument, emotional heat, poetry and sheer dazzling theatricality are
compressed into the mere two hours it takes for Carson Kreitzer’s The Love
Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer to detonate on the stage ... that by
the time it is all over, you might easily feel you’ve been exposed to
dangerous levels of radiation.” — Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
The American Theatre Critic’s Association Steinberg New Play Award Winner.
Winner of the Lois and Richard Rosenthal New Play Prize.
The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer -
Drama. By Carson Kreitzer. Cast: 4m., 3w. with
doubling. May be expanded to 7 or more m., 5w. “Do I dare disturb the universe?” J. Robert Oppenheimer’s rise
and fall erupt in this kaleidoscopic play exploring questions of faith, conscience, and the consequences of the neverending pursuit of knowledge. Act One: Math. The fevered drive to build the first nuclear weapon, by a collection of
previously academic theoretical physicists, many of them Jews fleeing Hitler’s Germany. Success turns to horror
when “the Gadget” is dropped, first on Hiroshima, then Nagasaki. Act Two: Aftermath. Oppenheimer confronts
his conscience; Russia turns from ally to enemy. The Red scare is in full swing as we shift to the courtroom. Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty, drinks; J. Edger Hoover does the dance of the seven veils; and the Father of the Atomic
Bomb, his security clearance revoked, is cast out of the world he helped create. In a flash that is the end of his life,
J. Robert Oppenheimer paces the desert of the Trinity Test Site, wrestling with his memories and one scary, sexy,
unpredictable demon: Lilith, Hebrew mythology’s first woman, cast out of Eden for refusing to behave. Hissing in
his ear, she goads him to admit what he refuses to acknowledge: an anger that mirrors her own. “Oppie” is haunted
by actions, decisions, and a trinity of women—mother, wife, and lover, Jean Tatlock, whose suicide is never far
from his mind, her Communist ties, never far from the government’s. Unit set. Approximate running time: 1 hour,
50 minutes. Royalty: $75/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: LD6.
John Osborne Henrik Ibsen
Hedda Gabler - Drama. By John Osborne. A newly available arrangement of
the classic play by Ibsen. Cast: 3m., 4w. “Ibsen did not set out to write one great part
for an actress. For, like most great plays, the apparent central character exists only by
the favor of the other characters in the play, however small. The important point about
the adaptation and production of the play is very simple: the complexity of the character of Hedda Gabler is richer only if the other characters in the play are also seen to
be made as rich as they are ... As I see it, Hedda Gabler has her fun at the expense of
others. She has a sharp wit but no authentic sense of humor. She is a bourgeois snob
and a walking waste of human personality. She is indolently evil and lives off her own
fantasies, absorbing from people better than herself. What, for instance, about her
honeymoon? What did she really do? Of course, she was bored. But, tied to her timidity, she also chose to be bored and I think that outset of the play is the core of her tragedy, if that is what it is. Like many frigid people, her only true feelings are expressed
in jealousy, possessiveness and acquisitive yearnings. For instance, she is completely
unable to initiate situations in her life. It seems quite clear, to me anyway, that the
Gabler house would be furnished and decorated by Juliana and that the horses would
be bought by Tesman himself. She always has to be the center of attention, would like
to be a great lady and would be bored whatever she did or whatever happened to her. A
Jill Bennett (right) as Hedda in the Royal Court Theatre, London production
great, largely misused play.” (John Osborne) Royalty: $60/
performance. Price: $7.50 . Code: H13.
Daphne Greaves
“An exquisitely crafted drama about human bondage, secret passions
and the hysteria of social change on the hothouse island of Cuba in the
early 1800s.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Sparkles with imagination and exhilarating language.”
—Variety.com
Day of the Kings - Drama. By Daphne Greaves. Cast: 4 to 7m., 4w. (expansion possible by using dancers to
play revelers). Inspired by actual events, Day of the Kings tells the little-known story of Enriquetta Faber, a courageous
woman living a dangerous lie. In early 1800’s Cuba, it is illegal for women to practice medicine. So Faber, the widow of
a French surgeon, disguises herself as a man and becomes a respected doctor with a thriving practice. Faber negotiates
the harsh extremes of Cuban society and realizes she is not the only one living a lie and breaking taboos. Hector Nunez is
the owner of a large plantation. His increasing debt, an unhappy wife, and a passionate mistress are taking a serious and
painful toll on his health. Hector’s teenage daughter, Blanca, is undergoing her own potentially disastrous growing pains.
The crises of this family, her patients, swirl around Faber as she trys to maintain her own lonely and secretive existence.
But, when Faber falls in love with her apprentice, her life spins out of control. On the Day of the Kings, a day of celebration, drink, music and dancing in the streets, secrets are revealed and lives overturned, and Faber is forced to make the
hardest decision of her life. “Day of the Kings hints of things to come: the slow crumble of the power play between Cuba
and Spain, blacks and whites, women and men.” (The Atlanta Journal Constitution) Flexible set. Approximate running
time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D95.
Day of the Kings. Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Ga. Katie Firth
and Sandro Isaack.
Photo: Tiffany Woolard.
41
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Karen Sunde
“Sunde’s script is very much about Lady Macbeth’s
loneliness and suppressed ambition as a woman in
her society ... a dazzling cultural hybrid, set to a
beautifully distilled haiku-like script ...
a visual, physical and aural feast.”
“Kabuki meets Shakespeare for magical Macbeth.”
—Chicago Tribune
“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Dazzling kabuki version
of Macbeth has everything going for it.”
—Hedy Weiss, The Chicago Sun-Times
Kabuki Lady Macbeth - Drama. By Karen Sunde. Conceived
by Shozo Sato. A retelling of Shakespeare’s story. Cast: 7 to 18 or more
actors of either gender. Commissioned by Chicago Shakespeare Theatre,
Kabuki Lady Macbeth presents Shakepeare’s story from his heroine’s
point of view. Though the witches lead us through the tale and warn that
balancing light and dark, brave and gentle, is the way to a happy life, they
wickedly midwife lady M’s transformation from gentle lady to snake demon. When Lady M turns her “flesh to hot steel” in order to empower
her husband, their passionate relationship and daring ambition enflame the
couple to murder the shogun, who stands in their way. However, Macbeth
loses his balance in the crime that makes him shogun, and the shaken Lady
M, unable to enjoy being Lady Shogun, begs their friend Macduff to bring Kabuki Lady Macbeth. Glendale Community College Performing
Kabuki Lady Macbeth. Glendale Community College
Center, Glendale, Ariz. (l-r) Brenton Scott and Peggy Oels.
Performing Arts Center, Glendale, Ariz.
his family to court, so his wife and laughing children can comfort her. Arts
Photo: Brad Cozby.
Photo: Brad Cozby.
But Macbeth sends an assassin to kill Macduff’s family, leaving Lady M
in shock, playing madly with the severed heads of Macduff’s family, whom she loved. The witches lead in Macduff, whose grief has given him the power to
be one with his sword. Lady M, unable to save Macbeth, begs to be killed. The mystical power achieved by purity and honor is lost to Macbeth and won by
Macduff as the witches console him: “Rise. Look to the sun. When evil is set loose, it will be someone’s destiny to bleach the earth.” Unit set. Approximate
running time:1 hour, 40 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: K30.
Paul Fleischman
“An adventure that is so funny, so surprising, such an earful, it has the startling intimacy of great radio.” —New York Times
Seek - Drama. Adapted by Paul Fleischman from his book of the same title.
Cast: a minimum of 4m., 4w. May be expanded to as many as 18m., 17w. Rob
Radkovitz, a high-school senior, is assigned to write his autobiography. He decides to “listen” back on his life and hears his grandmother’s mystery novels,
Mexican soap operas, shortwave announcers, his multilingual mother, and his
rabble-rousing grandfather. Most cherished of all, he hears the voice of his absent
DJ father, from a single tape of one of his radio shows. We follow Rob’s search
for his father from grammar school on, a man he’s heard but never seen. It’s a
quest pursued not through San Francisco’s streets but through the labyrinth of the
airwaves, amid the chatter of baseball announcers, late-night DJs, and the thrillingly distant world of shortwave. Psychic readers, pirate DJs, friends and teachers
join Rob’s family in an aural collage that’s as joyfully comic as it is compelling.
Seek is a hymn to the mystery of voices and the crucible of family. It can be easily staged as readers theater or as a radio broadcast. Based on Paul Fleischman’s
book which, among its accolades, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and
a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. “Brilliant construction.” (Kirkus
Reviews) Area staging. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SL8.
Kirsten Greenidge
Premiered at Actors Theatre of Louisville
Sans-culottes in the Promised Land. Humana Festival of New American Plays, Actors Theatre of
Louisville. (l-r) Angela Bullock and Leon Addison Brown. Photo: Harlan Taylor.
Sans-culottes in the Promised Land - Comedy. By Kirsten
Greenidge. Cast: 1m., 5w. Lena’s days as a nanny seem numbered as she
struggles to keep her composure, and her secrets, while battling with the
state-of-the-art washing machine that devours clothing; the housekeeper,
42
Carrmel, who is angling for her job; and the peculiar needs of her employers. Carol, a high-powered attorney, and Greg, an architect, whose
African-inspired designs are finding no takers in the corporate world, are
beginning to shows signs of wear as they strive to maintain the affluent
lifestyle they have worked hard to achieve. And then there’s Charlotte,
Greta’s teacher, whom Lena meets while retrieving Greta from one of her
many after-school activities. Consumed with contempt for materialism and
an admiration for the sans-culottes (a militant organization of tradesmen
during the French revolution), Charlotte promises to help Lena improve
herself so she can quit nannying. Meanwhile, very little attention is being paid to Greta, who has picked up mixed and startling messages about
being black and begins to retreat into an imagined utopia influenced by
Disney’s standards of female beauty. Sans-culottes in the Promised Land
careens to a chilling end, as each member of this African-American household is forced to come to terms with the conditions in which each lives in
the promised land of America. Area staging. Approximate running time: 1
hour, 35 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SL5.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
PEN Center USA West Playwriting Award Winners
David Barr III
Mamie Till-Mobley
The Face of Emmett Till - Drama. By Mamie Till-Mobley and David Barr III. Cast:
7 to 9m., 3w., with doubling. The Face of Emmett Till is a true-to-life dramatization of the death
of 14-year-old Emmett Till, a Chicago teenager who, while visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi, in August 1955, was kidnaped, tortured and murdered by two white men who claimed
they wanted to teach him a lesson for allegedly whistling at a local white woman. The horror
and the brutality of this crime were magnified even more when his mother made the fateful
decision to invite the media to the funeral, where she had an open casket. The shocking pictures
were published by the American black press and were later re-published around the world. The
ramifications of this act are still being felt today. As retold for the first time within a creative,
nonfictional genre by Mamie Till-Mobley, the play chronicles this tragedy, its aftermath, and her
heroic crusade for justice. The year 2005 commemorated the 50th anniversary of this incident,
which has rightfully been called the “hate crime that changed America” and, in fact, sparked the
civil rights movement. Two months after the death of Emmett Till, Rosa Parks stood up against
Jim Crow and helped spearhead the historic Montgomery bus boycott. She has often cited the
tragic death of Emmett Till as one of a myriad of reasons she refused to give her seat to a white
passenger. Unit set. Two acts. 88 pages. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes. Royalty: $65/performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F93.
James Still
“Still has delivered a show that is funny from beginning to end.”
“Eden is a paradise of a play, a captivating romantic comedy that captures the
wit and warmth of Mark Twain’s timeless paeans to love and marriage
and updates them for today.” —Indianapolis Star
Searching for Eden: the diaries of adam and eve - Comedy/Drama. By James
Still. Cast: 1m., 1w. More than a hundred years after Mark Twain wrote his short stories about
Adam and Eve, James Still combines them for Act One of Searching for Eden, and then imagines
Adam and Eve in the present day for Act Two, creating this completely original and contemporary
play about the world’s first love story. In the imaginations of Still and Twain, the Garden of Eden
is a place where the battle of the sexes begins, where language is deliciously invented, and where
loneliness and heartbreak are discovered. After intermission, Adam and Eve have aged into their
40s and are dealing with the distractions of high-power careers. Adam has surprised Eve with a
trip back to Eden (a last-minute vacation package Adam found on the Internet) as an anniversary
gift. The “first couple” returns to present-day Eden (now an upscale resort simply called “E”) in an
attempt to recapture the primal passions of their youth. While Act One is about childhood, discovery
and new love, Act Two is about middle age, rediscovery and trying to make old love new again. At
its heart, Searching for Eden is about the pleasures and terrors of knowing one person—and being
known by that person—for a long, long time. “Searching for Eden is one in a million when it comes
to romantic comedies. The characters may be well-known, but this side of the story is modern and
well told.” (The NUVO Newsweekly, Indianapolis) Unit set. Approximate running time: 2 hours.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SL2.
John Green
Searching for Eden. David Alan Anderson and Ora Jones in the Indiana
Repertory Theatre, production, Indianapolis, Ind.
Photo: Courtesy of the Indiana Repertory Theatre.
Twilight Serenade - Drama. By John Green. Cast: 2m., 3w. May
Twilight Serenade. Red Hen Productions, Chicago, Ill. (l-r) Rachel Stephens and Mary Seibel.
Photo: Anne Jacques.
be expanded to 4m., 5w. Devastated by the death of her father, Tom’s wife,
Molly, runs away to Colorado, jeopardizing their marriage and leaving him
to look after her contentious mother and aunt. What sounds simple in theory,
taking care of two older women, turns out to be the test of his lifetime.
While Molly is in the Rocky Mountains desperately trying to connect with
the spirit of her father, Tom remains in Chicago doing his best to keep the
two charming sisters-in-law from strangling each other. As he accompanies
them to doctors’ offices, drugstores and diners, Tom is transformed, slowly
developing great patience and a latent nurturing side. Finally, he takes off to
Colorado, hoping to convince Molly to come home. In the end, she returns
and confronts her mother for having kept her father on life support beyond
its necessary time. Although there is no simple resolution, they find a way
to continue as a stronger family with love intact. Unit set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: TF9.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Recipient of 5 NAACP TheatER
Award nominations!
James Still
“[This play] examines the role of religion in today’s
world,both by connecting it to the present and to the
past in the spirit of tolerance ... This is one play everyone
should see, regardless of his or her beliefs. It has a powerful internal message of tolerance and peace.”
—Berkeley Beacon/Boston
A Long Bridge Over Deep Waters - Drama.
By James
Still. Cast: 13 actors minimum. Can be cast with as many as 50+
actors. A Long Bridge Over Deep Waters passionately and compassionately wrestles with the question: “How does faith both unite and
divide us?” and explores the often invisibility of faith, how we make
unconscious assumptions about one another based on religion, and
how often those assumptions are wrong. Inspired by oral histories,
community events, and the circular structure of Schnitzler’s play La
Ronde, the play’s 10 scenes include a Native American woman who
teaches ESL to a class of immigrant senior citizens, two astronauts
in crisis far away from home and searching for common ground, a
man who meets the woman who received his mother’s transplanted
heart, and a journalist who interviews a family whose son has been
killed in Iraq. A Long Bridge Over Deep Waters traces a joyous, restless and surprising path through a wide-open spiritual and American landscape. It is both intimate and epic—an expansive panorama
that stages an interlocking chain of unexpected encounters between
contemporary communities of faith. This play was the final play in
“Dust Eaters goes to the very heart of White/
Native American relations, of past and present
injustices, of white privilege and power, and of
environmental racism.”—Catalyst
Cornerstone Theater Company, Los Angeles, production.(l-r) Natch Narasimhan, Nancy Yee, DeLanna Studi,
Sally Ben-Tal and George Haddad. Photo: Craig Schwartz.
Los Angeles-based Cornerstone Theater Company’s nationally acclaimed four-year Faith Based Theater Cycle. “Filled with compassion and respect for all viewpoints, A Long Bridge is a rare find—a
play that can enlighten and entertain virtually everyone.” (The Daily
Breeze) Unit set. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: LD7. 13-actor version available.
Price: $7.50. Code: LD9.
Julie Jensen
“A wonderful combination of sharply honed dialogue with Native
American myth and ritual.” —The Salt Lake Tribune
Nominated by the American Theatre Critics Association Best
New Play produced outside New York.
Dust Eaters - Drama. By Julie Jensen. Cast: 2m., 2w. (Includes 1 Native American
Salt Lake Acting Company production, Salt Lake City, Utah. (l-r) LaVonne Rae Andrews,
Ernest David Tsosie III, Morgan Lund and Joyce Cohen. Photo: Scott Peterson.
m. and 1 Native American w. May be expanded to 3m., 4w., 1 Native American m., 2 Native American w.) Dust Eaters is an intimate look at two families, one white, one Native
American, living side by side in the west desert of Utah. Spanning seven generations,
from 1877 to the present, each scene—a mini-drama of its own—takes place 20 years
later than the one before, all in the same small house. We follow the life of Albertine, who
begins as a defiant 10-year-old Goshute girl living with a white family on a ranch next to
her tribe’s ancestral land. Eventually Albertine’s great-grandchildren are grappling with
a decision to store high-level nuclear waste on their reservation. The play, a chamber history, presents our heritage as we see our own personal history, as a life lived in the wake
of seminal events. Supported by the National Theatre Artist Residency Program, funded
by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Nominated by the American Theatre Critics Association for
the Steinberg New Play Award for best new play produced outside New York. “Jensen’s
most moving, emotionally charged drama yet.” (Desert News) One set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D92.
José Cruz González
“September Shoes is by turns haunting, passionate, mysterious
and breathtaking.”—Daily News, Rochester, N.Y.
September Shoes -
Drama. By José Cruz González. Cast: 2m., 2w., 1 to
3 either gender. “According to alternative therapies, there can be many windows
into the soul—the iris, the palm, the foot. In José Cruz González’s deeply moving September Shoes, a cleaning woman named Cuki can look into your soul by
looking deep into the sole—of your shoe ... The strength of González’s script is
in his creation and intersection of five such damaged, palpable characters, all of
whom must deal with pasts in order to move forward.” (The Denver Post) September Shoes is a visually evocative, lyrical play about four characters in search
of redemption. On a visit to their childhood home in the American southwest,
a middle-aged couple struggles to come to terms with the past, while two local
residents deal with loss in their own ways. Slowly, each of their heart-wrenching
tales comes to light until, with gorgeous simplicity, all four realize that they are
inextricably bound together. Area staging. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 40
minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price : $7.50. Code: SL6.
44
Denver Center Theatre Company, Denver. Wilma Bonet and Luis Saguar. Photo: Terry Shapiro.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Ric Averill
Mary Shelley
“Set with modern music and a Gothic edge, the play explores the questions surrounding the balance between life and death, nature and nurture, ethics and science. In the end, the question becomes, who is the bigger monster,
Dr. Frankenstein or the creature he created?” —Mill Mountain Theatre
Frankenstein - Drama. By Ric Averill. Adapted from the book by Mary Shelley. Cast: 4m., 2w. In this retelling of
Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke, Va., featuring Zach Nadolski
and Meredith Holcomb. Photo: Clinton McLaughlin.
Frankenstein, a mysterious laboratory, a dark cemetery and a university classroom provide the setting for Victor Frankenstein
and his university friends, students who dabble in the mystical science of regeneration.Victor’s fiancé, Elizabeth, and best
friend, Henry, bring body parts from the cemetery for his experiments, but Victor’s work backfires when he brings to life
a superhuman, monstrous creation he cannot control. Huge and haunted by memories of a dark past, the Creature breaks
out of the laboratory, where he is viewed with horror by everyone he meets except for Victor’s blind professor, who feels
sympathy for the Creature “of the earth” and helps him with both language and memory. The professor also speaks of the
importance of love and companionship, and the Creature realizes that this is something Victor has and he is denied. He
follows Henry’s beautiful girlfriend, Justine, to the cemetery and asks her to be his love, his companion. When she resists
him, he holds her so tightly she dies. The Creature brings her body to Victor to reanimate to make him a bride, but Victor
refuses until the Creature threatens to take Elizabeth from him on their wedding night. Victor begins to do the Creature’s
bidding. Elizabeth tries to stop the terror by facing the Creature and even offering to be his bride if Victor might be spared.
But the final confrontation leaves Elizabeth dead, the Creature gone and Victor alone. Commissioned by the Coterie Theatre.
Area staging. Approximate running time:1 hour. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F99.
Lori Allen Ohm George Romero John Russo
“Night of the Living Dead is to modern horror
what Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is to the modern theatre.” —Erie Times
Night of the Living Dead -
Horror. By Lori Allen Ohm. Based on George
Romero and John Russo’s original film. Cast: 12m., 5w., 15 to 20 zombies. Fallout
from a satellite probe shot to Venus returns to Earth carrying a mysterious radiation
that transforms the unburied dead into flesh-eating zombies. Seven people trapped in an
isolated farmhouse by the ravenous ghouls begin to turn on each other. A gripping terrorfilled monochromatic play that brings all the fright of the cult classic to life. This blend
of thrilling horror laced with touches of black humor envelops the audience in the action
and unfolds into a shocking theatrical ending. “A terror-ific triumph.” (Meadville [Pa.]
Tribune) Single interior set with exterior area staging. Approximate running time: 80
minutes. No intermission. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N52.
Emily Mann
The Roadhouse Theatre, Erie, Pa. Don Kirsch and Monica Lewis.
Photo: Eric La Price.
In this age of obstinate hubris, we neglect the classics at our peril. As political debate screams at the extremes,
righteous certitude mutes compromise or retreat. Sophocles mused on these questions with his Antigone, and now
playwright Emily Mann has found relevance for us, 25 centuries later. — Graydon Royce, Star Tribune Minneapolis, Minn.
Antigone -
Drama. Freely adapted by Emily Mann. From the play by
Sophocles. Cast: 3m., 3w., 2 either gender, plus chorus. Thebes’ civil war has
ended. Creon, the ascending king, proclaims, “Regarding the bodies of the sons
of Oedipus: Eteocles, a hero who fought for Thebes ... will be given a hero’s
burial ... But for Polyneices who recruited foreign troops to attack our home—let
his corpse rot under the sweltering sun, food for the birds and the dogs ... Anyone
who dares to bury the enemy will be publicly executed.” So begins this adaptation of Antigone, who battles Creon, her uncle, for the right in God’s name to
bury her dead brother, Polyneices, but loses that fight in a horrifying conclusion
to this story. Antigone is usually seen as the righteous heroine while Creon is
the hated villain. However, in this version, we take a fresh look at Antigone’s
own rigidity as an equal contributor to this story’s devastating ending. Viewed
as a contest between equally determined and fierce competitors, both right and
both wrong, the play is an intense examination of the questions: “How can one
penetrate the absolute certainty and righteousness of political or religious leaders
who refuse to listen?” “What happens when neither side in a conflict agrees to
yield?” “What happens when one sees the catastrophic consequences of one’s
actions too late?” The path taken here— vengeance will breed vengeance—is a
shattering lesson for our times. Bare stage. Approximate running time:70 minutes. Royalty $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: AC1.
Steve Karp
“Fraternity will definitely get you thinking about trust, prejudice,
individuality and the need to belong.” —The Advocate
Fraternity - Drama. By Steve Karp. Cast: 5m., 1w. In 1961, John F. Kennedy’s influence on the youth of America triggered an
activism that inspired college students to believe that they could truly make a difference. College campuses served as podiums for
questioning prevailing social, cultural and political thought. It is against this backdrop of activism and the beginning of momentous
change in America that Fraternity, inspired by real events, takes place. Sam Katz, a freshman, an aspiring football player, and a Jew
is being rushed by Delta Phi Delta, one of the oldest national fraternities in the country. Sam is told by Don Curtis, the local president,
that the brotherhood wants to challenge the fraternity’s anti-Semitic traditions and needs Sam’s commitment to pledge in order to
set the challenge in motion. Doing so puts Don in direct conflict with the national organization and the venerable chapter advisor,
Noel Richards, who is intent upon the Delt being a Christian fraternity. Sam’s roommate, Eddie Solomon, is appalled and argues
that Sam is just being used as a “token Jew” so the Delts can appear in compliance with the university’s anti-discriminatory policies
toward fraternities. Betsy, Sam’s new love interest, who herself may have a problem with being Jewish, is considering running for
class president to improve the treatment of women on campus. Sam’s growing guilt and confusion concerning his own identity as a
Jew causes him to rethink his decision to pledge. But his continued attraction to the fraternity, especially after the Delt brotherhood
unanimously votes him in, leads him finally to join. With Betsy’s encouragement and Don’s success in convincing Noel that the Delts
must change in order to survive. Sam, in a historic moment, is initiated into the fraternity. Unit set. Approximate running time: 80
minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:$7.50. Code: F95.
Stamford Theatre Works. (l-r) Matthew DeCapua
and Jamie Proctor. Photo: Larry Frenock.
© Stamford Theatre Works.
45
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Max Bush
Kara in Black - Drama. By Max Bush. Cast: 7 to 9m.,
10 to 13w. (Fifteen of these characters are between the ages of
16 and 19.) Kara in Black takes place January through March
of 2003, beginning prior to the invasion of Iraq and finishing
three days after. Eighteen-year-old Kara’s older sister, Della,
is leaving to join her Army unit and go to Kuwait in preparation for the possible invasion of Iraq. Della is proud to serve
and proud to be in the Army. She is ready to prove herself and
believes in the policies of the administration, but Kara, after
thinking about such things for the first time in her life, begins
to oppose her sister going, and the impending war itself. Their
dialog begins as Della is preparing to depart and continues by
phone up to the night before the invasion. With her friends
Juanita and Sue Ellen, Kara researches the first Gulf War to try
to understand what may occur in this one. As the research con-
José Casas
AATE Distinguished Play
Award-winner
tinues and questions multiply, a rising chorus of voices opposes
Kara: Sue Ellen, other students, Della, Della’s best friend Rachel, and, seemingly, the majority of the American people. She
talks to Steven, a decorated Vietnam vet who speaks from the
reality of his combat experience. Kara finds her way to Women
in Black, an international organization, begun in Israel, which
holds nonviolent vigils protesting violence toward women and
children. Motivated by Steven’s revelations, her love for her
sister, and her budding political sensibility, Kara (with Juanita)
decides to open a local chapter of Women in Black to protest
the invasion of Iraq. As Kara struggles with feelings of isolation, frustration, fear, ignorance and helplessness, she begins to
understand her own views and find the courage of her convictions. Unit set. Approximate running time:1 hour, 35 minutes.
Royalty:$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: K32.
Holland Civic Theatre, Holland, Mich. (l-r) Kelly
Sina and Katrina Boehler. Photo: Max Bush.
Award-winner
Read at the IRT Waldo M. and Grace C. Bonderman
Playwriting for Youth National Symposium.
la ofrenda (the offering) - Drama. By José Casas. Cast: 2m., 1w. (Casting Latino/a actors is strongly en-
couraged.) After losing both parents in the 9/11 tragedy, Alex has moved to Los Angeles to live with his maternal
grandmother, a strong-willed Chicana named Marta Torres. Alex must deal with starting a new life in a strange place
as well as being immersed in a culture he knows virtually nothing about. Marta must not only try to get her grandson
to talk about his feelings but also come to terms with her resentment toward her daughter for not raising her grandson
with a knowledge of their culture. She also blames her son-in-law for taking her daughter across the country to New
York where they died. A homeboy calavera named Califas shows up to offer Alex a shoulder to lean on as well as some
tough love. Califas is a mythical figure meant to serve as Alex’s conscience, but he is also the person who must help
Alex come to terms with the fact that his parents are, indeed, dead. The rift between Alex and Marta widens and the
tension boils until Alex’s emotional release has a devastating effect on his grandmother and on the altar she has created
for Dia de los Muertos. Ultimately, they acknowledge, for the first time, their mutual love for each other and come to
the understanding that their journey as a family is just beginning. It is a journey with no easy answers, but they are both
willing to try to find their way ... together. Area staging. Approximate running time: 70 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: LD8.
California State University, Los Angeles. (l-r) Cecilia Ramirez, Bruno
Sandoval and V. Rodriguez. Photo: Ed Krieger.
Cherie Bennett Dr. Mary Pipher
Commissioned by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
“Reviving Ophelia chronicles the real stories of young women struggling with 2006 Macy’s New Play Prize for Young Audiences
alcohol, drugs and relationships. Everyone will relate to this personal, illuminating view of teenagers’ lives in America today.” –U News and Views, University of Utah
Reviving Ophelia - Drama. Adapted by Cherie Bennett. From the book by Dr. Mary Pipher. Cast:
2m., 5w. (without doubling, 3m., 7w., 6 either gender). Based on Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent
Girls, this is the gripping story of four teenage girls battling the corrosive influences of popular culture and each
searching for the personal North Star that will guide her home. Jill is a Native American girl adopted by white parents. Her drinking, truancy and bad attitude are turned around in a very unexpected way. Allie, a pastor’s daughter,
faces a crisis of faith at a mother-daughter book club when her friend Lia loses her mother to cancer. The scene
between Lia and her boyfriend, Alex, harkens back to Hamlet’s “Get thee to a nunnery!”, as Alex exposes the hidden scary part of his personality. Beautiful Dawn approaches high-school graduation with the realization that she’s
not prepared for anything but attracting guys; her solution is to attempt 18 Jello shots to celebrate her 18th birthday.
Playwright Bennett, specifically chosen by Dr. Pipher to adapt her work, deftly leavens the drama with humor, tracing the intertwining lives of these four girls from first grade through high school to graduation and young adulthood.
Flexible set. Approximate running time: 70 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R79.
Aaron Levy
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati, Ohio. (l-r) Courtney Bell, Ann
Marie Siegwarth, Allison McLemore and Marcella Portugal. Photo: Sandy
Underwood.
“Adolescence—that passage from a world framed by exuberant optimism to one framed by at least a measure of disillusionment—tattoos all of us with a few indelible reminders of the journey ... Aaron Levy’s award-winning play Pizza With Shrimp on Top is
a dramedy of sorts, wryly exploring the emotional devastation that can occur at this juncture.” —Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy
Pizza With Shrimp on Top - Comedy/Drama.
Silverado H.S., Henderson, Nev. (l-r) Aaron Levy, Josh
Pereira and Will Coleman. Photo: Michelle Buntjer.
46
By Aaron Levy. Cast: 4m., 2w. This funny, poignant play takes place
in the mind, memory and imagination of Stuart, a 17-year-old who has recently attempted to “off” himself by taking too many
vitamins and chugging down a bottle of cough medicine. The audience enters a world of limbo through Stuart’s altered state: a land
where people who attempt suicide have to go before their time to “really” die arrives. The rules here are that you can’t eat, sleep,
cry, love or be loved, but all of these yearnings seem to intensify during your stay in this “world,” and wounds associated with the
suicidal act never heal. Stuart is greeted by Daniel, B.J. and Muggy, the welcoming committee. But what really gets Stuart thinking
is when he runs into Lisa, an old crush and former prom queen at his school who committed suicide shortly before his attempt.
Through their humorous and honest interactions, we begin to understand and realize a better appreciation for life. When Stuart’s
little sister comes to visit him at the hospital, Stuart discovers that the time has come for him to decide whether he wants to live or
die. Pizza With Shrimp on Top is about many things besides the obvious message of “Hey, don’t kill yourself.” It stresses the importance of not taking yourself too seriously and emphasizes the value of communication, appreciating loved ones, and a teenager’s
belief in himself or herself during this difficult developmental period in life. Pizza has been seen by several thousand teenagers,
parents, and other community members who have been deeply affected by this powerful piece of theater. Teacher’s Guide available on CD-Rom. Minimal set. Approximate running time: 50 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: PB1.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Michele Lowe
“String of Pearls smartly combines comedic romps, get-out-your-handkerchief
episodes and touches of melodrama.” —CurtainUp.com
“Highly satisfying, hilarious blend of sex, satire, poignancy and absurdism.”
—The New York Times
String of Pearls - Drama/Comedy. By Michele Lowe. Cast: 4w. with doubling. May be
expanded up to 27w. “String of Pearls is a funny and moving tale of a necklace that changes
the lives of over two dozen characters. Their stories twist and turn through a myriad of
emotional turmoil—love, loss, desire—as the necklace touches the lives of all who come into
contact with it. The stories and characters, intricately threaded together, create a gently comic,
wonderfully magical puzzle.” (TheatreChannel.com) On the eve of her granddaughter Amy’s
wedding, Beth asks to see the pearls she gave Amy’s mother long ago. When Amy cannot
produce them, Beth determines to find them. She takes us back to the time when she received
them, then gave them to her daughter, who passed them on to her dearest friend, Ela, who lost
them one Sunday morning. Over 35 years, the pearls touch the lives of mothers and daughters,
sisters and friends, even husbands and wives as they weave a deeply affecting story of love
and loss. Area staging. 64 pages. Approximate running time:1 hour, 40 minutes. Royalty: $75/
performance. (Restricted.) Price: $8.50. Code: SK2.
Backsliding in the Promised Land -
Drama. By
Michele Lowe. Cast: 3m., 6w., 1 boy (nonspeaking role). May be
doubled to 2m., 5w., 1 boy. What price would you pay to protect your
family? In a world gone mad would you surrender your identity to
save your life? To save your children? Enid and Herman Grosch were
refugees from Amsterdam when they landed in America in 1939. At
Herman’s mother’s insistence they erased their Jewish identities
and embraced the Episcopalian church. Now, at the turn of the 21st
century, they must confront old and unresolved fears as their longkept secret begins to unravel. In this heart-wrenching drama touched
with humor, Lowe explores issues of identity, the price of safety
Primary Stages, New York. (l-r) Sharon Washington and Ellen McLaughlin.
Photo: James Leynse.
“Backsliding in the Promised Land is a must-see ... comes
straight from the heart.” —The Post-Standard, Syracuse
and the redeeming power of truth. A powerful and original drama.
“Stunning theatre ... A beautifully crafted and detailed script ... as
masterful and moving an experience as any you are likely to have in
a theater.” (Auburn Citizen) Area staging. Approximate running time:
2 hours. Royalty: $75/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: BB3.
Ron Hill
House for Sale -
Comedy/Drama. By Ron Hill. Cast: 6m., 5w. Glen Martin, a 70something widower in failing health, stubbornly resists his daughter’s attempts to get him to
sell his home and move in with her and her husband. In his search for a solution to remaining
in his home, Glen advertises for a roommate, pulling in several odd and interesting characters.
Once the prospective roommates arrive, he quickly loses control of the situation and mayhem
erupts. Max, Glen’s crony and next-door neighbor, offers his advice and becomes entangled
in the melee, taking the situation from bad to worse. When Max suffers an accident, Glen
recognizes his own vulnerability and begins to entertain the idea of selling, even though he
worries about losing the memories connected to the house. In a dream, Glen’s late wife, Faye,
comes to him and assures him that where one lives does not change the past or erase the
memories—and that she will always be with him. Producers have a choice of two endings to
the play. Unit set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price:$7.50. Code: H90.
Suzan Zeder
U. T. Austin. (l-r) Matthew Herrick, Enrique Bravo and Christa Kimlicko-Jones. Photo: Charlie Fonville.
Fremont Community Theatre, Fremont, Ohio. (l-r) Ron Hill and Stephen Hayward.
Photo: Ty Freeze.
Skinflints and Scoundrels: Molière’s Miser -
Comedy.
Translated, adapted and arranged by Suzan Zeder. From The Miser by
Molière. Cast:11m.,5w. With doubling 9m.,5w. Expansion possible. This
new translation/adaptation of Molière’s classic comedy, The Miser, is set
in the opulent court of King Louis XIV at the Palace of Versailles. Molière
and his renowned troupe of actors are ready to premiere The Misanthrope
before the king and courtiers until Pierre Pomponne, a minor minister
of culture, refuses to pay for the evening’s entertainment. Molière pulls
down the scenery and tosses costume pieces to his company, and a brilliant
improvisation is presented as an instruction on the importance of art and the
value of the artist. This play within a play presents the story of Harpagon,
the greediest of comic villains, as he causes consternation in his family
with his parsimonious pursuit of a sweet young thing who is also loved
by Harpagon’s son. Mayhem abounds with dazzling dandies, tricks and
thievery, wise and winsome women, sons and daughters lost at sea and
found at last! But at the end of the day and the end of the play, the artist
must be paid! Zeder takes us back to a time when this classic play was first
conceived—when actors struggled to remember their newly minted lines
and bits of business were improvised for the first time. In this raucous tale,
she captures the comic power of this cautionary tale of misguided monetary
mania and defines the priceless power of the creative artist and the alchemy
of theater. Unit set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SJ2.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
George J. Sanchez
“What a treat.” —The New Orleans Times-Picayune
Uncle Earl - Drama/Comedy.
By George J. Sanchez. Cast: 8m., 6w., 1 boy or more
as desired, doubling possible. Earl K. Long, three-time governor of Louisiana, is on the
stump campaigning—the thing he does as well as anyone who ever lived. Although barred
by law from running again, he is still determined to run for re-election. His aide, Joe Arthur,
and his wife, Blanche, are concerned about his health and behavior. Uncle Earl is also in
personal crisis. He is still “Uncle Earl,” wheeling and dealing, but the past is closing in.
He hears the voice of his childhood nanny, Auntie Alice, calling, and a chance encounter
with a boy reminds him of his lonely, childless condition. Obsessed with the fate of his
assassinated brother, Huey, he does battle for his political ideals, fighting for the right of
African-Americans to vote in the still-segregated South of 1960. Although hospitalized
in Galveston against his will, he will not be confined, and when Joe Arthur engineers his
release, Earl is off on a hectic recuperative tour of the West. After his re-election bid fails,
his restless energy is spent partying in New Orleans’ French Quarter until a final, redemptive run for Congress. His final race is successful, but he has spent himself in the effort. In
death, he returns to Auntie Alice and the rural roots which were the underpinnings of his
politics and his life. Area staging. Two acts. Approximate running time:1 hour, 45 minutes.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: U29.
Jules Tasca
Live Drawing: A Portrait of the Mona Lisa - Drama.
By Jules Tasca.
Cast: 1m., 1w. (with doubling). She is childish. She is mature beyond her years. She is
feisty. She is docile. She is clever. She is naïve. She is a dozen other contradictions. She is
the famous Mona Lisa. And her painter, Leonardo, has the obligation to capture as many
of the facets of this young woman as he can. Live Drawing is a speculation drama about
the three years it took the famous da Vinci to paint his internationally known masterwork.
Lisa wants to be immortalized by the most famous artist in Europe. Leonardo has personal
reasons to want to keep the portrait for himself rather than release it to Francesco Gioconda, Lisa’s husband, who commissioned his wife’s painting. We see Leonardo and Lisa
argue and debate, but they also bare their souls to each other. Thus, a relationship that com-
Dr. Shanghai Low
Slidell Little Theatre, Slidell, La. Jack Cerny as Uncle Earl. Photo: Paul Wood.
mences in enmity between artist and subject
concludes in the supreme camaraderie between
two friends. The bittersweet ending must come
when Leonardo leaves Italy for France to become the king’s engineer, separating him from
his confidante, Lisa Gioconda. Simple set. Approximate running time: 95 minutes without intermission. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: LD3.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
“[This] sharp, sophisticated, highly intelligent world premier stage adaptation
works like a charm ... It’s a very tasty curry indeed.” —Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
“[This] exotic and dark new adaptation ... is deliciously complex,
and the resultant yarn positively beguiling.” —Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
The Sign of the Four - Mystery.
Artwork by Charlie Athanas, Evanston, Ill.
By Dr. Shanghai Low. Adapted from the short story by Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle. Cast: 7 to 10m., 2 to 4w. Doyle’s classic tale is equal parts love story and baffling mystery: Why
is governess Mary Morstan—in mourning for the disappearance of her father years before—suddenly receiving
anonymous gifts of priceless pearls? Why was Bartholomew Sholto murdered with a poisoned dart behind a
locked door in the highest tower of Pondicherry Lodge in Norwood? And how are both of these events tied to a
secret society’s blood pact taken 31 years before at the Red Fort in Agra? Only two men are suited to untangle
these conundrums: literary history’s best-known and best-loved deductive genius, Sherlock Holmes, and his
constant companion, John Watson. Based on the second of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories and combining
elements and favorite characters from several more, this ode to Victorian stagecraft is wide open to all theatrical elements to spin its tale from the smoky environs of the second-floor rooms at Baker Street to the climactic
steamboat chase down the Thames. Area staging. Two acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SJ4.
Matt Thompson Matt Chiorini Dana Vermette
“If The Shoe Fits is murder for dummies ... to a hilarious degree.” —Coronado Eagle and Journal
“If the Shoe Fits combines farce, satire, broadness, silliness, one-liners and just about every other form of hilarity.
It's just fun.” —San Diego Community Arts Beat
If the Shoe Fits - Farce.
By Matt Thompson, Matt Chiorini
and Dana Vermette. Cast: 2m., 2w. It all started when Delores, an
unhappy housewife, and George, a shoe salesman, met at Shoe Fantasy and it was love at first shoe-fitting. The only thing standing in
the way was Delores’ doting but half-witted husband, Marvin, who
would never agree to a divorce. So there was only one thing left to
do—kill Marvin so they can run off together and live a carefree life of
passion and romance in a tropical paradise. The lovers come up with
a crazy plan to poison Marvin over dinner. Delores invites George to
dinner and introduces him to Marvin as a new friend. While Marvin
checks on dessert, they slip poison into his wine. But things get out
48
of hand when Marvin doesn’t fall for the bait. What was supposed to
be a simple foolproof murder turns into a hilarious fiasco when Esperanza, the eccentric Spanish-speaking maid, arrives on the wrong
day and she, too, falls for George. Now George and Delores have to
devise a way to get rid of the lovesick Esperanza and carry out their
plan to kill Marvin—that is without killing each other first! Their
attempts get funnier and funnier as the lovers try again and again to
finish the job only to have Esperanza and Marvin unknowingly foil
their plans each time— resulting in this wacky tale of love, murder
and … shoes! Single set. Approximate running time:1 hour, 30 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I88.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Endesha Ida Mae Holland, Ph.D.
“These are the tales of home and of family, of courage and of adversity.
These are the memories of a courageous woman in turbulent times. Civil rights activist and Pulitzer Prize-nominated
playwright Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland takes us on the journey through her life.”—Triad Stage, Greensboro, N.C.
From the Mississippi Delta - Drama. By Dr. Endesha I. M. Holland. Cast:
3w. (each character will play multiple roles). “In my Delta town, some black girls aspired to become the woman— the mistress of some wealthy white man. But the darker
ones—like me—could make it by going to the cotton fields, working from sun to sun,
for just about three dollars a day,” laments Phelia (Holland’s alter ego). It is those and
other dreadful experiences that inspire her to dream far beyond the funny-paper walls in
her drafty shotgun house in Dixie Lane Alley. Phelia’s mother, Aint Baby, is a midwife
who delivers babies of poor black and white women. She also rents out rooms to prostitutes as a way “t’ make a livin’ for me an’ my chulluns.” On her 11th birthday, Phelia’s
childhood is brutally stolen from her by a white man. Not even Aint Baby can protect
her from white people, nor remove the sickening taste of shame ... She attempts to join
a minstrel show as an exotic dancer, astounding the male audience with her “special”
skill, but the plan is quickly thwarted. At the age of 12, Phelia is a prostitute and a thief.
At 14 she has quit school and spent time in jail, and by 16, she is an unwed mother.
Then the SNCC comes to town, and Phelia is swept into the momentum of the civil
rights movement. Aint Baby is killed when her house is firebombed, and a heartbroken
but determined Phelia goes off to meet her destiny in the North. There she finds herself
lured into the neon world of pimps, junkies and whores. Amazingly, she is encouraged
by a community of civil rights workers, friends and her street family to attend college.
20 years later, Phelia “buck-dances” across the stage at the University of Minnesota to
Ian Wooldridge
Circle on the Square off-Broadway production. Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland,
Jacqueline Williams and Sybyl Walker. Photo: Dr. Habibi Minnie Wilson.
accept her Ph.D. Inspired by Alice Walker’s poem “Revolutionary Petunias,” the play closes with a tribute to unsung
black “(s)heroes”—extraordinary, ordinary women who
are the backbone of the African-American community. ©
2005 Habibi Minnie Wilson, Ph.D. Single flexible set. 64
pages. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F86.
George Orwell
“Told with wit and humour, this powerful fable unfolds itself through movement and imagery, framing Orwell’s
wonderful words.” —London Theatre Guide
Animal Farm - Drama. Adapted by Ian Wooldridge. From the
book by George Orwell. Cast: 6 to12 actors. George Orwell’s satire
on the perils of Stalinism has proved magnificently long-lived as a parable about totalitarianism anywhere and has given the world at least one
immortal phrase: “Some are more equal than others.” The animals on
a farm drive out their master and take over and run the farm for themselves. The experiment is successful, except that someone has to take
Stories Gone Wilde -
James Zager
Fantasy. Adapted by James Zager.
Based on Oscar Wilde’s short stories. Cast: 5m., 5w., plus 8 ensemble members of either gender. A garden comes to life to tell a number of fantastic stories that took place there including: The Selfish
Giant, The Nightingale and the Rose, The Birthday of the Infanta,
The Remarkable Rocket and The Happy Prince. The play is cyclical,
representing a day, a year and a life, starting with dawn and moving
through the day and the seasons. This classic storytelling illuminates
the deposed farmer’s place. Leadership devolves upon the pigs, which
are cleverer than the rest of the animals. Unfortunately, their character is
not equal to their intelligence. This dramatization remains faithful to the
book’s plot and intent and retains both its affection for the animals and
the incisiveness of its message. Flexible set. Suitable for touring. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: AB6.
Oscar Wilde
childhood, adolescence, coming of age, adulthood, sacrifice and
loss, and a new beginning. Extraordinary characterizations and the
ensemble nature of the piece make this a fantastic project for young
actors who are challenged to create the world of the garden as well
as perform in it. Set, costume and prop requirements are minimal,
and other technical needs are virtually nonexistent. Single set. Approximate running time: 1 hour. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: SK4.
Award-winner
Winner of the AT&T OnStage Award
“An essay about growing up and how the past can color the present.
Part valentine for the rural way of life and part coming-of-age story,
it makes its many points with good cheer and a strong work ethic.”
—Daily Local News, Westchester, Pa.
The Forgiving Harvest - Drama/Comedy. By Y York. Cast: 5m., 1w.
Two years ago, Mika couldn’t stand to wait at her mother’s deathbed, so she
went to the barn to help Mona-the-cow deliver Sticky. Now, Sticky is ready for
market. But Mika musters all of her 9-year-old resources to prevent Sticky from
being shipped with the rest of the herd. Her relationship with Sticky is revealed
in their “conversations” in which Mika, of course, speaks both parts. These
conversations have a deep and aching importance to Mika because Sticky’s
“words” are Mom’s, and if Sticky dies, Mom will die again. “A play that will
touch people of all ages … an engaging story about a family growing closer
while coping with loss and uncertainty.” (Surburban and Wayne Times, Wayne,
Pa.) “An essay about growing up and how the past can color the present. Part
valentine for the rural way of life and part coming-of-age story, it makes its
many points with good cheer and a strong work ethic.” (Daily Local News,
Westchester, Pa.) Area staging. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F88.
Peoples Light & Theatre Company. Anne Berkowitz and Peter DeLaurier. Photo: Mark Garvin.
49
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Paul D’ Andrea
G.E. Lessing
Nominated for the Helen Hayes Award—
The Charles MacArthur Prize for Outstanding New Play.
Nathan the Wise - Drama. By Paul D’Andrea after G.E. Lessing.Translation by Gisela
F. Murray Abraham reading Nathan in a staged reading at George
Mason University. Photo: Philippe Nobile.
D’Andrea and Paul D’Andrea. Cast: 6m., 3w., doubling and expansion possible. Nathan the
Wise is the Western classic on religious tolerance. It offers a vision of Jews, Christians and Muslims as People of the Book, united by a shared and reverenced text, mutually respectful, giving
each other rich gifts of particularity. In Jerusalem in 1192, at the time of the Third Crusade, the
Muslim sultan Saladin declares a truce in which Muslim, Christian and Jew are to live in harmony. The fragile peace is broken by a fiery young Templar and further threatened by Saladin’s
sister, the lady Sittah, and Heraklios, the Christian patriarch. Nathan is a wise and wealthy Jewish merchant whose wealth is sought by Sittah and Heraklios. The Christian Templar rescues
Nathan’s precocious daughter, Recha, from a fire. The two young people, Jew and Christian,
are drawn to each other in love, fostered by Recha’s nurse, Daya. Aided by a ubiquitous friar
and a picaresque dervish, the two young people come up with an imaginative resolution to the
issue of which is the one true faith, during the trial at which Nathan must defend his life. Italian
translation available. Unit set. Approximate running time:1 hour, 45 minutes. Royalty $65/ performance. Price: $7.50 Code: N54. 60-minute manuscript version: $35.00. Code: N55. Study
guide: $25.00. Code: QB3.
Elizabeth Wong
The David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award
Petersen Emerging Playwright Award
The Jane Chambers Award
China Doll (The Imagined Life of an American Actress) - Drama. By Elizabeth Wong. Cast: 4m., 2w. (all Asian), or 5m., 3w. (multicultural). Roles are doubled. Dragon Lady. Lotus Blossom. The woman who died a thousand deaths. This is the story of a
Chinatown girl who dreams about making it big in Hollywood. This sensual fantasia takes
inspiration from the remarkable life of Anna May Wong, America’s first and brightest Chinese-American movie star. Her loves. Her struggles. Her humiliations. Her triumphs. From
humble beginnings to the rigors of training in the studio system of L.B. Mayer and Samuel
Goldwyn, to the heights of success in such classic films as Shanghai Express with Marlene
Dietrich. This is a loving and unflinching homage to a woman ahead of her time. Bare stage.
88 pages. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: CD3.
Emily Mann
Anton Chekhov
Anna May Wong in spotlight, studio publicity headshot. Courtesy of Paramount Studios.
“The Mann adaptation ... is something special ... The contemporary
language ... sounds effortless as it teaches that we must persevere
through whatever disappointment life hands us.” —L.A. Times
Uncle Vanya: Scenes From Country Life in Four Acts -
McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N.J., featuring Steven Skybell and Amanda Plummer.
Photo: T. Charles Erickson.
50
Drama.
Adapted by Emily Mann. From the Anton Chekhov play. Literature and Cultural
Consultant, Ellen Chances. Cast: 4m., 4w., 1 extra. Alexander, a retired professor, and
his beautiful young wife, Yelena, have returned to his country estate. Their presence is
a complete disruption to everyone including Sonya, the daughter of the professor and
his first wife, and Uncle Vanya, the first wife’s brother, who have managed the farm for
many years. The presence of the captivating Yelena introduces tension into the household. Dr. Astrov, a frequent visitor, and Vanya both fall in love with her. Unfortunately,
Sonya has long been secretly in love with Astrov, who fails even to notice her. Yelena
attempts to help Sonya’s cause but is unsuccessful as she struggles to deny her own
attraction to Astrov. When Vanya realizes that Alexander has a fraudulent reputation
and that he is planning to sell the estate, Vanya, furious and desperate, attempts to shoot
him. Alexander and Yelena decide to leave the estate, and Vanya asserts that now “everything will be just as it was.” Of course, nothing will ever be the same. [This] Uncle
Vanya is so nicely balanced among the four major characters ... it makes each major
role important and sympathetic while orchestrating them into a whole that beautifully
captures the sad music of a play in which not one of them gets what she or he desires.”
(The Inquirer, Philadelphia) One ext. and three int. sets. 56 pages. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: U28.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Ashley J. Barnard
Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility - Drama. Dramatized by Ashley J. Barnard. Based on
the novel by Jane Austen. Cast: 7m., 7w. (6m., 6w. with doubling). At the dawn of the
Regency, two sisters, Elinor and Marianne, are thrust into poverty by their brother’s
scheming and manipulative wife. Reduced to living with their mother in a tiny cottage,
their prospects for marriage nearly ruined, the sisters are nevertheless courted by three
dynamic men, each with a dark secret. The shy and awkward Edward Ferrars wins
Elinore’s heart, neglecting to tell her he is already engaged to Lucy Steele, who unsuspectingly lets Elinor in on the devastating secret. Colonel Brandon desperately loves
Marianne, but his former attachment to the ill-fated Eliza and his old-fashioned habits
fill Marianne with mistrust and disdain. Instead, Marianne, passionate and reckless,
falls head-over-heels in love with the dashing Willoughby, only to be deserted when
it is learned that Willoughby seduced Colonel Brandon’s young ward and abandoned
her with his child. Their hearts broken, Elinore and Marianne nearly give up on love
until fate intervenes. Two int. sets. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $60/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SK9.
Charles Smith
Actors’ Renaissance Theatre, Tempe, Ariz. (l-r) Monica McCue and Barbara McGrath.
Photo: James K. Barnard.
“These characters emerge with the kind of flesh-and-blood fury that often eludes history plays.
But then this is a deeply intriguing play, and one well worth contemplating.” —Chicago Sun-Times
JOSEPH JEFFERSON AWARD WINNER: BEST NEW WORK
Free Man of Color -
Ohio University and Victory Gardens Theater world premiere, Chicago, Ill.
(l-r) Anthony Fleming III and Gary Houston. Photo: Liz Lauren.
Drama. By Charles Smith. Cast: 2m., 1w. The year is 1824.
Reverend Robert Wilson, third president of Ohio University, brings John Newton Templeton,
a young ex-slave, to Ohio University to be the first man of color to attend the college. Although Ohio is a free state, slavery is still the law of the land in much of the country, so upon
his arrival, Templeton is unable to be housed with white students. Much to his wife’s consternation, Reverend Wilson’s solution to the problem is to board Templeton in their home and
have him work as a “student servant.” Wilson believes that Templeton has a divine calling:
to lead free blacks in a free and sovereign nation of their own—a new colony called Liberia.
But Jane Wilson is suspicious of her husband’s motives and jealous of the opportunity for
higher education afforded Templeton, especially since she, as a woman, is not allowed the
same privileges as an ex-slave. As graduation nears, Templeton is offered the appointment
of governor of Liberia. Caught between the expectations of Reverend Wilson and his wife
and the dawning realization of what founding a colony of free blacks in Africa would mean
to blacks in America, Templeton finally learns what it really means to be a free man of color.
“A highly charged meditation on race, freedom and responsibility.” (Chicago Daily Herald)
“These characters emerge with the kind of flesh-and-blood fury that often eludes history
plays. But then this is a deeply intriguing play, and one well worth contemplating.” (Chicago
Sun-Times) Unit set. Two acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F89.
Eric Coble
“A wonderful timeless piece. It should be required viewing for all
Americans.”—Paper Mill Playhouse
“Drama that kindles the democratic spirit.”—St. Petersburg Times
Vote? -
Drama. By Eric Coble. Cast: 2m., 3w., may be expanded to 20 actors
of either gender. Election Day. Eighteen-year-old Nicole Harrison registered to vote
when she got her driver’s license but has no intention of casting a ballot today. Why
bother? There are movies to watch and her buddy Daniel to hang with. But when
another friend, Krista, arrives to drive them to the polls, a heated debate breaks out
about the need (or lack thereof) to voice an opinion. As the argument grows hotter, Nicole is growing colder, suddenly finding herself knee-deep in Valley Forge
during the Revolutionary War! As she battles to figure out what’s happening, the
men around her battle for the very rights she so casually dismisses. No sooner has
she met George Washington and charged the British defenses than she is thrown
forward through time, standing beside Lucretia Mott, Frederick Douglass, Martin
Luther King Jr. and hundreds of minorities and young people at pivotal moments
in history. As they demand their rights in the face of murderous rage and violence,
Nicole discovers just how many shoulders we all stand on every time we step into
a voting booth. But will she ever get home again to use her new knowledge? “The
audience was spellbound. A real winner.” (Monticello Opera House) Area staging.
Approximate running time: 50 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: V34.
Eckerd Theater Company, Clearwater, Fla., production. (l-r) Alisha Harris and Rebecca Dixon.
Photo: Ian Beck.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
S. M. Shephard-Massat
“A poignant play ... underscores
the goodness of ordinary people at their best.”
“Waiting to Be Invited is both observant and touching and provides
a tour de force for its actors.” —TalkinBroadway.com
—Christian Science Monitor
Waiting to Be Invited -
Drama/Comedy. By S.M. Shephard-Massat.
Cast: 5w., 1m. It’s the summer of 1964 in Atlanta, Georgia. Four middle-aged
black women, co-workers from a local doll factory, travel by city bus to a “whites
only” eating establishment inside a downtown Atlanta department store. Their
purpose is to “test” their newly acquired civil rights handed down by the Supreme Court ruling outlawing racial segregation in eating establishments. This
funny, touching play received the Kennedy Center Roger L. Stevens Award for
New Playwrights and the Adrienne Kennedy Award for Most Promising Young
Dramatist. “History is never more exciting than when great events are made
personal. Waiting to Be Invited tells the great story of the birth of the civil rights
movement through a very small event—the day when four ordinary AfricanAmerican women sat at a previously segregated drugstore lunch counter in Atlanta, Georgia, to eat fish sticks and change the conscience of a society ... Waiting to Be Invited is a distinguished work, and one which allows each of us to take
part in a great historical moment. More than that, it reminds us that our own lives
are a part of a larger story, that we make daily choices that challenge who we are
and what we stand for, and that every small act of courage for a just cause makes
some small change in the quality of the world, and in the lives of all those who
come after us.” (Aisle Say, Seattle, Wash.) 58 pages. Approximate running time:1
hour, 20 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: WA3.
Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago, premier production. (l-r) Jacqueline Williams, Velma Austen,
Irma P. Hall and Kenn E. Head. Photo: Liz Lauren.
“ Levee James, at once conjures the Southern poetry of Tennessee Williams
and the angry, steadfast voice of someone demanding that the
American promise of equality become a reality.”
—Pat Craig, Contra Costa Times
Levee James - Drama. By S.M. Shephard-Massat. Cast: 2m.,1w. Set in early
1920s rural Georgia, Levee James is both a powerful love story and a riveting exploration of just how far individuals will go to hold onto their personal dreams in
a world of unrelenting oppression. Lily Grace Hoterfield returns home to Senoia,
Georgia, after years working as a ladies’ maid in Atlanta, to visit her deceased sister’s
husband, Wesley Slaton. The prosperous owner of a farm, Wesley caters to no one
and is raising his two daughters on his own. Together, they find comfort and joy in
their rediscovered connection. However, they must quickly face the harsh realities
of the poor white community, whose inhabitants are jealous of a black man owning
a nice piece of property. Random cruelty and lynchings are commonplace, and the
trials of this unjust world threaten their love and their survival. One interior set. 57
pages. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: LC8.
Stephen Jeffreys
American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco. (l-r) Rosalyn Coleman and
Steven Anthony Jones. Photo: Kevin Berne.
“Stephen Jeffreys’ wonderful play, set in Mississippi, 1975, is a fairy story
about an old blues singer, about resurrection, survival and nostalgia. But …
there is more to it than meets the dewy eye … This is a tough, sensitive play
about values and commitments, heads and hearts.” —The Sunday Times, London
“I Just Stopped By to See the Man is really about redemption and hope.”
—North County Times
I Just Stopped By to See the Man -
Old Globe, San Diego, Calif., production. (l-r) Manoel Feliciano and
Henry Afro-Bradley. Photo: Craig Schwartz.
52
Drama. By Stephen Jeffreys. Cast:
2m., 1w. First produced by the Royal Court Theatre in London, this play had its American
premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago. Set in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, I
Just Stopped By to See the Man is a passionate and political ode to the power and truth of
the blues. It tells the story of Jesse Davidson, the greatest living bluesman, long believed
dead, who is living out his simple life with his activist daughter in a bare shack. Legend
surrounds Jesse—like the story about him selling his soul to the devil so that he could play
guitar. But when Karl, a famous English rocker who has been making a fortune off the
legend’s tunes, stumbles into their solitude and probes for the truth about Jesse, he triggers
a confrontation of mythic proportions. “In this richly humane and moving play, Stephen
Jeffreys explores a fascinating corner of social and artistic history… It isn’t issues that
drive the play but people and the love of music itself.” (The Daily Telegraph, London) “I
Just Stopped By to See the Man is a rare pleasure, an interesting and involving play about
the blues … an extremely atmospheric, well-constructed play.” (Curtain Up, London)
Single set. Two acts. 88 pages. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I85.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Thomas Hischak
Charles Dickens
Winner of the SUNY, Chancellor’s Award
for Excellence in Scholarly and Creative Activity
David Copperfield -
Comedy/Drama. Adapted by Thomas Hischak. From
Charles Dickens’ novel. Cast: 11m., 13w., 1 boy, 1 girl. With doubling 8m., 10w., 1
boy, 1 girl. Charles Dickens’ masterpiece with the unforgettable characters and enthralling plot that make the original so famous. Young David Copperfield has a happy
childhood until his widowed mother weds the stern Mr. Murdstone, who separates
David from his caring nurse, Peggotty, and sends him to school far away. When Mrs.
Copperfield dies, little David must make his way in London. Helped by the merry Micawber family and his eccentric Aunt, Betsey Trotwood, David grows up to become a
writer. But even his adult years are challenged by the conniving clerk Uriah Heep, his
betraying friend James Steerforth, and others. David gets to wed Dora, whom he worships, but even their marriage is a challenge, and Dora’s premature death leads David
to discover his true character and position in life. Among the other memorable Dickens
characters to appear are the crusty but determined Dan Peggotty, the nerdy but faithful
friend Tom Traddles, the vicious spinster Miss Murdstone, the simple-minded but lovable Mr. Dick, the understanding Agnes Wickfield, the tragic Emily, the vengeful Miss
Dartle, and the honest and selfless fisherman, Ham. Flexible staging. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D84.
Cherie Bennett
Winner of the Macy’s New Play Prize.
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati, Ohio. (l-r) Mary Tensing, Marie Howey and Keven Kaddi.
Photo: Sandy Underwood.
Original illustration by Phiz (Halbot K. Browne) from the 1880 edition.
Life in the Fat Lane - Drama. By Cherie Bennett. From her award-winning
novel. Cast: 3m., 4w. May be expanded to 3m., 5w., 9 either gender. More genderflexible student roles may be added with the permission of the playwright. There’s a
perfect girl at every school. Beautiful. Talented. Smart. Great parents. Cool boyfriend.
You can’t even hate her because she’s so nice. Lara Ardeche is the perfect girl—and
the prom queen—at her high school. But when allergy medication causes her to gain
70 pounds, her world is transformed—same girl on the inside, different girl on the outside. She’s certain she can take off the weight with diet and exercise—it’s just a matter
of will power. Only Lara just keeps getting fatter. Her serious struggle is juxtaposed
against the alluring come-ons and comic voices of pop culture weight-loss gurus, all of
whom promise that they alone hold the key to weight-loss success. After her massive
weight gain, the world as Lara knows it begins to crumble. Who will stay by her side?
Her image-conscious family? Her shallow friends? Her handsome boyfriend? Or will
she be left alone in the land of the fat girls? Lara’s answers come in a form she never
expected. Her journey will resonate with teens of all ages and both sexes who struggle
to fit in. Commissioned by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and winner of the
Lazarus-Macy New Play Award. The novel won several book awards, including the
American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. Flexible staging. Approximate running time: 1 hour. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: LC7.
Max Bush
Voices From the Shore - Drama. By Max Bush. Cast: 6m.,
8w. All characters are 17 to 18 years old. Joel and his best friend of
many years, Lucas, are about to attend a senior-year, spring-break,
beach party. Joel seems abnormally tense as he and Lucas discuss
their fears and hopes for the future. When Trisha, Holly, Rick, Laura
and Joel’s girlfriend, Beth, arrive, it’s clear that friendship, dreams
and concerns about the future after graduation are on the minds of
everyone. Beth confronts Joel about their relationship, and as Joel’s
anxiety level rises, we begin to understand that he is hearing voices,
resulting in him being admitted into an adolescent, acute care, psychiatric hospital. There Joel meets other young people who are also
struggling with who they are and their changing worlds. Tom shows
Joel the ward and introduces him to Coby, a streetwise young woman
with a rough exterior and a caring heart, and to Julie, a delicate young
woman who repeatedly mistakes Joel for a lost friend. As the characters seek to clarify their futures, they prepare to say goodbye to their
familiar lives and hello to a world of new opportunities. Told with
humor, honesty and directness, Voices From the Shore celebrates the
anxieties, triumphs and glories of young adults struggling with understanding their changing dreams and with the responsibility for realizing them. Unit set. Approximate running time: 1hour, 35 minutes.
Royalty $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: V33.
James Zager
The Shakespeare Project -
Drama/Comedy. Adapted by James Zager. From
William Shakespeare. Cast:7m., 7w., 4 chorus. By taking the most famous scenes and
monologues from the canon of Shakespearean works and presenting them in a contemporary style, new and often remarkable interpretations of the classic materials emerge. We see
the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet as a late-night phone call, the witches from Macbeth as bag ladies, the wooing scene from The Taming of the Shrew as a wrestling bout, the
confrontation between Harry and Hotspur from Henry IV done in ritualistic fighting mode,
and Mark Antony’s speech from Julius Caesar as a press conference. Add to that energetic
portrayals of a handful of the most recognizable Shakespearean soliloquies penned and you
have a wonderful way to introduce young actors and audiences to the fantastic world of
Elizabethan literature. Set, costume and prop requirements are minimal, and other technical
needs are virtually nonexistent. Single set. Approximate running time: 50 minutes. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SK5.
Parkland College, Champaign, Ill., production of Julius Caeser. Photo: Jill Walmsley.
53
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Sandra Fenichel Asher
We Will Remember: A Tribute to Veterans -
Highland High School, Salt Lake City, Utah. (l-r) Erin Smithee and Natalie Blackman.
Photo: Beth Bruner.
Drama. By Sandra
Fenichel Asher. Cast: 6m., 2w., plus 8 either gender (doubling possible, 4 characters may be offstage voices). When students at Pine-Richland Middle School read
a story by Gary Paulsen about a Vietnam veteran and the devastating effects of his
inability to talk to his family about his war experiences, they wanted to know more
about the people who had lived the history they were learning about in school. The
school engaged Ms. Asher to develop interviewing techniques and questions with the
students. Then off they went—students, teachers and playwright—to talk to patients
in a V.A. hospital and veterans, family members and other residents of their communities. They returned with written and taped interviews, plus a grandfather’s journal
kept during the Normandy invasion, a mother’s collection of letters from her soldier
husband, a cache of letters written by a relative who had served in the Civil War,
exchanges with a Japanese veteran, and accounts of each interviewer’s own feelings
about these interviews. This play, commissioned by the school and Prime Stage in
Pittsburgh, is the result of those intense, enlightening and deeply moving experiences.
Following performances, veterans and their family members in each audience have
been inspired to step forward and continue the conversation. It is hoped that other
schools and communities will use this play as a catalyst to further story sharing—and
to remember. Area staging. Approximate running time: 75 minutes. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: WA4.
Max Bush
Looking Through You - Drama. By Max Bush. Occasional music and lyrics by Dale Diele-
Portland High School Drama Club, Portland, Mich. (l-r) Alicia Brace
and Sam Oberg. Photo: Philip W. Huber.
man. Cast: 5m., 8w., 1 to 3 singers, 1 to 2 musicians (guitar). All characters but one are 16 to17
years old. As Kara, Sue Ellen, Juanita, Lucas and Joel gather on the beach to make plans to go to an
amusement park, Lucas plays a compilation tape of songs from the ’60s made for him by Christy
Bekken, one of “The Crowd” at school. The music on the tape suddenly stops and a distraught
Christy is heard speaking angrily to someone. It is obvious that Christy did not know she was being recorded. The tape ends abruptly and the people listening are stunned. Because no one else is
heard on the tape, the friends speculate about who Christy could possibly be speaking to and what
has happened. Lucas—who is fond of Christy—confronts her directly. Christy is evasive and wants
Lucas to give her the tape and forget about it. Lucas returns the tape, but after Christy’s boyfriend,
Bobby, attacks Lucas, he is sure there is something more going on. As Lucas continues to pursue the
truth, we learn more and more about the inner lives of each of the characters and what’s beneath the
images they present to the world. Unit set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: LC6.
D.W. Gregory
Commissioned by The Imagination Stage, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland
Penny Candy -
Comedy. By D.W. Gregory. Cast: 2m., 7w., expandable.
Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 1952: Sixteen-year-old Neely Cole struggles in
the shadow of his much-admired older brother, Aidan, who is off fighting a
distant enemy in Korea. The closure of a factory has thrown the community into
turmoil, but for Neely and his friends, Sarah and Mary Lee, the bigger question
is when Aidan will finally pop the question to his long-time girlfriend, Regina
Miller. Neely, meanwhile, has agreed to play go-between for Aidan and a different girl, pretty but aloof Emily Abbott, daughter of a wealthy merchant. It’s
an assignment Neely first considers a game that will relieve his boredom. As
Emily’s attachment to Aidan grows, however, Neely finds himself struggling
with strange feelings of his own—the dull ache of a nagging conscience and an
unspoken desire to claim Emily for himself. Area staging. Approximate running
time: 65 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: PA9.
Karen Sunde
Imagination Stage, Inc., Bethesda, Md. (l-r) Christopher Carothers and Celia Gendler.
Photo: Kate Mulligan.
“The Fastest Woman Alive gives Jackie Cochran her due—It’s a thrilling smart play about a thrilling smart lady ...
She is, once you discover her in Sunde’s wondrous bio-drama, a true American original—an Annie Oakley for the 20th
century ... This story is so important and interesting and well-told that it’s a wonder that it’s not in a Broadway theatre.”
—nytheatre.com
The Fastest Woman Alive - Drama. By Karen Sunde. Cast:
2m., 3w., may be expanded to 8m., 12w. or more. The astonishing
and glamorous Jackie Cochran soared through life. She was the first
woman to break the sound barrier. She battled the military to create
WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots), 1,000 women who risked
their lives flying more than 75-million miles while testing and ferrying every military aircraft flown in World War II. She was named
Business Woman of the Year, became a soul mate to both Amelia
54
Earhart and Chuck Yeager, and to this day she holds more flight records than any man or woman who ever lived. The Fastest Woman
Alive whirls us through her adventurous life in dramatic and touching
scenes giving us a picture of this quintessential American who began
her life in hopeless circumstances, seized her dream, and achieved
more than anyone imagined was possible. Single set. Two acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: F87.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Mark D. Kaufmann
“A farcical black comedy about corporate values—combines black-hearted satire
with laugh-out-loud humor.”—Denver Post
Evil Little Thoughts -
Comedy. By Mark D. Kaufmann.
Cast: 5m., 2w. “Corporate raider Douglas Jensen has patterned
his life on a very simple principle: virtues like honor and respectability don’t work. So he doesn’t use them. The man dresses like a
CEO and thinks like a water moccasin!” (Denver Center Theatre)
His lovely, unfortunate wife, Anna, writes poetry, which he criticizes mercilessly. Jensen’s next takeover target is a glue factory
owned by Lloyd Price, who is desperate to keep his little business.
Jensen puts terrible pressure on Lloyd, who manages to hold out.
So Jensen plans the next step— doing away with Lloyd. Meanwhile turnabout becomes fair play as the beleaguered Lloyd hires
two bumbling hitmen who work out a Laurel and Hardy poison
plan. The result? Poison flows in surprising directions. “The final
scene is pure Orton,” a critic suggests, “with a corpse on the bed
and people making up wild stories to cover their tracks.” Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: E30.
Denver Center Theatre production. Photo: Terry Shapiro.
Carl Ritchie
Elise Dewsberry
Any Body Home? - Comedy/Mystery/Farce. By Carl Ritchie and Elise Dews-
Cordova Bay Theatre Works. Photo: Bruce Stotesbury.
berry. Cast: 2m., 3w. Real estate broker Susan Strathcona wants to hold an open
house, sell a condo and earn her commission. Frustrating her attempts are the owner’s
fiancé, who is bursting to prove his masculinity; the little old sex-pot next door with
her deadly herbs and a scorpion named “Shirley”; the international police on the trail
of the mysterious “Phantom”; and a rival real estate agent who will don any disguise
in his attempts to steal the listing. Oh, yes, and the owner—who is dead and laid out
on the sofa! An uproariously funny farce. Single unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: A85.
Jack Neary
“Jack Neary is a Catholic Neil Simon.” —The Boston Herald
“We had a wonderful time with the play Jerry Finnegan’s Sister. The characters
were very accessible to high-school students and we enjoyed the dialogue.”
-Julie Brough, Kearns High School, Kearns, Utah
Jerry Finnegan’s Sister -
Comedy. By Jack Neary. Cast: 1m., 1w. Brian Dowd has
spent the last 10 years of his life wrestling with an unrequited “something” for his best friend’s
sister, who happens to live next door. But each and every time he’s spoken with Beth Finnegan
for more than 30 seconds, he’s ended up with his foot planted firmly in his mouth. Now, Brian’s
time is about to run out. With recent news that Jerry Finnegan’s sister is getting married, the
time has come for him to put up or shut up. Like John Wayne in The High and the Mighty, Brian
has reached the point of no return. What’s he got to lose—except the love of his life! In a series
of fast-moving, hysterically funny scenes, two actors play Brian and Beth from ages 7 and 6,
through their adolescent and teen years, right up to the moment the play is happening, when
they’re both in their early 20s. This highly acclaimed comedy has charmed audiences of all ages
and has been produced with great success in a number of theatres nationwide. It has been hailed
by critics as “A delight ... a gem! Has enough chuckles, guffaws and belly laughs to please any
patron.” Easy to produce, and an exceptionally exciting challenge for actors and directors, Jerry
Finnegan’s Sister is the rare comedy that is at once entertaining, very funny and, ultimately,
touching. Simple area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: J23.
New Century Theatre. Jenna Moscowitz and Christopher Connell. Photo: Stan Sherer.
“Five Nickels is a funny, thought-provoking, very entertaining evening with many laughs.” —Hello Holyoke newspaper
Five Nickels - Comedy. By Jack Neary. Cast: 3m., 3w. Five Nick-
els is a full evening of theatre, and the title story is the first act of the
play. Five Nickels introduces us to Ed Maloney, 60, single and shy.
He’s a Catholic usher who, on this particular Sunday, is confronted
by Catherine Barber, a 50-year-old widow determined to confront this
lifelong bachelor with her true feelings—feelings which she has been
expressing weekly in the church hallway in a very special, very subtle
way. Act Two opens with Late Date, in which two sharply sassy 20somethings, hoping to never cross paths again after one date from hell,
are forced to deal with the fact that their single parents are considering
dating each other. Oklahoma is an actor-audience one-on-one in which
a woman in her 70s reminisces about her days as a World War II nurse
and how the horrors of war were miraculously eased by a surprise trip
to New York to see the famous musical. The third piece, Lilacs, is a
sweet, often hilarious chance meeting, said to have really taken place
sometime in the 1920s, between a young boy destined to be a priest and
a 14-year-old girl who would one day become the most famous actress
in the world. Finally, The Wedding follows the plight of a regular Joe
named Frank and the seemingly outrageous demands made by his only
daughter, Mary-Ellen, who can’t see the wisdom behind Dad’s choice
to hold her wedding reception at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Five
Nickels is written to be presented as a full evening of theatre, but each
playlet can easily stand on its own. “ [Neary is] the Catholic Northeast Garrison Keillor.” (Pioneer Valley Advocate) Simple sets. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F76.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Rebecca Gilman
THE AMERICAN THEATRE CRITICS ASSOCIATION OSBORNE AWARD
LONDON EVENING STANDARD AWARD: “BEST NEW PLAY”
PULITZER PRIZE NOMINEE AND RUNNER-UP
AFTER DARK AWARD “BEST NEW WORK”
JOSEPH JEFFERSON CITATION “BEST NEW WORK”
The Glory of Living -
Drama. By Rebecca Gilman. Cast: 5m.,
5w. with doubling. The Glory of Living tells the story of Lisa, a 15-yearold girl, and her marriage to Clint, an ex-con twice her age. Systematically
abused by her husband, Lisa is coerced into helping him commit crimes of
varying magnitude, including murder. “Intelligent and provoking ... Gilman has created a couple whose degeneracy is the vehicle for a searing
analysis of moral codes, sexual abuse, fear, love, poverty and the value
of a life.” (The Sunday Times) “Plays don’t come much tougher, or more
compassionate ... It’s a viscerally powerful piece that, not unlike Bond’s
Saved, makes you look closely at a violent subculture from which you
would normally shrink.” (The Guardian) “Psychological shrewdness and
on-target language.” (New York Magazine) Three int. sets. Two acts. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $75/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: G73.
MCC Theater’s New York off-Broadway production. Anna Paquin and Jeffrey Donovan. Photo: Joan Marcus.
My Sin and Nothing More -
Drama. By Rebecca Gilman.
Cast: 3m., 3w. Cleo and Dave have been happily married for years and
have a seemingly perfect life. Dave is a movie producer, Cleo, a talented
chef and cookbook author. At the moment, Dave is caught up in the middle
of trying to swing the deal of a lifetime. Everything is going well until Cleo
instigates a reunion with Jennifer, the daughter she gave up for adoption
20 years ago. When the couple decides to welcome the young woman into
their lives, Jennifer, thoughtless, self-centered, and naively ruthless, wreaks
havoc, endangering everything her new-found “parents” have. At length,
Cleo finds herself forced to choose again between living her own wellwrought life and forging a new relationship with her emotionally needy
daughter. Is she—or any adult parent—capable of giving up (and giving
up on) a child a second time? One int. set. Approximate running time: 110
minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MA2.
“ A force to be reckoned with in the American theatre of the new millennium.” — Wall Street Journal
“This is a truly intriguing play by a skilled playwright who’s not afraid to tackle
issues that many others might overlook.” —AisleSay.com, San Francisco
“Blue Surge never cheats and yet manages to surprise as it unfolds
with increasing intensity. The climax is persuasive, shatteringly beautiful,
and absolutely right.”— New York Magazine
Blue Surge -
Drama. By Rebecca Gilman. Cast: 2m., 3w. Blue Surge tells the story of Curt, a
small-town Midwestern cop, and Sandy, the 18-year-old prostitute he meets in a raid on a massage
parlor. Curt finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Sandy and begins a relationship with her that puts everything he’s worked for—his career, his friendships, and his engagement to his fiancée—at risk. But
Curt sees a future with Sandy, an escape from his difficult past. As the two of them chase the American
Dream, they must learn a skill that is foreign to them both: they must learn to hope. “Gilman tackles
what may be her trickiest subject yet: the relationship between history and destiny ... she examines
the role that class and background can play in shaping an individual’s values and expectations ...
[an] absorbing drama which reaffirms Gilman’s flair for dialogue at once stringently intelligent and
utterly natural.” (USA Today) “Ms. Gilman has the undeniable virtue of focusing with lucidity and
evenhandedness on subjects that are more often sensationalized in the popular arts.” (New York Times)
Four interior sets. Two acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $75/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: BA9.
The Public Theater, New York. (l-r) Joe Murphy and Amy Landecker.
Photo: Michal Daniel.
“Gilman’s dialogue is bouncy and witty.” —Variety
The Land of Little Horses -
Comedy. By Rebecca Gilman. Cast: 2m., 5w. The Land of Little Horses is the story of three
sisters—Evelyn, Jessica, and Jean Louise—and their Aunt Dot.
Evelyn is engaged to the well-intentioned but occasionally clueless Charles. Jessica is dating an entrepreneur from Italy, and Jean
Louise and Dot have decided to run away from home and follow
a sport that has become their newfound passion: miniature horse
racing. Their absence serves as a catalyst for Evelyn and Jessica
and forces a confrontation between them and their visiting mother.
Emotions run high as Dot and Jean Louise become the first groupies
of the Miniature Horse Racing Association and take their fascination cross-country, leaving their family to ask the questions that ultimately bring them home. One int. set. Approximate running time:
90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L92.
Rebecca Wockenfuss and Shannon Nettesheim in the Wisconsin Lutheran College production. Photo: Stephanie Molitor.
56
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Rebecca Gilman
“A smart, unsettling play!” “The play is first-rate.”
A Time Magazine #1 play of the year!
“Rebecca Gilman is a playwright to hail. Boy Gets Girl is gripping and
important—the finest,most disturbing American play in years!” —Time
“A disturbing chiller ... the play works powerfully at its most basic level,
as a suspenseful tale about the unraveling of a strong woman’s
sense of security in the urban jungle.” —Variety
—Wall Street Journal
—The New York Times
Boy Gets Girl - Drama. By Rebecca Gilman. Cast: 4m., 3w. “In Boy Gets Girl, Rebec-
ca Gilman offers up a tale of Gotham singledom you won’t be seeing any time soon on ‘Sex
and the City.’ A disturbing chiller about a woman whose life of accomplishment is quickly
destroyed by a disturbed admirer, the play works powerfully at its most basic level, as a suspenseful tale about the unraveling of a strong woman’s sense of security in the urban jungle.
It certainly will touch a tender nerve in everybody who’s ever squirmed through a creepy
blind date.” (Variety) Theresa Bedell is a successful reporter in New York who loves her work
and the life she has made for herself. A relationship with a man would complete the picture,
and so she agrees to go on a blind date with a friend of a friend. Tony is attractive and funny,
but Theresa isn’t sure, and after a second date she’s convinced they have nothing in common
and sees no point in continuing the relationship. Tony, though, thinks otherwise. What at first
seems like persistence on his part grows into obsession, and Theresa’s annoyance with Tony
turns to terror as he begins to threaten her and those around her. Ultimately, Theresa must fight
to save herself from being erased by Tony’s actions—actions which call into question the assumptions at the very heart of romantic pursuit. Multiple sets. Two acts. Approximate running
time: 2 hours. Royalty: $75/performance. Price: $7.50. Code: BA5.
Mary Beth Fisher in the Goodman Theatre world premier production. Photo: Liz Lauren.
“This is a drama that will send audiences
arguing into the night,and one that cries
out to be seen.” —The Daily Telegraph
“Rebecca Gilman’s provocative new play tackles the issue of racism
with fresh vitality while standing political correctness on its head.”
—The Daily News, New York
“[This play] will be provoking heated conversations,
not to mention awkward moments, in the Lincoln Center subway stop
for some time to come.” —Variety
Spinning Into Butter - Drama. By Rebecca Gilman. Cast: 5m., 2w. “The ‘issue’ play
The Goodman Theatre world premier production. (sitting) Robert Brueler,
(l-r) James Leaming, Mary Beth Fisher and Mary Ann Thebus. Photo: Liz Lauren.
makes a comeback with Spinning Into Butter, the highly anticipated Gotham debut of playwright
Rebecca Gilman, whose work has been acclaimed in prior London and Chicago outings. Gilman’s
subject ... is the latent racism that may lurk in the liberal hearts of—well, people like New York
theater-goers! It’s a potent topic, and the playwright explores it with an admirable boldness as well
as a nice leavening of humor.” (Variety) Spinning Into Butter explores the dangers of both racism
and political correctness in America today. When one of the few African-American students at a
liberal Vermont college begins receiving hate mail, the campus erupts, first with shock, then with
mutual recrimination as faculty and students alike try to prove their own tolerance by condemning
one another. At the center of this maelstrom is Sarah Daniels, the dean of students. As the administration sponsors public “race forums” and the students start their activist groups, Sarah is forced to
explore her own feelings of racism. Her self-examination leads to some surprising discoveries and
painful insights, the consequences of which even she can’t predict. One int. set. Two acts. Approximate running time:2 hours, 15 minutes. Royalty: $75/performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SF9.
Sunil Kuruvilla
“There’s no denying [Kuruvilla’s] ability .. to create rich women’s roles.” —Variety
“Fighting Words keeps its audience on its toes. Most wonderfully, its sneaky left hook of a punch lingers
on the soul well after the final round.” — New Haven Register
Fighting Words -
Drama. By Sunil Kuruvilla. Cast: 3w. “Johnny Owen ... was the contender, a
celebrity in a place where the men who can find work do it in coal mines. The others are on welfare. For
the poor people of Merthyr Tydfil, Johnny represents a vicarious once-in-a-lifetime chance to be noticed
... Fighting Words is concerned with entrapment and survival, the compromises of marriage and the role
of women, the futility of banking on fame, the tedium of lacking fortune ... a transporting tale ... the play
makes a complete round trip in record time—from life to art, then back to life.” (New York Times) In 1980,
Johnny Owen traveled from Wales to Los Angeles to challenge Lupe Pintor for the world bantamweight
championship, and 40 townsmen went with him to watch the fight at ringside. Focusing on sisters Peg and
Nia and their landlady, Mrs. Davies, Fighting Words is the story of the women who watched the fight on
television back in Wales. As they bake a cake, they support and ridicule each other, revealing their secrets
and dreams. Nia has been giving Johnny speech lessons so that he will be less shy in front of the American
press. Peg is just crazy about boxing, but no one will spar with her except Johnny, and she believes he
will marry her. Mrs. Davies, the midwife who delivered Johnny, frets that her husband can’t live without
her for a few days in America, but it becomes clear she can’t live without him. As the cake rises so do
their tempers, and they fight about who knows Johnny best and which one he loves more. By fight night,
Peg is sitting at ringside, when suddenly Johnny is down and their dreams are shattered! Weeks later, Peg
sits at the kitchen table as if in a coma as Nia delivers the heartbreaking news of Johnny’s death from his
injuries. Simple set. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. No intermission. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: F80.
Fighting Words. Yale Repertory Theatre, the New Theatre production, New
Haven, Conn. (l-r) Emma Bowers, Jane Houdyshell and Meg Brogan.
Photo: Joan Marcus.
57
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Michele Lowe
“[The Smell of the Kill] boasts lines and scenes that have the audience
laughing as uproariously as The Producers.” —Variety
“A deft little anti-love story.”—Newsday
“A very funny guilty pleasure.”
The Smell of the Kill -
—Roma Torre, NY1 News
Comedy. By Michele Lowe. Cast: 3w. (3m. offstage voices).
Take three delicious, malicious wives, add three miserable, unloving husbands—and chill.
That’s the recipe for Michele Lowe’s tantalizing new comedy that had Broadway audiences
cheering. The Smell of the Kill revolves around Nicky, Debra and Molly, who have tolerated
each other during once-a-month dinners for years. While their unseen spouses play golf in the
dining room, the women exchange confidences, for the first time revealing that all three marriages are on the brink of disaster and all three women are facing the challenges of their lives.
Nicky’s husband has been indicted for embezzlement, Molly’s husband is stalking her and
Debra’s husband is leaving her for another woman. When the men mistakenly lock themselves
in a basement meat locker, the women are faced with a life-or-death decision—should they
leave the men out in the cold—permanently—or let them thaw? One by one the women make
their choices with more than a little help from one another. One int. set. 77 pages. Approximate
running time: 70 minutes. Royalty: $75/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SH2.
Syracuse Stage. (l-r) Corinna May, Vicki Van Tassel and Suzanne Grodner.
Photo: Doug Wonders.
Buck Busfield
“Not in the Stars twinkles ... Undeniably entertaining.” —The Sacramento Bee
Not in the Stars - Comedy. By Buck Busfield. Cast: 2m., 1w. How does one find true romance?
Is it gained through patient seeking and endless rounds of dating? Or is it thrust upon us by fate ... by
karma ... by the stars? During the course of a blind date, Stars charts the origin of a romance from its
disastrous first “hello” to its first tentative kiss. A veteran of four failed marriages,Yvonne Batten is
skeptical of dates, and she has every right to be. And her suitor, Clare, doesn’t help. Funny, frivolous
and given to shading the truth, he embodies everything Yvonne fears in a man. Perfectly mismatched,
their date rushes headlong into irreversible romantic oblivion—until a secret is shared, behaviors are
forgiven, and romance begins. “Stuffed with inventive twists and lots of good jokes ... Busfield is a perceptive, concise writer ... At first, both Yvonne and Clare are defensive; then they get more defensive,
argumentative and evasive. Miscommunications lead to misunderstandings, mistakes, psychologizing,
secrets and lies. If that sounds like love at second or third sight, bingo.” (The Columbus Dispatch) Two
int. sets. Approximate running time: 1 hour. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N48.
The B Street Theatre, Sacramento, Calif. Elisabeth Nunziato and Kurt Johnson.
Photo: Jayson Carpenter.
“An appealing drama with ... solid commercial potential.” —Variety
“A play of considerable truth and compassion.” —Philadelphia Inquirer
Willy Holtzman
“HEARTS: The Forward Observer—HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.” —Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
Hearts - Drama. By Willy Holtzman. Cast: 4m., 1w.
Donald Waldman is an 18-year-old
Jewish street kid when he graduates high school in June of 1944. Six months later he’s fighting
for his life in the Battle of the Bulge and beyond as a forward observer for the 71st Infantry.
Hearts moves between the closing days of combat and Donald’s postwar pursuit of the American Dream. He has a wife, a family, a small business, and three wisecracking, card-playing
old friends who would walk through fire for him. He also has an eating compulsion, chronic
insomnia, and bouts of depression that eventually land him in a psych ward. Rather than give
in to the past, Donald finds the courage to search back through memory to liberation day at
Buchenwald and the tragic secret that has nearly devoured him. From the foxholes of Europe to
the frontiers of cyber-space, Hearts looks at the invisible wounds of the “Greatest Generation”
with humanity and surprising humor. “An exceptional piece of work.” (Philadelphia Daily
News) “An appealing drama ... with solid commercial potential.” (Variety) Area staging with
minimal props and costumes. Approximate running time: 70 minutes. No intermission. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H81.
Paullete MacDougal
The People’s Light & Theatre Company, Malvern, Pa. (l-r) Paul Meshejian, William Wise,
Mark Lazar and Stephen Novelli. Photo:Mark Garvin.
”A poignant look at love and war.” —Independent Press
“This show is an example of theater at its best.” —The Daily Record, Morris County, New Jersey
“Waiting for MacArthur tells a gripping World War II story which hasn’t been heard,
about the courage and valor of the women who served in the Army nursing corps.”
Waiting for MacArthur -
Paradox Players, Austin Texas. (l-r) Deneen Frazier
and Adrienne Harrell. Photo: James Garrison.
58
—San Antonio Express-News
Drama. By P. Paullette MacDougal. Cast: 4w. “Waiting for MacArthur is
funny, moving, and at times, poetic. This play will knock you for a loop with its humor and grace. It will make
you shiver at its penetrating insights about courage under fire and the hellish banality of war. And it will leave
you thinking long after about the amazing capacity for hope and love among the women and men who served and
those who stayed behind.” (The Daily Record, Morris County, N.J.) Letters from five continents intersect in this
powerful story that explores the deeper meanings of patriotism, heroism, love of liberty and courage under fire.
It’s the 1940s and four women are changed and marked by a world at war. A young army nurse under bombardment on the Philippine Island of Corregidor during World War II corresponds with her mother, her teacher, and her
best friend. Because of the war, friendships change, courtships go amiss and family bonds stress or strengthen. A
spiritually uplifting, emotionally touching war story, all the more intense because it is told by women. Flexible set.
Two acts. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W97.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Julie Jensen
Rosemary Prinz in the Theatreworks production. Design by Don Carter.
“Put Mad Mother on your ‘must see’ list.”—The Salt Lake Tribune
“Last Lists is among the best.” —Variety
“Crisp, clean writing, sharply realized characters and a clear story line that
leads to an emotional, inevitable but unsentimental conclusion...
a tough and funny response to one of life’s
Inescapable and defining moments.”
—Journal Inquirer
Last Lists of My Mad Mother -
Drama with humor. By Julie Jensen.Cast: 3w. “Last
Lists of My Mad Mother is a hilarious, often touching look at the toll Alzheimer’s disease takes on a
parent-child relationship. It magnificently reveals the humor within the tragedy, without taking away
from the seriousness of the issue.”(The Record-Journal) Ma cares about ribbons and bows, intransitive verbs, and keeping to her rigid schedule. Dot uses a wicked sense of humor to sort out the tangle
of her mother’s mind. Together they struggle with Ma’s inevitable decline, while Sis phones in her
advice from afar. In and out of the sinewy webs of Ma’s fleeting awareness, retracing paths they
have traveled countless times, Ma and Dot drive toward understanding and arrive with some sense
of surprise at the destination of comfort. Commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum, this play was a
winner of the Mill Mountain Theatre New Play Competition. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: L96.
Nominated for 3 Ovation Awards!
WINNER OF 3 L.A. WEEKLY AWARDS! Best Play, Best Director, and Best Actress.
“Ms. Jensen’s two heads make an elegant and meaningful whole
... a gentle, poetic allure.” —The New York Times
“Jensen’s intelligently unadorned voice is one worth listening to,
now and in the future.” —Off-Broadway Review
Two-Headed -
L.A. Workshop production at Common Ground Festival.
(l-r) Colette Kilroy and Christine Dunford. Photo: Maria Miller.
Drama. By Julie Jensen. Cast: 2w. Utah in 1857—the year more than
100 California-bound immigrants traveling from Missouri and Arkansas were killed in what
became known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Hettie and Lavinia, 10-year-old friends
at the time, know about the nearby massacre, an event that will haunt them for the rest of their
lives. We follow their friendship through 40 years (set at 10-year intervals) as they each find
their place in an intolerant, patriarchal Mormon society and the polygamy it espouses. The
relationship between the women is tested when Hettie marries Lavinia’s father, a breach of
trust that Lavinia condemns. Lavinia’s lifelong hatred of her father becomes clear when Hettie
learns that her friend was an eyewitness to the Mountain Meadows Massacre—carried out by
Mormons and planned by Lavinia’s father. “Jensen has crafted a patchwork of poetry and wisdom in her play ... the constant themes of survival and togetherness are powerful throughout.”
(Backstage) “Steeped in the hard facts of Mormon frontier history, Ms. Jensen’s script has a
gentle, poetic allure.” (The New York Times) “[Ms. Jensen] uses only two female characters to
create a vivid world out of dialogue as spare and simple as her characters’ makeshift, utilitarian lives in the Utah desert.” (Newsday) One ext. set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 15
minutes. No intermission. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: TD7.
“A brilliant premise, raucously funny.”—L.A. Weekly
Named one of the 10 best plays of the year by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
“Wacky show with brains, wit and heart.”—Cleveland Scene
Wait! - Comedy. By Julie Jensen. Cast: 1m., 3w. May be expanded to 3m., 5w. Our girl
Wendy Burger stands on the edge of a summer that will change her life forever. It’s the summer she moves out of her father’s house (and into the UPS truck). The summer she starts
a theatre with the guy she used to date (no one else would have them). The summer she
performs her first acting role (Lisa in Hamlet—with a flickering blue light playing the lead,
à la Tinkerbell). The summer when she gets tips from the actress Floating Piñata Head. But
most of all it’s the summer when she meets OVixen My Vixen (yes, that’s her full name!)
who is both beautiful and oh-so-deep. It’s the summer that changes everything in Wendy’s
life. The title, Wait!, identifies that moment between the question and the answer, between
the old life and the new. It’s a moment of great power. No matter what happens, you will not
be the same. Commissioned and premiered by the Salt Lake Acting Company. “Deliciously
zany characters and poignant moments ... a loving and self-exploratory paean to the powers
of small-town theatre.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) “[Jensen] draws heavily on her small-town
roots ... and her long career in theatre. The two come together hilariously.” (Desert News).
Unit set. 72 pages. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: WA2.
The Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City, Utah. (l-r)
Brenda Sue Cowley and Erin Hiatt. Photo: Scott Peterson.
59
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
José Rivera
Pedro Calderón de la Barca
“Rivera has reclaimed Calderón’s florid use of metaphor and made it his own,
spiced with science, sarcasm and sweetness.” —American Theatre
“Rivera has retained Calderón’s storyline and vision while streamlining it
and updating its language. His version is utterly absorbing.” —Variety
Sueño - Comedy/Drama. Translated and adapted by José Rivera. From the play
by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. Cast:7m., 2w. Any number of soldiers and servants.
Sueño is Obie Award-winning playwright José Rivera’s translation and adaptation of
Calderón de la Barca’s Life Is a Dream. One of the jewels of the Spanish Golden Age,
Sueño follows the life of Segismundo, heir to the Spanish throne, who was imprisoned
at birth when astrologers predicted his reign as king would result in the country’s ruin.
Brilliant and passionate, he is raised in isolation. His only companions are the nobleman Clotaldo and a God whose very existence he questions. When King Basilio finds
his own life ending without a legitimate heir, he releases Segismundo and places him
on the throne. If the young man is gentle and civilized, Basilio reasons, he will be allowed to reign. If he is as wild and barbaric as the stars predicted, he’ll be sent back
to his imprisonment and told that his brief moment of freedom and power was only
a dream. When the tormented Segismundo demonstrates the worst of the astrologers’
fears and is sent back to the tower, he’s forever unable to distinguish between real life
and the world of dreams. Sueño seeks to ask the eternal questions posed by Calderón:
What is man? What is honor? What is freedom? Could God himself be the greatest
dream of all? One int. set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SD7.
Hartford Stage world premiere featuring Alene Dawson and Damian Young.
Elvira Carrizal
Sí TV KC/ACTF Latino Playwriting Award
Father’s Shadow/Sombra del Padre -
Drama. By
Elvira Carrizal. Cast: 4m., 7w. (9 actors with doubling). Father’s
Shadow/ Sombra del Padre, a Mexican family drama, maps the difficult journey of a young woman and her friends and family through
a confusing legacy of pain, abuse and misunderstanding. Yet it is not
just a journey of sadness but also one of joy, insight, and ultimately
revelation. The play takes place over a course of five years in a cluster of homes that forms a community in south Texas. Like the border
Kevin Theis
Thomas Heywood
between Texas and Mexico in reality, the borders between these two
places in the play are incredibly rigid, yet strangely flexible. Likewisae, the border between “reality” and “dream” in Father’s Shadow/
Sombra del Padre is sometimes impenetrable, leaving the characters unable to escape, and sometimes almost immaterial, allowing
the characters to confront those with whom they feel they have lost
touch emotionally or spiritually. Area staging. Approximate running
time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: F74.
WINNER OF 2 JOSEPH JEFFERSON CITATIONS!
“Rip-roaring fun! There’s not a dull moment in this thrill show...
an avalanche of absorbing incidents and dazzling derring-do!”
—Chicago Tribune
The Fair Maid of the West -
Comedy/Adventure. By Kevin Theis.
From the plays by Thomas Heywood. Cast: 12 to 14m., 2w., doubling necessary.
Based on Thomas Heywood’s The Fair Maid of the West, parts I and II, this
adaptation combines both plays into one epic story recounting the adventures of
lowborn tavern girl Bess Bridges and her true love, a gentleman soldier named
Spencer. Through a series of misadventures, the ardent lovers are separated,
and Bess is left believing Spencer died in the Spanish wars overseas. Inheriting
his fortune, she buys a ship and embarks on a journey, vowing to bring his body
home. Accompanied by the brave Goodlack, the braggart Roughman, and the
comic innkeeper Clem, Bess faces many a challenge, including roaring battles,
mistaken identities and storm-tossed seas. An old-fashioned swashbuckler in
the spirit of Captain Blood and The Three Musketeers. Area staging. Royalty:
CT20 Ensemble world premiere, Chicago. (l-r) Matt Kozlowski, Ned Mochel, Sara Nichols, Ted Koch and Matthew W. Maher. Photo: Roger Lewin, Jennifer Girard Studio.
Max Bush
The Three Musketeers - Romance. Adapted by Max Bush.
From the novel by Alexandre Dumas père. Cast: 25m., 10w. (15m.,
5w. with doubling). Many small roles and extras possible. “Do not
hesitate to act, or you may lose the chance that Fortune, in her wisdom, offers you.” With this advice from his father, and to fulfill his
dream of becoming a musketeer, d’Artagnan heads for Paris and into
a world of romance, intrigue and action. En route he meets Milady,
the alluring agent of Cardinal Richelieu, and makes an enemy of the
formidable Count de Rochefort. In Paris, d’Artagnan unwittingly
challenges all three of the Inseparables—Athos, Porthos, and Ara60
mis—to a duel.When the cardinal’s guards arrive, d’Artagnan joins
with the musketeers, turning the sword fight into a musketeer victory.
Soon he is called to action again to rescue Constance Bonacieux,
the queen’s seamstress, with whom he falls in love. Through Constance, d’Artagnan learns of the cardinal’s plot to destroy the queen
and embraces the chance to prove himself worthy of Constance and
the uniform of a musketeer. Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d’Artagnan
declare war on the cardinal, and both sides enter into an escalating
and treacherous battle for love and power. Area staging. Approximate
running time: 3 hours, 5 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: TD2.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Richard Dresser
“How could we not produce Rounding Third? This play reflects the passions, the joy and the pain that fills the heart of
any person who has ever loved a child who was competing for anything, from sports to spelling bees to talent shows.”
—San Jose Repertory Theatre
“HILARIOUS” —Variety
Rounding Third. Matthew Arkin and Robert Colhessy in the John Houseman Theatre off-Broadway
production. Photo:Bruce Glikas.
Rounding Third - Comedy. By Richard Dresser. Cast: 2m. Rounding Third is
the tumultuous journey of two Little League coaches through an entire season, from
their first tentative meeting to the climactic championship game. Don is the tough,
blue-collar, win-at-all-costs veteran coach whose son is the star pitcher. Michael is a
newcomer both to the town and to baseball. He’s a corporate executive who agrees to
be Don’s assistant because he wants a special activity with his son, who’s never played
baseball before. Michael and Don form an uneasy alliance for the benefit of the team.
Over the course of exhilarating victories, heartbreaking defeats, and interminable rainouts, the two men battle over how to lead the team, Michael believing that the job of
the coaches is to shield the kids from the pressure of competition while making sure
everyone has a good time—Don thinking they should be teaching the kids how to win.
Out of these conflicting philosophies, the real issues of the play emerge: how should
we raise our children? Since we live in such a ferociously competitive society, do we
protect our children as long as possible? Or do we prepare them to be tough enough to
win? What does it mean to be an American man? By the end of the play, Don is forced
to see both his son and the team in a different light, and Michael confronts an unfamiliar but powerful sensation: he really wants to win. Unit set. Two acts. Approximate
running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $75/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code:R73.
“Stiletto-sharp dialogue.” —The New York Times “A Private Lives for our time.” —New York Magazine “Out-and-out funny”
—Variety
Gun-Shy - Comedy.
Actors Theatre of Louisville premier production featuring William McNulty and Maryann Urbano. Photo: Richard C. Trigg.
By Richard Dresser. Cast: 3m., 2w. Gun-Shy
is a no-holds-barred comedy about marriage, divorce, infidelity, infertility,
incompatibility, eternal love, household accidents, and diets no one should
try. Evie and Duncan have divorced after 15 years. Evie is having a wild,
tumultuous affair with an aggressively insecure coffee salesman named
Carter. Duncan finds himself with Caitlin, a young, extremely weight-conscious gun-control lobbyist. The foursome, all beyond therapy, eventually
become snowbound in a New England cabin where they attempt to unravel
the maze of their mismatched couplings. “Acerbic barbs accumulate with
the density of the ongoing blizzard.” (Variety) When the dust clears, Evie
and Duncan’s divorce is in shambles and true love endures. Variety wrote:
“Gun-Shy, Dresser’s edgy comedy about a divorced couple whose separation proves as unsuccessful as their marriage, features the playwright’s
wonderfully barbed dialogue and characters whose quirks never stray into
cartoon-land ... Dresser’s one-liners hit the comic mark.” Flexible set. Two
acts. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G63.
“With his wit-snapping dialogue, Dresser has crafted a scathingly hilarious script.”
—The Martinsburg Journal
“Something in the Air is a whiff of wry humor.”—The Sacramento Bee
Something in the Air - Comedy.
By Richard Dresser. Cast: 3m., 2w. A contemporary film
noir, Something in the Air takes place in a nameless American city where a man, Walker, has hit rock
bottom. He finds himself in the office of Neville, a man he believes is a psychoanalyst who can help
him. But Neville turns out to be a financial analyst, and he offers Walker the one sure-fire investment
left: buying the life insurance policy of a dying man. The man, Cram, will get money to live out his
days, and Walker will get the big payoff when Cram dies. It’s a diabolically brilliant plan except for
the uncomfortable fact that Cram doesn’t die. Walker, who has fallen in love with Sloan, a beautiful,
mysterious woman, is on the head of a pin. He has befriended Cram, but his future happiness depends
on Cram dying. Walker is forced to face up to how far he will go, torn between the dark forces that
have trapped him and the fragile love that just might be enough to save him. Unit set. Two acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SG7.
Contemporary American Theatre Festival production. (l-r) Lee Sellars and
Babo Harrison. Photo: Ken Cobb.
“[Dresser] sets up an ascending sequence of increasingly bizarre and wildly
hilarious scenes in which ... two brothers, their respective spouses, and their
mom try by hook or by crook to convince the others to see things their way ...
It’s bright and brittle, oh so nasty.” —Sacramento News and Review
Wonderful World - Comedy. By Richard Dresser. Cast: 3w., 2m.
A close-knit New England family is shaken to its core when a minor misunderstanding spirals out of control. Max and
Barry, two brothers, find themselves at odds when Barry’s wife, Patty, misinterprets a dinner invitation, feels she was deliberately excluded, and embarks on a full-scale scorched-earth policy of truth
telling. Max’s fiancée, Jennifer, and his mother, Lydia, are drawn into the fray as loyalties shift and
relationships are ruthlessly examined. Patty’s campaign to cut through accepted family truths forces
them all to confront awkward sexual attraction, long-ago affairs, debilitating illness, and, finally, a
radically reconfigured family. Wonderful World probes the subterranean truths of an American family and ultimately affirms the mysterious powerful bonds that hold a family together. Unit set. Two
Laguna Playhouse West Coast premiere with Cameron Watson, Robert Lee Jacobs,
acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W93.
and Maura Vincent. Photo: Ed Krieger.
61
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Barry Kornhauser
Edmond Rostand
“Absolutely charming ... A standing ovation
waiting to happen.” —Intelligencer Journal
2005 Winner of 4 Helen Hayes Awards including “Best Play”
Cyrano - Comedy. By Barry Kornhauser. Adapted from the play Cyrano de
“Whips airy comedy with heartbreaking romance.
Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. Cast: 16m., 5w., with doubling, but many roles
... Breathtaking ... sheer heart-stopping poignancy ...
are gender flexible, easily expanded. Cyrano! His wit is as sharp as his sword,
the enormity of his talent, intellect and passion matched only by the enormity Panache!” —Margaret Lawrence, American Theatre Critics Assn.
of his, well, nose. The uniquely endowed protagonist of Cyrano de Bergerac
is given a fresh face in this poignant and playful paean to panache, written in
rhyming couplets. Romance rules the day in award-winning playwright Barry
Kornhauser’s portrait of that enduring hero of imperfection and his classic
love triangle with the exquisite Roxane and the handsome and earnest, but
verbally challenged, Christian. “A remarkable version of … one of the greatest
romances of all time … Daft English poetry coupled with luxuriously lyrical
rhyming schemes … Masterful writing and witty wordplay … and the reward
… is one riveting adaptation that is not to be missed.” (Metro Weekly) “It’s as
if someone pumped nitrous oxide into the theater, so giggly and woozy are the
goings-on … An intensely moving treatise on not only the alchemic powers of
love but also the beauty found in sacrifice.” (The Washington Times) “A frothy
‘Cyrano’ invigorated by … the irreverence of a zinger-packed adaptation …
that performs a kind of teasing gavotte on the ears … Packs surprising punch.”
(The Washington Post) “For years I wanted to direct a production [of Cyrano de
Bergerac] that captured its wit, poetry and passion. When I read the adaptation
by Barry Kornhauser, I knew I had finally found an English version in verse that
retained the rich humor and beauty of Rostand’s play. …Tremendously literate,
tremendously clever … this adaptation has the modernity that you want in a
new translation and yet doesn’t sacrifice the classicism.” (Michael Kahn, Artistic
Director, The Shakespeare Theatre) Flexible staging. Approximate running time:
2 hours, 30 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: CB3.
The Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, D.C., production with Claire Lautier and Geraint Wyn Davies.
Photo: Richard Termine.
John Strand
Montfleury
WINNER OF THE HELEN HAYES AWARD —The Charles MacArthur Prize for Outstanding New Play
“This is one you shouldn’t miss ... a terrific night (or matinee) at the theatre.” —Cincinnati Inquirer
“You can’t ask for more than an evening in which you laugh like mad, then sit on
the edge of your seat wondering how the tale will turn out.” —The Washington Post
Lovers and Executioners -
Dramatic comedy. By John Strand. After the 17th-century French
classic by Montfleury. Cast: 4m., 3w. This “startlingly modern” tale about attempted murder and a woman’s
revenge concerns a husband who discovers evidence that his wife has been unfaithful. He abandons her on a
desert isle, expecting her to die. But she escapes and returns three years later disguised as a man. She manages
to have herself appointed judge and promptly brings her husband to trial for the murder of his wife. Calling the
play “funny, grim, superb,” the Washington Post wrote: “Strand’s very free adaptation is like the best comedy,
wild yet precise. He’s dared to translate Montfleury’s 17th-century poetry into 20th-century verse, and the
language rollicks along from comic anachronism to melancholy aphorism.” Keeping certain conventions of
the genre, such as the commedia dell’arte-inspired comedy, the play focuses on the very serious questions of
justice and revenge. It features a superb leading-actress breeches role and a coup de théâtre ending. “Darkly
hilarious, brightly poetic and emotionally scary,” said Washington City Paper. “It’s easy to imagine Lovers and
Executioners having a long life on the repertory circuit in this country and Britain.” Single set, two locations.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L98.
Arena Stage. Wesley Mann and Nancy Robinette.
Photo: Stan Barouh.
John Strand
“A rich play about greed and the devil.” —The Washington Times
“It reminds us that many of the qualities ... that define modern America were
there from the start, and that Satan, in many clever guises, still tempts us daily.”
Tom Walker - Comedy/Drama.
—Orange County Register
By John Strand. Cast: 3m., 3w. Set in America’s early colonial
period, Tom Walker is “deep and provocative, smart and funny, finely crafted,” (The Washington Post)
a tale about one man’s journey to hell and back. Tom, a chronically unemployed fiddler, is given the
chance of a lifetime to turn his woeful fate around when he meets the devil in a dismal swamp outside
Boston. Tom bargains away his soul for riches, and in the process loses his wife, his friends and all joy
in living. When the devil arrives one night to claim Tom’s mortal life and send him off to hell, Tom is
unexpectedly given another chance—to solve the mystery of this devil’s true identity and reclaim his own
soul. Full of stunning plot twists, the play offers up “a juicy web of deception and revenge” as we follow
Tom’s journey through an early-American underworld of fugitives and runaways. Critics in Washington
and Los Angeles called the play “wily and penetrating, richly entertaining ... crowd-pleasing in the best
way,” “spooky and roaring fun,” and “one of those rare experiences in theater, an almost perfect marriage
of language and craft—a must-see!” (CurtainUp.com) One set, multiple locations. Approximate running
time: 1 hour, 40 minutes. Royalty: $65/performance. Price: $7.50. Code: TD8.
62
Arena Stage, Washington, D.C. (l-r) John Glover and
Wendell Wright. Photo: Scott Suchman.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
John Strand
“Quirky and intriguing new drama.” —Variety
A 2002 finalist for The Helen Hayes Award—
The Charles MacArthur Prize for Outstanding New Play
The Diaries - Drama. By John Strand. Cast: 2m., 2w. (4 characters
Edward Gero in the Signature Theater, Arlington, Va., premiere. Photo: Carol Pratt.
playing multiple roles.) A young man attempts to solve the mystery of his
grandfather’s past through his war diaries, written 60 years ago while he
was stationed in Paris during World War II. Grandfather was a religious
and spiritual man, a celebrated novelist and scientist—and a Nazi officer.
But are his diaries a work of fiction, deliberately calculated to prepare his
defense for later generations? Or was he really the enlightened moralist
he paints himself to be, an innocent bystander at the scene of a crime?
Inspired by the life and journals of German author Ernst Junger (18951998). Questions of how and if we can interpret the past are raised in
this gripping drama.“Riveting! A provocative script!”(Talkin’ Broadway)
Single set, multiple locations. Approximate running time:2 hours.
Royalty:$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D83.
Paul Peditto
“Broncho Billy” Anderson, Wallace Beery, Francis X. Bushman, Charles Chaplin,
Gloria Swanson, and Ben Turpin—the all-star cast at Chicago’s Essanay Studios
Sounds of Silents (The Essanay Years) - Drama. By Paul Peditto. Cast:11 actors
(with 2 doubling). Sounds of Silents is a celebration of the birth of movies and the early days of
the famous Essanay silent film studio, whose illustrious celluloid stars included Wallace Beery,
Gloria Swanson and Charlie Chaplin. Setting up Essanay Studios in Chicago, founders George
K. Spoor and “Broncho Billy” Anderson at first have a difficult time finding actors willing to
be seen in movies, considered “intellectually inferior” to vaudeville. However, film becomes a
force. Essanay lures Charlie Chaplin away from Mack Sennett. Chaplin’s slapstick, daring and
innovation create a new character called The Tramp. His films are a huge success, and Essanay
attains new heights of popularity. But with success, come problems, including jealousies from
original Essanay actors left behind in the throes of “Chaplinitis.” A rift forms between Spoor and
Anderson which grows more serious when it is discovered that Chaplin is looking to get out of
his contract. The climactic finale finds Anderson, Spoor and Chaplin revealing brutal truths which
break apart the world-famous Essanay Studios. Area staging. Approximate running time: 2 hours,
15 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SH4.
Still from The Bank. Courtesy of Association Chaplin, Paris. Charlie Chaplin is a
trademark of Bubbles, Inc., SA. Used with permission.
Molly Smith Metzler
Training Wisteria -
*Best New Play Award—National Student Playwriting Contest
*The David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award
Dramatic comedy. By Molly Smith Met*The Mark Twain Comedy Playwriting Award
zler. Cast: 2m., 3w. Training Wisteria is the story of a contemporary
American family in shambles after a recent divorce. As Lynn and her
teenage son, Dylan, prepare for his high-school graduation party, the
rest of the family orbits and descends upon the house. Rachel, home
from the Ivy League and disillusioned by the absence of her father, Stephen, takes on Lynn’s broken heart, Dylan’s self-abuse, and the world.
Kacie, only 13, struggles to balance her loyalty to her siblings with a
false hope that her father will come home. Lynn tends to the backyard,
digging up its decaying compost pile and cultivating a tree that won’t
be trained. When Stephen shows up for his weekly visitation with Kacie, the thin veneer of civility among him and his children quickly
evaporates. Underneath Stephen and Kacie’s conversation about math-
The Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award
Kirsten Greenidge
Familiar -
Drama. By Kirsten Greenidge. Cast: 2m., 3w. The
world beyond the Frisby family’s door is a threatening tangle. Mom
resides in a hole on the beach, Dad is long gone, and the family’s beloved clam shack is being infiltrated by gaggles of intrusive cashier
girls. Jill and brother Archibald have learned to depend on only each
other for companionship—until now. With summer approaching, Jill
hires the bubbly Lane under one condition: under no circumstances
may Lane befriend the reclusive Archi-bald, whose constitution, Jill
explains, makes him unable to endure social situations. Lane agrees
but to her chagrin is enchanted by the painfully awkward Archibald,
thus courting the wrath of Jill. But Jill has her own worries: namely
winning the affections of her mom, who shows her no motherly affection. Instead Mom has become fixated on the agoraphobic Archibald.
ematics and No. 2 pencils are their pleas: his that she accept his choices, hers that he come to Dylan’s graduation. Meanwhile, Dylan, in
between beers, systematically destroys the yard, its shed and himself.
Face to face with her ex-husband and her son’s self-destruction, Lynn
is forced to reassess the concepts of family, love and change. Only she
can save her children from going the way of the yard. A funny, intimate
look at the reality of divorce, Training Wisteria is the winner of the
Kennedy Center National Student Playwriting Award, the David Mark
Cohen National Playwriting Award and the Mark Twain Comedy Playwriting Award. Mild violence. Unit set. Approximate running time: 95
minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: TE9.
Supported by the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts Education Department and the Kennedy
Center/American College Theatre Festival, this award is
presented in the memory of Lorraine Hansberry for the best
KC/ACTF student-written plays on the subject of the
African-American experience.
If this weren’t enough, Jill must also fend off Paul, whose interest in
her is driven by his need to put his sexuality to the test. The Frisby’s
world finally collapses when Lane, trying to create a convivial atmosphere modeled after Dirty Dancing, plans a limbo party, the mere
suggestion of which sends Jill into destructive panic and Archibald
into desperate euphoria as he grasps at a normalcy he hasn’t seen
since grade school. Set in The Inkwell, a small section of Martha’s
Vineyard once dominated by the summer homes of the black elite,
Familiar is a moving portrait of longing, betrayal and hope. One int.,
two ext. sets. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Royalty:
63
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Jenny Laird
“Ballad Hunter feels like a fable, but it’s also the grounded story of three women trying to live down the mistakes
of the past.” —Evan Henderson, L.A. Daily News
“A deeply lyrical, emotionally varied and
Ballad Hunter - Drama. By Jenny Laird. Cast: 2m., 3w. Long ago an
unassuming “ballad hunter” arrived on an isolated Appalachian mountain to continually surprising new work ... Laird’s luminous writing
gives Ballad Hunter both a sense of authenticity and
record the traditional ballads of England and Ireland preserved through oral
tradition. There he met Gussie, a shy young woman with a stunning voice,
the irresistible allure of a fairy tale and rare love story.”
singing to herself in the woods. In the course of a single afternoon, the two
fell in love and consummated their rare and unusual connection. Promising
to return, the ballad hunter left to collect more songs from the miners; that
evening, however, a tragic explosion rocked the mine, killing nearly all of
the men. Their wives and daughters blamed the tragedy on Gussie’s mysterious ballad hunter. Fifteen years later, Gussie is a midwife in the valley,
feared and revered for her rumored powers. She lives a lonesome, stoic existence, tolerant of her cantankerous mother, Hetty, and deeply protective of
her sweet, bright, unabashed daughter, Lotta. Then history begins to repeat
itself. Singing softly to herself in the woods, Lotta meets Cecil, a stranger
to the mountain. A confident young man, Cecil has bet his boss that he can
get the five needed signatures from the stubborn mountain residents that will
allow the R. E. A. to bring electricity to the mountain. Hoping to alleviate
her family’s isolation, Lotta invites Cecil to dinner. Through the course of a
long afternoon, Cecil’s presence triggers revelation and healing as the trio of
women are forced to reckon with their secrets, their sorrow and with each
other. Unit set. Two acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price $7.50. Code: BB2.
—Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
(l-r) Andrea Washburn and Kevin Fox in Chicago Dramatists world premiere production. Photo: Suzanne Plunkett.
“He Held Me Grand ... is a beautiful work. It’s the kind of piece that makes your heart hurt in a pleasurable way.”
—Lisa Gauthier, Nuvo (Indianapolis)
He Held Me Grand - Comedy/Drama. By James Still. Cast:
8m., 12w. (three of the female parts are children.) Set in the all-important year of 2000, He Held Me Grand focuses on one American family
and 100 years of its history. Music, secrets, humor, tragedy, reunions,
death, war, racism, ghosts—all play a part in the rich fabric that helps
create a universal identity for the family. The play begins with a young
man driving cross-country to meet a grandmother he never knew, arriving in the middle of the night with an address in his hand and questions
in his heart. Suddenly he’s pulled into a tangle of relationships and
family dynamics he’s never known. Three elderly sisters, April, May
and June, are reunited because of news from the oldest sister: at the age
James Still
of 88 she’s decided to get married—to a man she’s met in a chat-room
for senior citizens on the Internet. This surprising announcement sets
off unexpected fireworks that ultimately bring the family closer together, though hardly in ways they could have ever imagined. He Held
Me Grand is a celebration of growing older in a culture that pretends
to grow younger. As one character in the play says: “Ninety-three years
sounds like a long time, I bet. It isn’t. It goes by surprisingly fast.” At
heart, He Held Me Grand is a love story that cuts across generations.
One int. set. Approximate running time: 3 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H86.
Douglas Post
“AN UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS.”
—Chicago Tribune
Belongings and Longings - Drama. By Douglas Post. Cast: 3m., 2w. “Ostensibly a comedy
of manners on contemporary relationships, Belongings and Longings is really a reverberating, interconnected mind game ... Richard, who is seeing ... Diane, plays host at her apartment to Lou, Diane’s former
boyfriend. Lou and his friend, Pete, have arrived to collect Lou’s things. For a while, Post mines the inherently embarrassing humor of the setup ... But when Lou and Pete begin to walk out with pictures, stereo
and furniture, Richard suddenly realizes that he may have inadvertently let a couple of burglars into the
apartment. In the second scene, two archetypes of modern women—Diane, who has chosen marriage and
children, and Jill, who has chosen something else, meet and exchange views. The trick is that the husband
of the first could well be having an affair with the second ... Jill breaks up with Pete, and that leads possibly
to murder, but assuredly to a complete circle. Post writes with a shrewd ear for modern banter, a tantalizing affinity for Pinteresque mystery and a sublime dramatic architecture.” (Chicago Tribune) One int. set.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B83.
LeeAnne Hill Adams
Archipelago - Drama. By LeeAnne Hill Adams. Cast: a mini-
mum of 5m., 5w. May be greatly expanded. Archipelago explores the
world of Stalin’s so-called Gulag Archipelago through the experiences of a small collection of prisoners. Among them is an unlikely
troupe of actors who struggle to put on a production of The Inspector
General in far-eastern Siberia in 1937. An ensemble of actors play a
wide variety of characters, as the play looks broadly at the origins of
64
Organic Lab Theatre. (l-r) Steve Pickering and Geoffrey Bear.
Photo: Suzanne Plunkett.
The David Mark Cohen
National Playwriting Award
Winner of the Arlene R. and William P. Lewis
Playwriting Contest for Women.
the gulag, life in the camps, and the role of the arts as a coping strategy for gulag victims. It examines the use of comedy, specifically
satire, as a means of emotional release and empowerment. Based almost entirely on experiences recounted by gulag survivors, Archipelago honors the memories of artists and others who suffered and died
in Stalin’s concentration camps. Area staging. Approximate running
time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: AB1.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Archibald MacLeish
Stephen Vincent Benét
“It is great theatre and resolves,triumphantly, in a victory of individual human freedom.” —Washington Post
Scratch -
Drama. By Archibald MacLeish. Based on Stephen Vincent
Benét’s The Devil and Daniel Webster. Cast: 6m. Three-time Pulitzer Prizewinner Archibald MacLeish’s thrilling play-of-ideas! “A play of such thundering eloquence and philosophical optimism that it restores honor and dignity to
the American theatre,” wrote the drama critic of the Boston Herald, continuing, “As its majestic language rumbled across the footlights, those glorious cadences also gave us back our pride in ourselves and the principles upon which
our nation was founded.” In order to preserve the Union, Daniel Webster has
voted for a law he despises, the abhorrent Fugitive Slave Act. The heartbroken
giant, tortured by the dilemma imposed on him, has put political needs above
human rights. Then, in the magic of the MacLeish play, Jabez Stone, a desperate debt-ridden farmer who sold himself to the devil (or Scratch as he’s called)
for seven years of prosperity, appeals to Webster to save the soul he so clearly
bartered away. And now Webster is faced with putting the man before the law!
An epic battle is fought in an old barn at night before what may be an unseen
jury of American traitors summoned from hell by Scratch. The shrewd and
witty Scratch is a formidable adversary, and as Webster fights to save the imperfect Jabez, it’s clear that he’s really fighting to save his country. “My young
republic, westward of the world ... with her dark flaw upon her.” Scratch mocks,
Sketching the Soul - Drama. By Jacqueline Lynch.Cast: 2m.,
4w. Chelsea Logan is an artist struggling with the conflict between her
growing celebrity and her Amish upbringing, which she left behind
to pursue her ambition, and which she neglected to mention to Mike
(her boyfriend), new friends and colleagues. The past and present, celebrity and spirituality come to a head one frenetic weekend when her
younger sister, Sarah, arrives unexpectedly. Chelsea must explain her
sister, and the lifestyle she kept a secret, to Mike, an attorney struggling
Patrick Magee as Webster and Will Geer as Scratch, the devil, in the New York, St.James Theatre, production.
Photo: Martha Swope.
“Of course! Your country right or wrong!” But Webster corrects him, “My country with her wrong to right.” One int., two
ext. sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Available in manuscript
only: $35.00. Code: S43.
Jacqueline Lynch
with his own ethical priorities, and to Maureen Nash, an aggressive
journalist who arrives with a photographer for an interview (during
which Chelsea, with a rather un-Amishlike attitude, pummels the photographer into surrendering the film he has shot of Sarah!). Sarah and
Mike together help Chelsea to accept and acknowledge the power of
her Amish heritage and to move toward a future she had not expected.
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SE5.
Brian Clark
Kim Cattrall played Claire Harrison in the Comedy Theatre, West End, London, 2005 production.
“As relevant today as it was when it won the Society of West End Theatre’s best play award.” —London Theatre Guide
“Whose Life Is It Anyway? is a battle of ideas and a battle for life. It is a rare successful effort to use a tense and
provocative argument, carried on in unashamed vigor and prolixity, with a play that lives and moves.” —New York Times
Whose Life Is It Anyway? - Drama. By Brian Clark. Cast: 9m., 5w. A brilliant
battle of wits takes place in this extraordinary play. Ken Harrison, a successful sculptor, is
paralyzed in a car accident and kept alive by support systems in a hospital. Outwardly he’s
cheerful and often very funny, but he’s overwhelmed by the fact that he has lost control of
his own life. As the play begins, he is coming to the decision that if he can’t live as a man,
he does not want to exist as a medical achievement. His physician, however, is utterly determined to preserve Ken’s life, regardless of its quality. Finally, despite the pleas of the doctor
and his involved nurse, Ken invokes the law of habeas corpus and a judge joins the battle
to determine—Whose Life Is It Anyway? Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: W43. Female version available: $7.50. Code: W48.
Santa Barbara College, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Photo: Jeff Brouws.
Christopher Sergel
John Neihardt
“A moving piece of theatre.” —Los Angeles Times “Black Elk Speaks is awe-inspiring.” —Denver Post
“A powerful and passionate drama,unusual in scope and depth.” —Drama-Logue
Black Elk Speaks - Drama. Adapted by Christo-
Denver Center Theatre premier production
featuring Ned Romero as Black Elk.
Photo: Terry Shapiro.
pher Sergel. Based on the book by John Neihardt. Cast:
flexible.16 with doubling. Many more as desired. This
uniquely colorful and entirely authentic play has had highly
successful productions at the Denver Center Theatre and
the Mark Taper Forum. At every performance, without exception, it received a standing ovation. One critic described
it as “a shattering evocation of the American Plains Indians. It tells in passionate, mystic poetry how their West was
lost!” The New York Daily News critic wrote that it is “a
play with a very rich texture that becomes far more than
just another cry for justice from the Indian point of view.
No one who sees this play will ever forget it. The power
of the play is not simply that it’s superbly written drama
but that it’s all true. The play has color, flair, flamboyance.
It has at other times an almost insufferable grief and fear.
This is the death and destruction of the original Americans,
and it hurts to watch. They are a people with a rich past
and absolutely no future. This play is harnessed dynamite.”
Black Elk lived the experience of the Native American
people from the moment before white people entered his
world through the end of Indian independence at the massacre of Wounded Knee. His unique eloquence and that of
his cousin Crazy Horse make this play a very special event.
The play moves quickly and with mounting excitement
through this history and through a vision of life as it once
was for the Indian, and as it could be for all people. Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance, plus optional music
rental. Price: $7.50. Code: B80.
65
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
A.A.T.E. Distinguished Play Award
James Still
“It’ll stay with you for the rest of your life.”
—The Indianapolis Star
“The stark reality struck me as no production of The Diary of Anne Frank ever has. It was stunning and
brought tears to my eyes and those of others around me.” —Judith Klein, The Jewish Journal, Boston
“This was one of the most moving experiences I’ve had as a director
(25 years). I followed each performance with a Q & A with actors,
audience and a holocaust survivor. It was incredible.”
-Jane Talley, Bishop Gorman High School, Las Vegas, Nev.
And Then They Came for Me:
Remembering the World of Anne Frank
Dallas Children’s Theatre production.
Eleanor and Ray Harder
Drama. By James Still. Cast: 5m., 4w. (minimum 2m., 2w. with doubling). One of the
most widely produced new plays, And Then They Came for Me is a unique theatrical
experience: a multimedia play that combines videotaped interviews with Holocaust
survivors Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss with live actors recreating scenes from their
lives during World War II. Ed was Anne Frank’s first boyfriend, and she wrote about
him in the beginning of her now-famous diary. Eva Schloss was the same age as Anne
and lived in the same apartment building in Amsterdam. Her family went into hiding
the same day as the Frank family. And like the Frank family, they were betrayed. On
Eva’s 15th birthday, her family was arrested by the Nazis and sent to concentration
camps. Eva and her mother survived, and after the war her mother married Otto Frank
(Anne’s father). Part oral history, part dramatic action, part direct address, part remembrance, the ensemble-driven, groundbreaking And Then They Came for Me has been
acclaimed by audiences and critics in world-wide productions.“This production is like
a historic newsreel brought to life on the stage. And it works.” (Charles Epstein, WICR
Radio, Indianapolis) And Then They Came for Me requires live actors, DVD and a
CD for each performance. Area staging. German translation available. Price $25.00.
Code: A98. Approximate running time: 70 minutes. Royalty: $75/ performance, plus
CD and DVD rental. Price: $8.50. Code: A84. The book Eva’s Story by Eva Schloss is
also available: Book $9.50. Code: E41.
Helen Colijn
“Thrilling.”—Los Angeles Times
“This story is a history lesson, a hymn to bravery and truly a song of survival. The
play seemed to touch and attract people from all segments of our community
and drew patrons aged 8 to 80. Song of Survival is an experience you’ll
remember forever!” -Jeanne Hopson, The Family Playhouse, West Salem, Wis.
Song of Survival - Drama with choral music. By Eleanor Harder and Ray Harder. Based
on the book Song of Survival by Helen Colijn. Camp score written/arranged/edited by Margaret
Dryburgh and Norah Chambers. Cast:14w., plus flexible female ensemble and chorus. Based on
the autobiographical work of Helen Colijn, Song of Survival is “a stunning drama about women
interned during World War II in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps and the music they created to
sustain themselves ... A powerful and well-scripted depiction of an extraordinary story.” (Monterey
County Register) Present-day Helen, as narrator, faces herself as a younger woman in the group
of imprisoned women. Conflict results. Today’s Helen urges forgiveness; young Helen insists that
the daily horrors be remembered. Among the prisoners there are humor, extraordinary courage
and compassion, as well as acts of selfishness. But above all, there’s glorious music to unite them
and give them hope. “The play reaffirmed my belief that the arts can make us whole, sustain us,
empower us to do the unimaginable.” (Peter Troxell, KUSP-FM, National Public Radio) Simple
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance, plus music rental. Price: $8.50. Code: SE4.
The Western Stage, Salinas, Calif., world premier production with Joyce
McGreevey. Photo: Richard Green.
James C. Wall
1st Place Winner—Julie Harris Playwright Award
The Beverly Hills Theatre Guild, Beverly Hills, Calif.
“One of the most moving and thought-provoking plays I’ve ever directed.”
—J. C. Svec, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, N.J.
“An intense, engrossing chiller that uncovers new nightmares
and builds fresh suspense.” —The Journal, Oak Park and River Forest, Ill.
Auschwitz Lullaby - Drama.
Circle Theatre production, Forest Park, Ill. (l-r) Barbara Eulenberg, John Sterchi,
Christian Murphy, Madeleine Mager and Janelle Snow. Photo: Greg Kolack.
66
By James C. Wall. Cast: 3m., 3w. Inspired by an actual
event recounted in inmate diaries, this play tells the story of Jewish pathologist Dr. Isaac Jonah
who, along with his wife and daughter, is interned at Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944,
where he is assigned to work in the laboratory of Dr. Josef Mengele. Jonah searches for strength
when he is asked to help in the escape of Lena, a young girl who has miraculously survived the
gassing that killed her entire family. He must weigh the safety of his own family against the life of
this innocent girl. The nearly successful attempt leads Jonah to perform the most courageous act
of his life as he goes against everything his religion and his medical degree have taught him. Minimal set. A large-cast version is available in manuscript (Price: $35.00. Code: AC3). Approximate
running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A88.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Anne V. McGravie Dwight Okita Nicholas A. Patricca David Zak
“Hiroshima Project Hits Issues Head On.
By All Means See This Show!”
—Chicago Sun-Times
Bailiwick Repertory, Chicago, world premier production on the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Photo: Jennifer Girard.
The Radiance of a Thousand Suns: The Hiroshima Project
Drama with music. By Anne V. McGravie, Dwight Okita, Nicholas
A. Patricca and David Zak. Music by Chuck Larkin. Cast: 4m., 4w.
(expandable, musicians may be added). From the actual experiences of
those involved in the making and first use of the atomic bomb, three separate stories are woven into a seamless fabric. One follows a physicist
from the time he leaves school to work with J. Robert Oppenheimer on
the Manhattan-Project to his post-bombing visit to Hiroshima. Another
follows the friendship of two women, one Scottish and one Japanese,
from their childhood in Japan until they are reunited long after the war.
A third focuses on a Japanese minister and the hiba-kusha (those ex-
posed to the radiation of the bomb) to whom he devotes his life. All
three culminate in the controversy over the Smithsonian’s plan to exhibit
the Enola Gay (the airplane used to drop the bomb). Radiance provokes
us into considering the ways in which history is made, remembered
and forgotten, highlighting how difficult and yet how necessary it is to
discuss the issues involved in the birth of the nuclear age and our own
responsibilities for the good and the evil thereof. Bare stage w/props.
Production and study notes are included with the text. Sound effects tape
available (Q28 - $25.00). Royalty: $65/performance, plus optional music rental. Price: $7.50. Code: R62.
W.Colin McKay
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED “A strong new play,
rich in moral ambiguity and issues of Asian-American identity.”
Nagasaki Dust -
Drama. By W. Colin McKay. Cast: 7m., 2w. (gender flexible,
may be doubled or expanded). “[John] Okui returned to his father’s homeland to bury
his mother’s ashes ... and to come to terms with his Oriental ancestry and feelings of being ‘a stranger’ in his own country, America. While in Japan, Pearl Harbor is bombed,
and Okui is drafted into the Japanese army. ‘I had no choice,’ he asserts. The only other
option was prison ... His knowledge of both English and Japanese made him valuable in
dealing with the American prisoners, and he was soon in charge. When the war ended,
he found himself on trial for his life before the American army. Assigned to defend him
is Lt. Randolph, who ... believes Okui guilty. As Okui’s story unfolds, Randolph begins
questioning both his opinion and the army’s. Nagasaki Dust is a wonderfully intelligent
script that continually challenges us to decide what actually transpired, only to again
challenge our conclusions.” (Chicago Magazine) Flexible staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N46.
Philadelphia Theatre Co. world premiere. Yuji Okumoto and Tim Guinee. Photo: Mark Garvin.
Peter Sagal
“There is unquestionably the stuff of great drama in Denial.”
—Ben Brantley, The New York Times
Denial - Drama.
Long Wharf Theatre world premiere. (l-r) Alan Mandell, Bonnie Franklin, Geoffrey Cantor and
Max Wright. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.
By Peter Sagal. Cast: 4m., 2w. Lawyer Abigail Gersten is a brilliant, Jewish, First Amendment absolutist. Professor Bernard Cooper is courtly, polite
and dedicated to convincing the world that the Holocaust was a Jewish hoax. When the
government prosecutes him, he turns to Abby for help. Offended by censorship in any
form, she takes the case, but is quickly drawn into a moral quagmire. Opposing her is
an idealistic prosecutor and a venerable Holocaust survivor who call her loyalties into
question and make her confront the difference between what is legal and what is right.
Denial received its premiere at Long Wharf Theatre. “This drama is practically radioactive with relevance. The issues in this case are so loaded that they are guaranteed to
push emotional buttons in anyone who sees [it]. And Mr. Sagal is to be admired for
offering no easy answers. There is unquestionably the stuff of great drama in Denial.”
(New York Times) One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D14.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Andrew J. Fenady
“ A FAST-MOVING STORY WITH ACTION AND STACCATO DIALOGUE THAT LITERALLY BRING BOGART TO LIFE.” —Variety
Based on his Edgar Allen Poe Award-winning book and feature film. The movie video
The Man With Bogart’s Face was recently re-released by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
The Man With Bogart’s Face - Hard-boiled mystery. By
Andrew J. Fenady. Cast: 7m., 5w. The operation was a total success.
When the bandages were removed, the man with the Humphrey Bogart
face “buys a trench coat and a big gun and opens an office under the
name of Sam Marlowe, Private Investigator. Hiring a bosomy, breathless blond for a secretary/receptionist, he sits behind his desk, pours
himself a slug of rye, and waits for the clients to appear. Of course they
come! Bizarre ones, silly ones, you name them, they all come. Naturally,
the deadly ones are somehow tied up with the beautiful dame, the one
who looks just like Gene Tierney in Laura. There’s a plot full of twists
and turns, intrigue, greed and deadly danger, but why spill the beans? It
seems enough to say The Man With Bogart’s Face [has] its heart rooted
in the heritage of good old movies.” (Robert Sternberg) “The Man With
Bogart’s Face is a loving tribute to the genre of hard-boiled detectives
of the 1940s and the Hollywood movies that glorified their derring-do
... Fenady obviously has a strong affection for those tough private eyes
and gorgeous women who both plagued and pursued them.” (The Hollywood Reporter) Variety called Fenady’s original book “a fast-moving
story, with action and staccato dialogue that literally bring Bogart to
life.” Now Fenady brings his action to the stage in an utterly unique way
that is entertaining, hilarious, and suspenseful. Area staging. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MB9.
Jack London (1876-1916) was a self-made man, a
dashing, romantic adventurer and world
traveler who lived “bigger than life.”
The Summer of Jack London - Drama. By Andrew J. Fenady. Based
on his novel by the same title. Cast: large and flexible. Strong, handsome, aspiring
writer, young Jack London debarks from the hell-ship, North Star, commanded by
vicious Captain Diequest, with a diary about the murderous voyage. On dry land
Diequest taunts London into a primitive battle and loses. So begins London’s most
adventurous and romantic summer. His family destitute, Jack fights a bully to get
back-breaking work shoveling coal. All day he works; at night he writes. London
rescues a young dandy, Philip Bambridge, from muggers and falls in love with
Bambridge’s sister, beautiful, delicate Felicity—and she with him. But all forces
conspire against them. London finishes the novel exposing Diequest, but Diequest
plots to shanghai him. In a rollicking dockside fight and harrowing escape, the
only copy of the novel is destroyed. Gold strike in Alaska! Jack London must
decide between his love of Felicity and his love of adventure—the call of the wild.
Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SE9.
Photo of Jack London courtesy of Jack London Research Center, Glen Ellen, Calif.
Prince Gomolvilas
Winner: PEN Center USA West Playwriting Award, the Julie Harris
Playwright Award and the International Herald Tribune/SRT
Playwriting Competition
“A play titled The Theory of Everything should think big and mess with a
lot of ideas. Gomolvilas’ comedy is pleased to comply.”
—Los Angeles Times
The Theory of Everything - Comedy/Drama. By Prince Gomolvilas. Cast: 3m.,
4w. Seven Asian Americans gather atop a Las Vegas wedding chapel every week for a UFO
watch. When 65-year-old May spots a strange and colorful ship one night, the others decide
to take turns keeping a 48-hour vigil in case the ship returns. The possibility of what one
character calls a “miracle” forces everyone to confront personal issues that have previously
been repressed. Patty finds that her UFO obsession is not strong enough to erase secrets from
her past. Gilbert’s romantic woes intensify his identity crisis. Lana must face her parents
about being kicked out of law school. Hiro still feels like a foreigner in America and longs
to return to his native Japan. Shimmy fears her nightmares upon the anniversary of her husband’s death. And Nef spirals into oblivion after his girlfriend laughs coldly at his marriage
proposal. This vibrant and moving comedy, which explores the politics of race, identity and
faith, won the International Herald Tribune/SRT Playwriting Competition, the Julie Harris
Playwright Award, and the PEN Center USA West Literary Award for Drama.“A refreshing
look at Asian-American issues of race, gender and identity, layered with deeper questions of
life and death. Gomolvilas’ writing is tight, intelligent and funny ... likeable characters and
sharply written dialogue ... a play worth seeing for its humor and humanity.” (The Business
Times, Singapore) Unit set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: TD9.
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Co-production with the Singapore Repertory Theatre at East West Players.
(clockwise from top) Brendon Marc Fernandez, Michelle Chong, Emily Kuroda
and Marilyn Tokuda. Photo: Michael Lamont.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Nancy Pahl Gilsenan
Judith Guest
“This show has been an amazing opportunity for our students to talk about
issues close to their home: grief, loss, blame, isolation and depression.”
-Ann Sorensen, Minnehaha Academy Upper School, Minneapolis, Minn.
Ordinary People -
Drama. By Nancy Pahl Gilsenan. Adapted from the
novel by Judith Guest. Cast: 6m., 3w. Conrad Jarrett had an older brother named
Buck, athletic, talented, charming—their mother’s favorite son. Not long ago both
boys were involved in a boating accident—and Buck drowned. What’s left of young
Conrad’s family, with his successful, well-intentioned father and his beautiful, organized and remote mother, is in terrible jeopardy—as is Conrad himself. They are
all “ordinary people” and each is fighting a desperate battle. This play goes to the
essence of a young man, his friends and family, their relationships and survival.
Ordinary People is an extraordinary opportunity for your actors, as each role has a
rich texture and purpose that will challenge and stretch your cast. As a Times critic
summed up, “The anxiety, despair and joy that is common to every human experience ... if Conrad and his family are ordinary people, why then so are we all.” One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O39.
Who Loves You, Jimmie Orrio? - Drama. By Cheryldee
Huddleston. Cast: 2m., 3w. Moonshine and moonlight combine forces
with the mildly miraculous in this Southern tale—darkly poignant and
comic—of an ageless, mute woman. In a dying Tennessee trailer park
in 1966, Melinda wanders through the nearby woods, dressed in a dirty
white nightgown, alternately abused and neglected by her embittered
mother, whose man hunger “wilts small plants.” Melinda’s only friend,
an unflappable 13-year-old girl, delights in rumors that the “speechless”
woman is a witch. Purveying a possibly supernatural jar of moonshine, a
middle-aged black man out of place in white Cookeville stops for dessert
with Jessica and finds he has a high price to pay for a piece of pie. Just
out after a year in jail, Jimmie Orrio sleeps in the next trailer. It seems
Jimmie was in jail for shooting a cowboy twice over something bad the
cowboy was doing to a horse. On Jimmie’s trailer are the words, “I Love
You, Jimmie Orrio,” scrawled in red crayon. Who wrote them? Melinda
Cheryldee Huddleston
“Jimmie is great theater.” —Marin Scope
“Fearsomely intimate.” —San Francisco Chronicle
has been waiting a year for Jimmie Orrio to come back. What happened
a year ago? Melinda, under the moonlight, pours sugar over her body,
highlighting a hoof-shaped imprint on her forehead; it looks as though
she’s been kicked by a small horse. Mysteries are answered as, propelled
by the potent jar of moonshine and the healing touch of an outsider, a
minor miracle presents itself and shows Melinda that the dirt road outside the trailer park has always led to freedom. “The play’s heady late
spring atmosphere ... the images created ... twirling in the moonlight as
she anoints herself with sugar ... deliver a wallop.” (Steven Winn, San
Francisco Chronicle) One ext. set. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W95.
Heather McCutchen
“An excellent vehicle for women—audiences greatly enjoyed its charming eccentricity.” -Jeremy Cole, Backstage Theatre, Breckenridge, Colo.
Alabama Rain - Comedy. By Heather McCutchen. Cast: 5w. Monty Lou’s been pregnant
Subterranean Theatre Company production of Alabama Rain. (l-r) Mary Furse, Margaret
Hoard, Cyndi Williams, Emily Herbruck and Katherine Katmull. Photo: Danna Byrom.
Attilio Favorini
for 10 years; Laurie Laurie’s dead spirit sings from the old magnolia tree; Pheenie’s walking the
entire coast of Florida; Rachel’s gone to fetch the Ouija board; and little Dallas LaDean is determined to save them all. Alabama Rain tells the tale of five sisters living in a mythical southern
town where it has not rained in 40 years. The play examines the perils of a stagnant existence
as the sisters thirst for fertility and growth. When the order of their lives suddenly fails—one
sister flees to find the ocean, another drops dead of heartbreak and a third begins to waste away
from dehydration—the LaDean family begins a magical quest for water. A mysterious well that
runs deep in their own backyard may or may not have water somewhere at the bottom. This
well comes to represent their withered past but also holds the key to a future ripe with potential,
as these women battle with the powerful force of “the way things have always been.” Unit set.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A62.
Lynne Conner
A fascinating look at the life of Rachel Carson
as she struggles to finish her groundbreaking book, Silent Spring.
In the Garden of Live Flowers -
Drama. By Attilio Favorini and Lynne Conner. Cast: 4m., 5w. (All but one role are double/triple cast. No gender flexibility.) During the
research and writing of her world-changing Silent Spring, Rachel Carson is diagnosed with
breast cancer. As she struggles to complete the book, she simultaneously fights both her own
advancing cancer and various factions of American enterprise, including the chemical industry, which launches a wholesale attack on her personal and professional reputation. Carson’s
ally in this two-pronged battle is Alice in Wonderland, her girlhood literary hero, alter-ego and
now, as death draws near, mentor and guide. The journey of the play takes Rachel to a crossroads conjoining her own life story with a fantastical landscape enlivened by literary, film, and
cultural references that theatricalize the revolutionary science of Silent Spring. In the Garden
of Live Flowers takes its title from a chapter in Through the Looking Glass and, similarly, operates as a fable or fantasia. Its real-world central figure moves dreamlike between the realms of
tragedy and comedy, emotion and imagination, science and literature. Unit set. Approximate
running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I82.
University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh, Pa. Photo: Patricia Nagle.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Craig Wright
“Strong endearing characters,
laugh-out-loud dialogue, and a quirky joy.” —Variety
Molly’s Delicious - Comedy.
By Craig Wright. Cast: 4m., 2w. “The place
is the small-town apple farm of ‘Lindy’ Linda and his wife, Cindy, whose uneventful life of affectionate bickering has been interrupted by two problems: a superfluity of apples and their niece, Alison, a headstrong and quite pregnant young
woman. The father of Alison’s child is a Coast Guard seaman named Jerry who
debarked for ’Nam after their fling and hasn’t been heard from since ... Cindy tries
to fix Alison up with Alec Burnside, the mortician’s son. Alison is still convinced
that her beloved Jerry will show up any day but also reluctantly charmed by Alec’s
dream of leaving the funeral business and buying a flower farm. Then Jerry does
appear ... and Alison must decide ... Which dreamer should she choose—the feckless wanderer or the closet Thoreau? Her solution ... transports this lovely play
squarely into the realm of fable ... At play’s end, you feel that things have worked
out as they should—that everything is possible for the young, and that love and
wisdom have prevailed among their elders.” (Philadelphia Inquirer) Unit set.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MA9 .
Arden Theatre Company’s world premiere with Maggie Siff and Ian Merrill Peakes.
Photo: Alan Kolc.
Richard Vetere
“Vows delivers on its comic promise. —Gannett Newspapers
The Vows of Penelope Corelli -
Comedy. By Richard Vetere.
Cast: 2m., 2w. Over five years ago, Penelope’s husband, Sam, went out for
a pack of cigarettes and never came back, leaving her their daughter, Sheila
Marie, their car and $500 in their savings account. But during the past year,
things brightened for Penelope who, turning 50 years old, hit the New York
lottery for $53 million. An attractive woman, Penelope has been inundated by
suitors from discount department stores to the local carwash. But Penelope
still loves Sam and won’t even let her daughter know just how much. Sheila
Marie, tired of her mother’s overbearing presence, decides her choices are
to marry a local guy, Sal, who is on the lam from the FBI, or move out. She
moves out—into an apartment across the street. Then, as if by magic, Sam,
like a contemporary Ulysses, returns telling Penelope the truth of why he ran
off and why he came back. One int. set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 20
minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: V28.
The Classic - Comedy.
By Richard Vetere. Cast: 3m., 4w. Michael Forte, in his mid-30s, is an author who truly believes that a
great writer cannot have children. He has written a novel about the
subject that nobody wants to publish. He throws literary quotes into
his conversation and, like a character out of early Fellini, he is inundated with women who want him. But Michael only wants his book
published, and then he wants to move to a home on a craggy hillside
above the sea in Maine. In his way are various obstacles: a pretty
neighbor woman who wants to marry him (her grandfather is a major
Penguin Rep, Stony Point, N.Y. (l-r) Stewart Clarke, Maureen Megibow, and Nora Mae Lyng. Photo: Kerwin McCarthy.
crime boss); a wealthy woman publisher who wants his children and
who makes a tempting offer; a crazy attorney who is suing him for
plagiarism; a car mechanic who is working on his car and secretly
yearns to be a writer; and a wonderful, ephemeral young woman with
whom Michael falls madly in love. All these encounters take place
in one day during which Michael must decide where the rest of his
life will lead. One int. set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 20
minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C95.
Janyce Lapore
“The Italian Crimes of the Heart.” —Dan Lauria
Ferris Wheel - Comedy/Drama. By Janyce Lapore. Cast: 4w. One evening
Florida Shakespeare Theatre (now Gable Stage, Coral Gables, Fla.) production. (clockwise from lower left)
Lisa Morgan-Patrick, Ellen Rae Littman, Evelyn Perez and Sharon Kremen. Photo: Robert De Stolfe.
70
in a quiet nursery, a young mother, Lisa Marie, attempts a sudden act of violence.
Several months later, upon her release from a mental hospital, her three cousins,
the Scarletta girls, gather at the Cherrywood Amusement Park, just below the ferris wheel, to celebrate her homecoming. Toni, a flamboyant hairdresser, and her
sister, Celia, a conservative mother of two, hang balloons, banners and a small
transistor radio from a tree. Babs, the glamorous cousin, arrives in high heels and
carrying a six-pack. As the girls listen to Motown and prepare for Lisa’s arrival,
they discuss the proper behavior for spending time with one who is “recovering.”
When Lisa finally arrives, the girls share a wild and heartbreaking afternoon in
the park. These are four very passionate women whose lives unfold to create a
moving, hilarious look at the male-dominated society of the Italian family in the
early 1970s. One ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F70.
Revised manuscript: Price: $35.00. Code: F97.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Joseph Robinette
M.C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death -
Comedy
mystery. By Joseph Robinette. Based on the novel by M.C. Beaton.
Cast: 8m., 10w. with doubling. May be performed by as many as
12m., 17w. Agatha Raisin, an irascible but endearing middle-aged
dynamo, has impulsively sold her London public relations business
and “retired” to the serenity of the Cotswolds, only to discover that
it’s difficult for an “incomer” to be accepted there. Determined to
make friends quickly, she enters the village quiche-making competition. To increase her odds of winning, Aggy—whose culinary skills
extend as far as the microwave—secretly buys her quiche at a renowned London quicherie. Not only does she not win—the judge
“The irascible but endearing personality of Agatha
Raisin is like a heady dash of curry. May we have
another serving please?”—Detroit Free Press
falls dead after eating her mysteriously poisoned entry! What follows
is a classic adventure of mystery, intrigue and comedy, as Agatha—
now a suspect—must admit to the illicit quiche purchase which will
surely make her a village outcast. On the other hand, perhaps she
can exonerate herself by helping the local authorities track down the
murderer. Witty but sarcastic, lovable but exasperating, dominating but vulnerable, Agatha Raisin is a total delight (and an actor’s
dream). One unit set. Two acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: AA5.
Creator of Mannix, The Bold Ones, Columbo,
Tenafly, Ellery Queen, Murder, She Wrote
and The Cosby Mysteries.
William Link
Murder Plot - Mystery. By William Link. Cast: 3m., 2w. Best-
selling mystery author David Forrester is suffering writer’s block.
His publisher, Felix Bromley, suggests hiring a talented, beautiful
young ghost writer, Kristyn. This is the beginning of David’s nightmare. Kristyn’s suspicious behavior causes them to send a private
investigator, Abromowitz, to dig up her past. Added to this, David’s
wife, Sylvia, leaves him to sue for divorce. His ghostwriter begins
making sexual advances while brandishing a kitchen knife. He learns
Most Wanted -
Comedy. By Peter Sagal. Cast:3m., 2w. Frank
and Doris are retired, comfortable and desperate. One day, they snatch
their darling baby granddaughter and make a run for Florida, land of
eternal sunshine and eternal rest, where they meet a variety of characters living on the fuzzy border between life and death—all of whom
look just like the people they left behind. Cornered by an affable detective, they make one last run to President Truman’s Little White House
later that Sylvia has been murdered. Things reach the boiling point
when another murder is discovered in David’s condo. David decides
that one of them (not him!) is the murderer. He unmasks the murderer
and the last 90 seconds of the play has a final surprise that turns everything that has happened before delightfully upside down. One int.
set. 73 pages. Two acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: ME1.
Peter Sagal
in Key West, at the very end of the road. There, their daughter Isabel,
an avenging angel in expensive clothes, corners them and confronts
them with every mistake they’ve ever made. This comedy about parents, children, and the fate that awaits us all won a MacArthur Fellowship from the O’Neill Theater Center. Flexible staging. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MA7.
Laura Hembree
“Don’t Miss This Car Pool.” —The Westsider
Car Pool - Drama (with humor). By Laura Hembree. Cast: 5m. Car Pool examines with
Stages Repertory Theatre. (l-r) William Hardy, Timothy Wrobel and David Born.
Photo: Bruce Bennett.
sympathy, criticism and humor the fragile nature of the American Dream as it explores the
lives of five middle-management employees commuting to and from work in the course of
six months. The men work for a conglomerate, have homes in the suburbs, and fear for their
jobs. After devastating year-end losses, their company announces major restructuring, suddenly
threatening the job security, future and even identity of each member of the car pool. The five
men find themselves trapped in jobs they only half want but are afraid to lose. Within the
sanctuary of the car, the men begin questioning the values that sustained them their entire lives
while struggling to maintain their dignity in the face of it all. For this play, Ms. Hembree won
the Paul Green Award, a national award that distinguishes outstanding new artists in the American theatre. Single unit set. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: C94.
Timberlake Wertenbaker
Marivaux
False Admissions - Comedy. Translated and adapted by Timberlake Wertenbaker. From
the play by Marivaux. Cast: 5m., 3w. “There is a sense of the absurdity of class divisions—the
servant, the bourgeois and the aristocrat—at a moment in history when the categories lost their
conviction,” wrote the London Times critic. Dorante, who is poor, gets a job as a steward with
his adored Araminte. On his behalf, Dubois, his former servant, wages psychological warfare.
All good fun; the pain comes in with Marton, Araminte’s paid companion, who is led to believe
Dorante loves her and who then finds out her mistake. The Times critic concludes, “A marvelously confidential tone, as if in awe of the weirdness of the Marivaux world! The effect is delightful!” One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F51.
“An excellent translation which maintains the spirit of Marivaux and the
commedia dell’arte roots.” -Donald W. Clarke, Awty International School, Houston, Texas.
Successful Strategies -
Comedy. Translated and adapted by
Timberlake Wertenbaker. From the play by Marivaux. Cast: 5m., 3w.
“Timberlake Wertenbaker’s translation defies the old rule that you can’t
do Marivaux in English. Marivaux here analyzes the chessboard element of love in which caprice mixes with strategy. A rich, rose-decked
Comtesse, turning infidelity into a style, whimsically abandons her lover,
Dorante. Instead she takes up with the posturing and absurd Chevalier.
And, in order to get her revenge, the latter’s abandoned lover, the mar-
Hartford Stage Company production of False Admissions. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.
quise, forms an amorous alliance with Dorante. What this leaves out of
account, however, are the servants (shrewd maids and valets, anything
but green) who in Marivaux are both victims of their employers’ passions and skillful tacticians in their own right.” (The Guardian) “Here
everything sparkles, not least Wertenbaker’s text.” (The Observer) One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S82.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
New York Drama Critics Award:
Best Foreign Play
BBC Award:
West End Play of the Year
Olivier Award: Best Play
Our Country's Good was one of the most powerful shows we have ever done. It really stretched me as a director
and my kids as actors. A wonderful learning experience!” -Charla Little, Red Oak High School, Red Oak, Texas
Hartford Stage Company. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.
Our Country’s Good -
Comedy/Drama. By Timberlake
Wertenbaker. Based on Thomas Keneally’s novel The Playmaker.
Cast: 7m., 5w. with doubling possible. A leading London critic describes
it as “highly theatrical, often funny and at times dark and disturbing, it
sets an infant civilization on the stage with clarity, economy and insight
[as] it relates the true story of the first theatrical performance in Australia.” In June 1789 in the penal colony that was later to become the
city of Sydney, a marine lieutenant decides to put on a play to celebrate
the king’s birthday. He casts the play with the English convicts who
populate this distant Australian prison camp. Few of them can read, let
alone act, and the play is being produced against a background of food
shortages and barbaric punishments—brilliantly juxtaposed against the
civilizing influence of theatrical endeavor. The “hangman,” himself a
convict, has been recruited along with a woman, wrongfully accused
of stealing. Even as the play is being rehearsed, he measures her for a
noose. Despite powerful and disturbing scenes such as this, a London
critic suggests, “It’s far from grim. Actually it’s mostly funny!” The
Guardian critic writes, “Our Country’s Good is a triumph ... a tribute
to the transforming power of drama ... It is heartening to find someone
standing up for theatre’s unique spiritual power.” The Telegraph critic
sums up, “In the shared delight of her convict cast in the production of
the play, [Wertenbaker] suggests, without a trace of sentimentality, the
spirit of hope and cooperation that turns a prison camp into a country.”
Area staging. Royalty: $75/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O42.
“This coruscating, hard-edged and compassionate play does not teach a lesson;
it shows you people who have learned the wrong ones. The writing is complex, thoughtful, athletic and assured.
And Wertenbaker releases a flow of sizzling, sardonic humor that I did not know she had.” —London’s Sunday Times
Three Birds Alighting on a Field - Drama. By Timber-
lake Wertenbaker. Cast: 4m., 5w. play a variety of roles. An art auctioneer offers a “totally flat, authentically white,” evidently unpainted
canvas. Attending this bizarre auction is Biddy Andreas, an ordinary
good person who is married to a tremendously wealthy Greek tycoon
who desperately wants his wife to become “interesting,” as it may
advance his social status. In Biddy’s earnest attempt to please her
husband, she discovers the work of an angry, neglected English land-
scape artist, abandoned in the rush toward abstract chic. Attracted to
the paintings, she is also intensely aware of the painter, and above all
of the untrendy notion that a passion for art can transform the spirit.
Against a background of glib and glitter Biddy transforms herself
into a richer human being. “Wertenbaker writes fluently and funnily,”
writes the Times critic, “with a fearless capacity to expand an apparently limited canvas into a portrait of the times.” Area staging.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T90.
“After Darwin is probably the richest, most absorbing piece that the author of Our Country’s Good has yet written
... A play fired up by the exhilaration of discovery and the possibilities of art.” —The Guardian, London
After Darwin -
Drama. By Timberlake Wertenbaker. Cast:
3m., 1w. (with doubling). “Timberlake Wertenbaker’s brain-teasing
new play addresses the ruling metaphor of our times: the survival of
the fittest. She does it in the most direct way possible, by dramatizing the development of Darwin’s ideas on the origins and survival of
species during his voyage on the Beagle in the 1830s and the conflict between him and Fitzroy, his captain and a literalist believer in
the Bible. But the metaphor is underlined by casting this as a play
within a play, where the actor playing Darwin has no interest beyond personal survival and the actor playing Fitzroy is weakened by
principle. Their rehearsals are directed by an east European refugee
who knows more about survival than they ever will.” (Sunday Times,
London) Flexible staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: A82.
“Elements in this Victorian lady’s life were not unlike those of Lawrence of Arabia
in their rabid quest for freedom.” —Theater Week
New Anatomies - Drama. By Timberlake Wertenbaker. Cast: 5w. In New Anatomies, Tim-
berlake Wertenbaker tells the story of the dramatic and eventful life of Isabelle Eberhardt, a turnof-the-century, fiercely independent European adventurer who disguised herself as an Arab boy and
traveled with nomadic tribes in Northern Africa. The play begins at the end of Eberhardt’s life (at age
27) as she relives her diverse experiences, including being the only woman at the time allowed to
participate in Sufi rituals. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N33.
Dolphinback Theatre Company, Chicago, Ill., (l-r) Gail Rastorfer and
Cathleen Bentley.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
The Thebans
Oedipus Tyrannos -
Drama. By Timberlake Wertenbaker. Cast: 7m., 4w., chorus.
Oedipus, the good and successful King of Thebes, is married to Jokasta. They have four children including their daughter, Antigone. A plague strikes, and to cleanse the city the Oracle
says they must find the murderer of old King Laios. The stunned Oedipus is told, “You are the
murderer you seek,” and then the truth he never knew begins to emerge and Oedipus, blinding
himself, is led into exile by Antigone. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O49.
Oedipus at Kolonos - Drama. By Timberlake Wertenbaker. Cast: 6m., 2w., chorus.
Antigone, in tatters, leads her blinded father, disguised as a beggar and seeking his resting
place, into a grove near Kolonos. Meanwhile the two sons of Oedipus fight for the right to
the throne of Thebes. The Oracle reveals that victory will go to the city that will contain the
grave of Oedipus. The Times critic writes, “There are no villains ... only blind people who
lost their way, and [this] thrilling magisterial production sheds a brilliant light on their darkness.” Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O50.
Antigone -
Drama. By Timberlake Wertenbaker. Cast: 6m., 3w., chorus. In this last
play, Antigone grows into a willful fighter, fierce, determined and serene ... making no bid
for sympathy. In the final tragedy of her family, she defies the threat of death should she
provide decent burial for her just-killed brother. She is walled in a tomb where she hangs herself—and the tragedy is complete. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A51.
“Hecuba sounds a timely wail on behalf of war victims—
and survivors—worldwide.” —Variety
Elizabeth Peña and Vilma Silva in A.C.T.’s production.
Photo: Larry Merkle.
Hecuba - Tragedy. By Euripides. Translated and adapted by Timberlake Werten-
baker. Cast: 4m., 2w., chorus. “Hecuba, the story of a noble spirit ravaged beyond
redemption, is one of the first works of literature to look unsparingly at the aftermath
of war. This was Euripides’ great theme: neither gods nor an abstraction called fate,
but we ourselves cause our own sorrows and have the means to redeem our lives.
After the fall of Troy, Hecuba, now enslaved ... is told her daughter, Polyxena, must
be sacrificed to appease the ghost of Achilles and to assure fair winds for the Greek
fleet’s return home. Wrenched to the breaking point, she is then driven over the edge
when the body of her youngest son, Polydorus, washes up on the shore. He had been
sent away for safekeeping to ... Polymestor. Hecuba takes revenge, blinding Polymestor and slaughtering his two young sons. In Hecuba, everything happens because of
ananke, conventionally translated as necessity. In this play, there are no impersonal
gods dealing the tragic strokes that lash Hecuba into madness; instead, she is brought
low by politics, expediency and greed. Many modernized versions of classic plays
aim for timelessness; this one achieves it. Its people could be any refugees appealing
to any conquerors for basic human rights.” (San Jose Mercury News) One ext. set.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H69.
American Conservatory Theatre. Remi Barclay Bosseau and Olympia Dukakas.
Photo: Tom Chargin.
“An explosive mixture of ethics, politics and feminism,
the play takes an uncompromising look at the issue of voice and power:
who speaks, and for whom; who is heard and who is silenced.”
—Theatre in Wales (www.theatre-wales.co.uk)
The Love of the Nightingale - Drama. By Timberlake Wertenbaker. Cast:
York House School, Vancouver, British Columbia.
7m., 7w., two variable choruses. As a London critic describes it, “With wit, economy,
and a powerful theatricality [Wertenbaker] offers us a rich retelling of the Philomele
story. Her play passionately demonstrates the violence that stems from enforced silence:
the dumb Philomele kills her rapist’s son in an awful act of violence.” The core of the
story concerns Tereus, King of Thrace, who marries Procne, daughter of the King of
Athens. Procne pines in her Thracian exile and sends for her beloved sister, Philomele.
Her husband, Tereus, is to escort the sister to Thrace, but enroute he rapes her, and when
she threatens to talk, he cuts out her tongue. It’s powerful theatre and told with devastating vitality.” Then, as the critic for the Daily Telegraph sums up, “A cycle of retribution
begins which only ends when the gods transform Philomele into a nightingale ... classical austerity and great verbal elegance.” Another critic described it as “that rare thing,
a compelling piece of theatre which may indeed rivet you to your seat ... a raw piece of
mythmaking for a violated age.” Area staging. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45
minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L68.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Joan Ackermann, et al.
Premiered at Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival
“This is an edgy piece full of wonderful writing and acting
challenges ... those who tackle it will find the work and
audience response very rewarding.”
-Laura Howell, Lancaster Country Day School, Lancaster, Pa.
Back Story -
Comedy. Based on characters created by Joan Ackermann. By Joan
Ackermann, Courtney Baron, Neena Beber, Constance Congdon, Jon Klein, Shirley
Lauro, Craig Lucas, Eduardo Machado, Donald Margulies, Jane Martin, Susan Miller,
John Olive, Tanya Palmer, David Rambo, Edwin Sanchez, Adele Edling Shank, Mayo
Simon and Val Smith. Cast: any combination of male and female actors, from 1m. and 1w.
to 11m. and 11w. Back Story is a two-character play written in 19 scenes by 18 playwrights.
Back Story illuminates various episodes in the young lives of Ainsley and Ethan Belcher.
When Ethan is born in the worst blizzard of the century, his 2-year-old sister, Ainsley,
nearly sacrifices a toe trying to clear a path for the baby’s arrival. That initial gesture of
devotion blossoms into a tale of sibling loyalty, rivalry and love that spans two decades.
Inspired by Joan Ackermann’s narrative Back Story, each of the 18 playwrights in this
collective creation puts a distinctive spin on Ainsley’s and Ethan’s amusing and poignant
struggles with life, each other, and the phantom dad who left them for the wilds of Alaska.
Unit set. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: B98.
Karl Tiedemann
Actors Theatre of Louisville. Stephen Sislen and
Holly Sims. Photo:Richard C. Trigg.
“Opens fast and never lets up
with one-liners and classic lines from vaudeville.
A nostalgic look at America’s golden age of radio
as seen through the eyes of some of its zaniest inhabitants.”
—Citizen-Times, Asheville, N.C.
Running in the Red -
Comedy/Farce. By Karl Tiedemann. Cast:
8m., 3w. or 6m., 5w. It’s 1934, and the vaudeville team of Jerry Walker and
Eve Williams is about to break into the big time with their own coast-to-coast
radio comedy show. But Eve’s already tired of her Gracie Allenish “dumb
blond” character and threatens to quit so that she can return to college and
finish getting her degree in psychology. However, her plan founders when
she learns that a young relative has embraced Bolshevism and given away
all her money to the local Communist Party! Worse, a hard-bitten newspaper columnist begins to sniff around, and Eve and Jerry must prevent him
from discovering that Eve is broke, brilliant and inadvertently supporting the
Reds. Add to this mix two crazy gag writers, a dubious potential radio sponsor, Eve’s Yale professor fiancé, a stuffy lady from a publishing house, and
a fictitious serial killer, and the result is a hilarious mix of one-liners, crosstalk, and wild physical comedy. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: R67.
BEFORE THERE WAS TRUMAN ... THERE WAS FRANK.
Mark Dunn
Flat Rock Playhouse, Flat Rock, N.C., premier production. (l-r) Alan Lewis Rickman,
Wayne Tetrick and Bob Greenberg. Photo: Chris Bartol.
“Frank has good friends, a beautiful wife, a loving mother
and a devoted sister ... Only problem is, his life
is a television soap opera and it’s about to be canceled.”
—New York Post
Frank’s Life - Comedy/Drama. By Mark Dunn. Cast: 3m., 4w. Frank
Thirteenth Street Repertory Company, New York, production.
74
Photo: Laura Josepher.
is the star of his own soap opera, Frank’s Life. Unfortunately for poor Frank,
he doesn’t know it. Nor does he realize that his wife, his mother, his sister
and best friend, indeed everyone he has met since the age of 3 are actors. But
the elaborate deception can’t last much longer: ratings have dropped, revenues are down—even the network itself is in trouble. As cast members are
asked to take pay cuts, they begin to leave the show—killing themselves off
in unseemly soap-opera ways. Frank’s gnawing feeling that something about
his life just “doesn’t seem right” grows to near paranoia before he makes the
painful discovery that he’s been duped by everyone he cares for. Then there’s
the little matter of “what to do with Frank.” A darkly funny allegory about an
everyman honest, good and true—who learns that he has lost title to his very
life—and his final showdown with corporate powers to win back that life and
stake out his own spot in a world without artifice. And in the end, as Frank
reclaims his humanity, the actors who surround him discover theirs as well.
Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F66.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
“ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL, POLITICALLY POINTED NIGHTS AT THE THEATRE THAT I CAN REMEMBER.” —Evening Standard, London
C. P. Taylor
“ONE OF THE KEY BRITISH PLAYS OF THE LAST HALF CENTURY.”
—Evening Standard, London
“INCANDESCENT.” —Time magazine
GOOD - Drama with music. By C.P. Taylor. Cast: 6m., 4w., plus an
optional number of musicians. “GOOD is a triumphant, wonderful and
incandescent evening in the theatre,” wrote critic Clive Barnes in the
N.Y. Post, and Frank Rich in his N.Y. Times review called it “a flawless
display of theatre craft.” Indeed, it’s a play that invites the combining
of all the theatre arts. The writing, the interplay of music and drama,
the stark simplicity of the staging that takes the audience into the complexity of a mind that can deal with warm humanity and chilling horror
almost within the same moment make this production both a challenge
and an opportunity. Alan Howard, in the leading role, was voted Best
Actor by the London drama critics. “History is a nightmare into which
the antihero of GOOD sleepwalks.”(T.E. Kalem, Time magazine) Set
in Germany at the time when Hitler has just come into power, the play
takes place partly inside the mind of a “good” man, Professor Halder.
Unconsciously, this well-meaning scholar is led into participation in
the hell that follows, as do the disturbing questions about ... “good.”
As a critic summed up, “With a shattering climax, GOOD achieves a
high pitch of luminous moral gravity.” Bare stage w/props. Royalty on
application, plus music rental. Price: $8.50. Code: G39.
American Conservatory Theatre production. Photo: Linda Blase.
“The word ‘bittersweet’was invented for plays like C.P. Taylor’s And a Nightingale Sang.” —Frank Rich, New York Times
“Taylor’s eye and ear for detail and his depiction of the
“A beautiful story with great warmth and personal growth.
human heart make this simple romance into a
A small cast with great ensemble potential. Many tender
story of wit and passion.” —Clive Barnes, New York Post
moments that create realistic situations dealing with personal
struggles, war, communism, pregnancy, religion, age and love.”
-Greg Arp, Plano High School, Plano, Texas
And a Nightingale Sang -
Drama. By C.P. Taylor. Cast: 4m.,
3w. “The word ‘bittersweet’ was invented for plays like C.P. Taylor’s And
a Nightingale Sang,” was the lead line in the New York Times review of
this show when it played at Lincoln Center. There are seven excellent roles
for your cast in this touching and often funny play about the growth of an
English family during the war. As the Times critic put it, “The author finds
understated farce in the midst of would-be grief.” One of the daughters, a
plain girl with a limp who doubts that any man will ever find her of interest,
is the center of the play, and her wry point of view propels the play which,
quoting the Times critic again, “brings the rambunctious household up to a
high comic boil. There are telling glimpses of small lives eked out on the
edge of momentous events.” To present this play is to involve your cast and
audience in a family experience that is immediate, touching, and ultimately
universal. Area staging. Sound effects tape available (Q61 - $25.00). Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A31.
Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley, Calif. (l-r) Robert Parnell, Andrea Stevens, Roberta Callahan
and Robert Elross.
Photo: Joseph Greco.
“Bristling with wit and human spirit.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
Bring Me Smiles - Comedy. By C.P. Taylor. Cast: 8m., 4w. “Bristling with wit and
human spirit” is how the critic for the Minneapolis Star Tribune described the American
premiere of this last work by the author of Good and And a Nightingale Sang. “A solid,
upbeat and warmly received production” is the reaction of another Minneapolis critic
who continues an excellent review describing Taylor as having “an ear for language and
an eye to the small joys, missed or realized, and grasped-at hopes of these working-class
Brits whom he sculpts with penetration and an irony colored with a warm and tolerant
understanding. Taylor writes about the uncertainties that arise when once-firm ideals
erode and people lose their understanding. As Teddy, the rock-solid and oh-so-understanding voice of the play, explains, ‘We’re not living in Ten Commandments days now.’
He is a cheeky metaphor for the Olde England of the past. Puttering in the garden is his
notion of bliss and hot cocoa for everyone his method of patching bruised relationships.
Surrounding him are working-class folk—the sort who rant about the world’s heaviness
from their black and white, mostly uninformed viewpoints.” Every role in this brilliant
work gives your cast an unusual opportunity to stretch their talent. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B58.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Winner of the DePaul University Cunningham Prize
“EXQUISITELY WRITTEN—INTELLIGENT AND POETIC.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
An Uncertain Hour portrays Primo Levi as
a Dante for our times, calling us from the “infernos”
of our own making, the various false lights of
modern ideologies.
An Uncertain Hour - Drama.
By Nicholas A. Patricca.
Cast: 9m. (one young boy), 2w. (constructed for an ensemble of
9 actors). An intensely dramatic and moving play, An Uncertain
Hour tells the the story of the transformation of Primo Levi, an
Italian-Jewish chemist, into a writer because of his experience
in Auschwitz. The play poetically explores the spiritual struggle
at the heart of all of Primo Levi’s writing: the dual effort of every person to resist spiritual as well as physical extinction and to
construct a meaning for human existence. The style of the play
is rooted in the forms of oral storytelling common to the poets
of the mountain country of northern and central Italy. This style
understands the actors as storytellers, performing whatever roles
or tasks are necessary to communicate the story to the audience.
An Uncertain Hour portrays Primo Levi as a Dante for our times,
calling us from the “infernos” of our own making, the various
Monahans High School Drama Club production, Monahans, Texas. (l-r) Tyler Hutson and Joseph Naranjo.
false lights of modern ideologies and dominating powers, to a genuine, human “paradiso,” the light of sympathetic understanding, courageous compassion, and generous creativity for the good of all—the true
purpose of science and art. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: U17.
Jack Heifner
Nominated BEST PLAY OF THE YEAR —Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle
Home Fires - Comedy/Drama. By Jack Heifner. Cast: 1m., 7w. One
of only three plays nominated for Best Play of the Year in 1997 by the Los
Angeles Drama Critics Circle, Home Fires is the story of a Texas woman
trying to raise her three teenage children during hard times in World War
II. After Nettie’s husband leaves her, she is forced to take in female boarders to make ends meet. The house is crowded and the eccentric women
who stay there are entertaining, lost souls looking for husbands and careers in a world without men.The play examines family, home, honor and
dreams during a time when everyone had to “make do or do without.”
Sonny, the teenage son, is afraid to go off to war. When Maggie, a sexy
new boarder, opens his eyes to his musical talents and his sexuality, Sonny
fights with his mother and runs away, thus evading his draft notice. As the
play moves through five years, all the characters face many obstacles, not
the least of which is keeping their faith in spite of severe disappointments.
Eventually, Sonny returns home to see his mother for one last time and
to give her a lasting gift to remember him by. “It’s a show with all the
poignance, wistfulness and warmth of a favorite ’40s ballad.” (Back Stage
West) “Heifner’s strong suits—naturalistic dialogue and a keen insight into
women’s psyches — are admirably served.” (Los Angeles Times) One int.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H71.
Winner of 5 Los Angeles Drama-Logue Awards including BEST PLAY.
Heartbreak - Comedy/Drama. By Jack Heifner. Cast: 3m., 2w.
Heartbreak is an unusual comedy/drama about betrayal and forgiveness. Before his death, Jason wrote a “tell all” novel about his lover and
best friends. When the book was published, everyone was shocked and
furious to read the way their relationships had been presented. Now,
as the group gathers for Jason’s memorial service, they examine the
stories and compare them to the way the events really happened. The
innovative structure of this play takes the characters on a roller-coaster
ride in search of the truth and on a funny/sad journey into the meaning
of love and friendship. One simple set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: H72.
Ron Elisha
A play about the nature of forgiveness.
Two - Drama. By Ron Elisha. Cast: 1m., 1w. Two takes place in a
German town between March and May 1948. Anna comes to Rabbi
Chaim Levi for language lessons in order to facilitate her journey to
Palestine. We soon discover that Anna’s lessons have a much deeper
significance. Anna pleads with the rabbi to help her become a Jew but
will not reveal her reasons. Finally, in a heated confrontation, Anna
calls the rabbi a Muselman. Chaim: “You were in the camps, weren’t
you! ... That’s the only place you could have heard such a word.
Muselman ... you know what it means? Yes, of course, you must. The
walking dead. Those who had given up all hope. Where did you hear
it?” Anna: “I ... was also ... in Auschwitz.” Chaim: “But ... you have
no number.” Anna: “No ... No, I was not a prisoner ... I was a member
of the S.S.” Ron Elisha examines some fundamental moral concepts as
he unfolds the individual stories of two people trying to reconcile their
tormented pasts in order to accept and renew life. One int. set. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T77.
Stamford Theatre Works. Photo: Jayson Byrd.
76
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Giles Havergal
Graham Greene
WINNER OF TWO OLIVIER AWARDS!
DRAMA DESK AWARD “UNIQUE
THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE”
“What theatre is really about! The journey
is delightful.”—New York Times
Travels With My Aunt -
Comedy. Adapted by
Giles Havergal. Based on Graham Greene’s novel. Cast:
4m., with doubling in a great many roles. “It’s a thoroughly engrossing evening that starts off looking like theatrical
gimmickry but evolves into something far more involving as one is drawn inexorably into the tale. The gimmick
is that every member of the cast plays Henry Pulling ...
sometimes simultaneously. They also play any number of
other characters as well. Henry is a bachelor bank clerk
... who at age 55 reunites with his 75-year-old aunt at his
mother’s cremation. Aunt Augusta promptly informs him
that the deceased was in truth his stepmother, his longdead father having been something of ‘a hound.’ ... Aunt
Augusta frees Henry from servitude at the bank as they set
off on a series of journeys across Europe to Istanbul and,
ultimately, to South America. Among the people who will
figure significantly in their travels are Augusta’s intimate
African valet, Wordsworth; her long-lost Italian love, the
shady Mr. Visconti; Miss Keene, a spinster who ends up
in South Africa yet holds for Henry the possibility of love
nearly to the end; a stoned American girl following her Long Wharf Theatre and Minetta Lane Theatre, New York. (l-r Martin Rayner, Jim Dale and Brian Murphy. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.
boyfriend to Nepal; her father, who shows up in Paraguay
and may or may not be a CIA agent; and a randy Irish wolfhound. If all this sounds like an elaborate game of Clue—well, you don’t know Graham Greene. Beneath the comedy is a layer of intrigue, and beneath that, a catalog of moral concerns touching on espionage, art smuggling and
other issues. In the end, Henry accommodates himself to the equivocations that have brought Aunt Augusta comfortably to where she is. Travels
With My Aunt starts off as a lark but ends as a dream gone awry. As Henry Pulling smugly decrees that ‘all’s right with the world,’ we know it is
anything but.” (Variety) Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T89.
Kevin Elyot
OLIVIER AWARD * LONDON EVENING STANDARD AWARD * CRITICS’ CIRCLE AWARD
WRITERS’ GUILD OF GREAT BRITAIN AWARD
“My Night With Reg is the work of a gifted young playwright, Kevin Elyot. He knows how to toss out incisive one liners,
to give characters typical of a genre a universal
dimension, and give unpredictable plot twists to
the predictable.”-CurtainUp.com
My Night With Reg -
Tragicomedy. By Kevin
Elyot. Cast: 6m. In addition to the Olivier Award for Best
Comedy, My Night With Reg won the London Evening
Standard Award and awards from the Critics’ Circle and
from the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. A tragicomedy
of gay manners set in London during the latter half of the
’80s, this play explores the sexual foibles and desires of
a group of friends in the ever-looming shadow of AIDS.
“One of the major ironies is that Reg never actually reaches
the stage, let alone The Big Chill-style flat-warming party
hosted by Guy for his charismatic, gay, old college friends
... Guy finds himself the target of his friends’ clandestine
confessions. It seems the late Reg was unusually generous
with his sexual favours. As the play slips disconcertingly
forward in time ... we see the loaded consequences of such
generosity. Bursts of nostalgia are diluted by naked fear as
an almost Agatha Christie-like suspense shrouds those who
succumbed to Reg.” (Time Out) One int. set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MA5.
The New Group, New York. (l-r) Ron Bagden, Edward Hibbert and Maxwell Caulfield. Photo:Carol Rosegg.
77
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
A MODERN MASTERPIECE.
Christopher Sergel
Harper Lee
“To Kill a Mockingbird is a powerful and well-knit production and the drama unfolds seamlessly.” —TalkinBroadway.com
“To Kill a Mockingbird has been a great success, more so than we expected.
Every performance has been sold out! This is a show everyone needs to see more than once.
It teaches some wonderful lessons. Our actor who plays Tom Robinson said, ‘Everyone needs to see this show
and be offended over and over again. It may be the only way they will learn.’”
-Tammy Morgan, Hale Centre Theatre, West Valley City, Utah
“The Mockingbird script captured the humor and pathos of Harper Lee’s novel while offering opportunities
for theatricality in the performance.” - David Helmstetter, North High School, Phoenix, Ariz.
To Kill a Mockingbird -
Drama. Adapted by
Christopher Sergel. From the novel by Harper Lee. Cast:
11m. (9m. with doubling), 6w., extras. It is the summer of
1935 and Scout, a young girl in a quiet southern town, is
about to experience the dramatic events that will affect the
rest of her life. She and her brother, Jem, are being raised
by their widowed father, Atticus, and by a strong-minded
housekeeper, Calpurnia. Scout is fascinated by the people
of her small town but does not understand why the black
people of the community have a special feeling about her
father. A few of her white friends have become hostile, and
Scout doesn’t understand this either. Scout asks her father
and Atticus explains that he’s defending a young Negro
man wrongfully accused of a grave crime. Scout asks him
why he’s doing it. “Because if I didn’t,” her father replies,
“I couldn’t hold my head up.” When she asks why take on
such a hopeless fight he tells her, “Simply because we were
licked a hundred years before we started is no reason not to
try.” He goes on to prepare Scout for the trouble to come.
“We’re fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter
how bitter things get, they’re still our friends.” Things do
get bitter—to the point where Atticus props himself in a Paper Mill Playhouse. George Grizzard as Atticus.
chair against the cell door of the man he’s defending and
confronts an angry mob. Horrified, Scout jumps into the is part defeat, part triumph. As Atticus comes out of the courthouse, the deeply moved
confrontation, and her youthful presence helps bring back town minister tells Scout, “Stand up. Your father’s passing!” Area staging. Sound efa little sanity. Atticus fights his legal battle with a result that fects CD available (Q82 - $25.00). Royalty on application. Price: $7.50. Code: T34.
Sheri Bailey
Dura Temple
“Powerful fusion of two eloquent voices.” —Los Angeles Times
Southern Girls - Drama. By Sheri Bailey and Dura Temple. Cast: 6w. In a small town in Alabama,
six little girls play together. As teenagers, however, the bonds of childhood begin to fray and the invisible line
dividing their worlds becomes more and more pronounced. Wanda-Sue, half black and half white, teeters
between the world of her white half-sister, Charlotte; her white friends, Dolly and June-Adele; and her black
friends, sisters Ruth and Naomi. Each woman is driven by unique fears, hopes and secrets. Southern Girls
follows these women from childhood (circa 1952) through middle age. This bittersweet memory play reflects
the changes in the lives of these women in the mirror of the changing South. One simple set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SB2.
Darrah Cloud
Set in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, this play is today’s news!
“Don’t be afraid of this play! Beautifully written, bringing out the issues of the ’60s
—prejudices—not only of race but also of gender. How one woman took a stand, took
great risk and ends up where she started. Full range of emotions are in this play.”
-Jana Richardson, Thorndale High School, Thorndale, Texas
The Stick Wife - Drama. By Darrah Cloud. Cast: 3m., 3w. “A fascinating, exciting play ... At the center
Hartford
Stage Company.
(l-r) Earl Hindman,
Lois Smith, and Luke Reilly. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.
78
of A Stick Wife is the fragile, dreamy housewife, Jessie Bliss. Shortly after the play begins, something terrible
happens near the blanched, ordinary little tract of clapboard houses where Jessie lives with her uncaring,
much-absent husband, Ed. The year is 1963, the place is Birmingham, Alabama, and the cataclysmic event is
the September bombing of a black church that killed four little girls. Ed, Tom and Big Albert are members of
a ‘club,’ ... and Jessie intuitively knows that they are connected with the bombing. She doesn’t want to know
anything about it, nor are the other wives, Marguerite and Betty, overly curious about the club’s business. But
Jessie sees Ed’s guilt, and the world collapses around her.” (Hartford Courant) The men are poor, ignorant and
weak. Their only power is in controlling those they see as weaker. To them, this means blacks and their wives.
The wives, who “have nowhere else to go,” have been compliant, but with the bombing, Jessie can no longer
deny who Ed is or what he does. Secretly, she informs on him to the FBI while playing the “stick” wife—
trusting, seemingly unaware, doing her chores and keeping quiet—hoping to survive. One ext. set. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SB1.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Robert Cohen
“Cohen has created a perversely funny morality play
in which love and democracy triumph over brute force
and political manipulations.” —Los Angeles Times
The Prince - Tragicomedy. By Robert Cohen. Cast: 6m., 2w. The time is 1502 to 1527. As the
play opens we are at the famous first midnight meeting between Niccolò Machiavelli, the shy but
brilliant first secretary to the Florentine republic—later to write the celebrated political essay, The
Prince— and Duke Cesare Borgia, the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI. At the time, Cesare
commands the papal army dominating the Italian countryside. Seeking to negotiate his city’s safety,
Niccolò falls under the sway of Cesare’s mesmerizing power and unapologetic ruthlessness and is
also captivated by Cesare’s beautiful mistress, Dorotea Carrociolo. Returning to Florence, Niccolò
resigns his official position and abandons his wife and friends to join Cesare in Rome, with plans
to ally with the duke in the establishment of a new world order. It is not to be. On his arrival at the
Vatican, Niccolò finds the pope assassinated, Cesare near death, and Dorotea in tragic despair. Worse,
returning to Florence, he is seen as a traitor by the ruling Medicis and imprisoned and tortured.
Finally rescued by his wife, Marietta, and best friend, Biagio, Machiavelli goes into exile, spending
his remaining years writing comic plays and political tracts. His plays (which paved the way for the
commedia dell’arte) make him famous throughout Italy, but his political tracts, considered scandalous, are suppressed, and his plan to regain political office (in which he enlists the help of Alessandro
de Medici, Europe’s first black ruler) are unsuccessful. Niccolò must rethink his famous question of
whether it is better for a prince to be “loved or feared.” Nonetheless, it becomes clear by the end of the
play that Machiavelli, although reviled for “telling the truth” about political cruelty and intrigue, has
helped unify Italian culture through his essays and dramatic writings. Unit set. Two acts. Approximate
running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P99.
Claire Trevor School of the Arts, University of California, Irvine,
featuring Jeff Takacs. Photo:Phillip Channing.
Charles Smith
“From start to finish the play is a high-spirited jaunt through the colorful escapades of Dumas père,
whose passion for writing is matched only by his passion for living.”
—AisleSay review of Peoples Light & Theatre Company production, Philadelphia
Les Trois Dumas - Drama. By Charles Smith. Cast: 6m. (two
African-American), 3w. Three generations of the internationally notorious Dumas family (General Thomas Dumas, Alexandre Dumas père,
and Alexandre Dumas fils) appear in this swashbuckling tale—abundant
with battles, sword fights, mysterious strangers, and romantic escapades. Thomas Dumas, the son of a French aristocrat and a black servant
woman, nevertheless became one of Napoleon’s most prized generals
and was instrumental in the emperor’s early successes in Austria and
Italy. Thomas was later falsely denounced by Napoleon as a turncoat;
consequently, he died in disgrace, a penniless and broken man. Many
years later, Alexandre, the general’s son and author of The Three Musketeers, is living a life as daring and full of intrigue as the characters
in his plays and novels. Even while Alexandre indulges in perfectly
scandalous behavior, he works to keep his father’s good name alive. His
own son, Alexandre fils, struggles to come to terms with his father’s apparent immoral lifestyle, his own racial heritage, and the rumors about
his grandfather’s defection. Alexandre fils’ struggle is redoubled when
a mysterious man defames his father’s literary integrity and casts doubts
upon his African heritage. Alexandre père, in a bid to satisfy his son’s
honor, challenges the mysterious slanderer to a duel at a masquerade
ball; there, three generations of the Dumas family (one of whom is long
dead) meet, and the true identities of all are revealed. Unit set. Three
acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: LB5.
1920s Harlem, African-American intellectual activist W.E.B. DuBois
and the love triangle surrounding his daughter.
Knock Me a Kiss - Drama. By Charles Smith. Cast: 3m., 3w. Knock Me a Kiss is a fictional ac-
Victory Gardens’ world premiere, Chicago, Ill. Jason
Delane Lee and Yvonne Huff. Photo: Michael Brosilow.
count inspired by the actual events surrounding the 1928 marriage of W.E.B. DuBois’ daughter, Yolande,
to one of Harlem’s great poets, Countee Cullen. The marriage marked the height of the Harlem Renaissance and was viewed as the perfect union of Negro talent and beauty. It united the daughter of America’s
foremost black intellectual, cofounder of the NAACP and publisher of Crisis magazine, with a poet whose
work was considered to be one of the flagships for the New Negro movement. The play opens as jazz
bandleader Jimmy Lunceford continues his pursuit of a willing but apprehensive Yolande. She demurs,
insisting that she and Jimmy be married in a manner consistent with her stature. Meanwhile, DuBois tries
to convince Cullen to take a wife of great breeding, stature and education. When Countee realizes that
Yolande possesses all of the attributes outlined by the elder DuBois, he sets out to win her affection. When
Yolande is forced to choose between her passion for Jimmy and marrying Countee, her devotion to her
father overwhelms her heart. The marriage is a triumph of pomp and pageantry, but fails to be a union of
man and woman. Eventually Countee goes to Paris with his close friend Harold Jackman, and Yolande
returns to Jimmy only to find that she is no longer wanted. Unit set. Two acts. Approximate running time:
2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: K28.
The Knee Desires the Dirt - Drama with humor. By Julie
Hébert. Cast: 2m., 3w. Mesmerized by Xavier, her seductive (but dead)
husband, Christine sleepwalks through her days only surfacing from her
otherworldly relationship to deliver impassioned lectures to her college
biology class. An inspired teacher, Christine’s lessons explore the
connections between body and mind—the utterances of a seeker trying
to find meaning in science. Her carefully constructed world begins to
Julie Hébert
collapse as her feisty, no-nonsense mother moves in, her teenage daughter experiments with sex, and her job is threatened. Just as Christine must
wake to the very real demands of her life, Xavier shifts from dreamy lover
to something more mysterious, more consuming. Pulled between two
worlds, it takes her mind, her body and all in between to figure this one
out. Single set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: K27.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Winner of the Helen Hayes Award—The Charles MacArthur Prize
for Outstanding New Play
Winner of the Hispanic Playwrights Project, South Coast Repertory Theatre
“The play has everything ... brilliantly written ...
The Sins of Sor Juana is a must-see ... wonderfully complex
and poetic.” —Broadside
“Rich characters, wonderful historic perspective of the female role
in early Hispanic culture. Poignant love story– a perfect choice
for my southern California high school.”
Karen Zacarías
-Susan Stratton, Castle Park High School, Chula Vista, Calif.
The Sins of Sor Juana - Drama. By Karen Zacarías. Cast: 3m., 4w. (with doubling
which is required and essential to the play). May be expanded with chorus, court and nuns.
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, one of the first published poets of the Americas, was born in
Mexico in 1648, a poor and illegitimate child. She became renowned for her intelligence and
ambition when, at the age of 12, she tried sneaking into the University of Mexico by dressing
as a man. The viceregal court of New Spain heard about this phenomenal girl and invited her
to join the court, where she developed an extremely close relationship with the vicereine. By
all records, Juana was a very attractive, complex, witty, and difficult young woman. She wrote
and read voraciously. Her circumstances and intelligence provoked admiration and envy.
However, when she was 17, she suddenly and inexplicably left the viceregal court to join a
convent. There are theories about failed love, fear of marriage, and her sexual identity. In the
convent her focus was not God, but writing—and her work and poetry expressed a feminism
centuries ahead of her time. For years while the Church struggled to silence her, she resisted
and continued writing until, one day, she wrote a declaration in her own blood, vowing never
to write again. She remained true to her word and died soon after. This play is a researched
fantasy (with modern ramifications) that explores the two turning points in this woman’s life.
Flexible staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SG1.
These Two Couples Went to Italy -
Southwest Repertory Theater Company, Albuquerque, N.M. John Pasha and Jacqueline
Reid. Photo: Ossy Werner.
Paul Rusconi
Comedy. By Paul
Rusconi. Cast: 3m., 2w. Two married couples, Janet and Carl from
Indiana and Marie and Tom from New York, each decide to spend their
vacation traveling throughout Italy— not the Italy of “vulgar tourists”
and Frommer’s Guides— but the real Italy, the Italy known only to the
most authentic Italians. In a series of unfortunate encounters, the two
couples become entangled in a struggle for travel-savvy dominance.
The Mark Twain Comedy Playwriting Award
By the end of their respective trips, they have trounced the art and culture of one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. Tourism is stripped
of its sunny connotations and exposed as the ruthless sport it is in this
fast and funny play. Area staging. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: TE1.
Dan O’Brien
The Mark Twain Comedy Playwriting Award
An Irish Play -
Brown University Theatre, Providence, R.I. Adrian Jevicki.
Photo: Jon Fortmiller.
Comedy/Drama. By Dan O’Brien. Cast: 5m., 2w. No gender flexibility or
doubling. Amateur actors in Cork City, Ireland, convene at their local pub-theater for the first readthrough of a new Irish play. Over the course of the evening the newly assembled cast debates (in typically Irish fashion) the play’s deficiencies and merits, who will play which part and whether or not to
do the play at all. There’s Ed, a patriot and single father, whose idea it was to do the play in the first
place; Martha, the stage manager; Michael, playwright and all-around ladies’ man; Cynthia, an aging
ingenue and self-proclaimed Celtic goddess; Willie, the theater’s patriarch; Joachim, an AfricanAmerican just recently married into the Irish culture; and acid-tongued Declan, a young man with
ambition but no direction. Irish and American cultures come into conflict, old rivalries reignite, and
secrets are revealed as the group struggles toward an understanding of this enigmatic Irish play. What
begins as a comedic examination of Irish theatre and identity
becomes by evening’s end a character drama of strong emotional force. Unit set. Approximate running time: 105 minutes.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I77.
Linda Eisenstein
“This ensemble piece for four voices plays like a string quartet.” —Stage Directions
Three the Hard Way -
Comedy/Drama. By Linda Eisenstein. Cast: 1m., 3w. Three unconventional sisters meet in a Reno motel after the sudden death of Albert, their colorful gambler father.
While going through his effects and making funeral arrangements, they try to make sense of their past
and their own spiky relationships—with the kibitzing ghost of Albert looking on. This award-winning
play is peppered with sharp, surprising comedy and features strong, complex ensemble roles: Kathleen,
a tough negotiator and pool player, who has borne the responsibilities and resentments of the eldest child
in a motherless family; Irene, a compulsive gambler and flirt who lives by her wits and intuition; Mary,
a vulnerable waitress who has been the family’s emotional caretaker; and Albert, a Zen pool and craps
player whose parenting was well-intentioned but haphazard. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: TA9.
80
Dobama Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio. Miles Barnes and
Sue Ott Rowlands.
Photo: Herbert Ascherman Jr.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Willy Holtzman
“SEX! MADNESS! SCANDAL! Will Carl Jung do the ethical thing by Sabina, or
will he snatch her work and send her back to Russia where she is sure to be
killed by the Nazis?” —Variety
“The games psychiatrists play appear to be the natural stuff of drama … I
found it surprisingly amusing, even while it challenged my mind and definitely held my interest. I recommend it.” —Clive Barnes, New York Post
“ENGROSSING! Sabina provides a provocative window into the much-studied
relationship between Freud and Jung.” —Charles Isherwood, The New York Times
Sabina - Drama.
By Willy Holtzman. Cast: 3m., 1w. Sabina Spielrein was one of the pioneers
of psychoanalysis—a profound influence on both Freud and Jung until her death at the hands of
a Nazi death squad. “In the dawn of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud was always on the alert for
new disciples, especially those who would expand acceptance of his controversial theories. One
early convert was the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who had had some success with a young patient named Sabina Spielrein, with whom Jung may have had an affair but who certainly became
intricately involved with both men. The twisted tale of this triangle involving two titans of psychoanalysis, once so close and later so implacably estranged, and an obscure Russian woman, who
pursued a career of her own as an analyst, was virtually unknown until a cache of documents was
discovered in Geneva in 1977. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SC3.
Professional manuscript: $35.00. Code: SK8.
Michelle Carter
Primary Stages Company. Marin Hinkle and David Adkins. Photo: James Leynse.
PEN Center USA West Playwriting Award Winner
“The show moves like a raging river ... Delightfully sharp, sophisticated,
and unrelentingly funny.” —Contra Costa Times
Hillary and Soon-Yi Shop for Ties -
Vaudeville/Comedy with songs. By Michelle Carter. Cast:
2w. “Remember satire? Well it’s back, and incredibly potent in Hillary and Soon-Yi Shop for Ties.” (Contra Costa
Times) This Garland Award and PEN USA West Award-winning play throws 19 scenes and six songs at two
women about whom we’ve so often wondered, “What was she thinking?” In a kaleidoscopic vaudeville, Hillary
Clinton and Soon-Yi Previn Allen shop for ties, take batting practice, play bingo, and strut a catwalk, among other
unlikely collisions. In Act Two, the play veers into an underworld of female icons—Demeter and Persephone,
Marilyn Monroe, and the Virgin Mary among them—finally catapulting our heroines back into their own histories
to moments of unjaundiced possibility. “It’s a last wave at the train wreck of politics and squalor, public image
and the smashed art of leading private lives ... Sharp, funny satire filled with choice, chewy bits.” (San Francisco
Chronicle) “A dizzyingly satisfying entertainment.” (Citysearch) Bare stage w/props. Approximate running time:
110 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H77.
Andrea M. Green
Because you can never get enough of what
you don’t really need.
San Francisco Magic Theatre. Amy Tung and Lori Holt.
Photo: David Allen.
Like Bees to Honey -
Drama. By Andrea M. Green. Cast: 5w., 1f. adolescent (walk on), 1m.
(optional). Like Bees to Honey is an engaging, poetic, and highly stylized ensemble piece. This unconventional, intimate play introduces us to five multiethnic women whose lives and backgrounds seem
strikingly different but whose secret lives of addiction are all too hauntingly similar as they struggle
with substance abuse. On their journey to recovery, they each see themselves reflected in the teenage
girl who is stumbling down a path they recognize as their own. This contemporary yet timeless look at
women and addiction explores the seduction of alcohol and drugs and ends with the ritual lighting of a
candle “for all our sisters who are not with us tonight so you may find your way home.” Single unit set.
Approximate running time: 60 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: LB3.
Polaroid Stories -
Naomi Iizuka
From Actors Theatre of Louisville
Drama. By Naomi Iizuka. Cast: 5m., 5w. Inspired in part by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, this play takes place on an abandoned pier on the outermost edge of a city, a way station for
dreamers, dealers and desperadoes, where runaways seek camaraderie, refuge and escape. In this visceral blend of classical mythology and real-life stories told by street kids pushed to society’s fringe, we
journey into a world where mythmaking fulfills a fierce need for transcendence, where storytelling has
the power to transform. Not all the stories these characters tell are true; some are lies, wild yarns, clever
deceits, baroque fabrications. But whether or not a homeless kid invents an incredible history for himself
isn’t the point, explains diarist-of-the-street Jim Grimsley. “All these stories and lies add up to something
like the truth.” Like their mythic counterparts, these modern-day mortals are engulfed by needs that burn
and consume, imbuing the play with great theatrical force. Flexible staging. Approximate running time:
2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P91.
Actors Theatre of Louisville production. Danny Seckel and Denise
Casano. Photo: Richard Trigg.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Marilyn Campbell
Curt Columbus Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Joseph jefferson award-“best new adaptation”
“Stunningly lean, taut and emotionally searing stage adaptation …
a work of theater that never feels like a condensation of a seminal ... novel,
but rather, has the swift, sharp impact of a blow from an ax.” —Chicago Sun-Times
“Only occasionally can the production of a classic make us
see the work differently ... This adaptation and production remind us
how thrilling a classic can be ... You could feel the audience holding its breath
throughout the performance. Go: it will leave you breathless, too.”—AisleSay (Chicago)
Crime and Punishment -Drama. Adapted by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus. From the
novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Cast: 2m., 1w. (Cast can be expanded to 3m., 4w., for amateur productions
only.) This new, award-winning adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s literary masterpiece Crime and Punishment is
told by three actors playing Raskolnikov (the murderer), Porfiry Petrovitch (the detective), Sonia (the young
prostitute) and many other characters in this famous story. This “conversation on the nature of evil” is set in The Gamm Theatre, Pawtucket, R.I.. Tony Estrella as
the mind of the murderer where he relives and explores, through the urging of Porfiry and Sonia, the thoughts, Raskolnikov. Photo: Peter Goldberg.
ideas and feelings that drove him to his horrible crime. The play becomes a psychological landscape which
creates a thrilling journey into the mind of a killer and his search for redemption. Raskolnikov speaks directly to the audience at times, putting his
case to them, so that the audience becomes another character in the telling. This is an intimate psychological and spiritual journey which seeks to
unveil hidden dimensions of the human condition. “Stunningly lean, taut and emotionally searing stage adaptation ... a work of theater that never
feels like a condensation of a seminal 500-page novel, but rather, has the swift, sharp impact of a blow from an ax.” (Chicago Sun-Times) Unit set.
Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: CB8.
The Paper Chase -
Comedy. By Joseph Robinette. From the
novel by John Jay Osborn Jr. Cast: 8m., 9w., extras. From one of the
most popular novels and movies of the last decade comes a stage adaptation which gives new immediacy and excitement to the story of a
first-year Harvard Law School student and his quest for the prestigious
degree. We become intimately involved with the people who were so
much a part of this world: the unforgettable, icily brilliant Professor
Joseph Robinette
John Jay Osborn Jr.
Kingsfield; his beautiful, intriguing daughter, Susan; and members of
the study group. All the action takes place on a unit set, and the continual
flow of the fast-paced action will delight the beginning as well as the
experienced director. Critics have called The Paper Chase rich, imaginative, moving and remarkable, and that’s how your audience will find this
play. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P54.
Jeanne Murray Walker
The discovery of a lost manuscript leads
a Dickens scholar and a young graduate
student on an adventure across time and place.
Inventing Montana - Comedy. By Jeanne Murray Walker. Cast: 6m., 10w.
or 3m., 3w. with doubling. Montana Winfield seems to have everything—charisma,
fame and a chair in Dickens at a fine university. But he is so driven by it all that
the wife he adores leaves him. When a stranger knocks on the door late one night
with a lost Dickens manuscript, she brings with it a secret about herself. Reading
the Dickens story and talking with the young woman changes Montana forever.
The Montana story alternates with scenes from the Dickens novel (invented by the
playwright). “Full of playful humor.” (The Star-Gazette) “The play within the play
has all the pathos, humor, and vitality of a real Dickens novel ... Comedy is her
forte.” (The Daily Record) Unit set. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty:
Centenary Stage Company, Hackettstown, N.J.(l-r) Nick Stannard, J.C.Hoyt,
Melina Flanaganzra Milchman. Photo: Carl Wallnau.
“Reminiscent of Thornton Wilder’s work—much magic.”
—Time Out
Tales From The Daily Tabloid -
Gordon College Theatre production, Gloucester Stage, Gloucester, Mass.
Photo: G. Lloyd Carr.
82
Comedy. By Jeanne Murray Walker.
Cast: 7m., 8w. (or 3m., 4w. with doubling). Maybe you can’t go home again, but when
Leonard Milgram is fired by his advertising firm in New York, he does go home.
Forced to take a job writing for The Daily Tabloid, he is sent to his old hometown,
where he gathers stories from neighbors he always thought of as weird. Among them
are Leroy, whose thumb has been bleeding for three years; Mrs. Truax, who sees
angels; and Irving Shiffman, the baker, who was trapped in the rubble of a fallen
building for 10 days. When Leonard falls in love with the waitress at Edna’s Café, he
learns that strange logic of the spiritual world, which has nothing to do with money
or power. As Mrs. Truax announces, “Isn’t a single one of us safe from mystery!”
“Powerful lyrical passages.” (Guardian) Area staging. Approximate running time: 2
hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: TE6.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Elizabeth Dewberry
“WRITING THAT SPARKLES.”
—Drama-Logue
Flesh and Blood - Drama. By Elizabeth Dew-berry.
Cast: 1m., 3w. Two southern sisters, one dead father, one
canceled wedding, and a knife—all part of a recipe for family trouble in this darkly humorous drama about people who
understand their shared past so differently that they can’t
connect in the present. Crystal has canceled her second
wedding and returned to her mother’s home for a makeshift
dinner instead of a reception, and family tension is running
high. Her mother, her sister and her sister’s husband all try
to help ease her pain, but when comfort fails and talk won’t
yield to understanding, they find themselves facing their
own discontent—with themselves and with one another.
The disclosure of family lies brings this play to a shattering
conclusion posing painful questions about what family values are, what the value of family is, and how history repeats
itself from generation to generation. Unit set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F60.
Actors Theatre of Louisville. (l-r) Karen Grassel, Adale O’Brien and Liann Pattison. Photo: Richard Trigg.
Cassi Harris
Dancing in Cleo’s Café - Drama. By Cassi Harris. Cast: 4m., 2w.
John Sable and Tom Collins in the Broom Street Theatre, Madison, Wis., prodution. Photo: Callen Harty.
Cleo’s Cafe has become a nesting place for four mentally unstable, lonely
men. Cleo longs to sell the diner and start a new life of her own but feels
responsible for the care and feeding of her “captors”—Beau, a homeless,
belligerent alcoholic; his best friend, the severely handicapped Ray Charles
Jones; Lonny Lee Richardson, a schizophrenic; and his new roommate, Pete
White, a violent schizophrenic now nearly normal thanks to daily doses of
Clozaril. Cleo is torn between moving on with her own life and the nurturing
of these men who need her and the camaraderie of the diner so badly. Against
her better judgment, Cleo finds herself drawn into a romantic attachment
with Pete, but when he develops a fatal reaction to Clozaril and is taken off
it (only to sink back into insanity), Cleo realizes that we are all part of God’s
universe, and no matter how much we may love the troubled souls, we are
sometimes forced by life to move on. One int. set. Approximate running
time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D71.
Pearl and May at the Bowling Alley -
Comedy. By Cassi Harris.
Cast: 2m., 2w. Pearl Aris Norton and May Bouvier Lane are two 17-year-old recent
high-school graduates working at the local bowling alley and looking for romance.
Virginity is the number one subject being discussed by all their friends, and not having “done it” has created a serious loss of stature in their social circle. The truth is,
eager as they are to offer themselves for this purpose, neither one has had any takers.
Enter Clayton and Fudge, two 18-year-old would-be first-time robbers intent on holding up the bowling alley. Viewing this as a golden opportunity, Pearl and May wrestle
away the gun, tie them up and offer themselves to the boys as their best alternative
to jail. Will Clayton and Fudge agree to what the girls want? If they don’t, what will
become of their ill-funded dreams of becoming rock and roll stars? Will Fudge ever
find a woman who shares his love of gym socks? This outlandish comedy about four
young people discovering their sexuality, and in the process learning a little bit more
about themselves, explores the vulnerability that we all share underneath our skins.
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P83.
Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, world premiere. Jennifer Lester and John Mixon.
Photo courtesy of Cassi Harris.
Francis and the Biograph Girl - Comedy/Drama.
Northern Kentucky University world premiere. (l-r) Jason Miller, Melissa Phelps, Christine
Wilfinger and Huey Pergrem. Photo: Northern Kentucky University.
By Cassi Harris. Cast:
2m., 2w. Kit Wilkerson wakes up after a night of hard drinking to find to his dismay that
he is married to his best friend’s little sister, Ruby. Ruby is a feisty young woman with
an unerring instinct for survival, and the two just naturally butt heads over everything
from Kit’s outrage at the arranged nuptials (of which he remembers nothing) to Ruby’s
innocent request to make a Thanksgiving dinner. As their mutual loneliness forges a
bond between them, they slowly learn to trust and love each other, sharing their dreams
and ambitions, especially Kit’s fascination with silent movies and their stars. Suddenly,
they are intruded upon by Donna, a longtime “admirer” of Kit’s, and Jed Goldstein, a
social work volunteer who is escaping from his own life by trying to help others. Kit’s
perception of his destiny is drastically altered. He admits to Ruby he hasn’t long to live,
and they decide to take that one great risk, pack up and hit the road to chase his special
dream. Their honesty forces Jed to hold a mirror to his own life, and he realizes that the
“disadvantaged” couple he came to help has ended up helping and healing him. One int.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F61.
83
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Stephen Sachs
“Children of a Lesser God meets Kramer vs. Kramer.” —Chicago Sun-Times
“Passionate, insightful … provocative and moving.” —Los Angeles Times
“Heartbreaking.” —Variety
Sweet Nothing in My Ear -
Drama. By Stephen Sachs.
Cast: 4m., 5w., 1 boy. Dan and Laura are an attractive young couple
happily married for nine years. He is hearing; she is deaf. Dan speaks
and uses sign language to communicate with her and their 6-year-old
deaf son, Adam. His family’s deafness has never been an issue for
Dan—until a doctor says that Adam should have a cochlear implant—a
tiny computer device that would be surgically inserted into his skull to
enable the child to hear. A technological miracle? Not to Laura, who
sees the device as a threat to deaf culture. In her eyes, the most “natural” thing for Adam is to remain deaf. To her, deafness is an honor, not
a handicap—like being “a flower of a different color.” But Dan becomes convinced that it’s in Adam’s best interest to become a “normal”
child. The battle to help his deaf son become a hearing boy launches
Dan on an emotional journey of self-discovery that exposes hidden
prejudices and threatens to shatter his family. Sweet Nothing in My Ear
was a finalist for the 1998 PEN West Literary Award for Drama. Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SD8.
Victory Gardens Theatre, Chicago. Terrylene and Bob Kirsh. Photo: Ed Krieger.
Nancy Kiefer
“A warm-hearted drama with a substantial spiritual aspect...
a story of faith and how we deal with not having total control
over the things that happen to us.” —The Washington Post
The Eighth Order - Drama. By Nancy Kiefer. Cast: 2m., 4w. The time is the
1930s and the place, a small Midwestern town. Charlotte Steele, a single parent struggling
to support herself and her two children, is also grappling with an extraordinary prediction
concerning her son, Philip: that he will speak with an angel and have the power to raise
up the dead. After having denied the prophecy for years, Charlotte comes to realize that
there are forces at work far greater than her own fear and disbelief. This play illuminates
the power of the human spirit as we balance the struggle to survive in the world against
the impenetrable miracles that abound in our lives. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: E27.
Castaways Repertory Theatre,Woodbridge, Va. (l-r) Gayle Markiewicz and Mary-Anne Sullivan.
“As contemporary as intolerance and homophobia will always be ...
extremely well written.” —The Commercial Appeal, Memphis
Could Angels Be Blessed -
Drama. By Nancy Kiefer. Cast: 1m., 5w. Set in
Cleveland in the summer of 1945, Could Angels Be Blessed deals with intolerance. When
a young soldier visits the home of his friend who has died, the women who meet him—the
friend’s mother, aunt, cousin and friend—are anxious to share their grief and open their
homes. However, the young soldier brings with him some startling revelations that challenge the family’s understanding of love and courage. The critic for the Commercial Appeal, Memphis, said of the play, “This poignant look at postwar America subtly addresses
themes of intolerance and the suffering of those who don’t fit into the ‘normal’ mode.”
“Kiefer’s portrait of the mother’s conflict between the love of her son and what her world
tells her she should think of homosexuality is beautifully handled.” (Gay People’s Chronicle) Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C93.
John Carroll University production. Photo: Roger Mastroianni.
“A riveting play ... A compelling and touching story about the art of survival.”
—American Radio Network, Hollywood, Calif.
The Illustrated Woman -
Lyndie Benson and Paul Linke. Photo: Ed Krieger.
84
Drama. By Nancy Kiefer. Cast: 2m., 4w. This powerful drama deals with the issues of sexual abuse and dissociative identity disorder. Jane Ellen
Whitman is a 19-year-old woman living with her parents, Frank and Darla, in a small town in
the 1930s. Her behavior fluctuates from shy intellectual to passive and bizarre, flippant and
vindictive. Frank and Darla attribute their daughter’s peculiarities to insanity and even demonic possession. When Anita comes to visit, she entertains Jane Ellen and Darla with tales
about her life with a traveling carnival. Her most intriguing story deals with a tattooed lady
(the Illustrated Woman) who attempted to murder the man who raped her daughter. Jane Ellen, the victim of her father’s sexual abuse since she was 5 years old, becomes obsessed with
the character of this “goddess” who fears nothing and no one. Later, a drunken Frank attempts
to marry Jane Ellen and force her to have sex with him as she is now his “wife.” None of Jane
Ellen’s three personalities can deal with this and a new personality emerges ... the Illustrated
Woman ... who hunts Frank down to end the terror that has ruled ... and ruined ... Jane Ellen’s
life. Winner of the Michele Renee Gildersleeve Playwriting Award. Unit set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I30.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Ruth Wolff
“A beautiful, moving work from beginning to end.” —Ms. Magazine
“Crackles with energy and sexual tension. A modern historical work
in the tradition of A Man for All Seasons.” —San Francisco Magazine
The Abdication - Drama. By Ruth Wolff. Cast: 6m., 4w. In 1655, Christina
of Sweden abdicates the throne, gives up Protestantism to become a Catholic and
arrives in Rome expecting to be welcomed by the pope as the Church’s newest,
most ardent and most celebrated convert. She is stunned to discover that, instead,
she is forced to face an intensive examination of her life and motives by Cardinal Azzolino — with whom, shockingly and unexpectedly, she falls in love. This
searing emotion-charged drama is a modern, timeless exploration of the nature of
woman as Christina is compelled to confront the ambiguities and conflicts posed
by the warring masculine and feminine aspects of herself. This highly acclaimed
drama, which premiered at the Bristol Old Vic and which Ms. Wolff then adapted
for the Warner Brothers film starring Liv Ullmann and Peter Finch, has earned
international praise in major productions in many languages. “Contemporary significance in its protagonist, a woman in search of herself ... tremendous presentday impact and heart-touching emotion ... for those who want intelligence and wit
with their love story.” (New York Magazine) Unit set. Two acts. French and Italian
translations available. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: AA3.
Bristol Old Vic production. (l-r) Yvonne Antrobus, Gemma Jones and Deborah Grant.
Photo: Derek Balmer. Photo compliments of the University of Bristol Theatre Collection.
Sue Glover
“As the story of six women unfolds, it becomes apparent
that their tales aren’t so far removed from our own.” —Windy City Times
Bondagers - Drama.
Shattered Globe Theatre’s American premiere. (l-r) Linda Reiter, Eileen Niccolai, Michele
Dimaso, Robin Margolis and Karen Anglin. Photo: Roger Lewin.
By Sue Glover. Cast: 6w. Bondagers were 19th-century women
farm workers who were hired by the ploughmen of the Scottish Borders to work alongside them as a condition of their own employment by the landowners. “Bondagers opens at
the hiring fair, an annual event that decides what farm the bondager will work for the next
year—they live day to day, year to year not knowing at which farm they’ll end up. It is a
tenuous, lonely existence where they form bonds only with the land and each other.” (Windy
City Times) The harvest turns sour when Tottie, a 14-year-old “daftie,” is raped by the very
ploughman who, because of his looks, charm and love of dancing, had caught the hearts of
all the younger women. Tottie—disturbed and difficult to control since the rape—meets with
censure from the men, and when the ploughman is found dying from a fall, no one is sure
whether it is an accident or murder. “Entrancing dialogue ... is the means by which [Glover]
draws the audience in. The play begins with a spoken choral section that reveals the sensual
Scottish dialect. Once she has us hooked she introduces the subtler tones of her work, which
is both a compelling, detailed portrait of six [women] and an allegory for what we lost and
gained when we moved from a labor-intensive era of farming to a wholly mechanized one.”
(Chicago Reader) Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B86.
Linda Faigao Hall
Woman From the Other Side of the World -
Drama. By Linda Faigao Hall. Cast: 1m., 3w., 1 boy. Emilya, a young
Filipino, has come to the U.S. with her son, Jason, to start a new life
after the death of her husband. A nanny, Ines, is sent to help, bringing with her beliefs and ways from the old world. Ines tells Jason
riveting stories of fairies, angels, ogres and magical chants and lullabies. Emilya considers her superstitious and ignorant, rejecting her
mysticism. However, Ines has observed a deep confusion and rage
in Emilya and, wanting to purge her of her pain, casts a spell and
lays healing hands on her. The appearance of a spirit, which Emilya
recognizes, breaks her resistance and reveals her past. Emilya suffered physical and psychological abuse from her violent husband.
Pushed beyond her limits, she murdered him, and, unsuspected, fled
to the United States. Now, confronted by her crime, she must come
to terms with her guilt. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: W78.
Meryl Friedman
Precious Bane -
Lifeline Theatre’s world premiere. Consuelo Allen and Joao de Sousa.
Photo: Suzanne N. Plunkett.
Mary Webb
“A HAUNTING LOVE SONG.” —Chicago Tribune
Drama with music. By Meryl Friedman. From the book by Mary Webb.
Original music and additional lyrics by Meryl Friedman. Cast: 4m., 5w. (with doubling) and cellist. Precious Bane is a story of ambition, prejudice, hatred, and the redemptive power of love. The
play is set against the backdrop of rural England where mysticism, superstition and native folklore
played an important role in a land where residents eked out a living under the harshest conditions.
Prudence Sarn, born with a harelip and feared and scorned as a witch and outcast, possesses a passionate heart and indomitable spirit. Convinced by her brother, Gideon, that she has no hope of marriage and a family, she indentures herself to him and agrees to subjugate her own dreams to further
his ambitious ends. As their story unfolds, Prue is torn between her loyalty to her brother and her
love for the traveling weaver, a man who sees beyond her “affliction” to the strength and beauty in
her heart. The play was commissioned by Lifeline Theatre in Chicago. Area staging. Royalty on
application, plus optional music rental. Price: $7.50. Code: P84.
85
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Richard Vetere
“A play about the lessons fathers pass on to their sons ...
about the ways of men with women. Mr. Vetere is sly about
deciding which of the two men is the marriage fool.”
“Two generations looking for romance.
Snappy wisecracks. A crowd pleaser.”—New York Times
—Boston Herald
The Marriage Fool - Comedy. By Richard Vetere. Cast:
2m., 2w. Frank’s wife of 40 years has died, and now the tough,
blue-collar man finds the world a very lonely place. At a dance
he meets Florence, a “Dolly Levi-wisdom-spouting widow” who
spirals the quiet Frank into a realm of happiness he didn’t know he
could enjoy ... he falls in love. Frank’s son, Robert, is all personality and all womanizer. Terrified of commitment, a special new
relationship throws him into turmoil. When Frank announces his
plans to marry Florence, Robert is aghast. Why would his father
want to tie himself down again—and with Florence, of all women!
“A play about the lessons fathers pass on to their sons ... about the
ways of men with women. Mr. Vetere is sly about deciding which
of the two men is the marriage fool.” (Boston Herald) One int.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M97.
Penguin Repertory Company world premier production. Photo: Kerwin McCarthy.
First Love -
Comedy. By Richard Vetere. Cast: 2m., 2w. Dot
has been a widow for over 10 years. Her best friend, Sunny, has recently become a widow. The two neighbors speedwalk, try different
diets and discuss the pros and cons of entering the dating scene. In
fact, Sunny is pressing Dot to move to Las Vegas with her where
they can start new lives with new adventures. But plans are put on
hold when “Handsome Bill,” Dot’s first love whom she hasn’t seen
for over 20 years, moves back into town and reenters her life. Sparks
fly when they meet again. Everything goes along wonderfully in
their rekindled relationship, until they hit exactly the same obstacle
that stopped them from marrying years ago—Bill’s inability to make
a commitment to love ... at any cost. It is then that Dot realizes that
she never gave her loving husband his due. She never gave herself
entirely to him because she harbored deep emotions for a man who
could never truly love her as Jim did. Dot’s terrible disappointment
is a lesson to her: fully appreciate those you love; that time may
never come again. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: F62.
The Engagement -
Photo: Miguel Pagliere.
George Street Playhouse production.
Comedy. By Richard Vetere. Cast: 4m.,
1w. Tony, Pat, Jeffery and Tom have been bachelor friends for years.
They hang out, go to ball games and nightclubs, and take vacations
together. Everything is about to change, however, when Tony decides
to propose to his long-time girlfriend, Susan. The other guys panic.
They feel that if the handsome womanizer Tony gets engaged they
will all be facing the end of their freedom. Jeffery, a divorce attorney,
has been anticipating such an occasion and has had his legal staff put
together files on Tony and Susan—files that include all of the facts
about their private lives which they might not want even their lovers
to know about. What Jeffery hasn’t anticipated is that Susan has a
secret that not even Jeffery’s legal staff was able to uncover. Unit set.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: E39.
“Offbeat charm and lots of laughs.”
—Plain Dealer, Cleveland
“A madcap spoof of gangster movies.”
— New York Times
Gangster Apparel -
Comedy. By Richard Vetere. Cast: 2m.
Smalltime hoods Louie and Joey are about to go out on the hit of a
lifetime. But Louie tells Joey that clothes make the man and his lack
of style is holding back their careers. To Louie, style is everything:
the suits you wear, your haircut, the way you hold your gun. Dressed
to perfection, they go out on the hit—a big success, except that they
are identified by an eyewitness who remembers Joey’s snazzy yellow
pocket handkerchief! Locked in a cell, Louie decides that they’re
not going to spend 25 years to life in orange prison jumpsuits. Louie
spills all to the feds about “the Boss” and gets himself and Joey into a
witness protection program—unfortunately it’s in a remote section of
Arizona where the fashion statement is jeans, plaid shirts and boots!
Joey thrives there; Louie is miserable and, through an indiscreet
phone call, leads the Boss’ hit men to them. A play about friendship,
betrayal and the battle of style over substance. “A madcap spoof of
gangster movies.” (N.Y. Times) Three simple sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G59.
86
igLoo Theatre production. (l-r) Anthony De Sando and Christopher Peditto. Photo: Jamey O’Quinn.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Anne V. McGravie
Wrens -
JOSEPH JEFFERSON AWARD WINNER “BEST NEW WORK”
Drama. By Anne V. McGravie. Cast:7w. Wrens explores the relationships between seven young English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish women. “Through grace, candor and
uncanny perception ... McGravie has managed to ... get to the very basic human story of
those who served in the Women’s Royal Navy Service (WRNS) during World War II. On
the eve of V-E Day, seven ... women sharing a barrack fight inner conflicts centering on
emotional growth, loss of innocence and biting questions about their responsibility toward
others. Each is forced to examine her own self-absorption, morality and petty prejudices
when one wren is raped and faced with the life- and soul-threatening choices of what to do
about her subsequent pregnancy ... And regardless of the changes at hand, these courageous
but fallible souls downplay the tragedy and self pity in favor of a reluctant kind of bonding—making them more flesh-and-blood real than inaccessibly heroic.” (NewCity) “By the
end of the gently feminist drama, these clearly defined young women are vividly etched.
McGravie wisely lets the issues in her play (women’s roles in the armed forces, abortion,
class-based politics) slowly emerge from ... the genuine interaction of character.” (Chicago
Tribune) One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W82.
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble world premiere. (l-r) Meighan Gerachis, Linda Schaefer Waste,
Karen Hammer, Tara Mallen,Victoria DeIorio and Andrea Stark. Photo: Shari Joffe.
“McGravie’s offering can hold its own with the plays of Graham Reid, Brian Friel and Billy Roche.”
—Lawrence Bommer, The Chicago Reader
Bailiwick Repertory, Chicago, Ill., premiere. (left) Martin Halacy and Dolcye Johnson,
(rear) Gail Curry and (right) Khrissy Shields and Ryan Pfeiffer. Photo: Daniel Guidara.
The Cairn Stones - Drama. By Anne V. McGravie. Cast: 2m., 5w. The Cairn Stones is
about love and longing, about regrets for the past and some hope for the future; it’s about age
and how it limits only those who would be limited by it. “In her strong but always lyrically
written memory play [McGravie] ... hints at the way the seeds of one’s character and passions
are planted in youth and tend to grow stronger in one’s later years. Based loosely on events in
her own life ... [she] has created a play in which the youthful and aging incarnations of three
characters continually shadow one another. The teenage Brighid is a rebellious, relatively wellto-do girl, passionately attached to her wild island culture. Her neighbor, Shelagh, is poorer and
restless in another way—hell-bent on leaving for America. Shelagh loves Brighid’s half-brother,
Michael, but he cannot find it in himself to leave the island. So when she decides to make the
trans-Atlantic journey she enlists his best friend, Joe, who Brighid happens to love.” (Chicago
Sun-Times) Fifty years later and now a widow, Shelagh returns. She has never forgotten (or
forgiven?) Michael. McGravie infuses her play with a sense of deja vu— a knowledge of how
the past is viewed when it begins to retreat fast, moving further and further from reach. One
integrated int./ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: CB9.
Joan Kufrin
The Messenger - Comedy/Drama. By Joan Kufrin. Cast: 2m.,
3w. Angela hasn’t married. She still lives with her dotty, demanding,
semilovable parents. Childhood polio has left her with a limp. She’s not
particularly attractive until sudden, true love transforms plainness into
radiance. The trouble is that Angela’s fallen for a smooth-talking, goodlooking stranger who’s as old as her father. Her buttinsky family (mainly
her younger sister, Estelle) pegs the stranger as a fraud and tries desperately to talk her out of the whirlwind romance. And the buttinskys are
right. The handsome stranger is deceiving Angela. Will love triumph?
Absolutely! But not before the cherished lies that all five characters hold
close to their hypocritical hearts are exposed. A deliciously satisfying
romantic comedy with overtones of universal heartache for lost dreams.
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MA3.
Richard Vetere
“Vetere has fashioned the story of a great hero with a refreshing veneer
of cynicism.”—L.A. Times
Hale the Hero! - Drama/Comedy. By Richard Vetere. Cast: 4m., 1w. “Richard Vetere fanci-
A&E Network production. Elizabeth Shue and Kevin Anderson.
Photo: Linda Alaniz.
fully plays with the notion that young Captain Hale was in fact a deserter and running home to mom
when he was captured by the British in 1776 ... the play is alternately jocular and tender in dramatizing the reluctant leap to heroism of a soldier who plays every game in the book to avoid being
hanged as a spy. Hale hates the war, wants nothing of heroism and rebuffs the fervor of a beautiful
rebel spy sent by General Washington to coax him into sacrificing his life for the great symbol his
death would serve to the rest of the desperate American troops. But when under pressure from the
British to betray the rebels and save his hide, Hale proves no traitor and courageously goes to the gallows. That it’s the young who do the dying in wars is part of the playwright’s unstressed message.”
(L.A. Times) One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H41.
Rita Nachtmann
PEN CENTER USA WEST PLAYWRITING AWARD WINNER
How I Spent My Life’s Vacation - Comedy/Drama with
music. By Rita Nachtmann with three original songs by Paul Ukena.
Cast: 5m., 2w. with doubling. During the eight days that she waits for
a pathology report, Mary Margaret, a young librarian for a symphony
orchestra, struggles to string together life’s lessons as she embarks on a
journey of humorous soul-searching. Frightened of death, and with her
marriage put to the test, she consults some of the teachers of her life to
learn the wisdom that she will need to step into the afterlife with equanimity. This kaleidoscopic voyage takes her to Miss Stickler, an ancient
high-school Latin teacher who is wrapped up in the Trojan War and the
passion of Dido and Aeneas and who tries to instill in her students a
sense of following one’s destiny at all costs; Professor Flohr, an art history aesthete who is reduced to tears each year when describing Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son; and Aunt Ida, a crusty old woman
whose lust for life includes whittling naked angels out of wood—a rugged individualist who promotes rule breaking and suggests that Mary
Margaret take life and “swing it around until you make music.” Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H75.
87
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
“A MAJOR HIT!” —Sterns, USA Today
Jean Cocteau
Jeremy Sams
“A play that has already broken all the rules!” —Variety
“Fiendishly Clever and Brutally Funny.” — Newsweek “A Titanic Triumph With the Gale Force of a Cyclone!” —N.Y. Observer
“Fabulous, Gorgeous, Stylish, Trashy,
Monstrous, and Deeply Funny!”
9 Tony Nominations!
Indiscretions -
The Hippodrome, Gainsville, Fla., production featuring (l-r) Edward Kearney, Sara Morsey, Nell Page
Sexton and Davis Hopkins. Photo: Randy Batista.
—Newsday
Comedy. By Jean Cocteau. Translated by
Jeremy Sams. Cast: 2m.,3w.“Truly wicked fun ... Yvonne, George
and Leonie, respectively the semi-invalid mother, mad inventor father, and austere auntie of Michael, a rambunctious young man, all
share a chaotic Paris flat together as well as some unsavory affections. Yvonne is totally consumed with her handsome son, who expresses his reciprocal fondness ... Icy Leonie still burns for George,
who jilted her for Yvonne. As for George, well, Yvonne’s neglect has
forced him to look elsewhere for comfort. The dirty laundry starts
to fly when Michael reveals that he wants to marry a charming girl
named Madeleine. Even as Yvonne storms about in green-eyed fury,
George discovers that Michael’s intended is his own secret mistress
... How’s that for a first act? And there’re two more crazyhouse acts
to go before Indiscretions careens to its conclusion. Think of Indiscretions as a French bon-bon laced with forbidden goodies, not the
least of which is the perverse hilarity of Jeremy Sams’ translation.”
(The Star-Ledger) Two int. sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: I55.
“Effortlessly hilarious, thoroughly in charge of its own raffish and rambunctious tone from first gasp to last.”
—Walter Kerr, The New York Times
“A delicate, sensitive, and lovely comedy with a twist.”
—The Irish Times
Brian Friel
Lovers - Drama/Comedy. By Brian Friel. A
play in two parts —Winners and Losers. Cast: 3m.,
5w. This free-flowing cascade of dialogue, as beautiful and sparkling as the Ballymore Lake in bright
sunlight, will scoop your audience up into the world of that most gifted playwright, Brian Friel. Two
commentators are seated on either side of the stage. They speak without emotion about a 17-year-old
girl and a boy half a year older who are on their way to meet upon a hilltop to study before examinations
and perhaps talk about marriage. She is bubbling with life and is extreme in her enthusiasms. Whatever
she likes, she loves; whatever she dislikes, she hates—momentarily. Joe is earnest and has a total and
touching belief in the value of education. While Joe tries to study, Mag talks, teases, sulks, gets angry
and yet loving, too! Dispassionately, as the power and beauty of this love scene develop, the commentators tell us that the young lovers will soon be in a fatal accident. In the midst of enchantment, we see
the lovers not only in this moment but in all time, and we share in their triumph, for despite the coming
accident, they are, as the title suggests, winners. Losers is about older lovers, and a critic called it an
“uproariously funny tragedy.” This couple is trapped by an invalid mother who worships a nonexistent
saint. Before this couple marries, the mother demands their immediate presence any time the couple
stops talking in the parlor—and so the man tries to recite the only poem he knows while courting. The
mother insists they come to see her when they start talking after marriage. Walter Kerr summed it up:
“Its outrageousness comes from real observation, its satire from sympathy, its woebegone thunders
from wit.” Bare stage w/platform. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L34.
“The Libertine deals with classic moral issues
in a vivid, contemporary way. It raises
piercing questions about all forms of extremity.”
Art Carney and the young “Lovers” in the Broadway production.
Stephen Jeffreys
The Libertine - Drama/Comedy.
By Stephen Jeffreys. Cast: 8m., 5w., doubling
and/or extras possible.“You will not like me. No, I say you will not,” taunts John Wilmot,
second Earl of Rochester. “When we meet [Rochester], he is just 28—a writer and dramatist of reputed brilliance, a sexual adventurer of polymorphous tastes, a feverish alcoholic and reigning mischief-maker. He amuses the degenerate but shrewd king ... But
his irreverence is losing acceptability ... Caught in a state of arrested development, he
continues to compulsively test the limits of his society ... Most perilous of all, however,
Rochester is a romantic. When he falls madly in love with Elizabeth Barry, he is confronted by a woman who is more than his match. And his downfall is set in rapid motion
... Barry loves Rochester but refuses to become his sacrificial lamb. Rochester’s wife ... is
no pushover. And in this subversively feminist play, even the prostitute ... is on to Rochester ... Framing this vicious tug-of-war between men and women is a morally corrupt
society rotting from the top down. And as our national political scene erupts with talk of
‘values,’ it raises piercing questions about all forms of extremity.” (Chicago Sun-Times)
Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L88.
88
Martha Plimpton and John Malkovich in Steppenwolf Theatre’s American premiere.
Photo: Michael Brosilow.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Josefina López
“Funny, honest, empowering story about plus-sized Hispanic women slaving away sewing size-7 dresses.”
-Barbara Jo Maier, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Ariz.
“Funny ... sweet and a celebration of female bonding.”
—Chicago Tribune
“A touching, humorous memory play, a
loving look at hard-working immigrant women.”
Victory Gardens Theatre, Chicago. (l-r) Carole Gutierrez, Martha A. Del Rio, Justina Machado, Elisa Alvarado.
Real Women Have Curves - Comedy. By Josefina López.
Cast: 5w. Set in a tiny sewing factory in East L.A., this is the outrageously
funny story of five full-figured Mexican-American women who are racing
to meet nearly impossible production deadlines in order to keep their tiny
factory from going under. While they work, hiding from the Immigration
and Naturalization Service, they talk ... about their husbands and lovers,
their children, their dreams for the future. The story is told from the point
of view of Ana. Just graduated from high school, Ana dreams of getting
out of the barrio and going off to college and becoming a famous writer.
Although she needs the money, Ana doesn’t like working at the factory
and has little respect for the co-workers, who make fun of her ambitions
and what they consider her idealistic feminist philosophies. But Ana keeps
coming to her job and chronicling her experiences in a journal, and as
the summer unfolds, she slowly gains an understanding and appreciation
of the work and the women, eventually writing an essay that wins her a
journalism fellowship. This play, a microcosm of the Latina immigrant
experience, celebrates real women’s bodies, the power of women, and the
incredible bond that happens when women work together. One int. set.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R60 .
“One of the most brilliant young voices writing for the theatre in this country today.” —Luis Valdez
Confessions of Women From East L.A. -
Comedy.
By Josefina López. Cast: 4w. A celebration of being Latina and being women in the U.S., this play challenges the stereotypes of Latinas as “whores, mothers, and virgins,” with the vibrant humor and
authentic voices of women from East L.A., telling their stories with
imagination and poetry. Four actors play nine unforgettable characters: Marquez-Bernstein, Ph.D., a woman who encourages Latinas
to marry Jewish men in her “How to Be a Super Latina” seminar;
Calletana, a street vendor who challenges city hall for her right to
earn a living; Lolita Corazón, who teases and punishes men with her
powerful sexuality; Yoko Martinez, who’s trying to pass for Japanese; Roxie, a self-defense instructor who accidentally attacks a man
who was merely going to ask her for the time; Tiffany, a valley girl
and Chicana activist who finds courage and strength in Frida Kahlo’s
paintings; Doña Consepcion, a widowed grandmother who is forced
to come to terms with her sexuality when she discovers her husband
gave her AIDS; Doña Florinda, a soap opera addict in recovery; and
Valentina, who is trying to organize her people to fight racism and
Proposition 187. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: CA1.
“Josefina López has emerged as one of the most exciting young playwrights
to grace the American stage.” —Los Angeles Times
Unconquered Spirits -
Historical dra-ma. By Josefina López. Cast: 10m., 13w. (doubling possible). Xochimilco is a 10-year-old Mexican girl who, when misbehaving, is told the legend of La Llorona
(“The Crying Woman”) by her mother. As the legend goes, an Indian woman and a Spaniard fell in love
and had two children. The man left her to marry a Spanish woman, and for revenge the Indian woman
killed their children, and then herself. God wouldn’t let her spirit into heaven and ordered her to go back
to earth and find her children. The ghost of La Llorona now roams about, weeping and wailing, searching
for children to take the place of the ones she lost. Act one, set in the 16th century, explores the origin of
the legend, contending that the woman was raped and sacrificed her half-breed children to the Aztec gods
to give her people strength to fight the Spaniards—a martyr who sacrificed her children to save her people.
Act two is set in San Antonio, Texas, in 1938 and Xochimilco is a grown woman, becoming a modern-day
La Llorona. Raped by a white factory supervisor, she gets a “back alley” abortion, which nearly kills her.
God pardons her by letting her live so she can take care of her five children and gives her the courage to
confront her rapist. Xochimilco goes on to become a heroine in the organization of the Latino labor union
movement. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: U22.
Mario Martinez and Alice McKenzie.
Bernardo Solano
Entries -
George Street Playhouse world premiere. (l-r) Johnny Garcia and Ric Oquita.
Photo: Miguel Pagliere.
Drama / Comedy. By Bernardo Solano. Cast: 3m.,1w. This is the story of a young
Colombian-American man who undergoes a journey of self-discovery in the Amazon rain forest.
Jorge has traveled to Colombia to bury his father and is at a loss as to what to do with himself
now that he’s alone in the world. A chance meeting with an American scientist brings Jorge into
the heart of the Amazon, where he encounters trials both perilous and hilarious and emerges at the
end with a new understanding of himself and the world around him. Entries is transformational in
nature: each actor plays a number of parts, including rain-forest animals and mythological figures.
One ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: E35.
89
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Karen Sunde
“Pure and delicious ... delightfully grand.” —Time Out
To Moscow - Tragicomedy. By Karen Sunde.Cast: 2m., 4
Chain Lightning Theatre, New York. (l-r) Ginger Grace, Dominique Kay Reino, Steve Kelly, Blainie Logan.
Photo: Gerry Goodstein.
to 5 w., 2 or more m. or w. This breathlessly romantic true story
begins backstage and winds through Anton Chekhov’s life in
the theatre. We meet the bewitching Lika, whom he will not
take and cannot let go, and his valiant sister, Masha, who gives
up her happiness for his peace. We are caught up in Chekhov’s
stormy partnership with the irrepressible Stanislavski; his passionate star-crossed marriage to the brilliant actress Olga Knipper; the final clash over his magnificent Cherry Orchard; and
Chekhov’s tragic death. With infectious laughter and tears, this
ensemble makes the story unfold, giving birth to the Moscow
Art Theatre and their own souls, and enchanting any audience.
“Remarkable ... [Sunde] juxtaposes humor and suspense and
grief and elation, leaving us not the tiniest fraction of a moment
to stop feeling intensely.” (Plays International) Open stage.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: TA8.
Olga Humphrey
“One clever idea in the play (there are many funny lines, too)
is having Artemisia seek out a woman to represent her in
court, because ‘I need a woman to understand me.’”
—The Art Bulletin
The Exception - Drama. By Olga Humphrey. Cast: 4m., 4w. (with doubling).
A brilliant painter. A fiery personality. An influence on Rembrandt and Velázquez.
The talk of 17th-century Rome. The exception to all the rules—Artemisia Gentileschi, a teenage girl! This tantalizing blend of fact and fiction is a provocative, entertaining and timely drama about this controversial artist. The play takes place from
1611 to 1612, when Artemisia charges her tutor, the handsome, enigmatic Agostino
Tassi, with rape. But there is a twist. Tassi, for complex reasons, has stolen a painting of hers. Artemisia disobeys her father and seeks a civil trial so that she may be
represented by an advocate. Shockingly, she chooses Lucia Baldassare, the brilliant
daughter of a recently deceased advocate. But the trial raises more questions than it
answers. What really was Artemisia and Agostino’s relationship? Is she using the
scandal to bring attention to her work? This play examines the nature of the creative
spirit and the limitations of even the most all-consuming love. Simple sets. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: E18.
Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Bliss Daniel and Brandon Keener.
Photo: Richard Berquist.
Friedrich Durrenmatt
The Meteor -
Play Strindberg atThe Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center. (l-r) Conrad Bain, Priscilla Pointer and Robert Symonds.
Photo: Martha Swope.
Comedy. By Friedrich Durrenmatt. Cast:
11m., 3w. A Nobel Prize-winning author, whom everyone thought
dead, comes back to the apartment where he wrote his first bestselling novel. The apartment is occupied by an artist and his lady
friend, who also serves as his model. The news of the “death” of
the author is of international importance, and he does lie down to
die, but only to revive again as all of those who were expecting,
counting on, or even looking forward to his death turn up, and it
is they, the would-be mourners, who die, one by one, and in each
case under entertaining circumstances. One int. set. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M25.
“‘The great world is the same. Only the dimensions are different,’ snarls one of the protagonists
in Friederick Durrenmatt’s scathingly farcical adaptation of the marriage portrayed in Strindberg’s Dance of Death.
Durrenmatt has both pared down Strindberg’s tragedy and broadened the frustrated fury of its battling spouses
to make them a metaphor for his view of society.” —Curtain Up
EXTRAORDINARILY FUNNY! —New York Times
Play Strindberg - Comedy. By Friedrich Durrenmatt. Translated by James Kirkup. Cast: 2m., 1w. “Bright, dazzling ... a play that is just
what any theatrical repertory doctor would order,” writes Clive Barnes
in his perceptive Times review of the New York premiere, continuing,
“Mr. Durrenmatt is offering his own personal and amusing variations on
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the theme of Strindberg’s great play The Dance of Death. An officer and
a gentleman are driven to the verge of madness by an actress of no talent!
Strindberg saw it as a tragedy. Durrenmatt sees it as a comedy.” One int.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P31.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Claudia Allen
“A NONSTOP WHIRLWIND OF HUMOR.” —Boynton Times
Ripe Conditions -
Comedy. By Claudia Allen. Cast: 2m.,
1w., 1 chicken. Set in rural Michigan, Ripe Conditions is about
Lester and Buster, a pair of bumbling brothers, and Ann, the longlost love of their lives, who eloped with their kid brother years ago
only to return to their shambling farm as an attractive and eligible
widow. Buster (who bathes once a month whether he needs it or
not) keeps the farm going with a cash crop that is smokable but
not exactly legal. Lester, nursing his illnesses and complaining,
hasn’t been the same since Buster shot him in the leg years ago in
a dispute over their mutual love. Then, in order to gain more sympathy, Lester shot himself several more times! As Ann reignites old
feelings in the brawling brothers, the weather radio reports “ripe
conditions” for a tornado— which hits as the boys are making
overtures to Ann with their own brand of country-boy charm. One
int. Set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R56.
Victory Gardens Theatre, Chicago. Photo: Suzanne Plunkett.
“A well-written and evocative little drama that
deserves a future in resident theatre companies.
It’s a savvy vehicle for two accomplished
older performers.” —Variety
Winter - Comedy. By Claudia Allen. Cast: 1m., 3w. Winter is a fun-
ny, lyrical, yet harrowing look at old age. For five years since his stroke,
Mark has been confined to a wheelchair. Miriam, his wife of 50 years,
has worn herself out caring for him. Their marriage is fraying from the
strain. But then the “wrong one” dies first, and Mark finds himself in the
nursing home he’s always dreaded. Once Mark faces the worst thing he
can imagine—Miriam’s death and the home—he is surprised to discover
that he can still enjoy the small joys in life. When Dotha, Mark’s childhood girlfriend, is admitted to the home, she’s so depressed she refuses
to speak. This time it’s Mark’s turn to be the caregiver and help Dotha
rediscover her own small joys. Two int. sets. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: W77.
Claire Chafee
Victory Gardens (Chicago) production with five-time Tony Award-winner Julie Harris and Mike Nussbaum.
Photo: Liz Lauren.
“ELEGANT COMEDY.” — Newsday
Why We Have a Body - Comedy. By Claire Chafee. Cast: 4w.
“Most of the women in Claire Chafee’s elegant comedy are searchers
by trade. Archaeologists, paleontologists and private investigators, they
spend their time ferreting out clues, digging up the past, checking out different possibilities. Risk and uncertainty are their daily bread. These gals
are perpetually out on a limb. In each case, the women’s chosen fields
are a flight from traditional roles, propelled by a fear of getting stuck in
a groove of routine. At the nucleus is a family of women at odds with
the world around them. Private investigator Lili is a lesbian who stalks
guys cheating on their wives and romances confused straight women,
in this instance a paleontologist, Renee, headed toward divorce. Lili’s
sister, Mary, is mentally unhinged, sublimating all of her Joan of Arc and
Ophelia fantasies by holding up 7-Elevens and directing traffic. Their
mother, Eleanor, has traded in her maternal hat for the rugged life of an
archaeologist-historian specializing in the female brain.” (N.Y. Newsday)
“Its four female characters would all seem to be desperately searching,
not so much for their bodies as for something much more ethereal, like
meaning and identity. It is in this search that the playwright exploits the
comedy of their respective dilemmas.” (Drama-Logue) Area staging.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W79.
Lynne Kaufman
A hit at Actors Theatre of Louisville.
Shooting Simone -
Actors Theatre of Louisville. (l-r) Kathleen Dennehy, Janni Brenn and Brett Rickaby.
Photo: Richard Trigg.
Comedy. By Lynne Kaufman. Cast: 2m.,
2w. (2 optional nonspeaking roles). Act One: Paris 1937. Jean-Paul
Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, the Bogie and Bacall of the intelligentsia, make a vow to always be each other’s “necessary love.” They will,
of course, have “contingent” love affairs, but nothing that will threaten
their primary and equal relationship. Enter Olga, Simone’s young country cousin, who bewitches Sartre, undermines Simone, and very nearly
destroys the “writing couple.” Simone, naturally, kills Olga—at least on
paper. Act Two: Paris 1980. Kate, a young documentary filmmaker who
has modeled her life after the great feminist, is attempting to resurrect
the details of the affair and to find the “true” Simone. Disillusionment
brings Kate her own individuality. This very funny play explores sexual
jealousy, long-term love, the changing face of feminism and the inevitably subjective nature of truth. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: S22.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Samuel L. Kelley
“A play of substance with a great deal to say about
the plight of even the most enterprising men.” —New York Times
Pill Hill - Drama. By Samuel L. Kelley. Cast: 6m. Pill Hill examines the failures
and successes as well as the relationships of six black steel mill workers in Chicago
as they move from the blue-collar to the white-collar profession. It addresses the
painful conflicts with which they must deal in leaving the comfortable and secure
life of the mill while facing an uncertain economic future as they seek to assimilate
into professions their parents only dreamed about. One sinks to the lower depths
while his best friend crashes against the glass ceiling that too many blacks encounter
on their way up the ladder of success. No less difficult and painful are the changes in
their relationships which take place over this dynamic and volatile 10-year period in
America, during which the hippie generation is transformed into the yuppie generation. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P35.
Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit -
Drama with music. By
David Barr III. Cast: 5m., 4w. with doubling. Expandable to 6m., 5w.,
3 either gender. Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit celebrates the life and
voice of African-American contralto Marian Anderson as it chronicles
the latter half of her career. Through a series of dramatic vignettes, the
complexities of this important 20th-century artist are revealed. Anderson managed the nearly impossible feat of carving out a legendary
career as a classical concert singer. She bravely defied a segregationist
ban against her 1939 Easter concert recital in Washington, D.C., when
she sang before 75,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
(millions more listened on the radio). Having publicly stated several
David Barr III
times, “I’m an artist, not an activist,” she continued to be a trailblazer throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Anderson sought no fanfare for
breaking through these barriers. Having studiously avoided confrontation, never wanting to entangle her career with her silent civil rights
advocacy, she never wanted to be labeled simply as “...a black singer. I
only want to be known as a singer who happened to be a Negro.” The
play culminates with Marian Anderson coming to terms with herself
and her place in history and proving herself a world-class artist. Unit
set. Two acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours. Royalty: $60/performance. Price: $7.50. Code: E42.
Baby Grand -
Drama. By David Mark Cohen. Cast: 3m.,
1w. This suspenseful drama tells the story of two brothers and the
influence of their musical, medical and Jewish backgrounds on their
lives. In the attic of a Boston townhouse, Nathan and Sam form a
malignant triangle with a Steinway piano— the legacy of their famous pianist father. Complications arise when Sam secretly arranges
to take lessons from Delmadean, a brash Montana girl with previous
Hartford Stage Company. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.
David Mark Cohen
links to the family. Laced with humor (especially in the guise of an
old Jewish piano tuner), Baby Grand’s provocative situations and
engaging characters are thoroughly contemporary, yet in the tradition
of American Jewish naturalists like Arthur Miller and Clifford Odets.
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B81.
Mike Cullen
“This play received critical and popular acclaim ... when it premiered at the Edinburgh Festival ... Anna Weiss offers
a staggering emotional slice of life as current as tomorrow, welding tragedy, distrust, and retribution.” —The Rockland County Times
Anna Weiss -
Drama. By Mike Cullen. Cast:1m., 2w. Anna
Weiss, a hypnotherapist specializing in revealing “lost” memories, has
assisted 20-year-old Lynn in “remembering” a long history of childhood sexual abuse by her father. But are they real memories or dark
autosuggestions? When Lynn confronts her father, David, he protests
his innocence to Anna—“I lie awake all night, I relive every single
moment since she was born, and there’s nothing there. There’s nothing there.” This explosive and gripping play about the phenomenon
of false memory syndrome is not only frighteningly topical but also
prompts intense speculation on our need to have faith in one another,
as we watch three lives plummet into an abyss of mutual mistrust. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A79.
Claire Luckham
“The issues are awesome and urgent ... The debate is clear and forceful.” —The Guardian, London
The Choice -
Drama. By Claire Luckham. Cast: 2m., 3w. The
Choice tells the story of a couple expecting their first child. They learn
that the child will have one chromosome too many—Down syndrome.
Should they choose to continue the pregnancy? The play offers a moving and sometimes humorous debate which presents both sides of the
argument. The decision is examined through a writer who presents a
picture of her own warm relationship with her Down syndrome brother, set against the anguish of the couple. The Choice doesn’t provide
the answers; rather it raises profound questions about the power of
giving life and the responsibilities it confers. Area staging. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C89.
Steve Allen
“Wise, compassionate, warmly embracing. The multi-talented Steve Allen
has given us much to be grateful for.” —Drama-Logue
The Wake -
Corning Summer Theatre. (l-r) Don Perkins, Dermot McNamara and Steve Allen.
Photo by Kellogg.
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Drama/Comedy. By Steve Allen. Cast: 5m., 7w., 2 boys, 1 girl. “Most
everyone knows that funnyman Steve Allen has a serious side. Less well known is the story
of Allen’s childhood in Chicago, lived out against the bleak background of the Depression and the equally hazardous battleground of his Irish-Catholic family.” (The Hollywood
Reporter) The Scanlon siblings, who have never gotten along, are gathering from far and
wide for the wake of their mother, Bridget, “one of the few saints on earth.” As she lies in
her casket in the cluttered Scanlon living room, family emotions run wild with each new
arrival. This is a deeply human and heartfelt portrait of a big brawling family filled with
foibles, kindness, old wounds, and passion. “There’s a feeling of a home that has seen
much pain but also has heard some laughter. And the Scanlons can laugh. They’re Irish and
Allen remembers that too.” (Los Angeles Times) “One gets a feeling of seeing something
deeply personal and poignant from Allen’s childhood. Coming from Steve Allen, this is
accomplished with plenty of laughs and some deadly accurate portraits ...We can see a hint
of a humorous Eugene O’Neill here.” (Milwaukee Journal) One int. set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W80.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
There are five suns in the Mayan cosmos ...
four of them represent cultivation, rain, life and
death. The fifth sun is a human being whose
destiny is to save his people.
The Fifth Sun - Drama. By Nicholas A. Patricca. Cast: 6 to 14 actors.
On March 24, 1980, during Mass, Oscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador,
was assassinated. This powerful and acclaimed play presents the story of the
people and the forces that transformed an ordinary man into a courageous
leader. It is an experimental play that combines elements of ancient tomb rituals, Mayan temple dramas and medieval morality plays into a contemporary
dramatic structure in which we see a human being ultimately embody the moral
voice and vision of his people. Area staging. A large-cast version appropriate
for ensemble groups interested in more ritual music, dance and presentational
style is available in manuscript. (Price: $35.00. Code: F24) One-act cutting
available. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F38.
El Quinto Sol -
Photo: Michael Ho.
Jesuit College Prep School, Dallas, Texas.
Por Nicholas A. Patricca. Traducido del Inglés por
Karen Ronstadt. Una obra en dos actors, para un reparto flexible de 10 a
14 actores. El Quinto Sol presenta la vida de Oscar Arnulfo Ro-mero desde
el momento de su instala-ción como arzobispo de El Salvador ... hasta el día
en que fue asesi nado. Es un retrato dramático de un ser humano que lucha
por aliviar los males que destruyen a su pueblo. Rara vez sucede que una
persona se convierte en un auténtico héroe en el sentido propio y antiguo de la
palabra, es decir, una persona que sufre por el bienestar de un pueblo. Oscar
Romero es una de esas pocas personas, y es por ello que quise narrar su historia. Derechos: $65/ performance. Libro: $7.50. Cifra: E33.
Edward F. EmanuEl
Pulitzer Award nominated / Wang Award-winning author
Sun Yat Sen: In the Mouth of the Dragon - Drama. By Edward F. EmanuEl.
Percussion score (optional) by Louis Labovitch. Cast: 25 roles plus ensemble as needed (12
actors with doubling). This play is set in London, 1896, in a prison cell housed in the Manchu
Embassy. Dr. Sun Yat Sen, a leader of the Young China revolutionary movement, is being tortured and drugged by his captors to get him to confess to crimes against the Dowager Empress
of China’s government—or face death. In a drugged state, Dr. Sun experiences grand hallucinations that take him from the court of the Chin Dynasty to just a few days before his kidnaping.
He meets and is challenged by the greatest heroes in Chinese history. His life is revealed to the
audience from the time he is nearly whipped to death in a Chinese classroom through his first
encounter with American democracy in a Hawaiian school. By the end of the play, he faces
death with such powerful convictions that even his executioner is awed by his view of a free
and modern China. Area staging. Chinese translation by Mickey Lin EmanuEl and James Shen
available. Percussion score available from playwright. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 55
minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SF3.
Paul Peditto
Nelson Algren
California State University, Fresno, Calif., production.
Winner of 9 Joseph Jefferson citations!
“Morning tops Jeff Citations—an everyman tragedy in the tradition of
A View From the Bridge and On the Waterfront.”—Chicago Sun-Times
Never Come Morning - Drama. By Paul Peditto. Based on the novel by Nelson Algren.
Prop Theatre Company. (l-r) Robert Maffia, Jonathan Lavan and
Lara Phillips. Photo: J. Alexander Newberry.
Cast: 9m., 2w., with doubling. “A vintage Windy City story told with patented Chicago realism.
Algren would be proud,” writes the Chicago Tribune of this adaptation of Nelson Algren’s epic
novel of passion, pathos and despair. Never Come Morning traces the lives of Polish youths in
Wicker Park Chicago circa 1942. At the center is Bruno “Lefty” Bicek, a gifted young boxer and
“petty thief working his way up the Felony Hit Parade.” He and his girl, Steffi Rostenkowski,
brave the unholy alliance of petty thuggery, small-time organized crime and Chicago-style politics. Boxing is their ticket out, but when Bruno doesn’t prevent the brutal gang rape of Steffi,
it tears them apart, their worlds changed forever. Bruno is sent to jail and Steffi to a brothel
governed by a brutal local crime boss. To escape, Steffi is asked to betray Bruno. The result is
a shocking last twist of fate that hits the audience like a sledgehammer left to the belly. Peditto
sculpts Algren’s world with visual poetry conceived in the gritty, bone-breaking Chicago school
of realism. A timeless urban folk tale and tour de force ensemble work. Single set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N40.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Winner: the John Whiting Award and a Time Out Theatre Award
Helen Edmundson
“The Clearing lays bare the power
and pain of bigotry.”
“Edmundson’s script is catnip for actors.”
—Chicago Tribune
The Clearing - Drama. By Helen Edmundson. Cast:
7m., 3w., (doubling of m. possible). “All praise to Helen
Edmundson, whose The Clearing deals with a 17th-century
forerunner of ‘ethnic cleansing,’ that period in Ireland when
Cromwell planted the seeds of the troubles that still afflict
the country today ... The play centers on the dilemma of
Robert Preston, an English landowner’s son, who has married an Irish woman, had a son and is beginning to develop
his small estate. Though passionately in love with his wife,
he decides he loves his home more, refusing to support his
wife when she goes in search of their servant girl who has
been snatched for transportation, endeavoring to strike a
deal with the cold and heartless governor and giving his
wife no option except to leave him and live rough so that
the child dies. It is a story of romance, passion and treachery.” (The Stage, London) Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C20.
Photo: John Bridges.
The Theatre School, De Paul University, Chicago, Ill.
“[Helen Edmundson] not only re-invents the book, but pushes
the boat of theatricality way beyond its usual moorings.”
—The Guardian
“Finally, a moral voice in the theatre that sings with emotion,
intellect, conscience and a sense of history.”
—The Chicago Reader
The Mill on the Floss - Drama. By Helen Edmundson. Based on the novel by
George Eliot. Cast: 4m., 4w. with doubling (may be expanded to 10m., 7w.). “This adaptation of George Eliot’s novel of torrential passion ... pushes the boat of theatricality
way beyond its usual moorings ... The central concept is having three Maggies ... a conceit that is thrillingly effective in performance. It creates a sort of 3-D effect ... It makes
you understand, in a way entirely in keeping with the spirit of the Victorian novel, how
Maggie is shaped by her environment and circumstances.” (The Guardian, London)
“With rare theatrical vibrancy, Helen Edmundson’s free adaptation distills the essence
of George Eliot’s feminist novel ... The device of the three Maggies expresses beautifully the heroine’s emotional conflict, with number one arguing for impetuous passion
against number two’s moral restraint as number three is drawn into a relationship with
her cousin’s wooer.” (Evening Standard, London) Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: M88.
Outstanding Theatrical Event—Time Out Awards
Shared Experience Theatre in association with The Wolsey Theatre. (from top) Helen Schlesinger, Buddug Morgan and Shirley Henderson. Photo: Mike Kwasniak.
Best Touring Show—Martini/TMA Theatre Awards
“A worthy, finely honed adaptation of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina
that thoroughly engages the imagination.”
—New York Times
Anna Karenina - Drama. By Helen Edmundson. From the novel
Knox College Dept. of Theatre and Dance. Caitlin Muelder and Brian Tibbets.
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Photo: Peter Bailey.
by Leo Tolstoy. Cast: 8m., 10w. (4m., 4w. with doubling). “Married to a provincial governor, the punctilious Karenin, Anna revolts against her life of
compromise when she meets the charming officer Vronsky. But two other
love affairs have been given their proper, important place in this adaptation:
the rocky marriage of Anna’s philandering brother and the on-off courtship
between Kitty ... and Levin. Edmundson dares to bring Anna and Levin
together for the first spoken words of the play. ‘This is my story,’ Anna
murmurs. ‘It seems to be mine, too,’ comes the reply, and for the remainder
of the play scenes are set and emotions summarized through the imaginary
exchange of their confidences.” (The Times, London) Edmundson illuminates the story’s grand pattern: as the adulterous Anna travels towards disintegration and death, the young landowner, Levin, travels toward maturity
and a sense of wholeness. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: A17.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Werner Trieschmann
“Trieschmann lances modern restaurant culture with keen ear and sharp pen.”
—Baltimore City Paper
Photo: Will Kirk.
You Have to Serve Somebody - Comedy. By Werner Trieschmann. Cast: 3m.,5w. Can
Mobtown Players production. (l-r) Billi Dale, Angie Pollock and Michael Keating.
Two Husbands in Heaven -
you juggle sticky desserts while wearing a big sombrero and singing “Happy Birthday”? Can you placate the customer who says the soup tastes like Lysol? Can you deal with the fact that your dreams are
on hold because you have to serve somebody? In this fast-paced comedy, three waiters are cogs in the
machine of America’s service economy. Denny, a frustrated artist who longs to spend more time painting her portraits of feet, serves at the Waves of Grain. Hector is at the Taco Circus, trying to remember
whether the Day of the Dead quesadillas serve four or six, while hapless Cassandra struggles to keep
her sanity and her orders straight at the mysterious, upscale Epee. Their customers—a couple of fries
short of a Happy Meal—are tough to serve. Sandy and Harvey ask for special treatment. Retired Marvin and Millie are working hard to find an epiphany and a good steak. And brash, no-nonsense gallery
owner Abeline is an altogether pain. When the dreams of the servers and the served collide, the mess
is hilarious and heartwarming. Developed at the Mount Sequoyah New Playwright Retreat and first
presented at the Mount Sequoyah New Play Festival, Fayetteville, Arkansas. One int. set. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: Y21.
Comedy. By P. Paullette MacDougal. Cast: 4m., 4w. Because of a 60-year-old secret, Gus and Nellie, two widowed elders, cannot admit they love each other. This lively
intergenerational story celebrates love at any age and suggests that being
honest with oneself and others leads to a happy ending. The play “brims
with charming characters and clever language.” (The Wisconsin State
Journal) Among the characters are: Aurelia, a seductress who speaks
only in Biblical double-entendres; Bjorn, who doesn’t talk at all; Joanie,
Gillian Plowman
“Wildly funny, utterly compelling.” —The Sunday Telegraph
Me and My Friend -
Comedy. By Gillian Plowman. Cast:
2m., 2w. “Wild laughter amid the anguish” is how The Daily Telegraph describes this play about two couples newly released from a
mental hospital and living in an apartment building used for the rehabilitation of psychiatric patients. The friends do their best to support one another’s recovery: Bunny’s workaholism drove him and
his marriage to a breakdown; Oz, once a postman, lost his memory
of all familiar places when his mother died; Julia was unhinged by
her preoccupation with men; and Robin, a housewife, suffocated her
little son. The doctors have advised them to “make plans” for their
P.Paullette MacDougal
National Senior Adult Theatre Playwriting Contest Winner
a tough motorcycle-riding teenage runaway who acts as matchmaker;
and Melvin, Gus’ self-appointed mentor, a spirited vacuum-cleaner
salesman with a 10-point sales plan to help Gus win Nellie’s heart. Winner of the National Senior Adult Theatre playwriting contest. One unit
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: TA7.
“A brave and tender play ... rich in affectionate humor.”
—The Times, London
future. As the critic for The Independent described the present situation, “Downstairs, the men conduct fantasy interviews ... Upstairs,
the women are building a tower of coin-filled Coke cans as a way
of saving up for a holiday in France and have evolved an elaborate,
slightly self-deceived system for cutting down on their household
spending ... [There is] barmy one-track mindedness of the protagonists and their supreme lack of tact which, when the couples collide
at a sort of Mad Hatter’s cocktail party, eventually pushes Me and My
Friend into airborne, brilliantly paced farce.” Two int. sets. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M78.
Tom Szentgyorgyi
JOSEPH JEFFERSON CITATION WINNER!
“Wonderfully subversive and deeply disturbing.” —Chicago Sun-Times
A Family Man - Comedy/Drama. By Tom Szentgyorgyi. Cast: 4m., 3w., 1 child. Winner
of a Joseph Jefferson Citation as one of the best new plays of the year, A Family Man chronicles
the misadventures of Jake, an enthusiastic and completely unreliable young man on the run from
a loan shark. With his pregnant wife, Sammy, and her young son in tow, Jake travels the country
looking for a place where he can make a home and provide for his family: two tasks to which
he brings limitless energy and a sociopath’s instincts. “By the end of its rapid-fire two hours,”
wrote critic Hedy Weiss, “you realize just how wonderfully subversive and deeply disturbing
this haunting, deceptively simple little work really is. And you feel the true weight of the profound and too often deeply suppressed questions the playwright has raised about the meaning
of family, parental responsibility, economic insecurity, and the nature of love.” “The season’s
strangest, quirkiest, most unsettling and most original new drama.” (Chicago Tribune) Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F14.
Next Theatre Company. (l-r) Paul Ratliff and Karla Harscheid. Photo: Peter Rybolt.
John J. Wooten
“The most rare of theatre birds: the full-bloom American
farce. Laughs begin almost immediately ...
a comedy gem.” —The Princeton Packett
“This play is a laugh a minute. The characters are great.
The ending is a real surprise!”
-Susan Grabon, Live and In Person Productions, Enfield, Conn.
Kiss the Bride - Comedy/Farce. By John J. Wooten. Cast: 4m., 4w. Here’s a madcap
Forum Theatre production. (l-r) Vicki Tripodo, Geoff Morris and Carl Wallnau.
Photo: Peter Loewy.
comedy with a groom out to murder his (frequently married and very wealthy) bride on
their wedding night. Having hired a couple of bumbling bad guys to do the job, the groom
mistakes an introverted wedding guest for the hired killer, sending him upstairs with his
wife. Soon after, the hit man (and wife) arrive, having kidnapped an unsuspecting bride at
the wrong reception. The kidnapped bride soon escapes from the trunk of their car and, with
the help of crazed couples and uninvited guests, she sends the newlyweds fleeing and the
audience rolling down the aisle with laughter! Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: K26.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Shay Youngblood
“Shakin the Mess Outta Misery takes a rich collection
of stories about a young girl’s coming of age under the
influence and tutelage of some mighty feisty women
and manages to weave the fragments into an
astoundingly compelling saga.” —TalkinBroadway.com.
Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery - Drama. By Shay Young-
blood. Cast: 8w., with doubling. “It takes strength, passion, faith, and a
good dose of sass to be an admirable black woman, and apparently the
same criteria can be applied to produce an extremely admirable play.”
Daughter is reflecting on the summer of her 12th year in the now-empty
house of her childhood. She shares with the audience how her Big Mamas, the diverse nontraditional women who raised her, prepared her for
womanhood. As she remembers, the women enter to tell their stories,
and Daughter becomes a child again reliving her vivid memories of
growing up in the South of the 1960s —recalling the rituals, the faith
healings, the stories she was told and the lessons she learned about survival, healing, deep faith and mystery. “A vivid portrait of the members
of a tight-knit community of African-American women ... heartfelt and
definitely a memory play, but it goes about its business in unpredictable
and emotionally satisfying ways ... First and foremost is Youngblood’s
evocative language, which blends the poetic and the everyday into a
Vital Theatre Company, McGinn/Cazale Theatre production, New York, N.Y. (l-r) Kimberly Hébert and Donisha Bram.
Photo: Chris Janssen.
potent stew of exclamations and descriptions, oaths and jive ... Some
[scenes] are funny, some melancholy, some deadly serious, but all
burst with detail, eccentricity and truth.” (The Washington Post) Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SA6.
“Meaty controversial material. Barr has written well.” —Variety
“A sensational, thought-provoking piece of theatre. Don’t miss it.” —Sun Newspapers
David Barr III
“This is a powerful play that teaches students about the black radical movements of
the ’60s without pinpointing or presenting a group in a bad light. The ideas and issues
discussed are all relevant today ... and educate not only the cast, but audience.
-Daphnie Sicre, N. Miami Beach High School, N. Miami Beach, Fla.
The Death of the Black Jesus -
Unicorn Theatre production. (l-r) L. Roi Hawkins, Lynn King and
Walter Coppage. Photo: Paula Settle.
Drama. By David Barr III. Cast: 5m., 3w. (with doubling). “Utilizing video, pop culture, political nostalgia for ’60’s protest, modern rap’s black rage and
the current obsession with tabloid TV, playwright Barr sets his two-act play on, cleverly enough, the
set of an audience-participation TV show. The host of ‘Downs Town’ is Steven Schaffer Downs, a
former network news anchor ... Downs is this play’s trump card ... a malevolent, grinning, preening
and utterly soulless TV personality. He’s fascinating to watch as he sets an exploitative plan in action.
Hoping to catapult himself back into the big time, Downs accidentally stumbles into great publicity
and high ratings when he books three former members of a radical Panther-like ’60’s reactionary
group known as the Black Jesus on his show and a fight ensues between the trio and a loud, chubby
white nationalist ... Barr’s strengths as a playwright include his finely delineated characters and vivid,
sometimes explosive dialogue. It’s a sensational, thought-provoking piece of theatre. Don’t miss it.”
(The Sun Newspapers) Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D68.
“The Ties That Bind is an absolute knockout.”—Chicago Tribune
The Ties That Bind - Drama/Comedy. A program of two plays
by Regina Taylor. “Watermelon Rinds (Cast: 3m., 5w.) is a satire that
explores contemporary African-American attitudes about family and
politics. At a family get-together to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s
birthday, thoughts about the current state of King’s dream are discussed,
and, as the author describes it, ‘the insanity of martyrdom and its relation
to cannibalism and the Eucharist are revealed.’ The play ‘also explores
the universal theme of family ties, class tension and the denial of kin and
kinship—a theme that resonates with events in Los Angeles, South Af-
Regina Taylor
rica and Bosnia.’” (Chicago Sun-Times) “Inside the Belly of the Beast
(Cast: 3m., 5w.) is about a black man who is trying to make it in corporate
America and about what he must do to get there. ‘We take the journey
with him,’ Taylor explained. ‘First we see him as a slayer of the beast.
Then we see him swallowed by the beast and learn what it’s like inside
the belly of that system. And finally, we watch as he recognizes that he is
the beast—false to himself and turned inside out.’” (Chicago Sun-Times)
Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T22.
Robert Alexander
WINNER OF 7 LOS ANGELES DRAMA-LOGUE AWARDS!
I Ain’t Yo’ Uncle: The New Jack Revisionist Uncle Tom’s
Cabin - Comedy/Drama. By Robert Alexander. Cast: 5m., 4w. (multi-racial
San Francisco Mime Troupe. ( l-r) Michael Gene Sullivan, Amara Tabor, Michael Page, Dee Russell, Terry Lamb,
and Greta R. Bart. (center) Andrea Snow. Photo: Anne Skeffington.
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cast). One or two extras optional. This play takes Harriet Beecher Stowe’s abolitionist novel and spins it on its ear. Old stereotypes get to meet their creator,
as Uncle Tom, Topsy and Eliza put Harriet Beecher Stowe on trial for not only
perpetuating negative stereotypes but also for failing to “get their story right.”
In this play these same stereotypes reinvent themselves, while the story gets
updated from their own Afrocentric perspective in such a way that it not only retains the story’s original power but also draws sharp parallels on matters of race
between yesterday and today. If Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the novel that helped
start the civil war, I Ain’t Yo’ Uncle reminds us that the war for equality in America still continues. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I54.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Bernard Sabath
“The Boys in Autumn was an excellent play with both tears and laughs
enough to rivet an audience.” -Timothy McIntire, C.A.T.S., Lubbock, Texas
The Boys in Autumn -
Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster in The Boys in Autumn.
Drama. By Bernard Sabath. Cast: 2m. On an
afternoon in the 1920s, after a long life of ups and downs as a seedy vaudevillian,
Tom Sawyer—who has performed under the name Thomas Gray—returns to the
hill that was his boyhood playground outside the village of Hannibal, Mo., on the
Mississippi River. At the end of his rope, Tom is desperate to locate—or at least
find out about—his childhood pal Huck Finn, the fun-loving, ragtag son of the town
drunk. Instead, he encounters a reclusive old gentleman named Henry Finnegan
who greets him with suspicion and a shotgun. As the two banter, recognition dawns.
The men find that they are the boys who cavorted on the river and made plans to
run off to Brazil. “You didn’t use to dance and I didn’t use to wash,” says Henry.
Both, in fact, have dark and troubling secrets that have kept them on separate paths
in life. With humor and wisdom, they attempt to recapture the spirit of more carefree times and regain their lost innocence. Plotting audacious new adventures, they
realize that, like the Mississippi, their friendship goes on forever. This is a play of
wit and charm—a bittersweet revelation of paradise lost and regained. One ext. set.
The Man Who Lost the River - Comedy/Drama. By Bernard Sabath. Cast:
5m., 4w., 1 girl. In April 1910, on the verge of Samuel Clemens’ 75th birthday, Harold
Atwater, a young publishing representative, comes to persuade the old writer to start a new
novel in the vein of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Twain refuses, claiming his humor
has been used up and that he’s forgotten all about boyhood—and furthermore is determined
to “hooky out of this world” by the approaching light of Halley’s comet, which last appeared
in the sky on the night he was born. But then his interest is piqued by a mysterious teenager who lurks about the house, examining furnishings and filching cigars and sandwiches.
Eventually Twain traps the boy into conversation and comes to understand at least one modern youngster. He decides to take a trip back to Missouri to refresh his memory enough to—
maybe—create a fictional counterpart to the boys he knew long ago. At this point, Halley’s
comet— brilliant in the sky overhead—interrupts his plans. Two recognizable boys tumble
in through the window and yell: “Aren’t you ready yet? We got our raft ready and we’re
goin’ to all the watery places. Hurry, Sam! M-a-r-k three! Quarter-less-three! Half twain!
Quarter twain! M-a-r-k twain!”—then a steamboat whistle and the surge of a calliope. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M81.
Randal Myler
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn -
Comedy. Adapted by
Randal Myler. From the book by Mark Twain. Cast: 10m., 4w. Relive
the great riverboat days of the Mississippi with Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer
and Jim in this new adaptation, which premiered at the Denver Center
Theatre Company. The Denver Post said, “Splendid new adaptation ...
A remarkable job of capturing the range and spirit of Twain’s novel ...
It should become a classic: Myler has done for Twain what some British theater companies have done for the novels of Charles Dickens.”
The Rocky Mountain News continues the praise. “It’s genuine Americana. Twain’s jokers and liars come alive in this panorama filled with
tall tales.” Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a folktale chock-full of
Denver Center Theatre production of The Man Who Lost the River.
outlandish episodes, as two outcasts, fleeing down the Mississippi on a
makeshift raft, yield to a current that brings a new view of their society
and, finally, themselves. You’ll want to cheer for the bravest adventure of
all when, somewhere down the river, a homeless waif that nobody wants
becomes a human being with a sense of his own destiny—as a true connection with another human being is made. “A sublime folk comedy.
Myler makes his work triumph as an ensemble piece ... grand, caustic
and poetic—and presented in such a forthright spirit that it provides a
hearty entertainment.” (Variety) Area staging. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A50.
Sally Netzel
Louisa May Alcott saw to it that
Huckleberry Finn was banned in Concord because it was “trash.”
Mr. Clemens and Mr. Brown - Comedy.
Dallas Theatre Center. (l-r) Laura Worthen, Ryland Merkey, Laura Thompson, and Gretchen
Brady. Photo: Linda Blase.
By Sally Netzel. Cast: 3m., 7w.
About half the lies in this play originated with Mark Twain; all the rest come from
Sally Netzel, with great affection. Truth plays a minor part—Samuel Clemens and
his family lived in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1885; Harriet Beecher Stowe, then in
her dotage, was a neighbor of theirs; Louisa May Alcott saw to it that Huckleberry
Finn was banned in Concord because it was “trash”; and Mark Twain was hurt by
her review of his masterpiece. It is also unfortunately true that from that date Twain’s
writing changed from the rich sprawl of anecdote to sparse moral and logical clarity,
and wry satire began to darken into cynicism. Mr. Clemens and Mr. Brown is a comedy
of that time of change, of the happy conflict between a man and his youth, honesty
and pretension, tradition and the wildly approaching turn of the century. Area staging.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MC1.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Evening Standard Drama Award—
Most Promising Playwright of the Year
John Osborne
Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Writer's Guild of Great Britain
Look Back in Anger -
Drama. By John Osborne. Cast: 3m.,
2w. The play is about an angry young man, Jimmy Porter, who looks
back because he has so little incentive to look ahead. The words pour
out of him, a flood of satire and invective. The words are often cruel, but
they are also vibrant and colorful. They sting the characters of the play
and the audience, too. In Jimmy Porter’s boiling resentment at not being
able to find himself in his own generation, he makes life impossible for
those he most cherishes. Living with Jimmy in a poor attic apartment is
his wife, Alison. The critic Walter Kerr described her as “his bloodlessly
patient wife, drained of all response, hopelessly unable to convey the
inexplicable love she continues to feel—drawn in sure, plain, unselfpitying strokes.” A friend, Cliff, is a no-man’s land upon which some of their
pain can be visited. Helena is a friend of Jimmy’s wife who, in an effort
to help the wife escape this life, is herself caught in the same trap. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L29.
“Look Back in Anger was the best play of that decade;
Déjàvu could well be the best one of this.” —The Observer
Déjàvu - Drama. By John Osborne. Cast: 2m., 2w. “Déjàvu is an
enthralling and often exhilarating sequel to Look Back in Anger. Jimmy Porter, now JP, is still smoking, blowing his trumpet and despairing
of the Sunday newspapers. Jimmy’s only obsession was always himself, and the spiritual fulfillment he once found in his blistering tirades
has dwindled to something meaner, sadder and much more affecting; a
last line of defense against the yawning abyss of anonymity and death
... He is still in the Midlands, but he no longer runs a sweet-stall. The
surroundings are more comfortable. Cliff is visiting from Twickenham
and Alison is still ironing his shirts. Not Alison his wife, but Alison his
daughter ... The new play is a self-referential deconstruction of the old
one. It is both an update and a throwback, a repetition and a variation,
a sequel and a sure sign that while the arteries have hardened, the blood
TONY AWARD WINNER: BEST PLAY and BEST ACTOR
Inadmissible Evidence -
Drama. By John Osborne. Cast:
3m., 5w. “A play widely judged to be Osborne’s best, Inadmissible
Evidence centers upon Bill Maitland, a middle-aged solicitor ‘on trial,
in the courtroom of his mind, for the obscenity that is his existence and
who, in his defense, can only plead irredeemable mediocrity.’ Nicol
Williamson took on the lead role when the play opened at the Royal
Court in September 1964.” (imdb.com) Here is a man dissected, a man
revealed, a man at war with his conscience, his soul, his standards,
or lack of them, yet he reaches out desperately for life. Two int. sets.
WINNER of 3 TONY AWARDS
The Entertainer -
Drama. By John Osborne. Cast: 5m., 2w.
The New York Times describes the central character, played in London
and on Broadway by Laurence Olivier, as “a glib, cheap, unscrupulous actor and promoter who is going down for the last time, dragging
everyone else down with him.” Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: E15.
Time Present - Drama. By John Osborne. Cast: 3m., 5w. “Osborne can wield invective like the whiplash of an angel!” (The Evening Standard) When her father dies, Pamela moves out, expressing
sulphurous contempt for “the present time.” Yet her capacity for love
brings an almost optimistic conclusion. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T29.
“A crystalline new translation.”
—New York Times
The Cherry Orchard - Comedy. By Anton Chekhov. Trans-
lated by Elisaveta Lavrova. Cast: 7m., 5w., extras. This is the script used
by Peter Brook in his acclaimed productions of this play, one of Chekhov’s
finest works. The Ranyevskayas, a landowning family, are at the point of
bankruptcy and are about to lose their estate. Lopakhin, a businessman,
suggests they chop down the orchard and build houses. The family is
horrified; the orchard represents the pleasant past, before the mysterious
forces of the changing times threatened their idyllic existence. Lopakhin
buys the land and proceeds to carry out his plan. Though Chekhov was
dying when he wrote this play, he didn’t lose his perspective on existence
98
Déjàvu. Comedy Theatre, London, production. Photo: Alison Muir.
is still hot, thick and red ... For Osborne, the capacity for love is all. JP
postpones the emotional reckoning with his egocentric sermonizing.
This is what makes him a great character, not a bore, and Osborne a
great dramatist. In an age when reactionary pundits bark at us from all
corners of the media, Osborne alone raises bilious invective to an art
form and reminds us that good theatre is most powerful when it makes
you want to shout back.” (Michael Coveney, London’s Observer) One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D56.
TONY AWARD WINNER: BEST PLAY
“Its power lies in Osborne’s sizzling eloquence, in the anger and anguish of Luther’s pulpit appeals and
defiance of the pope
at the Diet of Worms.”
—London Evening Standard
“Wisdom is fashioned
into Osborne’s script like
ripples in the Christ carving that’s hung aloft.”
—whatsonstage.com
Luther -
Drama. By John
Os-borne. Cast: 12m., 1w., Subiaco Academy production, Subiaco, Ark.
extras. This exciting play reveals the man beneath the cowl and the mind behind the dramatic split
in Christianity. Through all Luther’s self-doubts, bodily ailments and
brilliant intellectual achievements, he is helped by the kind and rational
superiors of his order. Here is Luther the man, monk and mind in all its
doubts, honesty and clarity of purpose. Multiple simple sets. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L37.
Anton Chekhov Elisaveta Lavrova
The Cherry Orchard script used by Peter Brook
and the people who endure it. Terrible, inexplicable things happen to
the characters in The Cherry Orchard, but they simply trudge on with a
dogged faith in the prospects for happiness. “That’s the human comedy,
and, if it isn’t riotously funny, one feels less alone in the solitary plight,
indeed exhilarated, watching it unfold on stage as honestly and buoyantly
and poetically as a dream. This is a Cherry Orchard that pauses for breath
only when life does, for people to recoup after dying a little.” (Frank Rich,
New York Times) Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: C87.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Peter Weiss Geoffrey Skelton Adrian Mitchell Richard Peaslee
TONY AWARD: BEST PLAY
BEST PLAY OF THE YEAR —N.Y. DRAMA CRITICS
“The production was challenging and provocative, as well as exhausting,
It proved to be the best show in our season. It was a unique
NEW YORK DRAMA CRITICS AWARD: BEST PLAY
experience—unlike any other show we’ve done.
And the audience response was fantastic.”
-Billy Dragoo, Austin High School, Austin, Texas
The Persecution and Assassination
of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed
by the Inmates of the Asylum of
Charenton Under the Direction of
the Marquis de Sade
Marat/Sade -
Drama. By Peter Weiss. Translation
by Geoffrey Skelton. Verse adaptation by Adrian Mitchell.
Optional music by Richard Peaslee. Cast: 9m., 3w., extras.
“Total theatre” is the expression critics have used to describe
this unique theatrical event, which is designed for production on a nearly bare stage by a large and flexible cast. The
Marquis de Sade, while an inmate of the Asylum of Charenton, staged plays that were performed by fellow inmates.
With this point of departure, Peter Weiss has created one of
the most powerful and exciting plays of the century. One int.
The Investigation -
Drama. By Peter Weiss.
Cast: 28m., 2w. A shattering drama about the Holocaust by
the author of Marat/Sade. The stark stage contains nothing
Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, Mass. (foreground) Thomas Derrah as Sade, Stephanie Roth-Haberle as Charlotte and (behind) Will LeBow
more than rows of wooden chairs and small tables for the American
as Marat. Photo: Richard Feldman.
judge, defense attorney and prosecuting attorney. The top
rows are filled by those accused in the Frankfurt trial of in the audience, contributes to the sense of spectator participation. This play is
the atrocities of Auschwitz. The house lights are kept on, based on the actual testimony, and its impact is devastating! Bare stage w/props.
which, together with seating the attorneys and the judge Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I26.
Peter Brook
“His productions of Marat-Sade and A Midsummer Night’s Dream extended, indeed exploded
the creative potential of the stage. He is most undoubtedly a genius.” —Jack Kroll, Newsweek
A Midsummer Night’s Dream -
Comedy. By William Shakespeare. From the Royal Shakespeare Company. Peter
Brook’s staging for study and production. Cast: 13m., 4w., 4 fairies, extras. This work is not only a complete production book, director’s and actor’s manual, but also an education in the allied arts
of the theatre. It invites you to join your talents with Peter Brook
and Shakespeare and to experience the vitality and joy of mutual
creation! The original script is included, along with full stage directions created by Peter Brook with all cues precisely in place. There
are innumerable photos and illustrations as well as interviews with
Peter Brook, the set designer, the composer and others. 7½x8¼—302
pages. Music available for rental. Price: $14.95. Code: M26.
“This exquisite piece represents the perfection of Brook’s work.” —Newsweek
The Conference of the Birds - Drama. Stage version by
Jean-Claude Carriere and Peter Brook. Based on the poem by Farid
Uddi Attar. Cast: 7m., 6w. “The most exciting and provoking event of
the theatre season,” wrote critic Jack Kroll of Newsweek. Mel Gussow of the New York Times said almost the same thing with, “This
is the supreme theatrical event of the season.” The play presents you
and your actors with an occasion for imagination and magic. The only
suggestion of a set is a large oriental carpet and, as the Times critic
describes it, “The play itself is a flying carpet, gliding us aloft into a
land of mystery, splendor and ritual. A nation of birds is in crisis, and
urged on by one of their flock, the Hoopoe, they chart a path to find
their king.” There are moments of farce and despair as they attempt to
cross the seven valleys with their disturbing riddles. Some die, some
drop out, while others continue their quest. At last, the survivors come
into the presence of the Great One where the secret is discovered—
that they, themselves are the embodiment of the divine. Bare stage w/
props. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C55.
Colin Higgins Denis Cannan Colin Turnbull
“The Ik challenges the audience and also challenges
theatrical tradition.” —The Times, London
The Ik -
Drama. By Colin Higgins and Denis Cannan. From
The Mountain People by Colin Turnbull. Cast: flexible. Higgins and
Cannan strip this incredible story to its agonizing essentials. A people,
forced from their hunting grounds by a mindless government, are suffering a chronic state of near starvation: a culture of hunger, mutual
hostility and suspicion. Jack Kroll of Newsweek writes, “The play
moves with the quiet rhythm of inexorable catastrophe punctuated by
explosions of perverse comedy.” This is a play with a terrifying relevance to the reality of our world. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I39 .
99
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Credible Witness -
Drama. By Timberlake Wertenbaker.
Cast: 8m., 3w. In this story of love and loss, Wertenbaker explores
the longing for identity, the despair of fragmentation and the fragile
hopes of lives redefined. “Alexander has escaped persecution in his
homeland and made it into Britain. Three years later his indomitable
mother, Petra, arrives at Heathrow in search of him. Eventually mother
and son meet in a confrontation of irreconcilable attitudes: the one
embodies an intransigent ... nationalism, the other the necessary assimilation of the exile. As always, Wertenbaker is unafraid to tackle
big issues.” (The Guardian, London) “Wertenbaker [brings] her usual
humanity and insight to an evening that becomes an intricate medita-
“I can think of few if any other dramatists who could
give so rounded an account of so immediate yet
permanent a topic.” —The Times, London
tion on the merits and demerits of culture and history ... intelligence
is everywhere, not least in the play’s definition of history itself ... I
can think of few if any other dramatists who could give so rounded
an account of so immediate yet permanent a topic.” (The Times, London) Played to universal acclaim by Olympia Dukakis in the London
production, “[Petra] is a stirring, immensely impressive figure ... the
audience was spellbound ... the most moving, the most compassionate
new play for many months.”(Financial Times, London) Unit set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes. No intermission. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: CB4.
Nathan Mayer
“Enthralling: the play is gripping from start to finish.”
—The Courier News
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt - Drama. By Nathan
David Groh and Karen Valentine in the Paper Mill Playhouse production.
Photo: Jerry Dalia.
Murder Most Fouled-Up - Comedy. By Nikki Harmon. Cast:
4m., 5w. As lawyer Seymour Mead finishes reading Ridgely Ran-dolph’s
will to the assemblage of greedy relatives and servants, the treasure hunt
begins! You see, several generations of Randolphs have hidden millions
of dollars within the house, and the family has been murdering each
other over it ever since. Now Uncle Ridgely has hidden $20 million and
the land grant to his estate, and his will gives the family just 24 hours
Mayer. Cast: 2m., 1w. Two dynamic lawyers are locked in a clash
of wills and morality. Ruth Ballard is an embittered radical, now
in jail, accused of participating in a bank robbery and a subsequent
killing, and she chooses to represent herself as attorney. Kenneth
Hayes is the assistant district attorney assigned to prosecute her.
They were classmates in law school. She says she is innocent;
he warns her that the moment she admits she is a radical she will
be convicted by a jury, and that the only way she can avoid a life
sentence is to plea bargain. In return for telling Kenneth who the
other bandits were, and testifying against them, Ruth would get
a lighter sentence. She insists she had no part in the crime and
thus has nothing to tell him. Their conflicts, legal, personal and
political, create a fascinating and compelling drama. One int. set.
Nikki Harmon
to find it all or go penniless. Three of the many family ghosts, doomed
to wander the secret passageways until the mystery is solved, pitch in to
help the undeserving living as they tear the place apart in this fast, funny,
fresh comedy. The humor ranges from witty drawing-room dialogue to
all-out slapstick in this hearty madcap romp. One int. set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M79.
Vin Morreale Jr.
Breaking and Entering - Comedy. By Vin Morreale Jr.
Cast: 2m., 2w. A play to steal your heart with a generous mix of
larceny, love and laughter. A charming con man breaks into what
he thinks is an empty apartment—only to find a mysterious woman
waiting for him. Despite his outlandish stories, she always seems two
steps ahead of him, until the audience is left wondering who is really
the better con artist? Just when we figure out what is really going on,
a middle-aged man enters with a remote control, heart-strewn boxer
shorts, and the same name as the mysterious woman! The best-laid
plans collapse into felonious fun when a love-struck neighbor completes the ensemble. Hysterical plot twists, sparkling dialogue and
mistaken identities highlight this screwball romantic comedy. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B75.
Vin Morreale Jr. and Susan Morreale. Kentucky Contemporary Theatre production.
J Mick Dunna
Horse-Scents - Comedy/Melodrama. By J Mick Dunna. Cast:
6m., 4w., 4 minor roles with doubling, extras. This play-within-amovie-within-a-play chronicles the tough times that Chip’s Manure
Museum has fallen upon (not even one tourist visited it), the minimal
success of Patty’s perfumes (“Eau de Appaloosa” is hardly jumping
off the shelves), and daughter Sweet Roady’s lonely aloneness (related in her letter to some friendly cows which begins “Dear Dairy”).
Add the Museum Curator Arnold Benedict’s unrequited love for
Roady, Avaricia Slime’s obsession with the unattainable Chip, and
the chance that the perfume business, the rooming house, and, unfor100
tunately, the manure museum may fall into evil hands and you’ve got
a serious mess. Suddenly, Vance Lancelot appears on the scene accompanied by his sidekick, Spud. Even financier Avaricia’s assistant,
Debit, is no match for all his free-flowing goodness and light. But
something is still missing, and the vital final element is—audience
participation! C.B. recruits extras, bank drudges, dog interpreters, a
shark choir, and other even less-likely performers from among the
poor, nameless victims who thought they had no obligation but to
watch. Get this crowd together and the fun will fly! One int. set.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
David Rogers
Henry Fielding
Tom Jones -
Comedy. By David Rogers. From the book by Henry Fielding.
Cast: 10 to 13m., 8 to 11w. This play captures the skylarking spirit of Fielding’s comic
masterpiece, and it’s a hit with high schools, colleges and stock. Young Tom Jones,
foundling ward of Squire Allworthy, is deeply in love with Sophia and she with him, but
her father has arranged for her to marry the Squire’s sneaky nephew (and heir), young
Blifil. The romance is discovered, Tom is banished and Sophia and her maid set out to
find him. They are followed by Sophia’s father, his sister, Squire Allworthy and Blifil. All
find madcap adventures on the road to London and meet with many strange characters.
The amusing and unexpected solution to their problems captures all the laugh-a-minute
hilarity for which Tom Jones is famous. Bare stage w/props. One-act cutting available.
Albert Finney as Tom Jones.
A long way off from Molière!
Rave reviews from every critic on Broadway!
Frank Dunlop
Scapino! - Comedy. By Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale. Cast: 10m., 4w.
With the first line of the play, we plunge into the situation as Octavio cries,
“I’m lost, I’m ruined, what am I to do? My world is crumbling around me.
Disaster after disaster.” Into this comes Scapino who states, “The good
Lord has blessed me with quite a genius for clever ideas and inspired inventions, which the less talented, in their jealousies, call deceits and trickery.” At one point, with the girl’s father hiding in a huge sack, Scapino
pretends to be a Japanese waiter shouting, “There is something moving
in the saki! I think I am going to give one gigantic karate chop suey to
the saki!” “See this Naples and die— laughing.” (New York magazine)
One ext. set. One-act cutting available. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: S12. An extraordinary book with text, designs, illustrations,
diagrams and interviews is available for $9.95. Code: S13.
Jim Dale in the Broadway production. Photo: Martha Swope.
David Rogers
The delightful art of conning the conners.
“The Sting” -
Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Photo: © Universal City Studios, Inc.
Jim Dale
Comedy. Adapted by David Rogers. From the screenplay by David
Ward. Cast: large, flexible. This show takes place in Chicago, in a world of small-time hustlers and their girls—their money nonexistent but their ingenuity abundant. Johnny Hooker
(a grifter played by Redford in the film) joins a friend in a successful con of a “runner.”
Unfortunately for them, the runner works for a powerful, vindictive rackets boss, Doyle
Lonnegan, who is infuriated and arranges the killing of Johnny’s friend. Hoping to avenge
this senseless murder, Johnny enlists the aid of the master con man Henry Gondorf (played
by Newman). Together they decide to try a big con called “The Wire.” Structured in classic
style, their first move is “The Set Up.” From there they proceed to “The Tale.” The tension
mounts as they succeed and, with the powerful Lonnegan half-hooked, go on to “The Shut
Out.” The excitement becomes explosive, and a final scene, as switch upon switch upon
switch, keeps your audience guessing as it builds to the final con movement, “The Sting!”
Designed for a fast pace, the set and the props are minimal. Area staging. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S69.
Jan Villarrubia
Winner: Louisiana State University Native Voices and Visions Competition
Miz Lena’s Backyard - Comedy. By Jan Villarrubia. Cast: 2m., 2w. A maternal, funny busy-
body, Lena sits in her yard all day long trying to lure neighbors in, tempting them with lemonade and
gossip. Completely alone, but refusing to be lonely, Lena has fabricated an incredible fantasy world to
escape her tragedies — her husband, John’s, recent death; the failure of her only son, Monk, to return
from Vietnam; and her own impending death. An 18-year-old Amerasian of Vietnamese descent moves
in next door, and Lena quickly incorporates her into the fantasies, which get more elaborate and begin
to take over her life. Finally, as years of vivid memories unfold, Lena accepts that Monk will never
return and makes her decision to do nothing about the lump, which she knows to be cancer. Instead, she
looks forward to joining her son and her husband in the afterlife. Described as “romantic, tragic and
comic,” this play deals with death and loss in a surprisingly humorous way. One ext. set. Royalty: $65/
James C. Wall
Festival of Southern Theatre. Photo: James Shollenberger..
“One of the funniest and fun shows I have ever seen. All of the characters are interesting and bring something
to this show, even the small roles.” -Barry Ostrander, Braham Area High School, Braham, Minn.
Parlor Games - Comedy.
By James C. Wall. Cast: 4m., 10w.
(7w. with doubling). Offstage voices can be brought onstage providing for a cast of 7 to 8 m., 11 to 12 w. (9w. with doubling). Practical
joker Mort McNulty hosts his own wake so that he can hear what
people will say about him after he’s dead, before he’s dead. Mort’s
wife, Tricia, gets unwillingly drawn into the action and apologetically tries to convince everyone that Mort is playing another joke.
We meet a variety of wake-goers—some there on purpose, some
not—who eventually, with the right amount of suggestion and imagination, convince themselves that Mort is dead and Tricia is in denial.
The mistaken identities, chases, and jokes within jokes within jokes
culminate in Tricia turning Mort’s wake into a surprise birthday party
as she tries to teach her husband a lesson about practical jokes. Unit
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P93.
101
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Joao Bethencourt
“Our audiences loved The Day They Kidnaped the Pope.
A true success. A heartwarming comedy.”
-Paullette MacDougal, M.U.U.S.E.S., Austin, Texas
The Day They Kidnaped the Pope -
Comedy. By
Joao Bethencourt. Cast: 5m., 2w., extras. This startling comedy has
proven a smash hit in Europe with major productions in Germany,
France, Spain and Holland. When it was presented in Rome, the Vatican newspaper gave it a rave review. The improbable events become
momentarily believable in the magic of the theatre. On a visit to New
York, the pope comes out of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and, confused by
a thunderstorm, gets into a taxi. The driver, Sam Leibowitz, kidnaps
him and takes him to his Brooklyn apartment where he holds him
for a special ransom—a day of world peace. The Leibowitz family is stunned by this act and Sam’s bewildered wife fixes a lunch,
saying, “Call the children; call the pope.” As the excitement builds
outside, an enchanting play develops inside that is sure to delight
your audience. One divided set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: D28.
Betty Andrews
Edna St. Vincent Millay
No Wider Than the Heart - Drama. By Betty Andrews.
Cast: 3m., 4w., 4 m. and w. No Wider Than the Heart is based on the
life and work of the famous American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay.
To prepare for this project, the playwright was invited to live at Steepletop—Edna St. Vincent Millay’s home in upstate New York — and
was given access to all her private papers and memorabilia. This hitherto untapped source, the early diaries at the Library of Congress, and,
Life’s a Dream -
“The world stands out on either side,
No wider than the heart is wide;
Above the world is stretched the sky,
No higher than the soul is high.”
—Renaissance (1917)
of course, the poetry itself form the basis for this new, fresh look at
this remarkable poet and woman. Two actors play the role—one, the
young, phenomenally famous one whose “candle burns at both ends”
and one, the more mature but equally famous one of Fatal Interview
and Conversation at Midnight. The girl-woman, in the company of her
mother, husband and lovers, comes alive in all her emotional depth.
Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N37.
Pedro Calderón de la Barca Adrian Mitchell John Barton
Drama/Comedy. By Pedro Calderón de la
Barca. Adapted by John Barton and Adrian Mitchell. Cast: 5m.,
2w., extras. Frank Rich of the New York Times wrote, “Life’s a Dream,
the Calderón metaphysical masterpiece, is one of the finest fruits of
the 17th-century golden age of Spanish drama ... an ever-pertinent
play about the power of free will ... seen at the Royal Shakespeare
Company in a version both magical and lucid, playing to turn-away
crowds.” “The action concerns the Polish king’s incarceration of his
son, Sigismund, who the omens say will prove a tyrant. In a controlled experiment, Sigismund becomes prince for a day, justifies
the prophecies and is shunted back into his tower; only after he persuades himself that all that has passed is a dream, the young prince
re-emerges to take over the kingdom and learn to rule wisely ... A
masterpiece about time, fate, love, honour, death and the illusory nature of existence.” (Michael Billington, The Guardian) Area staging.
The Mayor of Zalamea - Drama. By Pedro Calderón de la
Barca. Adapted by Adrian Mitchell. Cast: 10m., 3w., extras. “Calderón’s play, in Mitchell’s robust, down-to-earth rhyming translation, is
an undoubted world masterpiece ... We are in a small Spanish town
where Philip II’s troops are billeted en route for Portugal. An arrogant
captain falls obsessively in love with the daughter of Crespo, a rich
peasant farmer. Having failed to win the girl openly, the captain whisks
her off to a forest and rapes her. When Crespo becomes mayor, the
stage is then set for a conflict between his desire for instant justice and
the tribal code of the Spanish army, a deadlock that is resolved only by
the arrival of the king himself.” (Michael Billington, The Guardian)
In The Mayor of Zalamea, which premiered at the National Theatre in
London, Calderón challenges our preconceived ideas of honor, of individual responsibility and of personal dignity and asks us to examine
the relationship between civil law and military authority. Area staging.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M83.
Reuben Gongalez
“...brims with pain and blistering humor and a ruthless, ultimately cauterizing honesty.”
The Boiler Room -
Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. (l-r) Miriam Colon and Joe Quintero.
Photo: Peter Krupenye.
102
Drama/Comedy. By Reuben Gonzalez. Cast: 2m., 2w. “The Boiler
Room is a lusty, tough-talking wickedly penetrating account of growing up in a Spanish Harlem
basement. It’s a claustrophobic place shared by young Anthony, his mother, Olga, and an ominious
boiler that makes its own statement and its own relentless demands. Anthony’s a heartache—a ...
super thief with an unstoppable mouth and tender heart who’s learned early that he must fend for
himself and ignore his mother’s threats. In short, a survivor. Her husband, the apartment house
super, is gone ...These two thrive on a chaotic, darkly hilarious diet of insult and recrimination, yet
you never doubt the interdependence—a kind of fond, deadly resentment. Into this skewed world
arrives Olga’s uppity, primping daughter, Olivia, and her lawyer-husband, Doug, presumably to
rent an apartment. It’s an event that Olga’s been wildly anticipating. She’s counting on ... moving
in upstairs with them ... Life, of course, doesn’t work out that way. Nothing is quite what it seems
in this family of talented self-deceivers. How it does work out brims with pain and blistering
humor and a ruthless, ultimately cauterizing honesty.”(Los Angeles Times) Unit set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B17.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Paul Mohrbacher
RIGHT OUT OF TODAY’S HEADLINES
Drama. By Paul Mohrbacher.
Cast: 3m., 1w. The time is now and the place a church in an American city. A radical pastor triggers problems by witnessing a union
between two lesbian women. His action creates a dilemma for the
chancellor who oversees the diocese: should the church discipline
the priest and remove him from his parish or should he just be encouraged to pursue a quieter ministry which includes homosexuals?
Demanding rigorous action against the pastor is a fellow priest, Peter, who is a friend of the chancellor. Meanwhile a friend of the liberal pastor, an outspoken woman who teaches theology, helps him
confront his mixed motives in challenging the church. At the same
time she forces a heartbreaking resolution of his relationship with
her. Caught in the middle, the chancellor tries desperately to balance
these powerful forces only to find them devastatingly directed at him.
The play catches an essence of this moment, and at the same time
echoes of a thousand years ago—the liberal pastor and the female
theologian could be Eloise and Abelard, just as the driven conservative priest could be the inquisition! An insightful and adult play
that is written with great power and deeply moving sensitivity. Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C85.
The Chancellor’s Tale -
Oh, Holy Allen Ginsberg -
Winner of the Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival Oscar Wilde Award
for outstanding achievement in new writing for the theatre
Drama/Comedy. By Nicholas
A. Patricca. Cast: 5m., 1w. Recently rewritten and updated for the
festival, Oh Holy Allen Ginsberg is a serious comedy which tells the
story of the struggle of Fr. Gerard Gallagher, a gay Catholic priest,
to live his life honestly as a priest and as a man in love with another
man. A poet and a Gerard Manley Hopkins scholar, Fr. Gerry has
been living with HIV for some 15 years and has been in a committed
relationship with Josh Kaplan, a university professor of English, for
nine years. The play opens with him in crisis: spiritually, he can no
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Don Juan on Trial -
longer live with the contradictions between his commitment to chastity and his sexual relationship with Josh; physically, he is experiencing the first signs of the failure of his immune system; and politically,
he is served notice by the archdiocese of Chicago that his parish is to
be closed. Fr. Gerry, like Hopkins, feels that he must choose either
to be a priest or to leave the priesthood and be with his lover. With
either choice, Fr. Gerry judges that he ends up having to kill one half
of his self in order to save the other half. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Available in manuscript only: $35.00. Code: O52.
Jeremy Sams
Drama/Comedy. By Eric-Emmanuel
Schmitt. Translated by Jeremy Sams. Cast: 2m., 5w. “That mythic rake,
the prince of love ’em and leave ’em, is called to task for the female
hearts he broke and the emotional scars he left behind. Five of his former
conquests corner Don Juan in a French provincial chateau and present
him with an ultimatum. He must either marry his most recent victim, a
20-year-old girl, remain faithful to her and make her happy, or he will
be tossed into the bastille ...The opportunity to take the offensive against
this most offensive of men has a liberating effect on these 18th-century
women ...The interplay among the women and their former seducer
is fascinating to see and entertaining to hear ... Crackling dialogue.”
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: D66.
Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Powerhouse Theater production. (l-r) Laura Gordon, Rose Pickering, Marco Barricelli,
Miriam A. Laube and Angela Lannone. Photo: Jay Westhauser.
Jennifer Rogers
Jigsaws -
Comedy/Drama. By Jennifer Rogers. Cast: 5w. Three
generations of women in this family view life like a jigsaw puzzle. Often
incomplete, it’s great when all the pieces fit and infuriating when they
don’t. As the play opens, a Christmas visit is taking place, and the reunion
is not exactly fulfilling the spirit of the season! Alex recites slowly and
calmly, “All women are my sisters, flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood,
sacred, singular, unique ... It’s all so simple until I walk back through
my own front door.” These women share revelations of their past and
present—their changing attitudes and circumstances, their independence
from “what’s expected,” their coming to terms with one another, and
ultimately their deepening appreciation and love for one another as adult
mothers, daughters and sisters. This play, dealing with sensitive issues
for mature audiences, is a fresh, bold and rewarding look at life. One int.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: J19.
Laura Shamas
“Splendidly wise, philosophically rich and deliciously
clever.” —Back Stage West
Portrait of a Nude - Comedy/Drama. By Laura Shamas. Cast: 3m.,
2w. minimum (may be expanded to 13m., 7w.). Is our reaction to art based on
the work itself or on the politically correct values of our times? Goya first
painted the portrait “Naked Maja,” known to be the Duchess of Alba, in 1798.
He was soon summoned by the Spanish inquisition to defend his work from
destruction. Fifty years later, Manet painted “Olympia” in response to Goya’s
“Naked Maja,” which he greatly admired. Manet’s work was labeled pornographic and had to be moved up high on the wall of the Paris exhibition hall
in order to stop angry crowds from destroying it. Manet’s career was nearly
ruined by the scandal until the young Emile Zola wrote a treatise defending
it. In late 1980’s England, conflicts again occurred when Goya’s painting was
considered inappropriate for viewing by both the princess and a schoolboy.
Finally at a college in America in 1991, a female professor feels embarrassed
by having to teach in front of a print of the “Naked Maja.” The professor demands that something be done about it. When the dean of her college doesn’t
act quickly enough, she investigates the possibility of a lawsuit—under the
banner of sexual harassment. This play is a fascinating exploration of issues
of artistic inspiration, history and censorship. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P22.
Pepperdine University production.
103
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Linda Hartinian Philip K. Dick
The author of
MINORITY REPORT,
TOTAL RECALL,
A SCANNER DARKLY,
SCREAMERS and
BLADE RUNNER,
considering the ramifications of
IDENTITY THEFT.
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said - Sci-
ence fiction/Drama. Adapted by Linda Hartinian. From
the novel by Philip K. Dick. Cast: 5m., 7w. In his New
York Times review Mel Gussow wrote, “In Flow My
Tears, the Policeman Said, Jason Taverner, a celebrated
television and singing star, wakes up one morning to
discover that his identity has been obliterated. Nobody
knows his fame and all computer data on him have been
purged ... Taverner has been magically transported to a
parallel world, a favorite device of the late science-fiction
author.” America has become a police state, and Taverner
could be arrested and sent to a labor camp. Felix Buckman, the policeman of the title, is convinced Taverner
is plotting against the authority of the state—why else
would he destroy all documentation of his identity? This
intense, bizarre, and fast-paced work explores identity
and the recognition of love, loss, and grief. Area staging.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F47.
David Rogers
Aldous Huxley
Brave New World -
Drama. Adapted by David Rogers. From the classic novel by Aldous Huxley.
Cast:19m., 13w., extras (14m., 9w. with doubling). The
play is set in the future where mindless happiness is
universal; where babies are not born but decanted from
bottles; where human frustrations are eliminated by happiness drugs. Into this society comes John, a sensitive
human throwback. His relationships with the inhabitants provide a provocative and pertinent questioning of
modern values. Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B32.
Stage Left Theatre, Chicago, Ill. Flow MyTears... (l-r) Amelia Barrett, David P. Bryson, Patricia Kane and Adria Dawn. Photo: David Konzcal.
Christopher Sergel
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
“Welcome to the Monkey House is a brilliant collection of four one-act
plays that provide actors opportunities for character transitions and
transformation. Great fun!”-Larry Brazill, Whitehall High School, Whitehall, Mont.
Welcome to the Monkey House -
Comedy. By Christopher Sergel.
Based on short stories by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Cast: 4 to 10m., 8 to 14w. Its theatrical
excitement comes from the brilliant words and the dazzling display of original ideas
and begins with a moving episode in which a young man searches for companionship and identity through participation in amateur theatricals, appropriately entitled
Who Am I This Time? An edged satire of the future concludes the first act. The final
scene, entirely realistic and modern, gets to the heart of what really concerns young
people as a music teacher fights to salvage a rebellious young man, explaining to
him how one might bring beauty into the world. “Love yourself,” the teacher tells
him, “and make your instrument sing about it.” Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $65/
Richard Felnagle
Walter Miller Jr.
“A great challenge and very flexible play. Our production pushed
the envelope with multimedia. A joy to work on and great
adaptation.” -Steve Olson, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, AB
A Canticle for Leibowitz -
Drama. Adapted by Richard Felnagle.
From the classic novel by Walter Miller Jr. Cast: large, flexible (doubling possible). The fragment of manuscript that starts the world on the road back from
destruction in the handwriting of the Blessed Leibowitz reads: “Six bagels, a
pound of hamburger, a spool of number one white sewing thread.” The Order
of Leibowitz was dedicated to the preservation of the fragments of books which
survived the nuclear holocaust when “Lucifer descended.” A thousand years later,
the post-nuclear barbarism has begun to fade, and there is hope that the documents
preserved so faithfully for centuries will finally be put to use for the good of mankind. Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C10.
Billy St. John
“Figments is very funny, romantic comedy. The script carries the show with
very creative wit. Figments offers both the audience and performers
an evening of laughs and fun.” -John Van Nest, Rockford East High School, Rockford, Ill.
Figments -
Comedy. By Billy St. John. Cast: 7m., 7w. Rick Jacobs is a playwright with
a wild imagination—perhaps too wild! As he attempts to overcome writer’s block, four figments of his imagination play out the opening scene of his next murder mystery. All are
interrupted by the arrival of his neighbor, Loni, whom Rick secretly loves. As Loni tells him
about Matt, her latest date, and his attempts to speed the relationship toward the bedroom,
Rick imagines the guy as an eight-armed, human spider. Rick conjures up doubles for himself
and Loni, saying the words he’d like to have them say. Rick’s domineering mother arrives
(along with her imagined double) carrying an urn containing Mr. Jacobs’ ashes. Pop pops in
and out of Rick’s thoughts (wearing a life-size urn) commenting on his life with Mama and
the hereafter. Even the image of Rick’s former ladylove, Sarah, comes around to encourage
him to cut the old apron strings. As Rick’s thoughts bounce between his frustrated love life
and his play, the real people and the figments of his imagination clash riotously with the
characters in his play. When Rick has one too many, they enact their scenes tipsy; the morning after, they’re hung over like Rick. They even act out a scene as Mama would write it. If
you’ve ever wondered what goes through a playwright’s mind, this farcical comedy reveals
all—hilariously. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F20.
104
Photo: Jeff Zimmer.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Ray Bradbury
The Martian Chronicles -
University of Texas, Austin, production of The Martian Chronicles.
Photo: Alan Smith.
“I love the magic realism, the large cast, the challenges
of converting a somewhat cinematic script into a flowing
impressionistic piece. Excellent message of 'letting go'
in order to go on. Important material!”
-Suzy Willhoft, Stadium High School, Tacoma, Wash.
Dandelion Wine - Drama. By Ray Bradbury. Cast: 10m., 8w.
Set in the “down home” locale of Green Town, Ill., Dandelion Wine
is a moving play in which 38-year-old Doug Spaulding must uncork
the most wrenching summer of his childhood in order to free himself
of the loneliness that has been bottled up in his heart for the last 23
years. He does this by going back in time to June 1938, arriving as Mr.
Forrester, a stranger to Green Town. He befriends Douglas, his brighteyed teenage self, and together they relive those days of time machines,
the “wonderful Para Litefoot tennis sneakers,” and his grandfather’s
cellar full of dandelion wine. By doing this, Spaulding hopes he can
rediscover what will once again put “music in his ears and magic in
his eyes.” Area staging. Sound effects tape available (Q72 - $25.00).
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D43.
Drama. By Ray Bradbury.Cast:
large, flexible. A young Martian asks another if there could be any life on
Earth. “Impossible,” is the answer. “There’s too much oxygen!” However, an expedition from Earth has landed on Mars and is destroyed. The
crew of a later rescue mission is committed to a Martian insane asylum
for thinking themselves “Earth men.” The involvements and interplay
between the worlds and the opportunity for imaginative costumes and
sets invite you, your actors and crew into a thrilling Bradbury adventure. The Los Angeles Times called the play “a must, an experience for
everyone. If theatre is the creation of magic and illusion, The Martian
Chronicles is this year’s most spectacular example.” Bare stage w/two
scrims. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M64.
Fahrenheit 451- Drama. By Ray Bradbury. Cast: 17m., 7w.
Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper ignites. With simple sets and uncomplicated staging, this powerful drama is about the
inner struggle of Guy Montag, a fireman. Montag has worked as a
civil servant for 10 years burning books, but lately he has become
increasingly unsure about what he is doing and about his vegetablelike existence. It is not until he meets 16-year-old Clarisse, who is
filled with strange ideas, that he is led into a dangerous and highly
combustible situation. Now he must choose between continuing his
nonexistent existence and risking everything for the right to think.
Simple sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F35.
Falling Upward - Comedy. By Ray Bradbury. Cast: 15m. The
opening of this play was an evening of Irish delight. As the Los Angeles Times critic suggested, “It seemed natural that Ray Bradbury would
have an Irish play in him. What is not so expected is how fey and
heartfelt it is.” The small Irish village in which this play is set actually exists and was visited years ago by Bradbury and his friend, film
director John Huston. This is a village, as a critic puts it, that Bradbury
has “immortalized with his lilting language and intoxicating comedy.”
The Los Angeles Times critic continued, “Bradbury has taken a frightful risk, mixing the grimy habitués of a murky village pub with the
arrival of five hothouse roses, dandified male tourists who materialize
like sprites from The Tempest. They have left the light of Italy to travel
to the darker north specifically to stand in St. Stephen’s Green and
experience the turning and falling of the leaves. The sun and the snow,
the darkly clothed Irish and the creamy-clothed visitors come together.
The result is a curiously affecting fable that joins two wildly clashing
cultures in a paean to mutual acceptance and love.” One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F42.
Robert Owens Wilten E. Hall Jr. William A. Miles Jr. George Orwell
“The play 1984 seemed perfect for this time in America's history.
The script was adapted well, retaining all the important elements of
Orwell's story.” -Melissa Byers, Hempfield High School, Landisville, Pa.
1984 - Drama. Adapted by Robert Owens, Wilton E. Hall Jr. and William A. Miles
Jr. From the novel by George Orwell . Cast:14 actors (most roles interchangeable
between men and women). “I do not believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily will arrive, but I believe that something resembling it could arrive. The moral to be
drawn from the dangerous nightmare situation is a simple one: Don’t let it happen. It depends on you.” (George Orwell) Orwell powerfully depicts the horrors of man’s fate in a
society where Big Brother is always watching—where everything that is not prohibited
is compulsory. As you present this play, consider ... We now have the means to this end.
Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N15.
Alden Nowlan Walter Learning Mary Shelley
Frankenstein - Thriller. By Alden Nowlan and Walter Learning. From the novel
by Mary Shelley. Cast: 11m., 2w., extras. Mary Shelley wrote the original when she was
19, after she and her lover, the 22-year-old poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their friend
Lord Byron agreed that each would write a ghost story. Mary’s creature is created by a
young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and this monster has found a lasting place in the
popular imagination. Surprisingly, no other dramatization has been faithful to the spirit
of Mary Shelley’s novel, a work called “the first existential thriller.” This play is exciting and theatrical and you may make your production as simple or as spectacular as you
wish. Area staging. Royalty: $50/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F30.
Jamestown College production of 1984.
Photo: Patricia L. Lavin.
105
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Supported by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Education Department and the Kennedy Center/
American College Theatre Festival, the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award is presented in the memory of the distinguished dramatist for the best KC/ACTF student-written plays on the subject of the African-American experience. In
1959, A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway, and Lorraine Hansberry became the first African-American playwright
and the youngest person ever to win the New York Drama Critics Award. When she died of cancer in 1965, she was
only 34 and at the height of her career.
Shay Youngblood
Talking Bones -
Drama. By Shay Youngblood. Cast: 2m., 3w. From the author: “I grew up
in a house where the elders heard voices and it was
understood that these voices were the voices of the
ancestors. I didn’t think it very odd until I went out
into the world and learned that ‘people who heard
voices are crazy.’ I felt like I was straddling both
of those worlds. So I started writing this play about
women who hear voices, how these three women
respond to their inner voices and how they respond
to the ancestors.” In Talking Bones, Ruth, dignified, aristocratic and bohemian, needs to settle her
affairs and family before she dies. She interprets
voices to have special meaning. Bay-Bay, Ruth’s
daughter, gaudy and slightly out of step, wants her
own life without nursing her mother. Eila, BayBay’s daughter, tries to build a bridge between
these two. It’s a complex journey for all but at last,
the ancestors can be heard whispering—joyous
and hopeful. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T92.
Angela Counts
Hedy Understands Anxiety -
Drama/Comedy. By Angela
Counts. Cast: 3m., 3w. Hedy Grier is an African-American woman in
search of a personal history, a history that eludes and threatens to consume her. Having just buried her grandmother, Maxine, she uproots
herself, sells her house, and embarks on a cross-country trip in search
of the mother who abandoned her 20 years before. On the road Hedy
reluctantly picks up a drifter in search of his big break in Las Vegas.
Unwittingly, she finds herself locked, with this equally sharp-tongued
companion, in the search for a new identity and a break from the past.
Against the backdrop of ’70s black empowerment, music and fashion,
Hedy and Armand raze the ghost of Hedy’s enigmatic mother, Isadora,
in 1990’s fashion. A funny and moving play, replete with ghosts from
the past—including the recalcitrant Maxine whose spirit keeps coming
back. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H67.
Javon Johnson
Papa’s Blues -
Drama. By Javon Johnson. Cast: 3m., 2w., 1 boy. Nathan is a
man of pride and ambition struggling with racism, unemployment, and haunting memories of his father, Big Joe. Big Joe was murdered while Nathan was still a boy. Big Joe
was an adamant civil rights activist and a source of pride as well as disappointment for
his son, but he instilled in his son the importance of the civil rights movement principles and the necessity of belonging to something both spiritually and racially uplifting.
However, Nathan’s failures at mastering fatherhood provoke him to drink and partake
in illegal activities. His lifestyle and his broken marriage distance him from the joy of
his life, his own son, Rashon. The play is told in flashbacks by Rashon, who speaks of
the trials of his family as they unraveled 13 years ago, telling us the story of his father’s
blues. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P89.
Levy “Lee” Simon
The Bow-Wow Club -
Papa’s Blues. Franklin Westbrook and Nyjah Moore. Photo: Fred P. Kenderson Photography.
106
Drama/Comedy. By Levy “Lee” Simon. Cast: 6m.,
4w. Five members of the original Bow-Wow Club from Harlem get together with
their wives and lovers for a Fourth-of-July reunion. The Bow-Wow Club, so named
because of their teenage reputation with girls, has not met for almost 20 years. Amidst
the barbecue and sweet potato pie, more than fireworks go off as they discover how
far they have drifted away from one another. Through a series of surprises and revelations, they find that they are no longer the people they once knew, yet they are responsible for each other’s lives, in addition to the lives of their lovers and offspring.
As black men from America’s inner city, they reconnect with a common bond, which
they all recognize and respect, as they search for what it now means to them. One
int., one ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B90.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Supported by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Education Department and the Kennedy Center/
American College Theatre Festival, the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award is presented in the memory of the distinguished dramatist for the best KC/ACTF student-written plays on the subject of the African-American experience. In
1959, A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway, and Lorraine Hansberry became the first African-American playwright
and the youngest person ever to win the New York Drama Critics Award. When she died of cancer in 1965, she was
only 34 and at the height of her career.
Alan Newton
Whiteout - Drama. By Alan Newton. Cast: 2m., 1w. Whiteout takes
place in the main room of a cabin in a small town in northern Alabama.
The cabin belongs to Mark, the manager of a small grocery store,
who is hosting a holiday reunion with two friends. Suddenly, a freak
Southern snowstorm occurs, preventing the characters from leaving
the cabin. Over the course of roughly 24 hours, the friends play various
games and reminisce about their pasts together and apart. Revelations
betray keen tensions among them concerning their social, sexual, and,
most importantly, racial beliefs. These revelations force each of them to
reassess his or her identity, which ultimately strengthens or destroys their
relationships with one another. One int. set. Approximate running time:
75 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W91.
Strands -
Eric L. Wilson
Drama with music. By Eric L. Wilson. Cast: 6m., 2
drummer/percussionists. “In his harrowing but beautiful Strands,
young playwright Eric L.Wilson unravels and reweaves the whole
of black men’s experience in America into a seamless tour de force,”
raved the Washington Post. This collage of monologues, songs, and
dance speaks of the power of African-American manhood. The play
is driven by the rhythm of the drum, transforming this rhythm from
the tribal call all the way to hip-hop. Strands reveals the struggle, pain
and celebration of the journey of a young prince. Spirits from the past
lead this journey where the prince encounters the pain of the auction
block, the hope of the northern migration, the taste of black power, and
Whiteout.
the strength of the cultural rebirth. It deals with the African-American
male experience and shows the pageantry and epic nature of this story.
Strands is a powerful, exciting and challenging play. Area staging.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SA3.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Initiative in partnership with The National AIDS Fund
sponsors The National AIDS Fund/ CFDA-Vogue Initiative Playwriting Award, dedicated to discovering the best new
collegiate writing concerning the personal and social implications of HIV/AIDS. The National AIDS Fund works to
eliminate HIV/ AIDS as a major health and social problem.
Marlin T. Tazewell
Ain’t Nothing But a Thang - Drama/Comedy.
By Marlin
T. Tazewell. Cast: 3m., 3w. The Fazes family, like many others, has been
thrown curves by life as long as they can remember. Now they must
once again step up to the plate. Fourteen-year-old Amber is HIV-positive, and she only wants to know if someone cares if she lives or dies.
Her brother, Matt, is the oldest of three siblings and is estranged from
the rest of the family. He’s consumed by guilt and shame for having left
Michael Dice Jr
Plague -
Drama. By Michael Dice Jr. Cast: 7m., 4w., 1 male
voice. One female role may be played by a man if absolutely necessary. The U.S. has fallen under the dictatorship of a new militant
breed led by a war-hero president. John Rush, a homosexual, has
found himself imprisoned in a death camp for those suspected of carrying the AIDS virus. Rush recalls the events leading up to the present political situation, while a nurse, searching for the truth behind
Gas -
home, although he really had no other options. Kintai, the middle child,
is a “dealer in higher plains of existence,” also known as a “dopeman.”
While her children struggle with their lives, Rachel, the matriarch, fights
her own demons. This gripping drama is the story of one black family
struggling to survive and remember that each new curve life throws them
“ain’t nothing but a thang” with which all of them must deal. Unit set.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A87.
Elizabeth Kay Otero
Comedy/Drama. By Elizabeth Kay Otero. Cast: 6m., 2w.
Guillermo, a young Chicano, is searching for his place in the world
now that his mother is getting married, for the first time, to an Anglo
man. Guillermo demands to know the truth about his real father, but his
mother gives him an insufficient answer, as she has all his life. It is on
the day of his mother’s wedding that Janel, a 23-year-old half-Chicana,
half-Anglo woman escaping her problems at New Mexico State University, enters town. She crosses Guillermo’s path at the gas station in
Las Vegas, New Mexico. With his encouragement, Janel’s car is “borrowed” by Jorge, Sammy, and Crespín while Janel is paying for her gas.
what has become a homosexual holocaust, struggles to save Rush,
herself, and the country. Together, they must face their own deepest
fears and demons. A myriad of conflicts arise within the camp as the
prisoners, the past, the present, and the future collide in a race against
the ever-changing flow of world power. Suitable for mature audiences. Area staging. Approximate running time: 105 minutes. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P96.
Sí TV Latino Playwriting Award
Guillermo becomes infatuated with Janel and gives her the runaround as
to where her car really is. She in turn must endure Guillermo and Frank,
the quirky gas station attendant. But while alone, Guillermo and Janel
confront racial prejudices about each other and help each other to look
beyond these differences. It is not a smooth road nor is it all serious.
Along it, Guillermo and Janel have to deal with gas station cappuccino
powder, a unicycle, and Nutty Buddy’s Blackout Whiskey, not to mention Frank’s many anecdotes and philosophies on life. Gas shows that
love, indeed, can conquer all and has the power to show the absurdity
of racial prejudice. Area staging. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45
minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G75.
107
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
“I think there is no world without theatre.”
-Edward Bond
Edward Bond
“You have to go to the ultimate situation in
drama.” -Edward Bond
Spring Awakening - Drama. Translated and adapted by Ed- Narrow Road to the Deep North ward Bond. From the play by Frank Wedekind. Cast: 30+, variable,
doubling possible. Heralded by Time magazine as one of the best
plays of the year, applauded by Mel Gussow of the New York Times
as “a major theatrical event ... a perfect play for a young company,”
Edward Bond’s Spring Awakening deals with the youthful tragedy of
awakening sexuality in an atmosphere of repression. This is a brilliant adaptation of Wedekind’s original play. Multiple simple sets.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S61.
Drama. By Edward
Bond. Cast: 9m., 1w., extras. A war parable set in 19th-century Japan in
which the leading actor, Basho, follows the narrow road to the deep north
in order to study solitude. He discovers that enlightenment is where you
are. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N30.
The Bundle -
Drama. By Edward Bond. Cast: 23m. (doubling
possible), 4w. Regarded by the New York Times critic as “a complex
and marvelously written play,” The Bundle picks up from the same
point as Bond’s Narrow Road to the Deep North. In this version, an
infant is adopted by a poor ferryman and his wife and grows up, under the name of Wang, to be a rebel leader who helps rescue the villagers from a tyrannous landowner. Multiple simple sets. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B47.
The Fool - Drama. By Edward Bond. Cast: 20m., 5w., fewer with
doubling. “A challenging work by perhaps the most important, and
certainly most controversial, of the younger English playwrights,”
was a part of Jack Kroll’s rave review of the exciting U.S. premiere at
the Folger Theatre in Washington. In the play, Bond examines the life
of the peasant-poet John Clare and through him develops a stormy
indictment of a corrupt and dehumanizing society. Multiple simple
sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F22.
Summer - Drama. By Edward Bond. Cast: 2m., 3w. The London
Yale Repertory Theatre production of Spring Awakening. Photo: Debra A. Spark.
“What Shakespeare and the Greeks were able to do was
radically question what it meant to be a human being.”
-Edward Bond
Bingo - Drama. By Edward Bond. Cast: 7m., 5w. In production at
the Cleveland Playhouse and at Yale, Bingo won critical acclaim as it
did earlier at the Royal Court. The play deals with the last few days in
the life of Shakespeare, and it is eloquently described by the Newsweek
critic: “Now in retirement, the greatest of all Western artists sits in his
garden at Stratford, sick unto death with the fear that his entire career
has been a lie and evasion of social and moral responsibility ... a play
hewn with great intellectual and emotional force.” Two int. sets, three
simple ext. sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B20.
Lear - Drama. By Edward Bond. Cast: 50+, fewer with doubling.
In this play of shattering power, an authoritarian monarch is overthrown by his daughters who, in turn, find the possession of power to
be fatally evil. “I have all the power and yet I am a slave.” In a popular
insurrection, a peasant woman takes power and becomes even more
cruel. As the play ends, another insurrection is in preparation and it’s
clear that the brutal cycle will endlessly repeat itself. Area staging.
Times writes, “Bond sets out to examine the unforgiving hold of the
past over the present and the atrocities that coexist with ordinary human kindness.” The action centers on an encounter between Xenia,
who returns from England to the house where she grew up during the
war which is now occupied by the family’s former servant Marthe, and
Marthe, who recalls the German occupation when she escaped through
Xenia’s intervention. But this does not leave her with gratitude. One
ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S67.
“Saved is almost irresponsibly
optimistic.”-Edward Bond
Saved - Drama. By Edward Bond. Cast: 7m., 3w. “On opening night
there were shouts of outrage from the audience and physical violence
in the foyers during the intermission and after the show. Saved explores
the dehumanizing industrial environment and the moral emptiness of
the working-class world of South London and the beastliness and brutality that are the result.” (www.bookrags.com) A startling, brutal play
concerned with an unhappy loner, who stands by as some bored London
youths stone at a baby in its carriage. When he realizes that he should
have intervened, he is ultimately “saved.” Area staging. Royalty: $65/
The Woman - Drama. By Edward Bond. Cast: 50+, doubling
possible. With all its appearance of a classic Greek drama, this play
is really a parable for our times. Bond’s dominant theme is the power
of hate and destruction versus love and reconciliation. Produced with
great success at Center Stage of Baltimore. Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W44.
The Sea - Comedy. By Edward Bond. Cast: 7m., 7w., extras. “A
comedy by that most abrasive of British playwrights, Edward Bond,
would seem to be a contradiction in terms,” writes critic Herbert
Kretzmer, “but last night Bond set out to make us laugh.” Set in Edwardian times in a small English coastal village, the plot is a simple
one. Willy Carson meets Rose Jones, the girl to whom his drowned
friend was engaged and, in the events following the storm, falls in
love with her. Bond adds a fantastic subplot about a mad draper who
believes there’s to be an invasion from outer space and a posse of
funny society ladies who stage amateur theatricals. Two int., two ext.
sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S19.
The Commons Theatre production of The Sea. Photo: T.V. Martin.
108
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Edward Bond
“In the end I think theatre has only one subject: justice ... What I have to do is to make people realise that they
need justice to be human and that justice is something collective.” -Edward Bond
Human Cannon -
Drama. By Edward Bond.
Cast: 30+, doubling possible. Set in Spain at the time of
the Spanish Civil War, Agustina is in the house with her
dead child preparing the body for private disposal. Her
husband, Nardo, states the argument of the story—“When
someone else owns the machines you use to earn your
living, then you are owned.” There is bitterness with the
landowners, and then their world is overwhelmed with the
violence of the war. Agustina plants a bomb that destroys
some of her enemies. There is a terrifying interrogation
when the women of the village, under the threat of their
own deaths, are required to name the bomber. In a scene
of great power, each woman answers, “Estaroban,” the
name of their village. As they turn to Agustina, she cries
her defiance and in doing so becomes “the human cannon.” Multiple sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: H54.
Restoration - Drama. By Ed-
ward Bond. Cast: 8m., 5w. Edward
Bond has set this play in the 18th
century and calls it “a pastoral.” It
comes complete with an arranged
marriage, a restless wife and a family ghost. It draws pointed contrasts
between life above stairs and life
below, between the town and the
country, between the landed gentry
and the emergent middle class. It
was originally produced at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Multiple sets or area staging. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: R35.
Restoration.
The War Plays: Dramatic trilogy. By Edward Bond.
This trilogy, which deals with the coming of
nuclear war and the aftermath, was produced
in London by The Royal Shakespeare Company.
“Violence is never a solution in my plays,
just as ultimately violence is never a solution in
human affairs.” -Edward Bond
Cast: 4m., 5w. “Bond imagining the unimaginable” is how the Financial Times critic put it.
We are introduced to a charred, blackened master and we witness
scenes from the life he did not live before the rockets destroyed
the earth. Then the collaboration of man in his own destruction
is shown in his decline into greed and despair. A boy leaves a
woman to die under a concrete slab so that he can take the one job
left. Cries for help go unheeded in Bond’s view of contemporary
cultural competition. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: R39.
The Tin Can People - Cast: 3m., 4w. It is now 17 years af-
Cast: 11m., 5w. “In the third play of this trilogy,” the Guardian critic writes, “order has been restored, the military is in charge, and an officer issues the Herod-like command that
every squad kills a child to save vital resources.” A soldier agonizes
over the command, but then finally smothers his mother’s baby and
then the mother herself. Bond, a critic suggests, is offering a revolutionary idea—that those who dropped the bomb did not envisage
the consequences, but the survivors who know them may perhaps
forge a better world. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: G48.
Red Black and Ignorant -
Great Peace -
James Forsyth
ter the nuclear holocaust. A group of survivors has formed a peaceful commune living off some warehouses filled with tin cans of
food. A stranger is warmly welcomed into their midst, but when
one of the group drops dead, the stranger is assumed to be contaminated. As the deaths multiply the group leader determines this
intruder must be hunted down and killed. Thus the survivors, who
seem to believe in old ideals, change back to barbarity when they
feel threatened. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: T74.
C.S. Lewis
“Screwtape was a delightfully funny adaptation of C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.
Forsyth captured the heart and spirit of Screwtape.” -Debbie Graham, Crichton College, Memphis, Tenn.
Screwtape -
Comedy. By James Forsyth. From C.S. Lewis’
The Screwtape Letters. Cast: 7m., 5w. Screwtape, a senior devil
from hell, has delegated some authority to a junior fiend, Wormwood,
whose assignment is to seize the soul of a very human and lovable
young man. This might be called a devilish dramatic contest with
high-level meaning thrashed out in terms of brilliant low-level comedy. The rather charming Wormwood is being critically supervised
Anne Coulter Martens Christopher Sergel James Hilton
in this, his first case, by that extraordinary devil, Screwtape. Advice
from this old hand from hell is devastatingly perceptive of human
foibles and, despite the love of a wonderful young girl, our young
man is in terrible danger. It’s really a close decision and, in a dazzling
resolution, we all learn something important about hell, heaven, religion and humanity. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: S18.
Bryan Harnetiaux
Ernest Hemingway
Lost Horizon - Drama. Adapted by Anne Coulter Martens and The Snows of Kilimanjaro - Drama. Adapted by Bryan
Christopher Sergel. From James Hilton’s immortal classic. Cast:
7m., 7w. Four travelers from a wrecked plane are led through a secret
pass in the high Himalayas to the warm and beautiful city of Shangri-La. There an elderly Chinese man tells them they’re “expected.”
Conway is fascinated by the enchanting atmosphere and by a young
woman he meets. Only when they are prepared to leave together does
the High Lama reveal the secret. In a moving scene he tells Conway
people do not grow old in Shangri-La. The city and everyone in it is
dedicated to preserving their culture until the storms of war outside
shall pass. An unusual play with a special meaning. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L30.
Harnetiaux. Based on the story by Ernest Hemingway. Cast: 5m.,
5w., with some doubling. This highly theatrical adaptation is loyal to
Hemingway’s epic story and imaginatively turns the interior nature
of the work inside out. Act I traces Harry’s development as an artist,
his hard-earned literary recognition, and, ultimately, the corruption
that destroys him. Act II picks up where the short story itself begins. Harry, mortally and morally sick, isolated in a remote camp
on the Serengeti Plain, confronts his mortality, acknowledges his
self-betrayal, and seeks salvation. This adaptation is a theatrical tour
de force with strong characters. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S95.
109
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Mayo Simon
“A SHARP-SIGHTED LITTLE COMEDY ABOUT A GENERATIONAL
CONFLICT BETWEEN OPPOSITES.” —New York Times
Elaine’s Daughter - Comedy. By Mayo Simon. Cast: 3m., 2w. Will the war between moth-
Marilyn Rockafellow and Nela Wagman in the Stamford Theatre Works
production. Photo: Jayson Byrd.
These Men -
ers and daughters never end? Can Elaine and Beth ever stop fighting over men, careers, philosophy,
hair? Ever since its triumphant opening at the Humana Festival in Louisville, this delightful comedy has been making audiences laugh with recognition and cry with understanding at the conflicts
between the generations. “Mayo Simon’s Elaine’s Daughter was the brightest play of the festival,
a sharp-sighted little comedy about a generational conflict between opposites.” (Mel Gussow, New
York Times) Faced with decisions about men, each yearning for love, each trying to teach the other
how to live, mother and daughter ultimately come together in an exquisite, unforgettable moment.
By turns funny, poignant, sad, and hopeful, Elaine’s Daughter is an emotional roller coaster—the
next moment might bring gales of laughter or tears. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: E24.
“A raunchy, touching, delightful play.” —Punch
Comedy/Drama. By Mayo Simon. Cast: 2w. “There’s a little jewel of a play
filling the Los Angeles Actors Theatre. It’s a diamond in the rough whose lowdown shine should
glow from here to Malibu ... It’s a touching yelp for love and a holler of pain ... Inevitably, These
Men is about these women and how they come together through desperation. Shelley has a little
house ... on which she can rarely pay the rent. Cloris is a dental assistant with a lover she’s trying
to lose. Helping each other out is an arrangement neither is wild about at first, but the two women,
total strangers, make a zany sort of space for each other—and the fun begins.” (Los Angeles Times)
A wonderful opportunity for two very good actresses. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: T71.
Michele Olmsted-Curry and Kristin Dolberg. The KLD production,
the Chamber Theatre, Los Angeles, Calif.
“Simon takes ordinary folks, imperfections and all, and puts them elbow to elbow with their own human frailty.
The laughs come as easily as the pathos.” —Los Angeles Times
Walking to Waldheim - Comedy/Drama. By Mayo Simon.
Cast: 3m., 3w. Six mourners on the way to Rose’s funeral bicker and
fuss as the car lurches along. Soon, though, the trip becomes more
existential than navigational, as entire lives are lived out in scenes of
quiet anguish and uproarious comedy. The inarticulate father, the dying
son, the jealous in-law, the angry girl, the lost old man, the mother
who tries valiantly to hold her disappearing family together—all
have their moments. “This rich and disturbing work succeeds on both
realistic and absurdist levels. Like all good plays about the nature and
meaning of life on this planet, it leaves an impression in the mind
long after one has left the theatre.” (Los Angeles Drama-Logue) One
simple set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W22.
“Performing The Old Lady’s Guide to Survival was an absolute delight ... It is, however, for the seasoned actresses
with beautiful and challenging monologues. —Sherry Steffen, Finale Productions, Marinette, Wis.
The Old Lady’s Guide to Survival - Comedy.
Actors Theatre of Louisville. Photo: Richard Trigg.
By Mayo Simon.
Cast: 2w. “Netty, waiting for a bus that will take her to an eye clinic, muses
about the paths her life has taken since her husband died. She adjusted to being
alone by going to plays and concerts and taking classes at the Institute for Continued Learning, and she is frightened of losing her independence. Along comes
Shprintzy, a flighty master of the San Diego transit schedule. She reels off bus
routes and their interlocking connections to all parts of Southern California. Netty accepts Shprintzy’s help to get to the eye clinic, reaching out, almost against
her will, to another human being. It is obvious from the outset that Netty and
Shprintzy are destined to become bosom friends. Physical darkness is threatening
Netty, and mental darkness is beginning to envelop Shprintzy. But Netty forces
the more vulnerable Shprintzy to stand tall and move among strangers without
fear. In turn, the childlike Shprintzy leads Netty toward an understanding of her
inability to cope with her impending blindness without help from friends. As
Shprintzy says, together they make a whole person.” (The Courier-Journal, Louisville) Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O48.
“Imaginative, humorous and ... excoriating .... Greek Holiday is highly recommended to anyone interested in
a provocative evening in the theatre.” —Bob Rendell, TalkinBroadway.com
Greek Holiday - Comedy/Drama. By Mayo Simon. Cast: 1m., 2w. Greek Holiday is an ex-
plosive mixture of passions about to erupt under the stunning blue sky of a Greek island. Alex and
Debra, are at a small hotel for one last try at repairing their broken marriage. He lives in despair
with memories of another woman. She lives in silent fury over being abandoned. Each is consumed with fantasies of revenge. Will their murderous thoughts turn into bloody reality? Or can
their love be reborn in this sensuous setting? Every day Alex describes the gorgeous world outside. Debra refuses to leave the tacky room. He’s patient, but inside he seethes. Each scene ends
with wish-fulfilling murder—by gun, knife, poison, and other more fanciful means. Alex begs
Debra to come with him to a rocky cove. Debra accepts, then suddenly accuses him of having
been there with the other woman. He pleads his innocence. Is she crazy? Or could she be right?
Unexpected romantic flashbacks leave the audience hungry to know the truth. The play takes an
alarming turn as their fantasy weapons become real and murderous thoughts start coming true.
Audience sympathies change with each new twist of this richly layered play. One int. set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G78.
110
Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey. Timothy McCracken and Sarah Knap.
Photo courtesy of Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Kent R. Brown
“This was a wonderful play that is extremely relevant and thoughtprovoking. As a small bedroom community we are experiencing
rapid growth. Numerous audience members commented that this
play stays with audience members stimulating discussions and
thoughts.” -Phil Huber, Portland High School, Portland, Mich.
Welcome to Four Way: The Town That Time Forgot -
Comedy.
By Kent R. Brown. Cast: 7m., 6w. It’s August, it’s hot and it’s Four Way’s 167th
birthday. Spirits are high as the colorful and often outrageous citizens gather to
celebrate the event. During the course of this fast-paced comedy, we are introduced
to an array of delightful characters including Jackson Purdy, the zealous civic leader dedicated to bringing Four Way to the brink of the 21st century; Cheryl Mae
and her brother, Bobby James, both orphans, who struggle with one of life’s most
unfortunate tragedies; “Vulgar” Victor Bosco, a slightly disoriented but lovable
Vietnam veteran; Harriet, Victor’s former Army nurse turned loving companion;
Colleen Kimbel, the town’s “mystery” woman; and Georgia and Harold Sweeney,
an irascible married couple who conveniently misremember aspects of their life together. The play explores the dominant preoccupations of life, love, success, death,
compassion and rebirth ... all in two acts! A winner of the Y.E.S. New Play Festival.
One ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W75.
Northern Kentucky University production. Photo courtesy of N.K.U. Library.
Larry’s Favorite Chocolate Cake -
Comedy. By Kent
R. Brown. Cast: 4 to 5m., 3 to 4w. Larry has had it! His marriage is
on the rocks, his son is a borderline delinquent and his boss is a tyrant.
Needing safer surroundings, Larry decides to move back home with his
parents and resurrect the carefree days of his youth. Unfortunately, his
high-spirited parents refuse to take him back. Peopling Larry’s surreal
world are a seductive co-worker with whom Larry is illicitly involved,
a wacky travel agent, Larry’s attractive but frenetic wife, his inventive
but rebellious son, his obnoxious boss and his wife’s wannabe office
lover. A hilarious comedy for all who have felt like tossing in the towel!
Winner of the McLaren Comedy Playwriting Competition and the Mill
Mountain Theatre New Play Competition. Minimal set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L14.
Midland Community Theatre production of Larry’s Favorite Chocolate Cake.(l-r) Andy Salcedo, Gloria Stevenson and Bill Shaner.
Photo: John Briggs.
The Phoenix Dimension - Drama. By Kent R. Brown. Cast: The View From Sunset Towers 5 to 7m., 2 to 5w. It’s night. Late. Rain has been falling for days. We
hear a phone ringing and Justin, a dogged, loyal but unimaginative
worker bee, picks up the receiver. We hear a woman’s voice, sultry,
seductive, warning Justin to beware. The young turks at the office
want power and money. They want Justin’s job. The following morning he is humiliated by his peers; his boss suggests a long-overdue
vacation. Then another late-night call from the woman he has never
met. She has an intriguing proposal: kill Justin’s boss—who happens
to be her unfaithful husband—and take over leadership of the company. Driven by the woman’s compelling sensuality and his intense
rage at being cast aside, Justin agrees to commit the murder in full
view of all the corporate players! Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P19.
Comedy/Drama. By
Kent R. Brown. Cast: 6m., 9w. (3m., 4w. with doubling). This highly
theatrical play, featuring dozens of roles, interweaves the memories
and dreams of a fascinating ensemble: Clarence, who defeats Elvis
Presley in a one-arm pushup contest; Sister Darlene, who walks the
town’s darkened streets and peers into the souls of her unsuspecting
neighbors; Carolyn, the biker mom who completes high school so
her astronaut daughter will be proud of her; Helen, the drive-through
bank teller who falls into obsessive love with a customer; Doris and
Sparky, who summon the courage to travel around the world instead
of waiting submissively for their lives to end; Arthur, who puts his
faith in golf instead of God; and many others. An excellent showcase
for older performers. Simple unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: V26.
Finalist in the 1990 Fargo-Mooorhead Community
Theatre Playwrights’ Competition.
Finalist in the 1990 Actors Theatre of Houston’s
First Annual Playwrights Competition.
Dancing the Box Step - Drama. By Kent R. Brown. Cast: 2m., 1w. Walter is
South Jersey Regional Theatre production of Dancing the Box Step. Photo: Donna Conner.
the widowed father, a decorated WWII veteran who fought in the Pacific. Raymond
is the son, who escaped to Canada during the Vietnam War. Over the years their relationship has been little more than a few postcards and awkward, sporadic telephone
calls. But surprisingly Walter has agreed to allow Raymond to move him into a retirement home, and tonight Raymond has come knocking on his father’s door to begin
the long journey toward reconciliation. Alice Terryton, a strong-willed woman who
has befriended Walter, gradually reveals to Raymond the secret life his father has
been living. Funny, compelling, and compassionate in its examination of the intricacies of human relationships, Dancing the Box Step was featured at the Denver Center
Theatre’s U.S. West Theatre Fest and premiered at South Jersey Regional Theatre.
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D58.
111
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Craig Alpaugh
Neighborhood Crime Watch - Farce. By Craig Alpaugh. Cast: 5m., 2w.
Two burglars, Ronald and Donald, break into a house and, in the midst of their bungled getaway, find themselves in attendance at a neighborhood crime watch meeting.
Complications follow when homeowner Lisa and her vigilante/spinster neighbor,
Mona, greet the other arriving guests: Myron, a neurotic psychiatrist; Father Bob, the
local parish priest; and Officer Buddy, an off-duty policeman. This fast-paced play
has all the ingredients of classic farce: mistaken identities, physical comedy, young
lovers, the reuniting of a father with his lost son and, of course, a happy ending. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N26.
Snatch a Falling Star -
Comedy. By Craig Alpaugh. Cast: 2m., 1w.
The Kansas City Star called the premiere of this play “a first-rate new comedy ...
an unqualified delight ... a wonderfully entertaining play.” What happens when
Ned Reardon, the ultimate superstar, who’s bent on self-destruction with drugs
and alcohol, meets up with his greatest fan, an adoring young woman who’s
been in love with him ever since she saw him live on stage? Comedy, of course!
Jan Fuqua talks her reluctant, aspiring actor brother, Jimmy, into helping her
kidnap Ned in order to rehabilitate him. Ned, of course, is not too crazy about
the idea. We watch Ned go through a variety of feelings: anger, disbelief and
denial. He finally gets his revenge, but it comes at a cost. Ned hadn’t figured
on one thing—falling in love. This play says something to all of us as these
three mismatched characters discover things about one another and themselves.
Snatch a Falling Star is that rare play that makes us laugh and touches us at the
same time. Successful productions in both Los Angeles and New York. One int.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S93.
The Group Repertory Theatre production of Neighborhood Crime Watch. Photo: Klair Bybee.
Recently Revised
“It was a huge success! Lots of action and lots of laughs!!” -Linda J. Owen, Southport High School, Indianapolis, Ind.
Bless Me, Father - Farce. By Craig Alpaugh. Cast: 7m., 4w. Combin-
ing all of the raucous hilarity of a Feydeau farce and a classic Mack Sennett
comedy, the action takes place in Holy Family Rectory where Fathers Richard
and Charles preside. The merriment centers on Father Charles’ mistaken belief
that Father Richard is about to leave the priesthood and get married. Actually,
the young woman in question is Father Richard’s sister and she does want him
to marry her ... to her fiancé, Ira. Successful productions by several regional
theatres. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B25.
Jules Tasca
Tear Along the Dotted Line -
Comedy. By Jules Tasca.
Cast: 2m., 5w. Stephanie is inducing her classmate Judy to share a
squalid efficiency apartment just off campus. It’s a filthy, cobwebby
horror. As Stephanie’s boyfriend observes, “If God had meant you to
live here, he’d have made you a spider.” Stephanie’s mother secretly
moves in next door and sneaks in when the girls are out to clean
their mess, change their sheets, replace their beer with milk—a livein guardian angel! The girls are going out of their minds with the
mystery, but they can’t very well call the police to charge someone
with breaking, entering and vacuuming! This sensitive comedy has
humor that is both touching and genuine. One int. set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T14.
Alive and Kicking -
Comedy/Drama. By Jules Tasca. Cast:
2m., 2w. When Gloria’s last child announces that he and his girlfriend
have just married, she panics! She tries to sell the house because her life
is over and it would be more comfortable to die in a small apartment
near a funeral home. Countering Gloria’s presentiments about death,
her easygoing husband, John, responds with humor at every turn. “I
feel I’m gonna pass on very soon,” she says. “Will it be today?” he
asks. “I took two steaks out of the freezer. I’ll put one back.” A humorous play about the serious subject of adjusting to the changes in life.
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A30.
Gardinia’s ’n’ Blum -
Comedy. By Nicholas A. Patricca.
Cast: 4m., 2w. Gardinia’s ’n’ Blum, set in Chicago’s Little Italy, is a
comedy celebrating the friendship of Tony Gardinia, a Sicilian-born
barber, and Harry Blum, a Jewish pharmacist, and their triumph over
forces threatening to evict them and destroy their neighborhood. With
more than a little help from Lady Luck, Tony and Harry take on and ultimately defeat the realtors who want their valuable property, the government agencies that are taxing them, and the neighborhood’s drugdealing hood. Written with the ironic sensibility, plot twists, character
foibles, and lucky accidents typical of Italian-style farce, this comedy
brims with humorous affection for the diversity of individuals and cultures that make the American urban experience rich and unique. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G51.
112
Play Expo (Chicago) production by Victory Gardens/Body Politic. Photo: Jennifer Girard.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Julian Wiles
The Mysterious Life of Edgar Allan Poe
Nevermore! -
Drama. By Julian Wiles.
Based on the life and works of Edgar Allan
Poe. Cast: 12m., 7w., 2 boys playing 52 parts.
In September of 1847, Edgar Allan Poe is reported to have boarded a steamer in Baltimore
Harbor for an overnight voyage to New York
City. He never arrived. Five days later, Poe
was found delirious on a Baltimore Street and
died soon thereafter. What transpired over
those five missing days has remained forever a mystery ... until now. This imaginative
play, utilizing the macabre stories and poems
of one of America’s most celebrated writers,
ponders what might have happened to him on
the dreary nightmare voyage at the end his
life. Filled with masterful illusions and disappearances, Nevermore! keeps audiences on
the edge of their seats from the first curtain
to the final denouement. Bare stage. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N41.
Charleston Stage Company. (l-r) Jennifer Metts and Ian Walker. Photo: Julian Wiles.
Gene Traylor
Phantom of the Opera - A Victorian thriller by Gene Tray-
lor. Based on the novel by Gaston Leroux. Cast: 8m., 4w., extras. In
this great tongue-in-cheek comedy/thriller, the Phantom of the Opera
returns, guaranteed to terrify and delight even the boldest members
of your audience. This adaptation of the classic remains quite faithful to the original text, in which a series of bizarre murders plagues
the Paris Opera House. In the midst of frantic attempts to prepare for
Gaston Leroux
the gala opening of a brilliant, ambitious new work, the frightened
protagonists must prevent the evil phantom from striking again. Will
the beautiful and talented Christine be spared a horrible murder at the
hands of the elusive phantom? Will her handsome fiancé discover his
hiding place before it’s too late? See for yourself—if you dare! Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P45.
H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to modern-day San Francisco.
John Mattera
Time After Time -
Malcolm McDowell in the Warner Brothers film.
Alden Nowlan
Warner Brothers photo.
Karl Alexander
Drama. By John Mattera. Based on the book by Karl Alexander. Revised and edited by Stephen Barrows. Cast: 5m., 5w., extras as desired. Amy,
attractive, lonely and a little fed up with her dead-end job as a clerk in a San Francisco bank
where men doing the same work are much better paid, is having an unusual day. An oddly
dressed Englishman comes up to her desk, greatly concerned about someone whom he is
evidently following. What Amy doesn’t realize yet is that both of these men have just left the
fog-filled London streets of 1893 to come to present-day San Francisco. Jack the Ripper has
used H.G. Wells’ time machine to disappear into the future, and H.G. decides it’s his responsibility to bring him back. Befriended by Amy, Wells begins to close in on Jack, which puts
him and Amy into some scenes that will have your audience gasping. H.G. is finally successful in bringing Jack the Ripper to a strange justice and in persuading Amy that she should
come back to old London and marry him. Is all this possible? We can only offer historical
fact: H.G. Wells’ wife was named Amy, and back in London she began a major battle for
women’s rights! Three simple sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T55.
Walter Learning
The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca - Mystery. By Alden Now-
lan and Walter Learning. Cast: 8 to 14m., 2 to 3w. Dr. Alden Nowlan and Dr. Walter
Learning came into possession of the papers on which they have based their highly successful play, The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca. Those papers had been entrusted
to the heirs of a certain illustrious client until such time as they might be made public, in
whole or in part, “without shaking the Christian Church to its foundations and threatening the existence of dynasties which have flourished for a thousand years.” Even today,
the case involves such political, religious and human ramifications that the doctors have
felt it their duty to withhold certain details, such as the real name of Cardinal Tosca
and the true cause of his eventual death. Neither will entertain speculation as to the
identity of the illustrious lady for whose house they, like Holmes, have been privileged
to perform some small services, in recognition of which they have been entrusted with
these priceless documents. We now entrust you with this priceless play as it was earlier
entrusted to the Actors Theatre of Louisville, where its success was quite extraordinary.
Three int. sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I34.
Theatre New Brunswick production with Wenna Shaw and Jack Medly. Photo: Jan Brown.
113
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Michel Vinaver
Donald Watson
Royce Ryton
Portrait of a Woman -
Drama. By Michel Vinaver. Translated by Donald Watson. Cast: 8m., 3w. Considered the outstanding
dramatist of the “theatre du quotidien”, Michel Vinaver is probably the
only living playwright in France today whose challenging plays have
such a passionate international constituency. Unique among them is
this play based on the actual trial of a young woman, a medical student,
who murdered her lover and was tried, convicted and condemned to
hard labor for life. What fascinated the playwright was the startling
verbatim accounts of the young woman’s trial which were published in
Le Monde. Packed away for some years, then irresistibly drawing the
playwright back, they inspired this extraordinary play. The woman’s
greatest crime, it seems, was her refusal to conform to the roles and the
attitudes expected and ultimately demanded of her. Simultaneous actions swirl around her, but she will not be contrite or angry. Her replies
do not coincide with the expectations of her questioners. Untouched at
the trial, her emotional needs only emerge from flashback scenes evoking key relationships in her earlier life, until ultimately the playwright
paints a “portrait”—of darkness, of light, of a woman. Area staging.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P71.
David Storey
Crown Matrimonial.
In Celebration - Drama. By David Storey. Cast: 5m., 2w. Three Crown Matrimonial utterly different sons have come to help their old-fashioned parents
celebrate an anniversary of the marriage that produced them. The oldest, Andrew, has just left his well-paying job as a lawyer to become a
struggling painter. The middle son, Colin, is a success. The youngest,
Steven, is a teacher who has recently given up writing his all-important
novel. Then, as The Arts critic reports, “Mr. Storey peels layer after
layer off the situation.” Another critic sums up, “The great themes of
guilt and atonement are handled in this play with skill and insight.”
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I21.
Comedy/Drama. By Royce Ryton.
Cast: 4m., 6w. The Sunday Times describes it beautifully: “The hinge
of the play is Edward VIII’s determination to marry a divorced woman, his conviction that without her he could not do his job (bringing
the monarchy into the twentieth century), and his readiness to sacrifice his kingship and his family, especially his brother, the diffident
and stammering young man who must succeed him. You’ll find theatrical excitement in this conflict of love and duty in which unexpected
strengths and weaknesses are discovered.” One int. set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C37.
Alma De Groen
“I believe the greatest failing of all is to be frightened.”
-Katherine Mansfield
The Rivers of China - Drama. By Alma De Groen. Cast: 4m., 2w. Virginia Woolf once
said that Katherine Mansfield had produced ‘the only writing I have ever been jealous of.’ Woolf
also, jealously, wrote, ‘The more she is praised, the more I am convinced she is bad.’ Based on
Katherine Mansfield’s journals and letters and the writings of the Russian mystic and guru, Gurdjieff, two plots interweave. Both involve the life and death of Mansfield, and both are concerned
with the place of women and artists in a patriarchal society. In 1923, Mansfield went to visit Gurdjieff in Fontainebleau that he might “cure her soul.” In 1980’s Sydney, a young man awakes in a
hospital to find a world dominated by women. As they each struggle to discover their true identities, the separate stories intriguingly interweave. Mansfield’s journey to seek physical and spiritual help from the popular Russian mystic is related to a wish once made by her mother that, rather
than marrying, she had
gone exploring the rivers
of China. Area staging.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: R43.
Sidney Theatre company production. Photo: Hugh Hamilton.
David Stanley Ford
The Interrogation of Nathan Hale by Captain John
Montresor of HRM Expeditionary Forces - Drama. By
The Interrogation of Nathan Hale. South Coast Repertory Theatre. (l-r) Matt Keeslar and Richard
Doyle. Photo: Henry DiRocco.
114
David Stanley Ford. Cast: 2m. It is the morning of September 22, 1776.
Nathan Hale is waiting to be hanged as a spy. A British captain, John Montresor, invites him to spend his remaining time in the captain’s tent, during
which Montresor draws out the idealistic Hale. What is freedom? What is
courage? What is the value of a life? Montresor subverts the young man’s
dreams. By the time Hale understands Montresor’s designs, they are battling for Hale’s soul. Two hours later, Hale is executed. Montresor, under
a flag of truce, delivers Hale’s effects, along with the young man’s last
words, to the American rebel army. Mr. Ford has taken the circumstances
of Hale’s last hours and used them to probe our country, its terrible flaws
as well as its wondrous virtues, using both points of view—that of cynic
and idealist—to try to understand who we are. One int. set. Royalty: $65/
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Tim Kelly
Richard Hooker
“Tim Kelly's adaptation is
super–much better than
the TV show and follows
the book closely. The
flow from scene to scene and within scenes was
natural and easy to stage.” -Julie Michel, Hartland High
M*A*S*H
School, Howell, Mich.
M*A*S*H - Comedy. Adapted by Tim Kelly. From the book by
Richard Hooker. Cast: 15m., 15w. (less with doubling). This is a wild,
free-flowing comedy that’s easy to stage. M*A*S*H stands for Mobile
Army Surgical Hospital, and joining it are two unpredictable madcap
doctors, Hawkeye and Duke. They can’t be dealt with casually, however, because they are also two of the best chest surgeons in South
Korea. They decide to wage a campaign to send a young Korean boy
to the United States and enroll him in a good school. This thread is woven through a cascade of comic adventures. Hawkeye has a discussion
with a woman psychiatrist who believes he’s been trying to lobstertrap mermaids in a rice paddy! There’s a screwball encounter with the
baby-talking Bonwit sisters, the worst tap-dancing act the U.S.O. ever
sent overseas. A sergeant is selling dumb GIs fishing rights in the Bay
of Phum. Radar O’Reilly, a soldier with incredible hearing, anticipates
things before they happen. The proprietor of a painless dental clinic is
David DeBoy
Port Arthur Collegiate Institute Players, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
cured of dark moods by the re-creation of an old monster movie—and
a monster! It’s all here, including a little romance mixed in with dramatic moments and a genuine love of life. Oh, yes—the Korean boy
does get his education in the United States! Area staging. Sound effects
CD available (Q67 - $25.00). One-act cutting available. Royalty: $65/
Bryan P. Harnetiaux
Vice as in Versa - Comedy. By David DeBoy. Cast: 4m., 3w. Dumb Luck - Comedy. By Bryan P. Harnetiaux. Cast: 7m., 4w.
Percible Nimby, a witty, refined and oh-so-gentle dress manufacturer,
has always been considered the sissy of the family. He decides to
change that image during a trip to the musty mansion of his wealthy
Uncle Buckridge. Uncle Buck, a Hemingway type who thinks John
Wayne was a little effeminate, is about to write his will and plans to
leave millions to the relative who strikes him as the “most manly.”
Needless to say, this is the wrong time for Percy and his secretary
to stumble upon a voodoo doll that, unbeknownst to them, switches
their personalities. Percy’s secretary is in his body, and Percy now
has the body of a woman! This fast-paced, laugh-packed farce gives
a whole new meaning to the term “mistaken identities.” One int. set.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: V18.
(8 small roles either m. or w., doubling possible), extras. Sally Flynn
just won a million dollars! Overnight, the earthy, strong-willed Sally
is thrown headlong into a whirlwind of unwanted fame, galloping
avarice and general human craziness: the paranoid, feminist editor of
the magazine that sponsors the million-dollar giveaway is determined
to use Sally as a weapon in her all-out war on the American male; Sally’s cheap landlord starts courting her; scheming in-laws deviously
attempt to get a share of her impending wealth; and a young friend,
bedazzled by celebrity, is transformed into an energetically inept publicist. But there is a serious heart in this very funny play! One int. set.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D37.
Patricia Weaver Francisco
Lunacy -
Lunacy. Actors’ Workshop of Louisville. Sharon Bigelow. Photo: Kent Harrison.
Atalanta -
Thomas J. Hatton
Drama. By Patricia Weaver Francisco. Cast: 3 to 4w. (expandable) This
fictional exploration of what became of the denied female astronauts is an entertaining and
compelling evening of theatre which dramatically explores the consequences of thwarted
ambition. Jean Cross is a skilled pilot and former astronaut candidate who has retreated
to the New Mexico desert to develop a personal relationship with the stars. As the play
begins, she’s alone in the night, calling to the sky, “Evening Andromeda, Cassiopeia. Pegasus, there you are!” Corona Smith, an earnest reporter for the Feminist Hard Times,
tracks her down to get her story. She brings Cross face to face with Martha Howland, a
brash young astronaut who learns that her own achievements have roots in the women
who came before her. Howland’s journey into space becomes a fantastic voyage full of
comic and enlightening visions of the women who have preceded her. Through her encounters with Galileo’s daughter, Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, astronomer
Caroline Herschel, the dancing Pleiades, a trio of cosmic courtesans, and the women pilots
who participated in astronaut testing in the 1960s, Howland returns to earth with a new
awareness of her own place in history. Lunacy is a tribute to some forgotten women of history and a fascinating look at the meaning of independence and achievement for women.
One ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L45.
Comedy. By Thomas J. Hatton. Cast: 7m., 7w., extras. The feminist movement didn’t start last week. Actually, it was
already underway in ancient Greece! King Oeneus has a problem. A
savage boar is rampaging through his little kingdom, destroying the
crops and killing the peasants. To the man who can rid him of this
pest, the king offers his beautiful daughter, Serendipity, and half his
kingdom. It seems like the perfect solution until the maiden Atalanta
insists on entering the boar hunt and brings with her a group of girls
who threaten to picket the palace unless Atalanta gets her chance.
Oeneus’ son, Meleager, also joins the contestants. Then Demetrius,
a poet who loves Serendipity, enters the competition. Discover how
Atalanta wins and loses and then wins again in this delightful comedy which uses a classic legend to deal with some very modern issues. Everyone finds something wonderful in this show—whether a
feminist or traditionalist! One int., one ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A26.
115
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Christopher Sergel
BASED ON THE SERIES
WRITTEN AND CREATED BY
MEL BROOKS
AND
BUCK HENRY
WHICH WON SEVEN EMMY AWARDS
AND WAS NOMINATED FOR
AN ADDITIONAL 14 EMMYS AND
TWO GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS.
Mel Brooks
“In 20 years of doing shows,
I don’t know when we’ve had more fun.
Actors loved it; students and parents
thought it was hilarious. Thanks!”
-Kathleen Ryan, Northridge High School, Layton, Utah
Get Smart - Comedy.
Adapted by Christopher Sergel. From the
comedy by Mel Brooks. Cast: 10m., 17w. “Would you believe that seven police boats are closing in on us right now?” asks Maxwell Smart
of the head of KAOS who now holds him captive. When the master
criminal finds this a little hard to accept, the straight-faced Smart asks,
“Would you believe six?” With that question, this bright comedy-satire
put an expression into the language. Smart is off on a bizarre new case
in which he must stop the sinister organization known as KAOS from
their most shameful plot. Their plan this time is to prove their power by blowing up the Statue of Liberty! This is too much, and Smart
springs—perhaps we should say stumbles —into action. Magnificently
assisted by beautiful Agent 99, Smart proceeds from one gigantic blunder to another—each, however, somehow turning into a master stroke.
In our opinion, this is the ultimate spoof of all secret agent thrillers. It’s
filled with easy-to-stage visual surprises that make the show exciting
and enjoyable for your cast and a delight for your audience. Directors
write to say how well this comedy plays. Area staging. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G14.
Southport High School, Indianapolis., Ind. Becky Pennington and Marc Barrett.
David De Boy
Outrageous comedy at Harborside General Hospital
Captain’s Outrageous -
Red Carpet Theater, Elk City, Okla.
Outrageous comedy. By David DeBoy. Cast: 4m., 2w. Captain O’Michaels is an impatient patient at Harborside General Hospital. Describing himself as “S.O.B.”(Sixty Or Better) he decides that after years of doing what others wanted, he’s going
to start doing what he wants—floating toy boats in a bedpan, playing his
trumpet, and kidnapping an obnoxious bread manufacturer. All of this is
to get attention from his lawyer son, but it incurs the young man’s wrath
and confirms his view that the old man is crazy. In a final confrontation
the son learns a secret that changes his life. One int. set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C65.
Nancy Robinson Crist
Everything’s Relative - Comedy. By Nancy Robinson Crist. Cast: 3m., 3w. Matthew
and Christine Dish can’t take it anymore. This double-income-no-kids couple decides to drop
out of the rat race and move to Olympia, Washington, “where the trees still outnumber the people.” But when the couple visits their parents for the weekend to announce their exciting plans,
hilarious chaos breaks out. Witty dialogue, nonstop action, insane logic, sourdough cookies
and peculiar parents combine for a comedic concoction that captivates the audience and keeps
them laughing. A recipe for Marvel’s Sourdough Cookies is provided with each order. Two int.
sets. Royalty: $25/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: E29.
Nikki Harmon
The Death and Sale of Alexander Goland - Comedy. By Nikki Harmon. Cast:
Coldwater Community Theatre, Tibbits Opera House. Photo: Carolyn McGruder.
116
4m., 4w. In a mythical country somewhere up north, Mrs. Goland arrives in the office of the Minister
of Social Services without enough money to bury her husband, who she’s keeping on ice, literally, in
his ice cream truck. With the help of the minister, a window washer, a college student, an extremely
wealthy woman, an actress who’s a cross between Sarah Bernhardt and Peter Pan, and an extra dead
body, a scheme is hatched to bury her husband for free in a state funeral and collect taxes at the same
time. All goes according to plan until they realize Alexander’s not actually dead, after he thaws out,
along with the popsicles. In the end, the ministry is stormed by crowds marching on the city with
armloads of chickens protesting rising poultry prices and crowds who want state funerals, too. Another body is buried instead, and, through no fault of his own, Alexander Goland becomes Minister
of Social Services. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D67.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Elliott Hayes
“A rivetingly effective, wonderfully human, laughter-filled comedy about death and our fear of it—
and about life and the fear some of us have of that.” —The London Free Press, Ontario
Homeward Bound - Comedy.
By Elliott Hayes. Cast: 4m. (3
with doubling), 2w. Novelist Margaret Atwood writes: “Homeward
Bound is a comedy of manners about death. The machine that winds
it up and keeps it going is simple, though outrageous: Bonnie and
Glen, two acutely square and respectable parents, have thrown a family dinner for their two adult children and their respective mates, to
announce—as it turns out—that Glen is dying of an incurable disease
and intends to kill himself ... The travel brochures that Bonnie is examining in the opening scene gather much darker connotations by the
closing one.” However, the intention of the evening orbits as each
person’s immediate concern surfaces: their daughter is pregnant (who
is the father?), their son-in-law has kidnapped the children (or has
he?), and their son’s lover arrives to set matters straight (if he can).
Atwood adds, “Elliott Hayes has fashioned a brisk, intricate, deranging and tightly strung play ... [his] art is a funhouse mirror, and what
we see in it are fragments of ourselves, distorted, grotesque even, but
recognizable.” One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: H63.
Hard Hearts -
Comedy/Drama. By Elliott Hayes. Cast: 3m.,
2w. “This Ortonesque farce was the hit of the Geva Fest and the play
deserves immediate national attention. The play begins with an encounter between a straight divorced professor and the gay man he has
mistakenly picked up. The play teases its audience with superficial
realities—a style that dissolves when the gay character kills himself
while using nasal spray. The teacher’s ex-wife subsequently shows
up with her cop boyfriend to investigate the death, closely followed
by a mother-in-law with parts of her murdered husband hidden in her
Stratford Festival. Photo: Tom Skudra.
handbag. The barest bones of the plot may appear outlandish, but
Hayes manages to constantly keep his audience guessing. Along the
way, he finds a great deal to say about modern relationships, playing
out his strange farce against the all-too-contemporary background of
spousal abuse, sudden death from seemingly irrational causes, and
the characters’ pervasive but devastating inability to communicate.”
(Variety) “Hard Hearts is wickedly entertaining and thoroughly
thought-provoking.” (Bennington Banner) One int. set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H17.
Georges Feydeau
J. Paul Marcoux
Love by the Bolt - Farce. By Georges Feydeau. Translated and adapted
by J. Paul Marcoux. Cast: 4m., 7w. In a bubbly new translation of this internationally famous play, the world of l’amour is turned upside down. Doctor
Moulineaux is having an innocent affair (hoping it will “improve”) with one of
his married patients. In an attempt to conceal a recent indiscretion, he tells his
wife that he has been sitting up all night with a terminally sick friend, who at that
very moment appears on the scene trying to rent Moulineaux a furnished apartment. Moulineaux rents the apartment, proposing a secret rendevous with his
mistress. Her husband, however, accompanies her to the love nest and mistakes
Moulineaux for a dressmaker. This signals a series of impulsive coverups and
wild antics which in turn result in absolute chaos. As complication is added to
complication, the pace continues to build until the couples are finally reunited,
but one senses that tomorrow it will probably start all over again! Two int. sets.
The Boston College production of Love by the Bolt.
Georges Feydeau
All My Husbands -
Maurice Desvallieres
Farce. By Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallieres. Translated and adapted by J. Paul Marcoux. Cast:
7m., 3w. All elements of hilarious and unexpected Feydeau farce are
here in force. The complications begin as Monsieur Barillon, wealthy
bachelor about town, is about to be married to the lovely Virginie, but
she is in love with the poor but passionate Patrice. Virginie’s mother,
Madame Jambart, is a widow. Her husband, a fisherman, was supposedly lost at sea two years earlier. During the wedding ceremony,
a drunken clerk makes a mistake in the register, and Barillon ends up
Georges Feydeau
A Flea in Her Ear - Farce. By Georges Feydeau.
Translated
and adapted by Carol Johnston. Cast: 9m., 5w. Feydeau’s classic
farce is the hilarious new force behind the growing appreciation of
this delightful comedy form. It was a smash hit in Paris. “La logique
absurde,” as one critic called it, begins when Madame Chandebise decides to entrap her suspected husband by sending him a perfumed letter
supposedly from a mysterious female admirer suggesting a rendevous
J. Paul Marcoux
married to Madame Jambart instead of to her daughter! Annulment
procedures are started by Planturel, the mayor, but in the meantime,
Emile, Madame Jambart’s first husband, shows up and threatens to
kill everyone in sight, including the mayor. Patrice still pursues Virginie, while Madame sets up a very strange ménage à trois with her
two husbands. After a storm of confusion and chaos, all is finally
resolved when the same drunken clerk makes yet another mistake
and annuls the “wrong” marriage! Two int. sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A40.
Carol Johnston
at the Hotel Pussy Cat. The wife has chosen this improbable meeting
place because a package has just come from there addressed to her
husband, and when she opens it (by mistake, of course) she discovers
his suspenders. Then the confusions, complications, reversals, double
roles, and double meanings take off! Two int. sets. Royalty: $25/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F18.
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Pat Cook
You Have the Right to Remain Dead - Audience participation mystery-comedy.
Theatre Off The Square, Weatherford, Texas.
By Pat Cook. Cast: 5m., 5w. You’ve just settled down in a theater to solve an audience participation murder mystery. The narrator comes out and gives you a few “ins and outs” on what to look
for in the play. The show starts and you meet Fat Daddy, a rich but vindictive southern gentleman
with an equally conniving and scheming family. So you know who’s going to die, right? But who
will the murderer be? Will it be Sweet Mama, Daddy’s pandering wife; Hyacinth, the daughter
who’s always cleaning the family firearms; Earl the worm, or his overly amorous wife, Savannah;
or Clete, the sullen handyman who, for some reason, is in the will? Then Fat Daddy is discovered,
dead as a hammer. Except the corpse isn’t Daddy’s—it’s the narrator’s! The director comes on
stage and the police arrive. Now you have to figure out which of the actors murdered the narrator.
And not only are you questioning the cast, but they are questioning you! Yes, you are a suspect as
well! This frantic mystery-comedy will have audiences guessing until the last clue is dropped and
the last ham overacts. One int. set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: Y23.
You Can’t Get There From Here - Comedy. By Pat Cook.
Cast: 2m., 5w. The Mavis Garner Bed and Breakfast is not the sort of
place you’d find just off a freeway or even on a map. That’s because
they get most of the customers when cars are disabled after they hit the
pothole on Main Street. Scandal-sheet reporter Arthur Lyman decides
to do an exposé on the pothole “scam” and checks into the B&B. Dur-
Big Bucks -
Comedy. By Pat Cook. Cast: 3m., 5w. What we have
here is a southern soap opera spoof with a You Can’t Take It With You
family, mountain style. Big “Buck” Fever is trying to stop the old homestead from becoming a freeway, and now the IRS wants to know why
he hasn’t filed a tax return for years. As he wonders if they might take
a bribe, rifle-toting old Gramma Fever leads the group in singing folk
ing his stay he’s fined eight times, dragged across town by the local
watchdog and fired from his job. What else could he possibly do but
fall in love with one of the proprietors! When his boss shows up and
takes over the story, he’s treated to scenes from Shakespeare, slipshod
seances and a witch who can’t begin to keep her hexes straight. One int.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: Y19.
songs. Nancy Fever, beautiful and friendly, tries hard to keep track of all
her boyfriends until the handsome young man from “outside” comes into
her life. While the Fever clan finally realizes something about what is
actually important in life, this is really a comedy to do just for the fun of
it. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B49.
“Audiences just LOVE Harry Monday.
We do another of Pat Cook’s comedies every season and have a “following” in our membership.
Everyone should give these a try! These shows are so easy to adapt to any space or budget.
We love them.” -Katie Simons, Corinth Theatre Arts, Corinth, Miss.
“Our most successful dinner theatre ever!” -Larry Pint, Curtain Call Theater, New Prague, Minn.
“What fun, crisp dialogue! Lots of action and suspense with a simple set and interesting characters.
Over-the-top comedy!” —Anne Stumhofer, Family Theatre, Columbus, Ga.
Three Murders and It’s Only Monday! -
Comedy/
Spoof. By Pat Cook. Cast: 5m., 4w., to portray 14 characters. “It was
the kind of night when you caught yourself holding your breath for no
reason at all.” So says private eye Harry Monday as he investigates
three murders at the Peaceful Pines Sanitarium. Harry finds it tough
going when he tries to determine who murdered an old sea captain,
a ventriloquist and a tramp. What did these three have in common?
And why would lawyer Lilly Dramkean get involved in shady dealings? And how come no one can ever keep track of socialite Mary
Tobias? Even the police are getting tired of coming out—they ask Doc-
If It’s Monday, This Must Be Murder! - Comedy. By
Pat Cook. Cast: 5m., 4w. (can be expanded to 8m., 5w.) That’s right, that
same throwback to the 1940s, that same left-foot-in-the-gumshoe from
Three Murders and It’s Only Monday! is back on the job again. This time
he’s posing as a golf-playing psychiatrist at the Shady Meadows Country
Club. “A place where old polyester goes to die,” says Harry, after club
members start dropping like divots on the duffer’s course. And the club
Murder’s Bad But Monday Can Kill You! - Com-
tor Morrissey to just phone in the details. Then Tara, a sultry about-tobe-heiress, shows up and Harry puts his best foot forward—right in his
mouth. “Odd how relatives always head up a suspect list,” he notes as
the deceaseds’ families arrive. Odder still when he finds out they all
belong to the same family! Throw in an Indian, a Swedish gardener and
a disgruntled nurse and the furious confusion multiplies. This lightningpaced comedy/mystery comes complete with its own lightning as a
storm blows all the fuses ... the murders keep popping ... and the ending
will simply kill you! One int. set. Sound effects CD available (Q74 $25.00). Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T82.
members aren’t much saner than he is—a prima donna club president, an
astrological moonchild, a Wall Street ad man and even the “twin” of a
missing club member are all oozing clues. Throw in a naive supervisor,
a sultry hard-hearted dame and a surly police sergeant and you have to
figure If It’s Monday, This Must Be Murder! One int. set. Royalty: $65/
edy. By Pat Cook. Cast: 5m., 5w. Harry’s back! That’s right, Harry
Monday, that Sam Spade wannabe ina trench coat and gumshoes, is
hot on his latest case. Does he know what he’s doing? Who knows? Is
he over his head? Of course. Especially when he finds three murders
at Restful Glen Psychiatric Annex. After he arrives he finds out that
all the inmates have multiple personalities. And the three murdered
victims are all the same guy! Who killed Jeffrey Stadtlander? Was it
the congressman who, in a crisis, becomes Edgar Allan Poe? Or maybe it was the teacher ? Or the mailman who has more personalities
than he ever had on his route? “Clues are falling like cigarettes in the
boys’ bathroom,” says Monday as he finds himself committed—and
not just to the case. This wisecracking whodunit will have you guessing until the final red herring—or perhaps Harry’s goose—is cooked.
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MA8.
Monday Always Leads to Murder - Comedy. By Pat Cook.
soon finds himself, as usual, way over his head as chaos swirls around
him—a mousy little woman wants Harry to take on a case for her, and then
officer Brogan rushes in and arrests her; an actor starts masquerading as
Harry; a janitor shows up at all the right (or wrong) times; and the curse of
a missing gem appears. But our man Harry manages to wisecrack his way
through yet another fast-paced, clue-strewn mystery. One int. set. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MC9.
Cast: 9m., 5w. (with doubling 6m., 4w.) “Mr Monday, I want you to find
this artifact,” purrs sultry client Courtney Delecroix. “It’s a choker worn by
King Midas.” Harry Monday sizes her up and asks, “You want me to find
the Midas Muffler?” And once again, that cliché in a trench coat and fedora
is off on another case, one which has him trying to solve a 20-year-old
murder mystery and write a play about his career at the same time. Harry
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Pat Cook
“This play was very funny and so well received by the audience, we could have performed three more times. It
was a great play to perform in bringing back this community theater after 10 years of inactivity.”
-Scott Marcum, Bedford Area Community Theatre, Blockton, Iowa
Those Crazy Ladies in the House on the Corner -
Comedy. By Pat Cook. Cast:4m., 5w. What to do when you have three
geriatric sisters as patients and all they’ll do is sit at home and talk to one
another—all at the same time? You move another person in with them.
At least, that’s what Doc Lomax does when he his new nurse needs a
place to live—a nurse with a secret, that is. The hard part is convincing
the sisters they need a roomer. In no time, however, Nurse Jean has them
planning parties, pulling Halloween pranks and wearing jogging suits
while they race each other to the corner. Then their nephew shows up
with a plan to sell the family house, and things get complicated again, especially with Christmas just around the corner. This heartwarming piece
is loaded with wisecracks and one-liners that keep the laughter flowing.
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T94.
Middleton Zephyr -
true, who was dating whom, or who almost didn’t graduate. All the
hysterical episodes and poignant fears that all of us faced, all the
school traditions—like the prom that was actually held in the gym—
are richly drawn out here. And all the fondly remembered characters
are brought to life to tell their side of the story. (And just who was it
that kept putting all those animals in the principal’s office?) Two int.
sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M89.
Comedy. By Pat Cook. Cast: 6m., 6w.,
extras if desired. Do you ever wonder what it was like to be a highschool senior back in the ’60s? Pick up this theatrical yearbook and
Conner Murphy literally steps out of the pictures to take you on a
tour. Through annual snapshots he tells the “real story” behind each
photograph—how Wiley and Tater stole the rival school mascot, the
Halloween when the “curse of a thousand dead eyes” almost came
Clockwork - Comedy. By Pat Cook. Cast: 7m., 9w. “You tell me
how you wrenched up your leg or I’ll turn your MasterCard into guitar picks!” yells old Zach at his nephew Leon. For some reason, none
of the Dunwoody clan is talking too much about Leon’s accident and
it’s driving Zach, the patriarch of the family, almost into a frenzy. Finally Zach clears the room and Leon tells him the whole story. After
hearing the hysterical tale, Zach dies laughing ... literally. Then, the
grandfather clock, which hasn’t worked in years, chimes once. “Ask
not for whom the bell tolls,” Nola says, “it tolls for thee!” Suddenly
this prophesy is carried a bit too far when the pickup truck backs over
another member of the family and the clock chimes again. Find out
who is killing off the Dunwoodys in this frantic comedy/mystery.
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C76.
“Once again, our audiences responded with loud laughs, shrieks, gasps at Pat Cook's great theater! Like last year's
Honeymoon at Graveside Manor, this was ideal for Halloween. Cast, crew and audiences had a ball!”
-Lloyd Wood, Sacred Heart Thespian Troupe, Honolulu, Hawaii
The Long Red Herring - Mystery. By Pat Cook. Cast: 2m., 6w.
Slowly, each of the participants begins to suspect the other, especially
when one of them is murdered ... or was she? Did the professor do it?
Or maybe the brainy Kate. Maybe it was the shy Mary Jane who keeps
apologizing for everything. Or Bojo, the jock who’s only out for a late
snack in the kitchen. But when another student is killed, it really gets
serious. Part of the final? Or actual homicides. Who is really dead? And
who is the murderer? The surprising ending will kill you! One int. set.
Honeymoon at Graveside Manor -
Station. A daffy maid shows up to clean the place and gets lost in the
catacombs behind the walls. This goes unnoticed because Tyler is too
busy ducking a female ghost with a hatchet, three high-school kids trying to set up a Halloween prank and his wisecracking female editor
who once had a crush on him. Throw in an absent-minded cop and the
escaped lunatic he’s looking for and the stage is set for a Honeymoon
at Graveside Manor. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: H64.
or 3m., 5w. Professor Kleine, a creative literature instructor, has a rather
unusual final exam. He sets up a “murder” in his own home and has his
students try to solve it. They begin the assignment after they are dropped
off at the professor’s house. However, one of the students begins to wonder if it really is just an assignment or if a real murder has taken place.
After all, no one has seen the professor’s wife in some time. And some of
the clues, such as a bullet hole in a man’s jacket, look frighteningly real.
Comedy. By Pat
Cook. Cast: 3m., 6w., 1 m. or w. Marian Thorncraft is looking forward to her honeymoon with Tyler. She pictures someplace romantic,
secluded and cozy. No sooner have her feet touched the ground after being carried over the threshold than she discovers her love nest
is really a one-time mortuary! Graveside Manor, as the locals call it,
has been abandoned for years, mainly due to the rumors of it being
haunted. Cozy as a bat cave, it’s about as secluded as Grand Central
“This is a great show! The characters are funny and the plot is well crafted.”
-Katherine Alexander, Berkmar High School, Lilburn, Ga.
It’s Murder in the Wings! - Comedy. By Pat Cook. Cast:
4m., 9w. Maddie, editor of Wings Publishing Company, discovers her
boss has been murdered just before a contract-signing party. Tyrolia,
Kitty and Doris, the in-house staff, react with their usual grace. Tyrolia networks for another job, Kitty keeps trying to hide the body
and Doris craves doughnuts. They have to keep the murder under
wraps until notorious author Lionel Upshaw signs a contract, bring-
Death and Taxes - Comedy. By Pat Cook. Cast: 4m., 5w. Ever
wonder what goes on at a small-town city council meeting? In Hendricks, they’re looking for a murderer. Mayor Kathleen Lyles boldly
announces that the meeting will be more like a coroner’s jury than the
usual round of arguments. Not only was a man murdered, but he was
an employee of the IRS. “Somehow I don’t feel that bad!” Carl Johansen says, as the sheriff clamps the cuffs on him, making him the prime
suspect. Slowly it becomes apparent the entire city council had seen the
man, and each of them seems to be hiding something. Who murdered
ing about a new loan from J.B. Odell which will save the company
from financial ruin! Toss in Nelva Odell finding the body, a television
crew showing up to tape the festivities, and the arrival of the late
boss’ new fiancée. Add a hack writer who unwittingly gets rid of the
evidence, a caterer whose crab puffs are crawling off, and a janitor
who carries a gun and It’s Murder in the Wings! One int. set. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I46 .
the stranger? Was it Cora Sedgewick, who was dizzy at the time from
stepping on a rake and being thumped in the face with its handle? Or
newspaper editor King, who’s on the spot to report the facts, if he only
had a pencil? Or maybe the mayor herself, who was doing her laundry
in the back of city hall? This easy-to-stage intrigue is chock-full of
small-town characters and hilarious dialogue. And, as an added bonus,
it can be produced as an audience-participation mystery where the audience sees the scene of the crime and questions the suspects. One int.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D60.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
D.D. Brooke
Richard Levinson
William Link
“The growing tension reaches
the boiling point with surprising revelations countered
by others even more surprising ...
to build to a climax highly theatrically stunning.”
-Tammy Dawson, Bowie Community Theatre, Bowie, Md.
“Fabulous! Captivated the audience. The student
audience was really looking forward to finding out
who did it!” -Meegan Gliner,
Academy of the Pacific Rim, Hyde Park, Mass.
“A fun and fun-to-watch mystery that is very easy to
stage and costume ... NO ONE knew until the end
who done it!”-Laurie Kirk, Shelby High School, Shelby, Ohio
Robert Preston and Jeff Goldblum in the made-for-TV movie.
Rehearsal for Murder - Murder mystery. Adapted by D.D.
Brooke. From the television play by Richard Levinson and William
Link. Cast: 7 to 9m., 6w. The playwright turns on the stage lights and
prepares for the first reading of his new play. As the cast and crew assemble, an undercurrent of suspense is evident. Everyone connected
with this show was involved with another play, and exactly a year ago
on opening night in this theatre, the leading lady (the playwright’s fian-
cée) was murdered! As the read-through begins, startling connections to
the murder begin to unfold. Growing tension reaches the boiling point
with surprising revelations and accusations. The dazzling and logical
twists build to a climax and solution that are theatrically stunning! For
the best mystery in years, post a notice on your theatre callboard, “Rehearsal for Murder.” One simple set. Sound effects CD available (Q75
- $25.00). Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R36.
“It kept the audience guessing right up until the end.
It was a well-written thriller that the actors were able to sink their teeth into.”
-Peter Pagliaro, Royal Palm Performing Arts Theatre, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Murder by Natural Causes - Murder mystery. Adapted by
Tim Kelly. From the television play by Richard Levinson and William
Link. Cast: 4m., 4w. Here’s a stylish and witty suspense play that originally starred Hal Holbrook, Katharine Ross and Barry Bostwick. Combining laughter with thrills it delivers what mystery fans love most—
taut suspense with an ingenious plot. Arthur Sinclair is a successful,
world-famous mentalist in the tradition of Dunninger. His beautiful
wife, Allison, plots his murder for the commonest of all motives—
greed. She enlists the aid of a struggling young actor. Her foolproof
murder plan cannot possibly misfire as it’s too skillfully inventive—or
is it? After all, Arthur (as everyone knows) has psychic gifts. But does
he? Once the killing scheme is set in motion, the plot begins to twist
and turn. Nothing is as it seems. Is mind reading possible? Can the future be foretold? Just when the audience figures out what will happen
next, there is an unexpected shock to complicate matters in an amusing and scary fashion. The mystery builds to an exciting climax where
Arthur’s gift not only saves his life but creates a devilish new puzzle
that will keep the audience on the edge of its collective seat. One int.
Jerry L. Twedt
“This is an excellent play for groups with limited ability to create sets. It also has a good mix of males
to females for small high schools.” -Dea Podhajsky, Kiona Benton City High School, Benton City, Wash.
Murder on Center Stage - Mystery. By Jerry L. Twedt. Cast:
3m., 6w. While a blizzard rages outside the theatre at a liberal arts college, an evening rehearsal for the upcoming production of Romeo and
Juliet explodes. The cast is told by the janitor that if they remain in the
darkened theatre, they will discover the identity of the resident ghost.
Then they discover that they are trapped and must pit their wits against
a demented mind. The killer uses the theatrical effects of a strobe light
and electronic feedback to create terror as he stalks his victims. In the
final resolution, a talent that has long been denied expression finds recognition. Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: M39.
Margaret Ann Hubbard
Selected by the Catholic Literary Guild.
“This was the most well-received play I’ve done. A well written script
that is perfect for high school students. Easy to stage with a full set
or pieces.” -Trisha Lalumondier, Beach High School, Hendersonville, Tenn.
“Members of the audience were uncertain who the murderer
was up until he was unmasked. The resultant gasp from them
when the murderer’s identity was revealed was a great pay-off!”
-Keith Shaffer, North Caroline High School, Ridgely, Md.
Murder Takes the Veil - Mystery. By Margaret Ann Hubbard. Cast: 8m., 15w. The
scene is a convent school. Trillium recognizes an article that once belonged to her murdered
father. Trillium is in danger—and then a friend is found dead! The nuns believe it was an accident, but Trillium realizes that she and the girl were wearing identical costumes for the school
play. Did the killer merely choose the wrong victim? An exciting mystery in an unexpected
setting. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M40.
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Lincolnshire High School, Grover Hill, Ohio.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
“Very challenging piece for an advanced high-school cast, but they ate it up–
persisting to perform.”-Rod Hearn, Galena High School, Reno, Nev.
Sunday, Sunday - Drama. By Sandra Fenichel Asher. Cast:
3w. “Other days,” Mildred says, “are chock full of busy work. Psychiatric therapy. Occupational therapy. Recreational therapy. On
Sunday, there’s nothing—nothing. Time and space ... and us. Deprivation therapy. Boredom therapy.” But this full-evening one-act play
proves to be anything but boring as Mildred and Anna, confined to
the psychiatric ward of a general hospital, confront each other, an
infuriatingly silent new roommate, the emptiness of an institutional
Sunday, and the pain that has brought both of them here. A winner in
Vin Morreale Jr.
House of the Seven Gables - Drama. By Vin Morreale Jr.
Adapted from the classic novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Cast: 8m.,
6w., plus extras who may be double cast. Early America springs to
life in this engaging stage adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic
novel. This literate and lively play follows the demise and resurrection
of the once-prosperous Pyncheon clan. The cruel and cunning Colonel
Pyncheon brings a curse down on his entire family when he hangs an
innocent man. More than a century later, a young woman arrives to
national competitions sponsored by the Playwrights’ Center of San
Francisco, the Little Theatre of Alexandria, the Actors’ Guild of Lexington, and others, Sunday, Sunday has been cited for “excellently
crafted characters” (Lexington Herald-Leader) and “highly charged
scenes and dialogue.” (The Sunday Oklahoman) This insightful new
play is “a psychological marathon for actors and audience alike ...
good solid theater.” (Ashland, Ore., Tidings) One int. set. Approximate running time (with no intermission): 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/
Nathaniel Hawthorne
find the last of the family, and the mysterious House of the Seven Gables, beset by dark secrets and untimely deaths. Audiences will shiver,
shriek and finally cheer as greed and corruption give way to goodness,
loyalty, and romance. If you’re looking for the perfect blend of history,
humor and haunting, step inside the House of the Seven Gables. One
int. set. Minimal ext. scenes. Approximate running time: 90 minutes.
Caleen Sinnette Jennings
A 2000 Nominee for The Helen Hayes Award—
A 1999 Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award Winner
Inns and Outs -
Comedy/Drama. By Caleen Sinnette Jennings. Cast: 3m., 5w., expandable to 9m., 14w. (multiracial). These six short plays are perfect fare for anyone who’s had
to get through a holiday and a relationship at the same time! Memorial Day. Two 30-something
professionals try to consummate their relationship, despite the fact that they have very different
views on absolutely everything. Independence Day. To her dismay, Paula discovers that her
dreams for her daughter and son-in-law’s future don’t fit their lifestyle. Labor Day. Two married couples test the bonds of their longstanding relationship as they discover what, if anything,
will hold their marriages and their friendship together. Halloween. Maxine and Claire have a
Halloween rendezvous with Doug after swapping poetry with him over the Internet. Christmas. Crystal, a young girl with extraordinary spiritual gifts, helps recently widowed Chet as
they both make peace with loss and find hope for their futures. New Year’s Eve. Louise, tired of
being taken for granted by friends and family, hides away at the inn and receives not only precious advice from a housekeeper but also a surprise reunion. One int., one ext. set. Approximate
running time: 20 to 25 minutes each. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I72.
A 1999 Nominee for The Helen Hayes Award—
Source Theatre Company/Folger Elizabethan Theatre production. (l-r) Kila Burton, Susan Linskey, Jeff Mandon, Rachel Spaght and
Steve Lebens. Photo: Kenneth W. Cobb.
Playing Juliet/Casting Othello -
Serio-comic play. By
Caleen Sinnette Jennings. Cast: 3m., 3w. Playing Juliet. In this
play-within-a-play, the New Vistas Theatre Company sets out to
put on Romeo and Juliet with its multiracial cast. Wendy, the determined white director, has cast her long-time black friend, Georgia,
in the role of Juliet. Georgia plays opposite Chris, the white son
Source Theatre Company, Washington, D.C. New Year’s Eve. (l-r) Jewell Robinson
and Beverly Cosham. Photo: Claire Newman-Williams.
of a New Vistas board member. The nurse is played by Lorraine,
a feisty black friend of Georgia’s who has a secret yen for Chris.
Dave, the stage manager, is the company’s founding member and
a seasoned Shakespearean actor who has serious concerns about
the production. Tempers flair and friendships are strained when
Jimmy, Georgia’s maintenance-man boyfriend, tries to prevent her
from playing Juliet. Issues of race, class, gender and nontraditional
casting emerge as the Bard brings out surprising fears, animosities, love and laughter in this company of players. Casting Othello. Fresh from a hit production of Romeo and Juliet, New Vistas
Theatre Company tackles Othello. Chris is directing. Dave is cast
as Iago, Wendy as Desdemona, George as Emilia, and Lorraine as
Bianca. But who will be cast as Othello? Jimmy, now married to
the pregnant Georgia, has grown accustomed to working set crew
and being a blocking stand-in for the lead. Despite his lack of training, Wendy thinks Jimmy could do Othello in performance. The
atmosphere is charged as Georgia and Dave vigorously oppose this
casting. Shakespeare’s controversial tragedy is deconstructed as the
actors’ politics, loves and friendships are put on the line. May be
done as a full length or each short play may be don independently
as a one-act. One int. set. Approximate running time: 50 minutes
each. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P86.
121
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Samuil Alyoshin
Michael Glenny
“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.” —Clive Barnes, New York Post
“An unintentional cross between Cyrano de Bergerac and Love Letters
... lifts your spirits and breaks your heart with equal perfection.”
—John Simon
Theme and Variations -
A bittersweet comedy. By Samuil Alyoshin.Translated by Michael Glenny. Cast:2m.,1w. Critic John Simon writes that this play “has been bittersweetly delighting Soviet audiences for some 10 years nonstop. I can see why. It is an unintentional cross
between Cyrano de Bergerac and Love Letters ... It is humane, unpretentiously forthright and has
characters who behave like human beings. It is the story of love confounded, or almost confounded,
by mistaken identity. Lyuba, an unhappily married provincial tourist guide with vague aspirations
to becoming an actress, lifts your spirits or breaks your heart with equal perfection; an older lawyer
loves her rather too purely and a brash young lawyer deviously reaps what the older one has sown.”
“ Here is a modern play—its protagonists live our recognizable urban life, take airplanes and talk
long distance on the telephone ... We almost surprisingly really care about these polite and seemingly stiff lovers lost in some no-man’s land, an emotional and psychological time warp of a Russia
quite like and yet also quite unlike the world and its people we ourselves know.” (Clive Barnes, New
York Post) Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T83.
Alexander Galin
Stars in the Morning Sky -
Elise Thoron
Drama. By Alexander Galin.
Translated by Elise Thoron. Cast: 2m., 5w. Referring to the standing
ovation given at the premiere of this play in England, the Financial Times
said, “There was no other possible response. Galin’s play is a new Lower
Depths.” The plot follows a small group of prostitutes who have been
evicted from Moscow just before the tourists arrive for the 1980 Olympics. They’ve been sent to some dilapidated barracks in a mental asylum.
There is strong dramatic interaction among these “Olympic Girls”—in
a sad love affair between one of them and an escaped patient and in the
demands of some offstage clients, which have violent repercussions. All
Vladimir Gubaryev
Chelsea Stage. Photo: Gerry Goodstein.
“Galin’s play is a new Lower Depths.” —The Financial Times
the while the runner with the Olympic flame who will pass their barracks
is getting closer. “It is filled with a harsh—but not grim—reality. The
evening is buoyed by its humanity and its sardonic humor. For the prostitutes there is no escape, but their dreams continue and the play’s final
stirring image, a rooftop shout of joy for the flame and the fortune of the
Olympics, summarizes their residual hope.” (New York Times) One int.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S81.
Michael Glenny
Written by the science editor of Pravda, the first scientist/writer allowed into Chernobyl. It took Gorbachev’s intervention for this play to be produced in Russia.
Sarcophagus - Drama. By Vladimir Gubaryev. Translated by Michael Glenny. Cast:16m.,6w.,
doubling possible, extras as desired. Vladimir Gubaryev is not only a playwright but also the science editor of Pravda and was the first scientist/writer allowed into the disaster site of Chernobyl.
With this horrifying experience still fresh, he wrote this searing and incredibly frank play. “Set at
a research hospital to which radiation victims are sent, the narrative offers straightforward human
interest yet also manages to incorporate medical and scientific debate and, impressively, a relentless
political inquest into the shortcomings of Soviet bureaucracy. The focal character is a Shakespearean
fool, a victim of a laboratory accident who has somehow survived for more than a year. Liberated by
his status as a medical miracle and by the fragility of his existence, he asks the questions no one else
dares to and utters what others only think. His corrosive wit makes this ferociously entertaining.”
(Time magazine) One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S78.
Troy Skog, George Hicks and Renee Iaci. U.B.C Frederic Wood Theatre.
Photo: Garry Brazzill.
J. Rufus Caleb, Kitty Chen, Robert Clyman,Keith Glover, Meg Griffith,
Sachi Oyama, Guillermo Reyes, Akhil Sharma and Karen Sunde
Rowing to America: The Immigrant Project - Comedy/Drama. Cast: Originally per-
formed with a nontraditional cast of 5m., 5w. (expandable). Rowing to America is a collection of nine
one-act plays on the immigration, emigration and migration experience. Written by a culturally diverse
group of writers dealing with culturally diverse characters, these sometimes comic, sometimes tragic
and poetic pieces cut to the heart of the immigration issue and provide an excellent opportunity to exercise the talents of a multicultural cast. Dead Bolivians on a Raft (2m., 1w.) is a farce about an immigrant
Mexican family whose playwright son wants to put his family in a play about immigrants. The Apron
(2w.) is a heartwarming story of one sister who has to leave another sister behind in Ireland to move to
America. Rowing to America (2w.) has a young girl literally rowing across the ocean to America amidst
memories of her sister. Slave Coffle/With Observer (1m., 2w.) deals with the forced march of African
slaves from one state to another. Homeland (ensemble) finds a young Japanese woman dealing with the
confusion that is life in Los Angeles. Famous Ali (2m., 1w.) is a comedy about an Afghani citizen and
his Haitian “wife” trying to get through customs. In A Mule in J.F.K. (2m.), a dead Columbian drug
runner leaves his body bag to lecture a customs officer on the merits of America. Let Us Go Then (2m.,
1w.) examines the grief of an Indian family whose American-born daughter commits suicide. Oh Wild
West Wind (1m., 2w.) is a take on the forced march of native Americans during the infamous “Trail of
Tears. ” Rowing to America may be performed in its entirety or as separate selected pieces. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R51.
122
Playwrights
Theatre production.
(clockwise)
Miles Gros and
Divina Cook;
Felicia Wilson and
Millie Chow;
Eddie Aldride and
Miles Gros.
Photos: Jerry Dalia.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Douglas Jones
Henry James
“The granddaddy of all ghost stories.”—WRVA FM
“EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT EXCITING.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Turn of the Screw - Thriller. By Douglas Jones. Based
on the novella by Henry James. Cast: 2m., 2w., 1 boy, 1 girl. Genuine chills are provided in this tale of a governess left in charge of a
boy and a girl at a lonely estate who begins to suspect that the ghosts
of two former servants have hideous designs upon the children. But
the governess is the only one who can see the ghosts, and to complicate matters further, the children may know more than they’re telling.
If the governess is right, the children are in terrible peril, but if she’s
wrong, she herself might be driving them mad. With every twist in
the plot (or turn of the screw) the tension increases until something—
or someone—must snap. Minimal set. Royalty: $60/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: TC6.
R. N. Sandberg
Wilkie Collins
Barksdale Theatre production, Richmond, Va. (l-r) Joanna Foster, Krista Roop, Staci Trowbridge and Kent Fogg. Photo: Bonnie Roop.
The Moonstone -
Romantic mystery. By R. N. Sandberg.
Adapted from the novel by Wilkie Collins. Cast: 6 to 7m., 5 to 6w., 1
child, with doubling (may be expanded). The moonstone, a sacred Indian
gem protected by three guards and an ancient curse, is stolen by the
British officer Herncastle. His life dissolves into ruin, his family rejecting him. In an act of revenge, he bequeaths the moonstone to his niece,
Rachel, for her 18th birthday. As expected, the moonstone wreaks chaos
on the family, disappearing the very night it is given to Rachel. Her
plans to marry Franklin Blake are destroyed. Her high-minded cousin
Godfrey is attacked. And the most renowned detective in all England
suspects that the thief is none other than Rachel herself. The curse will
only be removed with the return of the moonstone to its proper place.
The Moonstone, filled with memorable characters, is quite sophisticated
in delineating the complexities and misunderstanding of human interaction. It is considered to be among the best of modern English detective
stories. Unit set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MC2.
Halsted Welles
Eugene O’Neill
More Stately Mansions -
Drama. By Eugene O’Neill.
Cast: 7m., 3w. The last play by this great playwright is a dark dramatic contest between idealism and the drive for material success. It
has electrifying roles for two women who alternately hate, love and
misunderstand each other in the battle over the man who is the son
of one and the husband of the other. Multiple simple sets. Available
in manuscript only. There is a 10-day perusal reading period. $75.00
will be assessed for each manuscript not returned. Manuscript rental:
$25. Royalty: $65/ performance. Code: M70.
William Golding
The Brass Butterfly -
Comedy. By William Golding. Cast:
8m., 1w., extras. As in Lord of the Flies, Golding pits intelligence
against irrationality, but this time the battleground is Caesar’s summer home. In bursts Phanocles, an Egyptian inventor, and his sister,
Euphrosyne, secretly a Christian. Phanocles has invented a steamboat
and a cannon. The rational Phanocles bemoans the irrational nature of
man, Caesar invokes Jupiter and others try to use reason. Via a combination of all of these, a happy climax is finally reached. One int. set.
The Scarlet Letter -
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Drama. Adapted by Halsted Welles.
Based on the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Cast: 16m., 10w., 6
children. Hawthorne’s masterpiece of character under stress lends
itself well to the stage. Men smile knowingly at Hester’s scarlet letter. We hear the sneers of holier-than-thou women gossiping about
her secret! Hester has committed an inexcusable crime and has
compounded it by refusing to name her partner in sin. The dramatic
climax shows us once again the timeless truth that compassion and
understanding are forever more powerful than vengeance and cruelty.
Unit set. Royalty: $50/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SB6.
Edmond Rostand
Cyrano de Bergerac -
James Forsyth
Drama. Based on the book by Edmond Rostand. Translation/adaptation by James Forsyth. Cast: 7
principal roles with an optional number of supporting roles. “Cyrano
is a wonderful play, full of sunshine and sadness,” said one critic.
The wonderfully theatrical elements of Rostand’s original classic
are all here, yet this English version, by one of England’s leading
playwrights, gives a modern bite to the play. Two int., two ext. sets.
Royalty: $50/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C41.
James Bosley
“Fresh as today’s headlines ...
told with disarming humor and charm.” —Drama-Logue
Fun - Drama.
Manhattan Class Company. Amelia Campbell and Kelly Wolf. Photo: Carol Rosegg.
By James Bosley. Cast: 1m., 3w. Bonnie and Hillary, two troubled teenagers, meet one morning and become best friends, telling each other all their secrets. They
decide to run away together and steal a car. How? Get into someone’s house and snatch
the keys. But once they get inside Mrs. Farmer’s house their excitement climaxes in the
frenzied murder of the elderly woman. That night, camping out in Hillary’s room, among
the teddy bears and stolen nail polish, Hillary writes about their day in her diary. “The
murder was lots of fun.” Set in a youth detention center, Bonnie and Hillary tell the story
of their incredible day to a counselor and a journalist, presenting both adults with the challenge of trying to understand. Unit set. Approximate running time: 85 minutes. Royalty:
123
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Robert Johanson
Emily Brontë
“Prompts the audience to think again and again about the meaning and morality of what it is witnessing.”
—Home News Tribune
Wuthering Heights -
Drama. By Robert Johanson. Adapted from the
book by Emily Brontë. Cast: 7 to 8m., 4w., 3 to 4 children. From his first mysterious appearance, the dark and brooding Heathcliff affects the lives of all around
him.When his beloved Catherine marries another, his revenge is diabolical. After
her death, his grief is truly frightening. Greatly acclaimed in its premiere at the
Paper Mill Playhouse: “A Wuthering Heights that’s true to the book—a sobering
reminder that it was never intended to be the classic love story Hollywood’s revisionist history would suggest. Johanson’s version is in many ways superior to the
movie, especially with respect to telling the entire Brontë story of love, passion
and revenge. Johanson provides a much more satisfying and believable ending
than the ghosts of Heathcliff and Catherine walking happily into the sunset.”
(Daily Record) This adaptation does not sentimentalize Emily Brontë’s cruel and
passionate characters. Their turbulent actions and subsequent repercussions are
as wild and powerful as the wind that forever howls on the desolate Yorkshire
moors. Flexible unit set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W88.
The Brontës: Eccentric Lives -
Drama/Comedy. By Robert Johanson. Cast:2m., 4w. with doubling, easily expandable to 12 to 24 actors. This
unique performance piece, which can be presented book-in-hand or fully staged,
highlights the extraordinary and eccentric lives of the Brontë family—most notably Charlotte and Emily, the authors of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Using actual letters, poetry and selections from their printed works, the audience
journeys to the mysterious world of Haworth parsonage on the Yorkshire moors
where six young children are brought up by a tyrannical father. Their lives inspire
the fictional characters they create (Heathcliff and Cathy, Jane and Rochester),
and their own story is far stranger than anything they would write. Told with hu-
Libby Christopherson and David Ledingham in the Paper Mill Playhouse premiere. Photo: Jerry Dalia.
mor, pathos and great theatricality, this show can either
stand solidly alone or be a wonderful companion piece
for Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights. Bare stage with
simple furnishings. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: B93.
Silvia Gonzalez S.
Waiting Women - Comedy. By Silvia Gonzalez S. Cast: 2m.,
Mutt Repp, 28th Street Theatre. Photo: Douglas Green.
The Almighty works it out with a suburban Noah!
My Son the Lawyer Is Drowning -
Comedy. By Doug
MacLeod. Cast: 3m., 3w. Alan and Miriam Isaacs live a quiet life until
Miriam’s birthday when God appears on the Isaacs’ TV and instructs
Alan to build an ark. “If I don’t raze the earth by flood, you’ll probably
do it by other means so that nothing will be able to inherit it.” Alan’s
progress is slow, so God moves in with the Isaacs and is introduced as a
houseguest. Miriam’s mom asks what his name is, to which God replies,
“My name is hallowed throughout the world.” “Harold? That’s a fine
name. Why don’t you and I have a little drink together, Harold ... Put
In the style of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s
staging of Nicholas Nickleby.
Oliver Twist -
8w. It’s 1869 in the Arizona Territory and Pearl Hart is taking the
Wild West by its horns. We’re in the middle of Buffalo Bill’s “Famous Wild West Show,” where Pearl bills herself as “The Bandit
Girl” and answers to the name of “Beauty of the West.” Sadly, she’s
not much of a beauty and is almost booed off the stage before an audience member persuades her to go on with her story. Now we’re off
and running as we follow Pearl’s roller-coaster life from gold mining
to a stagecoach robbery, a posse pursuit, a celebrity trial, and a prison
escape! Along the way we’re introduced to many of her jail mates,
including a crazy Irish girl, a crusty grassroots businesswoman, a
Mexican murderess, a Native-American woman jailed for drinking
liquor, and two African-American women of the Old West. Flexible
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W81.
Doug MacLeod
some color into those cheeks!” Meanwhile, a family of iguanodons has
moved in next door (to organize the animals for the ark). Danny, their
son, falls in love with one of them and, to Miriam’s horror, plans to get
married. Miriam and Alan are the only two humans to be allowed on the
ark, but Miriam stows away Danny, and God himself protects Rivka,
giving us an ending that is pure delight. The dialogue and events get
zanier by the minute in this hilarious twist on a well-known story. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M72.
Robert T. Noll
Charles Dickens
Drama. By Robert T. Noll. Adapted from the and the Artful Dodger—are some of the most theatrically realized
book by Charles Dickens. Cast: 21 roles to be played by a minimum characters in all of literature. Flexibility is the keyword in presenting
of 12 actors, plus extras as desired. This faithful adaptation of Charles this play, from the staging—written in the style of the Royal ShakeDickens’ second novel is an exciting, fast-moving melodrama about speare Company’s staging of Nicholas Nickleby—to the casting—a
the adventures of an orphan redeemed from a life of cruel poverty and minimum of 12 to a maximum of your choice, with extensive gender
crime by an act of unselfish courage. Filled with an atmosphere of flexibility. Unit set or bare stage. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price:
mystery, its major characters—Fagin, Bill Sikes, Mr. Bumble, Nancy $7.50. Code: O61.
124
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Robert Fulghum Ernest Zulia David Caldwell
“Heartwarming, charming, funny and touching. The stories are
about all of us.” —National Public Radio
“A refreshingly intimate combination of theatre and storytelling.
Gentle ... funny ... joyous. Sparks of recognition ignited the audience.”
“What a joy to produce! Not only did the students perform it, they grew by
working on it as well.” -J. D. Gonzalez, Kellogsville H. S., Grand Rapids, Mich.
Ford’s Theatre, Washington, D.C. (l-r) Gary Holcombe, Liz Sheridan, Bonnie Franklin, Lara Teeter, and James Whitmore.
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten -Comedy/Drama/(optional)Musical. Based upon the books
by Robert Fulghum. Conceived and adapted by Ernest Zulia. Music and lyrics by David Caldwell. Cast: 3m., 2w., 1 pianist (expandable). Based on Robert Fulghum’s best-selling books, Kindergarten
takes a funny, insightful, heartwarming look at what is profound in
everyday life. This tightly woven adaptation has earned standing ovations from Singapore to Prague— from L.A. to D.C. It’s an evening
of theatrical storytelling in revue format, with monologues, dialogues,
and multiple-voice narration, enhanced through the use of live piano
underscoring, which provides fluidity, charm, and emotional texture,
and seven optional original songs. The delightful stories feature color-
Photo: Mark Garvin.
ful characters such as: a shy little boy who insists on playing the “pig”
in his class production of Cinderella and steals the show; a man whose
dream of flying carries him high over Los Angeles ... in a lawn chair
buoyed by surplus weather balloons; a “mother of the bride” who’s
staged a perfect wedding—until the bowling ball of fate rolls down
the aisle; and a modern-day Greek philosopher who finds the meaning
of life in a piece of broken mirror from World War II. These stories
celebrate our very existence, from the whimsy of childhood to the wisdom of old age. Kindergarten is a sure hit for almost any performing
group. Various music packages are available. Unit set (or bare stage).
Royalty: $65/ performance, plus optional music rental. Price: $7.50.
Code: A78.
“Wertenbaker’s The Ash Girl ... is as lyrical and thought-provoking as you would expect from
the award-winning playwright.” —The Independent on Sunday (London)
The Ash Girl - Drama/Comedy. By Timberlake Wertenbaker. Cast: 4m., 8w., 9 either
gender, doubling possible. In a big old house Ashgirl lives huddled deep in the protection
of an ashy hearth. With her mother dead and her father away, she lives with her stepmother
and two stepsisters. When the invitation to the ball arrives from the prince, Ashgirl finds the
strength to go with the help of her friends, some of whom come from unexpected places.
When she gets home, Ashie realizes that in order to regain the fleeting happiness she found
in the arms of the prince, she must fight the monsters who have insinuated their way into
her heart and mind. She must believe in herself before others can. “An ambitious play with
hints of the Brothers Grimm, medieval allegory and anthropomorphism ... it has a quirky
originality ... [Ashgirl] is prey to self-doubt and is under the thumb of her stepmother, while
her prince is an exiled Asian isolated and unhappy in his new country. Wertenbaker’s biggest
innovation is to suggest that the forest en route to the palace is populated by an animalized
version of the Seven Deadly Sins, which are out to destroy humanity. She even adds a further
allegorical figure, Sadness, who tries to tempt Ashgirl towards death, and battles with the
Fairy in the Mirror for her soul. The result is like a mix of C.S. Lewis and Sondheim’s Into
the Woods: an eclectic fairy-tale anthology. Where Wertenbaker scores is in her eye for eccentric detail.” (The Guardian, London) Area staging. Approximate running time: 2 hours.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: AA2.
Catoctin High School, Thurmont, Md.
Photo: Bill Ryan.
125
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Christopher Sergel Bel Kaufman
“Up the Down Staircase is a timeless representation of issues surrounding teenagers.
The fast single-line dialogue is energizing.”-Lana Jean Baker, Plano High School, Plano, Ill.
“It's a great piece for involving lots of students. Most characters are
developed enough to the point of allowing actors a level of creativity
without detracting from the author's intent.”
-Connie Voight, Randolph School, Huntsville, Ala.
Up the Down Staircase -
Sandy Dennis as Sylvia Barrett in the Warner Brothers motion picture.
D.D. Brooke
Comedy. By Christopher Sergel. From the book
by Bel Kaufman. Cast: 12m., 18w. (smaller with doubling). “Hi, Teach!” are the first
words to greet attractive Sylvia Barrett. There’s a special happiness in walking into the
still-empty classroom and for the first time writing her name on the blackboard. Students pour into the classroom—cautious, testing, challenging. Simultaneously, there’s
a blizzard of paperwork, warnings, contradictory orders, indecipherable instructions.
Frantic, Sylvia begins to fear she doesn’t even understand the language. An experienced teacher translates: “Keep on file in numerical order” means throw in wastebasket.
“Let it be a challenge” means you’re stuck with it. “Interpersonal relationships” means
a fight between kids. And “It has come to my attention” means you’re in trouble. Soon
Sylvia finds herself the most involved person in the school— involved in the start of a
romance and in a near war with a discipline-over-everything administrator, but, most
of all, involved in the unexpected, sometimes heartbreaking problems of her students.
The simple stage arrangement makes the play easy to produce and serves to convey a
sense of the whole school. One int. set w/platform. Sound effects CD available: Q25 $15.00. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: U12.
Marjorie Kellogg
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon
- Drama. By D.D. Brooke. From Marjorie Kellogg’s
book. Cast: 6m., 6w. This is the story of Junie Moon and
her friends, Arthur and Warren. Each has been tragically
handicapped, but each has retained the strength and humor
they desperately need in their search for a fulfilling life.
Meeting in a hospital, they decide to pool their meager resources and face the world together. The play tells of their
adventures, sad and happy, comic and tragic. “Most affecting work ... funny, sardonic, more often tender.” (New
York Times) One int., one ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T15.
Jane Kendall
Mark Twain
Huckleberry Finn - Comedy. By Jane Ken-
Raritan Valley Community College, Somerville, NJ.
dall. Based on the book by Mark Twain. Cast:
6m., 8w. It’s always Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer
Jean Kerr Cornelia Otis Skinner Emily Kimbrough
whenever there’s mischief afoot. This time a pair
“We had a delightful time– from rehearsals to performances! Even the
of smooth-tongued crooks who call themselves the
Duke and the King are posing as the uncles of a pair
minor characters provided the opportunity for the actors to make them
of orphaned girls, guests of Aunt Sally, and planas humorous and memorable as the lead roles.”
ning to steal the girls’inheritance. They also insist
-Beth Scott, Philadelphia Christian School, Conyers, Ga.
that Jim is a runaway slave! Huck and Tom must
take fast action—and they do! One int. set. Royalty: Our Hearts Were Young and Gay - Comedy. By Jean Kerr. From Cornelia
Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough’s classic. Cast: 8m., 9w. Here are the exuberant escapades of 1920’s teenagers Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough, determined to
prove how “cosmopolitan” they can be on an uproarious trip to Europe. The ship sails and
the girls are on their own. They have an adventure with a stowaway, mistake the leader of
the ship’s band for an admiral and meet two very handsome medical students. Then the girls
are off to Paris. Here they get involved with a gas meter that explodes, sleep in a bed that
Cardinal Richelieu once used, and convince a great French actor that he should give them
acting lessons. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O24.
Christopher Sergel
Sherwood Anderson
Winesburg, Ohio - Drama. Adapted by Christopher Sergel. Based on the book
Winesburg, Ohio. Parma City School, Parma, Ohio.
126
by Sherwood Anderson. Cast: 12m., 4w. “Everyone wants to get their story told,” an
Anderson character suggests, “so the terrible isolation of their lives can break.” Through
this play, the complex people of Anderson’s small town break their isolation. The central role—Elizabeth Willard—has been played by Eva Marie Saint, Jean Peters and
Dorothy McGuire. As a girl, Elizabeth failed in her rebellion against the limitations of
her life. Her hope now is for her son to escape and, perhaps, express something for them
both. Divided int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W36.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Warren Frost
John Steinbeck
The Pearl - Drama. Adapted by Warren Frost. Based on the book
by John Steinbeck. Cast: 13m., 4w., 3 children (doubling possible). Kino
believes that the great pearl he found will buy his family security and
freedom. Even his friends, however, are influenced by the evil force that
greed has unleashed in the Mexican fishing village. Kino and Juana are
forced to flee their home hounded by trackers, and when their baby is
killed, they find an extraordinary way to end the madness. Series of platforms. Music available. One-act cutting available. Royalty: $65/ performance, plus optional music rental. Price: $7.50. Code: P18.
Stanley Shapiro Maurice Richlin Christopher Sergel
“Pillow Talk was a delightful movie, but it is even more delightful
as a stage play. It is incredibly fun to stage. Actors love it,
and audiences adore it. It is so difficult to find shows
appropriate for the whole family, and this one is!”
-Sherry Smith, Cyprus High School, Magna, Utah
Pillow Talk -
Comedy. Adapted by Christopher Sergel. Based
on the screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin. Cast:
6m., 15w., extras if desired. Jan Morrow, a young interior decorator, shares a phone line with Brad Allen. Brad is always tying up the
line, so Jan breaks in on one of his conversations, only to have Brad
accuse her of snooping. This hurts her feelings; she’d never do that.
She’s been giving everything to her work, and her evenings are spent
alone, talking to her pillow. Through a friend, Brad finally meets Jan.
He passes himself off as a naive young fellow from Texas named Rex
Stetson, and Jan is entranced. Brad’s dual identity as the Texan and
the cynical commentator on Jan’s increasingly important love for the
gentle Rex makes this a very special comedy. Two int. sets. Royalty:
Reginald Lawrence
Jesse Stuart
The Thread That Runs So True -
Comedy. Adapted by
Reginald Lawrence. From the book by Jesse Stuart. Cast: 12m., 16w.
Still in his teens, Jesse takes on the job of teacher at Lonesome Valley
School. Many of his students are older than he, and they decide to have
some fun baiting the greenhorn teacher while the farm work is slack.
Other students are responsive to Jesse, but their parents resent his taking
time away from their work. The school bully becomes the leader of the
opposition, and the enmity between him and Jesse is keen because both
are interested in the same girl. Their problems interweave with the school
board’s fight about Jesse’s job, box-supper auctions, and the contest with
the “city” school in a neighboring small town. It’s a play full of wit, flavorful mountain characters, and true love’s youthful sweetness. Unit set
showing int./ext. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T24.
The Cinderella Complex -
Comedy. Dramatized by Ruth
Perry. Based on the story by Sir Osbert Sitwell. Cast: 8m., 12w., extras.
This Cinderella is a compulsive martyr who’d love to have the whole
world weep and say “poor Cinderella” as she spoils life for her family.
Dags -
The Pearl. Photo: Act Two Photography.
Herman Rauscher
Richard Powell
Pioneer, Go Home - Comedy. By
Herman Rauscher. From
the book by Richard Powell. Cast: 8m., 9w., extras. After all his
years collecting government benefits, Pop Kwimper figures he is part
of the government. Aside from Pop, there’s Toby Kwimper and the
now-permanent but beautiful babysitter, Holly Jones. This wacky
family has just run out of gas going down an unfinished highway, and
the Department of Public Improvement orders them out at once! The
family is challenged by social workers and threatened by gangsters—
but somehow they come out winners! One ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P28.
Walter Kerr
Stardust - Comedy. By Walter Kerr. Cast: 7m., 11w. This wonderful
spoof of “The Method,” and even Actor’s Studio itself, concerns the students of a dramatic academy awaiting a famous artist who will guest star
in one of their plays. They are all trying to “live” their art. The director is
very conscious that he studied under Stanislavsky and reminds the students
of this fact at every opportunity. Into this madhouse comes the famous actress. To the dismay of all, she is a normal, hard-working girl who teaches
the students that there is no substitute for hard work and good sense. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S50.
Ruth Perry
Sir Osbert Sitwell
Her stepmother buys her a Paris gown for the ball. Her stepsisters line her
up an intriguing date. But Cinderella prefers to suffer. A wise, witty show.
Debra Oswald
Comedy. By Debra Oswald. Cast: 4m., 6w. (1m., 4w. with
doubling), extras. Sixteen-year-old Gillian is a “dag”—a nerd, a misfit, totally uncool—who sees herself as fat, ugly and a social cripple.
Throughout this play, commissioned by the Canberra Youth Theatre specifically for teenagers, Gillian takes us on a funny, excruciating journey
through the world of adolescent anguish and awkwardness. She finds
it hard to cope with her bright, gung-ho sister, who is not only totally
together physically but also has a bouncy, positive mental attitude; her
gossipy girlfriends; her addiction to chocolate; and her desperate quest
to be beautiful and popular. So when she develops a crush on the school
heartthrob and finds herself on a blind date with a mega-dag, Gillian
feels pushed to the edge. But in a surprise ending, Gillian triumphs with
an exhilarating moment of self-awareness and confidence. The critic for
the Sydney Morning Herald called this play, “A celebration of survival ...
a paean to self-reliance and self-respect. It is scalding about life’s bullies
and affectionate about its dags. It is a slice of life that cuts deep.” Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D48.
Toe Truck production, Sydney. (l-r) Andrew Lloyde, Fiona Stewart and Antoinette Blaxland.
127
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
“The Mouse That Roared is a fun vehicle for developing comic skills while presenting the
audience with a hilarious, whimsical tale that evokes thoughts about global issues today.”
—Richard Bellamy, Cape Cod Academy, Osterville, Mass.
Christopher Sergel
Leonard Wibberley
The Mouse That Roared - Comedy. Adapted by Christo-
pher Sergel. Based on the book by Leonard Wibberley. Cast: 14m.,
16w., extras if desired (doubling possible). “Hilarious, rib-tickling
comedy,” wrote one leading critic, adding that he considers it “the
funniest on record.” A pretty girl of 22 happens to be the present
Duchess Gloriana, sovereign of a microscopic country in the Alps
founded centuries ago by a roving band of English bowmen. Gloriana’s unique solution to the near bankruptcy of her tiny domain
is to declare war on the U.S.! There’s some method to her madness, however, for her study of recent history suggests that the surest
way to wealth today is to lose a war with the United States, for that
country’s odd reaction is to pour aid, relief and rehabilitation on the
vanquished. When her “declaration” is considered a prank, Gloriana
decides to escalate! Tully Bascomb, presently in charge of the bowmen, is to launch an attack so they can surrender and reap the rewards. Serious-minded Tully, however, upsets all calculations when
he and his bowmen do the last thing expected—they win! You’ll
find comment in the comedy crescendo that follows, including some
pointed, kind words for America. This rare comedy uses the magic
of the theatre to invite your audience to enjoy the delight of the “impossible.” Area staging. Sound effects CD available (Q21 - $25.00).
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M36.
Christopher Sergel
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Frank Gilbreth
“A wonderful story of family, growing up, equipping our children to carry on without us and the reality that time is
short. We loved the characters in this play more and more—each time an actor brought a new layer to the
character he became more that character. The script allowed for the depth development of the characters.”
-Paula Strebig, Center Stage Productions, Bellefontaine, Ohio
Cheaper by the Dozen -
Comedy. Adapted by Christopher
Sergel. From the book by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth
Carey. Cast: 9m., 7w. Suppose you’re an attractive high-school girl and
you’re not only a member of a large and unique family but your father
is, in fact, one of the great pioneers of industrial efficiency. Then suppose he decides, for no apparent reason, to apply his unorthodox methods to you and to the rest of your big family. The results are terribly embarrassing, funny and—it must be admitted—extremely effective! To
Anne, however, the chief effect seems to be that of making them seem
ridiculous to everyone else at school—especially to the boys! Dad puts
up a chart for the young people to initial after completing each household task, uses a rug as an imaginary bathtub to demonstrate how to take
a really efficient bath, and appoints a utilities officer to levy fines on
wasters of electricity. While the situations are often uproarious, there’s a
serious reason. Dad has a heart condition which he’s keeping secret. The
children don’t understand what’s driving him, nor does he understand
them. Anne, the oldest, rebels. Both Dad and she are miserable at the
lack of understanding between them. Then, in a deft and moving scene,
Dad becomes aware of how much Anne has grown up. This is truly a
show to delight all audiences. One int. set. Sound effects CD available
(Q20 - $25.00). Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C18.
Garrison Forest School production of Cheaper by the Dozen, Garrison, Md.
Belles on Their Toes -
Eldorado High School production of Cheaper by the Dozen, Eldorado, Texas.
128
Comedy. Adapted by William Roos.
Based on the book by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. Cast: 12m., 6w. The Cheaper by the Dozen family is real and
wonderful, and this play is about the time in their lives that begins
shortly after Cheaper by the Dozen. Father, one of the great pioneer
efficiency experts who applied this brilliance to raising his large family, is gone. The way in which the Gilbreths meet this crisis makes the
finale a happy and satisfying theatrical event. One int. set. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B13.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
David Rogers
Daniel Keyes
As yesterday’s science fiction rapidly becomes today’s
science fact, this extremely relevant play poses
some very important moral questions.
Flowers for Algernon - Drama. By David Rogers. Based on the
West Seneca East Senior High School. Greg Pietrowski and Corey Jelowski (and Al).
Ramón Menéndez
novel by Daniel Keyes. Cast: 10m., 17w. (with doubling 8m., 9w.). “Ingeniously touching and intensely real,” wrote the critic of The Baltimore
Sun. “Convincing, suspenseful, touching,” was the comment of the New
York Times critic who concluded his review with the observation that this
was “affecting, too. How otherwise explain the tears that come to one’s
eyes at the end.” This is the compelling story of Charlie, a mentally retarded man, and the strange interweaving of his life with that of Algernon,
a mouse. Experimental surgery has been performed on Algernon increasing his intelligence fourfold. The operation is tried on Charlie, who rapidly
changes from a moron to a genius, far more intelligent than his teacher,
Alice Kinnian, or the doctors who created operating technique. As Charlie
approaches the peak of his brilliance, Algernon shows frightening symptoms of regression. The play becomes a race against time in which Charlie
tries to keep his new intelligence long enough to save himself and thus
continue what he and Alice have found. This is a different kind of play:
poignant, romantic, funny and tragic, but with hope for man’s indomitable
spirit. Area staging. Sound effects CD available (Q65-$25.00). Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code:F21. One-act cutting available.
“Stand and Deliver is an excellent example of a great
teaching play. The actors and audience learn about
different cultures, different times, and about important
moral values. This play reaches young actors in a
special way. “ -Paul Palmore, Punahou School, Honolulu, Hawaii
Tom Musca
The independent film received unprecedented
recognition! Imagen Award Winner, Nosotros Award
Winner, Christopher Award Winner, and 6 IFP awards
including Best Screenplay and Best Picture!
“You are the true dreamers.
And dreams accomplish wonderful things.
Tomorrow you’ll prove that you’re the champs.”
Based on a True Story!
Stand and Deliver -
Drama. Based on the screenplay by Ramón
Menéndez and Tom Musca. Adapted for the stage by Robert Bella. Cast:
10m., 7w., (fewer with doubling) multiracial, gender flexible (half of the
male roles can be played by females). Extras as desired. A motion picture originally released by Warner Brothers, this Oscar-nominated drama
is the compelling true story of a dedicated East Los Angeles teacher who
surmounts overwhelming odds in his quest to turn inner-city students into
whiz kids. When Jaime Escalante leaves a career in engineering to teach
high-school math, he is assigned to a barrio school with a reputation for
gangs, drugs and dropouts, an ill-funded school that is also in imminent
danger of losing its accreditation. Still, his quirky sense of humor, antics and
offbeat teaching methods mesmerize and motivate his students. A class goal
is set: to take the Advanced Placement Calculus Test, an exam so demanding that less than 2 percent of seniors attempt it. Pressure mounts! Escalante
works his students and himself so obsessively that he suffers a heart attack
a couple of days before the test; nonetheless, 18 students take the test. All
18 pass! However, the skeptical Educational Testing Service invalidates
the scores because of the unusual similarity of wrong answers. Ambition
Premier production, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.
and pride vanish in a single computerized keystroke. Reluctantly, the
students agree to retest. The result provides the dramatic conclusion
to this emotion-packed, inspirational, urban fairy tale. This play has
colorful vibrant roles for student actors and requires nothing more for
production than chalk, a blackboard and a handful of desks. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SB3.
“Very timely for the ‘circus’ environment of our school and the current budget cuts and contract negotiations. The cast
had a ball, the audiences had a ball, too! A good long laugh at ourselves is just what
the doctor ordered!” -Thomas Towne, Wahconah Regional High School, Dalton, Mass.
Michael Schneider
Learn Me Somethin’ -
Satire. By Michael Schneider. Cast:
a minimum of 6m., 6w., may be expanded to 20 to 40 actors. Learn Me
Somethin’, a hilarious, provocative satire, tells the story of Jameson
Jones and his mother, who earnestly believe in school as a place to learn
but nonetheless find themselves propelled through a wonderland of scary
officials, bizarre classrooms, and inscrutable committee meetings. Students march in their desks to a class where they are sorted willy-nilly into
“front-brained” and “back-brained” groups; a math teacher (who wears
an overhead projector) is so beset by a complete turnover of students
coming and going that he can’t even present one simple proposition; the
school board suffers from attention deficit disorder; the FARCE com-
mittee (Faculty and Administration Redesign for Community Empowerment) gives unanimous approval to propositions that have no verbs;
politicians pontificate about a phoney-baloney joint venture in education
while fighting over a plateful of shrimp. When young Jones makes an observation in math class, he triggers an impromptu experiment. Wire and
ribbon are strung high and low across the classroom producing, to everyone’s surprise, an elegant parallelogram, shimmering in space, bringing
order out of chaos for one brief, lovely moment—which ends when the
dean barges in. This play makes teachers, parents, students (even administrators) laugh and cry at truth laid bare! Area staging. Royalty: $65/
129
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Christopher Sergel
Earl Hamner Jr.
The Homecoming -
Comedy. Adapted by Christopher Sergel.
From the book by Earl Hamner Jr. Cast: 13m., 9w., optional extras.
Known on television as the Waltons, they’re called the Spencers in the
original book, which is how they’re named here. The time is the Great
Depression, and the large Spencer family, living at the foot of a Virginia
mountain, is struggling hard just to survive. With his father having to take
the only available job a long way from home, Clay-Boy is stuck with unusual responsibility for his brothers and sisters. Just reaching manhood,
Clay-Boy has a secret yearning that’s quite extraordinary for the practical,
earth-bound community in which he lives. He wants to write! Such foolishness is utterly foreign to his hardworking father, who tells him to prepare
to become a responsible man—to build a home and raise a family. ClayBoy could explode with frustration at his inability to communicate with
this man whom he admires most. He is also worried because his father is
already long overdue in getting home. In the climax, the father makes it—
just as they are in despair about him. He brings a special gift for his son,
a gift that reveals unexpected understanding and the strength of a loving
family. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H23.
Christopher Sergel
Mennonite Collegiate Institute, Gretna, MB, Canada.
“This play has been a ball to do. My students have had fun and so have I. It was
such a wonderful insight into life in the ’50s ... the coach’s speech at the end
almost seems prophetic.” —Drama Director, William T. Dwyer High School, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
R.J.Mann
Our Miss Brooks - Comedy. By R. J. Mann.
Adapted by Christopher Sergel. Cast: 5m.,
12w. Miss Brooks has plenty of teacher troubles, and her “escape” is in dreaming about her vacation. She has travel folders on several Caribbean cruises which she discusses with the athletic
coach, who owns his own little sailboat. Miss Brooks suddenly sees that perhaps he’s “the man”
for her. She’s glad she isn’t putting on the school play this year so she won’t have to fight him
for use of the gym. Then the ax falls. The play is thrust upon her! A battle royal develops. The
coach’s star athlete, Ted, gives up the team to play the leading boy’s part. The daughter of the
school board president is determined to play opposite him but she reads her lines so poorly that
Miss Brooks gives the role to an attractive nobody with talent. This is one of the most produced
plays we publish. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O25.
William Lang
Alexandre Dumas fils
Lady of the Camellias - Drama. Adapted by William Lang.
From the novel and play La Dame aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas fils. Cast: 3m., 4w. The classic story of the young and beautiful
Parisian courtesan Marguerite Gautier. Called Camille because of her
fondness for the camellia flower, Marguerite falls in love with her young
admirer, Armand Duval. Armand’s father comes to her and begs her to
break off their relationship for the sake of the family honor. Mid-19thcentury French society dictates that Armand’s younger sister, Blanche,
“Reaches right into your heart and squeezes it.” —The Trentonian
I, Lionel -
Comedy/Drama. By Bryan Williams. Cast: 4m., 3w.
With his offbeat taste in music, clothes, hobbies and just about everything else, Lionel is not your standard-issue American teenager. His
parents, worn down by the “day to dayness” of raising a large family, can’t quite keep him in focus—even when he botches a suicide
attempt in front of them, they put it down as an accident. His one
ally seems to be his sister-in-law, Kerrin, who took him to the city
Our Miss Brooks. Trumansburg Central High School production.
cannot marry as long as Camille and Armand are together. Sacrificing
her love for the good name of Armand’s family, Camille leaves a false
note telling of her forsaking Armand for another. Armand treats Camille cruelly. When he discovers the truth. he rushes to Camille, who is
near death from consumption. Armand arrives at her bedside begging
forgiveness, and they reaffirm their love. Alas, it is too late. Unit set.
Bryan Williams
when he was 10, opening his eyes to the world beyond the ‘burbs.
Ostracized by his peers (“Lionel, why do you always have to be so—
you?”), Lionel confides to Kerrin what he wants to be when he grows
up: “myself.” Easier said than done. In a series of humorous and poignant episodes, Lionel comes to understand the cost of remaining an
individual in a society that places a premium on fitting in. Unit set.
“What I love about this play is that it addresses biases, both racial and gender ... the play takes place 150 years ago,
and it astonishes me how many biases the play addresses are biases we still face today.”
-Pamela DiPasquale, Director, Children's Theatre of Maine
Joanna H. Kraus
Sunday Gold - Drama. By Joanna H. Kraus. Cast: 3 to 4m., 3w. “Sunday Gold focuses on two 12-year-
old girls, one white, one black, who work at a gold mine in Gold Hill, N.C., in the 1840s. They spend 12 hours
a day rocking a large wooden trough, washing out gold flakes from piles of ore. Although they played together
as younger children, slavery long since separated them. While Annie, a young slave girl, was ‘hired out’ to
an abusive hotel owner, Lizzie’s father moved their family to Gold Hill. Now they find themselves together
again, working at the mine. Through the play, Lizzie and Annie negotiate the racial barriers that divide them.
Ultimately they learn about things that gold cannot buy: education, friendship and freedom. Sunday Gold is
honest theater for young people, with a sharper edge than most. Instead of providing pat answers to the questions it raises, Sunday Gold invites discussion ... about the time and about these compelling characters.” (Raleigh News & Observer) Commissioned by the Raleigh Little Theatre in partnership with the North Carolina
Museum of History, Sunday Gold had its premiere at the Raleigh Little Theatre, followed by a professional
touring production performed at educational institutions and museums throughout the state. Area staging.
Approximate running time: 1 hour. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SC6.
130
Raleigh Little Theatre. Jennifer Bobbitt and Anthony Finch.
Photo: Martin Thompson.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Christopher Sergel
Christopher Gore
David DeSilva
“My older kids love this play. It deals with today’s issues and my students loved that they understood these issues
and that they could relate to the desires of these kids wanting to be actors!”
-Howard Kane, Children's Theatre Project, Richmond Hill, ON
Woodridge High School, Peninsula, Ohio, production of Fame.
Fame - Drama. Adapted by Christopher Sergel. Based on the screen-
play by Christopher Gore. Conceived by David DeSilva. Cast: 9m., 15w.,
extras as desired. “You want fame? Well, fame costs. And right here is
where you start paying.” “Right here” is the School of Performing Arts in
New York City, and as the play begins, the school is in the midst of auditions. The applicants have nothing in common but a compelling dream—
and a need to resolve the problems in their various lives: Doris, pushed
and prodded by her stage mother, has to learn to be beautiful on her own.
Montgomery has to come to terms with his loneliness, his considerable
talent and his need for a friend. Ralph must deal with an intensity that
threatens to drive him to the same fate as his idol Freddie Prinze. Coco
knows it all—too quickly. Michael is handsome and talented and it would
seem impossible for him to fail. Bruno, living with the music in his head,
frustrates his teacher who hates his attitude but admires his talent. Leroy, a
young man from the ghetto, is a scholastic disaster with a talent for dancing that could transform his life—if he’ll let it. Like the School of Performing Arts, Fame goes to the essence of young people and theatre. While this
is a play and not a musical, there is some music and some dancing, which
may be adapted to suit the particular talents of your performers. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F33.
Kristin Sergel
Edward James
Father Knows Best - Comedy. Adapted by Kristin Sergel. From the
radio play by Edward James. Cast: 7m., 10w. Getting her first date with
Ralph wasn’t easy, and Betty’s afraid it’ll be her last. After reading a newspaper story about teenage elopement, Father has decided he’d better get acquainted with the young man first. He asks the family what’s so awful about
spending an evening at home? Nothing—but it seems that Bud, Kathy and
even Mother have made plans to go out. Aggravated, Father puts his foot
down and they all stay home. The town’s social life is suddenly centered on
the Anderson household. The excitement and humorous complications grow
and then, in the final scene, Father discovers that while he may know best,
the young people know a little, too. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: F13.
Esther Forbes
Lola H. Jennings Coleman A. Jennings
Johnny Tremain -
Drama. By Lola H. and Coleman A. Jennings. Adapted from the book by Esther Forbes. Cast: 13m., 2w.
Johnny, a young apprentice silversmith, is caught up in a drama filled
with danger and courage with John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Paul
Revere and Dr. Joseph Warren. The play re-creates Forbes’ brilliant
historical fiction for young people, portraying the turbulent times of
Orangewood Christian School, Maitland, Fla.
revolutionary Boston as a living drama through the life of a boy who,
without family, must make his own way and find the courage of his
own convictions—a young man who will never let us forget that we
all must be prepared to fight “so that a man can stand up.” Unit set.
Royalty: $50/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: J21.
John O’Brien
Please Don’t Go Back Where You Came From -
Drama/Comedy. By John O’Brien. Cast: 5m., 6w., extras possible.
Nina, an Asian girl, enrolls in an American high school. She is still
learning English and needs help with her classwork. Jocko, who is
anything but a jock, is attracted to her and offers to tutor. Jennifer,
an Irish-American girl who had considered Jocko her boyfriend, is
jealous of Jocko’s attention to Nina. In a rage, she loses control and
says to Nina, “Why don’t you go back where you came from?” Nina
is crushed. Later Jennifer finds a diary written by her great-grandmother telling of her first day in America at a time when a sign reading N.I.N.A. in a store window meant “No Irish Need Apply.” When
a bigot taunted Jennifer’s great-grandmother, she wanted to give up
on America, until a kind landlady said to her, “Please don’t go back
where you came from.” Jennifer, touched deeply by the diary, repeats
these words to Nina and finds a new friend. Area staging. Royalty:
131
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Ric Averill
A true story of friendship and enfranchisement
and the first recorded vote in American history of a woman,
a Native American and a black man.
Bird Woman:The Story of Sacagawea -
Drama with optional songs. By Ric
Averill. Cast: 5m., 4w., 13 either gender, extras as desired. With doubling as few as 2 to 3m., 2w.,
1 either gender. This play follows the adventures of the Shoshone girl who was kidnapped from
her people only to become the best-known Native American woman of all time. Sacagawea’s
grasp of languages and her knowledge of the terraine made her an indispensable part of the Lewis
and Clark expedition. The play explores her early childhood vision and naming, her marriage
to Toussaint Charboneau, their joining the Corps of Discovery’s epic voyage west, and finally
the company’s vote on where to establish a winter camp. Both Sacagawea and York, Clark’s
slave, became so important to the company that they were allowed to vote in this election—
the first recorded vote of a woman, a Native American and a black man in America. This play Seem-To-Be Players, Lawrence, Kan. Kirsten Paludan and Jerry Mitchell.
works equally well as a large school project or a professional touring piece. Songs in the style Photo: Dawn Scheel.
of Native American flute music may be used to enhance the piece and create transitions as the Approximate running time: 60 minutes. Royalty:
action moves across the Great Plains along the Missouri, Snake and Columbia rivers. Flexible set. $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: BA4.
Max Bush
Wildboy -
Gull Lake High School, Gull Lake, Mich. (l-r)
Jeff Newman and T.J. Rathburn. Photo: Jack Sizer.
Drama. By Max Bush. Cast: 5 to 6m., 7 to 8w. During a backyard football game
with his kid brother, 15-year-old Jamie starts recalling fragments of the dream he had the night before.
As he relates what he can remember, his singer/songwriter mother and his older hippie-chick sister,
Mona, are fascinated and try to interpret it. As Jamie continues his recollection, the characters in his
dream begin to appear—the Hunter, the vampire-like Greenlady, the Wolves and Wildboy. Wildboy
is wounded and is being stalked by the Hunter. Jamie is struggling to help Wildboy find the healing
waters. Later, when Jamie tells his dream to his girlfriend, Allison, new fragments spontaneously
appear around him. While it is obvious to everyone that the dream relates to Jamie’s father and to the
boy’s current state of mind, what can the full dream really mean? What does the wounded Wildboy
need to survive and flourish? With his family’s support, Jamie begins to understand this dream and
what is truly important in his waking life. Single ext. set. Approximate running time: 65 minutes.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W92.
Sarah -
Drama. By Max Bush. Cast: 4m., 7w. Sarah is a vulnerable, dreamy, creative teen who has experienced more than her
share of tragedies. One of these was the death of her sister, Molly.
As she struggles to figure out who she is and what’s important to her,
Sarah runs into conflicts with her family, friends, teachers and parts
of herself. Her mother is especially concerned as the anniversary of
Molly’s death approaches. Sarah and Urna (a “spirit” that inhabits
Sarah’s room) have painted a butterfly on Sarah’s face because it’s
spring and it’s just how Sarah feels, and she hopes that her date later
that night will like it. She’s going to see Molly’s old boyfriend, Ian,
who is truly charmed by Sarah, flattering her, understanding her and
praising her for what others call her “weirdness.” They talk about
Molly, about living an artist’s life, and about a possible future together.
Because of her strong feelings for Ian and what Ian wants, what Urna
and Molly would want, and what her mother wants for her, Sarah is
forced to decide who she is and what is most important in her life and
act accordingly. But this is difficult as the insistent voices within and
without her world struggle to be heard. Area staging. Approximate
running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: SE8.
“The Emerald Circle captures audiences of all ages with its compelling themes and dead-on
characterizations of teenagers.”—Scott E. Copland, artistic director, Nashville Academy Theatre
The Emerald Circle -
Drama. By Max Bush. Cast: 3m., 2w. While shooting baskets in his
driveway, Dave, 14, struggles with the continuing emotional and psychological effects of a violent attack.
The trauma occurred with Sandy, Dave’s girlfriend, in the Emerald Circle, a secluded, romantic section of
an old cemetery surrounded by large pine trees. Dave’s mother, Maggie, presses him to retell the incident,
which he relives in front of us. But what is the complete story? When pressed, Dave becomes more defensive,
trying to deflect his mother’s questions, and we begin to see images from that night which he hasn’t revealed
to his mother. As Dave and his best friend, Chip, go one-on-one in basketball, Dave becomes more and more
agitated as images and voices from that night ritualistically break into his consciousness. Often teenagers
are depicted as simply alone and misunderstood, but here Chip is intuitively aware enough to understand
something of his friend’s struggle when Dave takes the emotional risk of asking for Chip’s help. With the
support of his mother, and especially Chip, Dave struggles with himself and the truth of that night. Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: E37.
Sarah Wolter and Jason Deppen. Photo: Lyle Beitman.
Celeste Raspanti Vera and Bill Cleaver
“Excellent family drama with a dynamic, strong female lead. It teaches lessons of perseverance and community
with a perfect balance of humor and drama.” —Bronwyn Histand, Christopher Dock High School, Lansdale, Pa.
Where the Lilies Bloom -
Comedy. By Celeste Raspanti. to marry Devola, Mary Call’s older sister, a dreamy, quiet, deceptively
Based on the book by Vera and Bill Cleaver. Cast: 7m., 9w., extras. Young retiring girl. Keeping Kiser Pease and the townsfolk at bay lets everyone
Mary Call Luther has spunk, guts, spirit—call it what you will—and she in for some hilarious tricks and ruses that keep the play moving with action
needs them if she’s to keep her family together after the death of her father. and suspense. The setting created by selected furniture suggests various
To do this, she has to hide her father’s death from the county welfare; places in the Appalachian backwoods where they live. Area staging.
from Kiser Pease, their landlord; and from the townspeople. Kiser wants Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W40.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
José Cruz González
“Graceful and moving ... in its fluid
crosscutting of characters and time.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
Harvest Moon - Drama. By José Cruz González. Cast: 6m., 4w. with
doubling. Premiered at the Seattle Group Theatre, Harvest Moon is about
Mariluz, a Chicana muralist dying of cancer, who paints a mural for her son
telling the story of the farm workers’ struggle for life. As her son uncovers
the past, the mural comes alive. An “ancestral agricultural memory,” this
story tells of four generations of a Mexican-American farm-worker family,
celebrating life and art. “Graceful and moving ... in its fluid crosscutting of
characters and time schemes, it creates a vital sense of a family both shaped
by and shaping the American experience ... Moon is framed as an ancestral
agricultural memory. Images of both the bounty and harshness of the harvest
fill the play ... González works in some witty and theatrical touches.” (San
Francisco Chronicle) Area staging. Approximate running time: 80 minutes.
Teatro Visión de San José, Mexican Heritage Plaza Theatre, San José, Calif. (l-r) Anna Maria Luera and Jacob Vega
Kanote. Photo: Ethan Hoerneman.
“What a treasure we found in Anne of Avonlea! Great story, fun parts, super easy staging, funny but not silly.
A delight. The audience loved it.” -Terry Dowden, Teen Team, El Paso, Ill.
Anne of Avonlea -
Comedy/Drama. By Joseph Robinette.
Based on the novel by L.M. Montgomery. Cast: 9 to 12m., 14 to
24w., extras as desired. This enchanting sequel to Anne of Green
Gables continues the adventures of one of literature’s most enduring characters, Anne Shirley. From her first days as a teacher to her
departure for Redmond College, we are reacquainted with such old
friends as Rachel Lynde, Diana Barry, Marilla Cuthbert and Gilbert
Blythe. We also meet many new ones: a cantankerous neighbor, Mr.
Harrison (and his offstage parrot); the mysterious Miss Lavendar;
the beguiling Charlotta the Fourth; the irrepressible twins, Dora and
Joseph Robinette
L.M. Montgomery
Davy; and Anne’s lively, high-spirited students. Rejoin Anne and enjoy the embarrassment of mistakenly selling Mr. Harrison’s cow, the
anxiety of her first day teaching school, the humorous essay-writing
assignment, the plum marmalade incident, the encounter with Miss
Lavendar, the devastating storm and its aftermath, and the wedding
at Echo Lodge. There are also flashbacks to Anne’s young life and
how she came to live at Green Gables. This heartwarming and humorously uplifting play will be fondly remembered by audiences and
performers alike long after the final curtain. Area staging. Royalty:
$60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A72.
“We were looking for a positive work with strong female leads that
could be handled by some advanced 9th-grade students in one of
our junior highs. We found that in Anne and a great story besides.”
-Bill Hansen, Lincoln High School, Manitowoc, Wis.
Anne of Green Gables -
Sterling High School, Sterling, Kan.
Kim Hines
Comedy/Drama. Adapted by Joseph Robinette.
From the novel by L.M. Montgomery. Cast: 6 to 12m., 12 to 19w., extras as desired. This dramatization captures the charm and excitement of L.M. Montgomery’s
classic. Follow the young orphan, Anne Shirley, from her first encounter with her
austere guardian to her thrilling graduation from Queen’s Academy. All the tragedies and triumphs that mark Anne’s growth from adolescence to early adulthood are
here: her friendship with Diana, her feuds with Gilbert, her adoration of Matthew,
the mistaken wine bottle, the cake disaster, the broken leg, the scholastic achievements, and the saving of Green Gables. Whether your audience are “old friends”
of Anne’s or meeting her for the first time, this play will foster a lasting friendship
between them and one of literature’s most unforgettable characters. Flexibility of
casting and simple sets make this an ideal production for community and school
groups. One unit set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A41.
Home on the Mornin’ Train -
Drama with songs. By Kim Hines. Cast:
6m.,7w. 1839, Talledega, Alabama: slavery is still alive. 1939, Hamburg, Germany: Hitler has called for the extermination of Jews. Rifka and Aaron are sent by their parents
into hiding with a family in rural Germany where they are joined by other Jewish children, all waiting to go by boat to safety in Denmark. While in hiding, they read from
a first-person account of a runaway teenage slave named Brave Mary and her story
of escaping an Alabama plantation in the 1830s. Brave Mary was joined in her escape
by Katie-Mae and a boy named Kindred. The means of survival for both groups is an
Underground Railroad. Karl Westemeier helps his father smuggle the Jewish children
out of Germany. In America, Adelaide, daughter of an abolitionist banker, gives asylum to runaway slaves on their flight to freedom. The Jewish children are inspired by
the strength and courage of the black children trying to find their way to Canada, as
they make their own way to Denmark. Songs reflect African-American and Jewish cultures. Area staging. Approximate running time: 75 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: H48.
Stepping Stone Theatre. (l-r) Maya Tolbert and Maya Hastings.
Photo used by permission of Stepping Stone Theatre.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Cherie Bennett
Jeff Gottesfeld
“A Heart Divided by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld
posed the question, ‘Is the Confederate battle flag a
racist symbol—or a proud reminder of Southern
heritage?’ Through a series of dramatic events acted
out in the play, the answer seemed to be that it means
different things to different people, and that, through
compromise and tolerance, opposing perspectives
Clarksville High School, Clarksville, Tenn., production.
can be respected.” —Saint Mary’s School, Raleigh, N.C.
“Once in a while, a production comes along that powerfully uses the unique tools live theater has to tell
an important story and to help us understand something in a new way. The South Carolina premiere of
A Heart Divided ... is such a production.” —The State, Columbia, S.C.
A Heart Divided -
Drama. By Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld. Adapted from their novel. Cast: 2m., 4w. May be expanded to
5m., 10w., 17 either gender. The Confederate flag. A historical icon or a
racist symbol? This thought-provoking and gripping play sheds new light
on a controversy that continues to divide our national heart. When Kate’s
liberal-minded family moves from a New York City suburb to a small
town outside of Nashville, Kate is convinced her life is over. Redford, Tennessee, is as southern as it gets— the local diner serves grits and sweet tea,
country music rules the airwaves, and the Confederate battle flag waves
Part of the Kennedy Center’s
New Visions/New Voices
program
proudly over the courthouse square. Then she meets the handsome and
talented Jackson Redford III, scion of the town and embodiment of everything Dixie. Jack shows her the beauty of his Southern roots and Kate
begins to appreciate her new home. But a petition to replace the school’s
Confederate flag insignia gains Kate’s support, and soon Kate and Jack—
and their families—find themselves pitted against one another in a bitter controversy: not just about the flag, but about what it means to be an
American. Commissioned by the Youth Theatre at the U (of Utah). Flexible staging. DVD of projections available. Approximate running time: 90
minutes. Royalty: $65 / performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H89.
Cherie Bennett
“Audience falls for Cyra & Rocky.” —The Tennessean
Cyra & Rocky -
ShalomTheatre,
Nashville, Tenn.(l-r)
Meredith Jones, Zoe Jarman,
Harrison Gray and Josh Rew.
Photo: Marvin Koch.
Comedy. By Cherie Bennett. Cast: 2m., 2w. International
best-selling writer Cherie Bennett deftly adapts Cyrano de Bergerac in this side-splitting
but poignant story set in modern America. The Cyrano character, Cyrana (called Cyra)
Berger, is a teenage girl with a weight problem instead of an oversized nose. She’s also
a skateboarder, a comic genius, an ace letter-writer, and a wonderful friend. Cyra’s gorgeous best friend, Chrissy, falls for equally gorgeous faraway pen pal Rockland (“Call
me Rocky”) Robinson, and it’s Cyra who ghostwrites Chrissy’s poetic love letters. When
Rocky and his cousin Brett come to Nashville on vacation to finally meet Chrissy, all the
familiar Cyrano elements come to life, but in a unique way. Between the laughs, Cyra &
Rocky teaches important lessons about tolerance, acceptance, honor, and friendship. Obvious curricular tie-ins. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C97.
“A perfect show for middle-school productions! It deals with a timely issue that middle schoolers can relate to, contains
a balance of both comedy and drama, and engages them with the many magic tricks that appear throughout
the show.”-Michael Strawderman, Thomas Harrison Middle School, Harrisonburg, Va.
Searching for David’s Heart - Comedy/Drama. By Cherie
Bennett. Adapted from her book Searching for David’s Heart. Cast:
6m., 4w., expandable to 4 more roles either gender. Adapted by Ms. Bennett from her best-selling novel, this multiple award winner evokes laughter and tears. Middle-schooler Darcy has a tough home life. Money is tight
and her parents argue constantly. Her sole salvation is her older brother,
David, who adores her, too. But when David gets his first girlfriend, he
is blinded by love and stops paying attention to Darcy. They have a huge
fight and Darcy flees. When David follows her to apologize, he is killed
in a terrible accident. Following his wishes, David’s heart is transplanted.
Guilt-ridden Darcy comes to believe that if she can find her brother’s heart,
she can in some way find her brother. And so the search for David’s heart
begins. On an epic quest with her best friend Sam (a junior magician and
would-be Harry Houdini), not only does Darcy find David’s heart, she
finds her own. Unit set. Approximate running time: 75 minutes. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SG6. This play is also available
in manuscript providing integral roles for one actress and two actors of
color. Price: $35.00. Code: SG5.
“A powerful play about living life to the fullest. Stellar. Magnificent, hilarious, and moving.” —Indianapolis News
Aurand Harris Memorial Children’s Playwriting Award winner
Kennedy Center New Visions/New Voices Award
John Lennon & Me - Comedy/Drama. By Cherie Bennett. Cast: 3m., 7w., expandable. The winner of
Flat Rock Playhouse. (l-r) Michelle Nagy and
Rachel Jones. Photo: Bryon Collins.
134
many national awards, this uproarious play about life, death, power and first boyfriends was adapted by the author
from her popular book Good-bye, Best Friend (Harper Paperbacks, 1993). Hollywood-wannabe Star, the ultimate
Beatles fan, has her path stymied by cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease that assures an early death. She spends most
of her time in the hospital, where she confronts fate with imagination by surrounding herself with MTV-inspired
bodyguard Flunkies and “morphing” her dreaded therapy nurse into a pro-wrestler. Then, Star gets a new roommate,
Courtney, who is Star’s opposite—a pretty cheerleader and apparently not very sick. Neither girl knows much about
the other’s world, but eventually they come to understand each other and, ultimately, themselves. This is a powerful
play about living life to the fullest and a proven hit for school, adult, and TYA theatres alike. “Heart wrenching, touching, hilarious and a bonafide tear-jerker. Deeply moving.” (Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.) “Stellar. Magnificent,
hilarious, and moving.” (News, Indianapolis, Ind.) “Moving and hilarious. Remarkably well written.” (Tennessee
Stages) Simple set. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50 Code: J26.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Steven Dietz
A.A.T.E. Distinguished
Play Award Winner
Joyce Simmons Cheeka
the“rememberer”1901-1974
In 1911 Joyce Simmons Cheeka
was forcibly taken from her family
and sent to a government boarding
school. This is her true story.
“Takes you on a journey across time
to a fascinating world whose very
existence is imperiled. To ‘remember’
is a way to keep it alive, and it is
the young who must carry it forward.”
—John Dillon, Director, ShenanArts
The Rememberer - Drama.
By Steven
Dietz. Based on the unpublished memoir As
My Sun Now Sets by Joyce Simmons Cheeka,
as told to Werdna Phillips Finley. Cast: 13m.,
12w., may double to as few as 9m., 8w., plus
possible dancers and musicians. This is the true
story of Joyce Cheeka, a Squaxin Indian girl,
forcibly taken from her home and placed in a
government-run school in 1911. As the chosen
“rememberer” for her tribe —an honor passed
down to her from her grandfather, Mud Bay
Sam—it is Joyce’s duty to pass on the stories,
history and wisdom of her people. However,
the aims of the white boarding school are quite
the opposite. They feel the way for the Native
Americans to survive is to be assimilated by
society and therefore try to eliminate any trace
of Joyce’s heritage. She is forbidden to use her
Dallas Children’s Theatre production.
Photo: Linda Blase.
native language and customs. Through her friendship with the headmaster at the school, and with
the help of her “spirit guide,” Joyce succeeds in forming a bridge between this new world and the
world of her ancestors. Through her patience, grit, humor, curiosity and inclusiveness of spirit, she
does honor to the words of her elders: “Each day is a gift. And to waste that day is inexcusable.
Account for yourself. Be useful.” Joyce Simmons Cheeka lived a remarkable, heroic and, indeed,
useful life. Ages seven and up. Area staging. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R68.
Avi
Romeo and Juliet—Together (and Alive!) at Last - Comedy. By
Sandra Fenichel Asher. From the book by Avi. Cast: 14m., 13w., 7m. or w., extras
as desired. With doubling 7m., 10w., 7 m. or w. The road to farce is paved with good
intentions. Eighth-graders Pete Saltz and Anabell Stackpoole are in love, but terribly
shy, so shy they can’t even look at each other, let alone speak. (Anabell buries her head
in books; Pete stuffs his mouth with peanut butter cookies.) To bring the two together,
classmates Ed Sitrow, Lucy Neblet, Priscilla Black and others decide to stage a performance of Romeo and Juliet, with the reluctant Pete and Anabell voted into the title
roles. Ed and Priscilla pen the abridged script, including passages their English teacher
has encouraged them to underline, leaving out everything they don’t understand and
imagining dream players speaking the lines to perfection. Lucy gamefully tackles the
direction of the real-life cast. But lack of expertise, only two weeks of rehearsal, a set
left over from the seventh-grade production of Washington Crossing the Delaware,
and a classmate’s villainy threaten the well-meaning endeavor every step of the way.
When the big day finally arrives, lines are dropped, costumes rip, scenery tumbles,
potions spill, and Juliet’s bier nearly blows up. Yet, in spite of everything—or maybe
because of it—true love triumphs in the end. Commissioned by the Laguna Playhouse
and the University of Utah Department of Theatre. Area staging. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price $7.50. Code: R71.
Dorothy Fox
George Fox
Nancy S. Hubley
Friends Seminary, New York City.
Reginald Hubley
Joan Tressler
“The play was done here as a staged reading on Easter weekend and proved to be a hit with our audiences.
Our audiences described it as ‘compelling,’ ‘highly thought-provoking’ and ‘highly intriguing.’ ”
-Greg Legault, Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kan.
The Case of Humanity vs. Pontius Pilate - Drama.
By Dorothy Fox, George Fox, Nancy S. Hubley, Reginald Hubley
and Joan Tressler. Cast: 10m., 5w. Set in a modern courtroom, Pontius Pilate stands trial for ordering the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The verdict is left in the hands of the jurors who are chosen from
the audience. The events are re-examined as if they happened only
yesterday with every attempt being made to present both sides of the
case as accurately as possible. We see faith, greed, and hope as they
come into conflict in the people most involved in history’s greatest
story. We hear the facts, the truths and the half-truths, and then your
own jury decides! One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: C11.
135
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Christopher Sergel
S.E. Hinton
“This piece was beautiful— in the last days of
production and the first time I read it, it brought tears
to my eyes. The students enjoyed a story with
which they were familiar and a script to
which they could truly connect.”
-Shannon Mallrich, Triad High School, Troy, Ill.
“A beautiful coming-of-age story
that any generation can relate to.”
-Laura LaChappelle, Bradshaw
Mountain High School, Humboldt, Ariz.
“The Outsiders is a great adaptation of S. E. Hinton’s
novel ... [It] moves quickly and is very easy to stage.”
-Chris Murphy, Concordia Lutheran High School, Fort Wayne, Ind.
The Outsiders - Drama. Adapted by Christopher Sergel. From the
novel by S. E. Hinton.Cast:10m., 8w., extras as desired. Some variations
possible. S. E. Hinton, who wrote this modern classic when she was 16
years old, comments: “The Outsiders ... is written from a boy’s point of
view. The characters—Dallas, who wasn’t tough enough; Soda-pop, the
happy-go-lucky dropout; Bob, the rich kid whose arrogance cost him his
life; Ponyboy, the sensitive, green-eyed Greaser who didn’t want to be a
hood—they’re all real to me. I’ve seen what money and too much idle
time and parental approval can do to people.” Ponyboy, a Greaser caught
in territorial battles between the have-it-made rich kids—the Socs—and
his tough family and friends, can’t forget a poem that speaks of their short
and fragile young lives:
Nature’s first green is gold. Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.
Marcus Romer
S.E. Hinton
The Dalton Jr. High School production of The Outsiders.
“Robert Frost wrote it,” Ponyboy tells Johnny. “I always remembered it
because I never quite got what he meant by it.” Cherry, a beautiful Soc,
comes to share a special sensitivity with Ponyboy as she discovers that he
remembers poems and loves to watch sunsets. Cherry’s also attracted to
the older, tougher Dallas, and in a sense she’s caught in the violent space
between the Greasers and the Socs. While the Socs appear to have everything, the only thing a Greaser has is his friends. As these young people try
to find themselves and each other, as the sadness of sophistication begins
to reach them and their battles and relationships reach a resolution, Ponyboy’s dying friend Johnny sends him a last message. “I’ve been thinking
about the poem that guy wrote. He meant you’re gold when you’re a kid,
like green. When you’re a kid everything’s new, dawn. It’s just when you
get used to everything that it’s day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony.
That’s gold.” Area staging. Sound effects CD available (Q73 - $25.00).
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O41.
“Rumble Fish is the book I'm most proud of in a literary way—
read it again at age twenty-five.” —S.E.Hinton
ALA Best Books for Young Adults
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
Rumble Fish -
Pilot Theatre Company. Ari Blake as Rusty-James and Sasha Pick as Patty. Photo: © Simon Warner 2000.
Drama. Adapted by Marcus Romer. From the novel by S.E.
Hinton. Cast: 15m., 6w. (6m., 2w. with doubling). This stage version of S.E. Hinton’s
classic novel, immortalized on film by Francis Ford Coppola, explores the themes
of gang culture and the search for identity. It tells the story of two brothers brought
up in social deprivation by their alcoholic father. Rusty-James idolizes his brother,
Motorcycle Boy. Winner of countless fights, an unquestionable reputation and a legend,
Motorcycle Boy was the ultimate rumble fish. But Motorcycle Boy has disappeared
from the small town, and Rusty-James has relied on his brother’s reputation to lead
his gang while he’s been gone. When Motorcycle Boy suddenly returns, he shuns the
gangs and fighting. The events that result force both brothers to confront their desire
to break out from their urban trap and eventually leads to death for one and a new
beginning for the other. One int., one ext. set. Approximate running time: 90 minutes.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R69.
Irving Shulman James Fuller
“A great show to allow young actors to develop
strong characters they can relate to.”
-Kim Domdierre, Charles P. Allen High School, Bedford, Nova Scotia
Rebel Without a Cause - Drama. Adapted by Irving Shulman. From the
screenplay by James Fuller. Cast: 13m., 10w. Set in the 1950s, this powerful play
concerns the emotional problems of young people, both with their peers and their
parents. In spite of a warning, Jim won’t stay away from Judy, even though she is the
steady of Buzz, the leader of a gang of high-school toughs. Determined to stay out of
trouble but unwilling to be thought of as a coward, Jim manages successfully until
his new friend Plato, in an effort to help him, is beaten up and the other students start
to call him a “chicken.” Jim agrees to a fantastic test of courage between himself
and Buzz which results in a tragic accident. Jim, shocked, tries to go to the authorities but only succeeds in arousing his father’s scorn and the vengeance of Buzz’s
old gang. Plato intervenes, and thereby creates another tragedy. Ultimately, Jim and
Judy work their way through their grief, the futility of their lives, and the limits of
their parents to a new level of maturity. Bare stage w/props. Sound effects CD available (Q37 - $25.00). Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R12.
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Barely Balancing Theatre Company, New York CIty.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Sherman Sergel
Reginald Rose
“This powerful production peers into an insulated environment and shows the rawness of human interaction,
personal power, secrets and emotions. The community
turned out full force for this experience.”
-Candy Roberts, Murfreesboro Little Theatre, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
“It is a compelling drama that challenges both the
audience and the actors. Our production was powerful,
thought-provoking, and sold out.”
-David Payne, Logan School, Denver, Colo.
Twelve Angry Men/Women/Jurors -
Drama. Adapted
by Sherman Sergel. Based on the Emmy award-winning television
movie by Reginald Rose. Cast: 15m. or 15w. or combined for a mixed
cast. A 19-year-old man has just been tried for the fatal stabbing of his
father. “He doesn’t stand a chance,” mutters the guard as he leads the
jurors off to deliberate. It looks like an open-and-shut case—until one
of the jurors begins opening the others’ eyes to the facts. “This is a
remarkable thing about democracy,” says the foreign-born juror, “that
we are notified by mail to come down to this place—and decide on the
guilt or innocence of a man, of a man we have not known before. We
have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict. We should not make it a
personal thing.” But personal it is, with each juror revealing his or her
own character as the various testimonies are re-examined, the murder
is re-enacted and a new murder threatened before their own eyes! Tempers get short, arguments grow heated, and the jurors become 12 angry
men. Subject to restriction. One int. set. Royalty on application. Price:
$7.50. Code: Men T42/Women T43.
Dino - Drama. By Reginald Rose. Adapted by Kristin Sergel. Cast:
7m., 11w., extras. Dino is a complicated young man who presents a
difficult problem to his family, to his girl, to himself. At the age of 17,
Dino has just finished a four-year sentence in reform school. His parole
officer is a tough, competent and kind man who realizes that something
must be done immediately to change Dino before he turns into a fullfledged criminal. This is a play of great relevance for young people.
Divided int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D16.
Twelve Angry Jurors. River Ridge Drama, New Port Richey, Fla.
“Ever-timely story of prejudices and closed minds. Simply
powerful. Tremendous emotional response to our show.”
-Stephan Kiszely, Bailiwick Players, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
“This play was very moving. It gave us a way to explore
the issue of prejudice and blind discrimination without
making it about race. This was essential because of our
school's lack of ethnic diversity.”
-Angelo Carter, Philo High School, Philo, Ohio
Thunder on Sycamore Street - Drama. By Reginald Rose.
Adapted by Kristin Sergel. Cast: 8m., 10w., extras. Sycamore Street is
a peaceful street, yet there’s an underlying excitement. Joseph Blake, a
new man in the neighborhood, is not welcome. His neighbors have decided to force him out. There are a number of reasons why such things
happen. In this case, it’s because the man once served a brief term in
prison. Also, though his daughter is a model student, the neighbors don’t
want their children to associate with her. They form a mob and plan to
march on the Blake house. Only one man, Arthur Hayes, fights an inner
battle. In a scene of tremendous power, Blake stands up to the crowd.
Two int. sets (same set w/ furniture change). Royalty: $65/ performance.
“This compelling story grabs the attention of the audience from the first line.
My high-school group produced believable characters and drew tears and
applause at the end.” -Courtney Thomas, Elysian Fields High School, Elysian Fields, Texas
The Death and Life of Larry Benson -
Drama. By Reginald Rose. Cast: 5m., 8w. The
whole town is excited about Larry Benson’s homecoming. More than that, they’re astonished because
Larry was reported missing in action on a distant battlefield more than three years ago. Everyone had
given up and now he’s suddenly coming home! But when he arrives, the young soldier who comes
calling “Mom! Dad!” is a stranger. He continues to insist that he’s Larry, and only after the buildup of
tension and drama does the moment of truth and vindication arrive. One ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D12.
The Death and Life of Larry Benson.
“Wow! Powerful, suspenseful, and full of great roles.
Easy to produce but an over-the-top effect
for cast and audience.”
-William Liegel, On Stage & Off, Lansdale, Pa.
The Remarkable Incident at Carson Corners -
The Remarkable Incident at Carson Corners.
Drama.
By Reginald Rose. Cast: 13m., 13w., extras. There is no scenery. Except
for a few chairs, there are no props. Latecomers in the audience are invited
to come up and sit on the stage, which they do. Their smiles broaden when
the students start what appears to be a mock trial. A few months ago, a
student fell to his death from the school fire escape ... or perhaps he was
pushed. The purpose of the mock trial is to fix responsibility. Now the
proceedings no longer seem enjoyable. One revelation forces the next,
and soon the entire community finds itself involved. This play is a demonstration of what John Donne wrote: “Each man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.” Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R13.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Laurie Brooks
The Lies and Deceptions Quartet: The Wrestling Season~Deadly Weapons~The Tangled Web~Everyday Heroes
Begun with the ground-breaking play The Wrestling Season, The Lies and Deceptions Quartet is comprised of four individual plays written
expressly for young adults 12 to 21 and the adults who care for them—parents and other adult family members, teachers and community
mentors. Each play explores issues that live in the world of young adults—peer pressure, rumors, identity, loyalty, choices and consequences. The plays are followed by a unique post-performance interactive forum where a dialogue between the character, the audience and a
facilitator is created, challenging the audience to explore ideas and form opinions about their own values, ethics and decisions under similar
circumstances. These four plays raise epic human questions and refuse to shy away from the challenges that young people face today.
“Though written before September 11, it’s an incredibly apt comment on those events…
the most important new play staged in Kansas City this season.” —The Pitch Weekly, Kansas City, Mo.
“This important new play reveals the search for identity that is at the heart of growing into healthy adulthood.
Every high-school student can benefit from it.’ —Siidney Horowitz, Ph.D., DAPS Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
“It’s inventive theatre that touches raw nerve endings.”
A.A.T.E. Distinguished Play Award Winner!
—Robert Trussey, Kansas City Star
The Wrestling Season - Drama. By Laurie Brooks. Cast: 4m., 4w., 1 either m. or w. The Wrestling
Season tackles subject matter seldom addressed but vital to youth and their families: the search for identity
and the peer pressure that accompanies it. Using only the setting of a wrestling mat, eight young people
struggle with the destructive power of rumors and how others see them. This is Matt’s year to excel on his
high-school wrestling team, but innuendo about his friendship with Luke causes Matt to question himself
and his priorities. Kori wants to be accepted for who she is, not the way she looks. Melanie copes with a
reputation she cannot grow beyond. Jolt and Heather ultimately regret having too much too soon. And Nicole
has so little self-esteem that she agrees with everyone. The action is overseen by the Referee, who comments
on the action from inside and outside the drama with hand signals and commands. Using images, movement
and sound, cast members function as a chorus and as individual characters whose stories are interwoven
to create a theatrical event that challenges and reveals their search for identity. The Wrestling Season was
commissioned by the Coterie Theatre and developed at The Kennedy Center’s New Visions/New Voices and
New York University’s Program in Educational Theatre. “A metaphor for the conflicts, pressures, betrayals,
and complex friendships experienced by most teenagers ... inventive theatre that has a way of touching raw
nerve endings.” (Kansas City Star) Simple set. Royalty $75/performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W89. Russian
translation / manuscript $35.00 Code: W96.
The Coterie Theatre, Kansas City, Mo., production.
Photo: Jennifer Coleman.
“Gripping...as in classic tragedy, it’s a subtle look at how the
personalities and choices of the characters
lead to a deed they can’t undo.”
—The Dallas Morning News
Deadly Weapons - Drama. By Laurie Brooks. Cast: 2m., 2w. A thriller that ex-
Dallas Children’s Theater. (l-r) Stephanie Ybarra, Derik Webb and Kate Blackstone.
Photo: John Henson.
plores the hazards and consequences of reckless behavior. When three teenage friends,
Moss, Jessie and Serena, decide to take the law into their own hands, they are forced
to confront themselves, their relationships and the consequences of their actions. Moss
thinks that Old Man Leisner has murdered his missing son, so the three decide to break
into his place to search for clues. But when Old Man Leisner arrives unexpectedly,
their seemingly harmless dare goes horribly wrong, and an accident leads to discoveries about themselves they could never have imagined. Jessie, Moss and Serena are
forced to make choices that reveal themselves, their priorities and the true nature of
their friendship. Deadly Weapons challenges audiences to assess the nature of responsibility and how, under extreme pressure, we can behave in ways that are surprising
and deadly. This play was commissioned and devised with Grafitti Theatre Company
in Cork, Ireland, and is listed in ASSITEJ’s Outstanding Plays for Young Audiences.
Simple unit set. Suitable for touring. Royalty $65/performance. Price: $7.50. Code:
D75.
“The most important new play staged in Kansas City this season.”
—The Pitch Weekly, Kansas City, Mo.
Everyday Heroes - Drama. By Laurie Brooks. Cast: 3m., 3w. Cast can be expanded to 4m., 5w.,
2 to 4 m. or w. Kurt and Win Lawrence have spent their young lives taking care of their alcoholic mother.
When a devastating fire decimates their home, the younger brother, Win, becomes a reluctant media hero,
but the brothers harbor a terrible secret. As the media moves closer and closer to the truth, Win, with the
help of a female firefighter, Jo Judson, must make a choice between loyalty to his brother and revealing
the truth. Ultimately, the insistent voice of Win’s conscience leads him to his decision, raising questions
about heroic actions that save lives and heroic actions toward others based on personal ethics. What
happens in the aftermath of a heroic event that is predicated on lies? How does the distorted truth of the
media become more valid than reality? What are the consequences of the silencing of the emotional lives
of young men? Live cameras project the news scenes as they occur, creating a simultaneous broadcast
so that audiences experience the play in two ways: as the actors play it and through the close-up projections of a live broadcast. Everyday Heroes was commissioned by The Kennedy Center Imagination
Celebration of Salt Lake City in conjunction with the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Simple area staging.
Approximate running time:75 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: E49.
138
The Coterie Theatre, Kansas City, Mo. (l-r) Sam Cordes and Andi Meyer.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Laurie Brooks
The Lies and Deceptions Quartet: The Wrestling Season~Deadly Weapons~The Tangled Web~Everyday Heroes
“Compelling … the story examines individual responsibility. Every character is put under
the microscope. Refuses to pander to its audience and acknowledges that ‘happy
endings’ are the stuff of storybooks.” —Robert Trussell, The Kansas City Star
“The Tangled Web asks teens to evaluate their stand in life, to make conscious choices,
to hold themselves accountable, to make their lives count.” —Avis Smith, ACSW, LSCSW, LCSW
Prevention Manager, Crittenton Behavioral Health, Kansas City, Mo.
The Tangled Web - Drama.
By Laurie Brooks. Cast: 3m., 2w., 1m. or w. Seventeen-year-old Owen is in love with
Sarah. Sarah is in love with Sean and his rich lifestyle. Sean used to love Sarah, but now he’s moved on. With the help of a mysterious Faustian source of inspiration, called the Host, Sarah comes up with a plan that draws everyone into her tangled web
of lies. Owen’s friend, Tommy, is complicit in Owen’s inescapable fate, and Sarah’s friend, Julie, must decide between loyalty
and telling the truth. The four young characters are portrayed individually and as a chorus who, along with the Host, offer their
cryptic and often sarcastic thoughts inside and outside the action. The Tangled Web uses theatrical techniques to investigate issues that surround the consequences of irresponsible sexual activity. It examines peer relationships, influences, and the boundaries of loyalty. How far would you go to obtain your heart’s desire? In the special interactive forum that follows, the audience
is given the opportunity to further explore the characters’ choices and actions. The play was commissioned, devised with and
premiered by Graffiti Theatre Company, Cork, Ireland. This American version was commissioned and premiered by The Coterie, Kansas City, Mo., and received a prestigious AT&T FirstStage Award from Theatre Communications Group. Simple set.
Suitable for touring. Approximate running time: 85 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: TF6.
Graffiti Theatre Company, Cork, Ireland. (clockwise
from left) James Babson, Ray Scannell, Zoe Desmond,
Paul Penrose and Paula O’Donohue. Photo Jörg Köster.
D.W. Gregory
“A compelling new drama ... the playwright lays out
the facts with historical accuracy, descriptive
simplicity and graphic candor.” —Variety
“Radium Girls may speak to our collective capacity for
denial. But it also celebrates our individual courage.”
—The Daily Record, Morristown, N.J.
“The best new play in New Jersey professional theatre.”
—The Star-Ledger
Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Madison, N.J., premier production. (l-r) Mary Bacon, Elizabeth Baron, and Sarah Winkler.
Photo: Carmelina Rattrovo.
Radium Girls -
Comedy/Drama. By D.W. Gregory. Cast: 4 to
5m., 5w. with doubling. May be expanded to 30 or more. In 1926, radium
was a miracle cure, Madame Curie an international celebrity, and luminous watches the latest rage—until the girls who painted them began to
fall ill with a mysterious disease. Inspired by a true story, Radium Girls
traces the efforts of Grace Fryer, a dial painter, as she fights for her day
in court. Her chief adversary is her former employer, Arthur Roeder, an
idealistic man who cannot bring himself to believe that the same element
that shrinks tumors could have anything to do with the terrifying rash of
illnesses among his employees. As the case goes on, however, Grace finds
herself battling not only with the U.S. Radium Corporation but also with
her own family and friends, who fear that her campaign for justice will
backfire. Written with warmth and humor, Radium Girls is a fast-moving,
highly theatrical ensemble piece for nine to 10 actors who play more than
30 parts—friends, coworkers, lovers, relatives, attorneys, scientists, consumer advocates, and myriad interested bystanders. Called a “powerful”
and “engrossing” drama by critics, Radium Girls offers a wry, unflinching look at the peculiarly American obsessions with health, wealth and
the commercialization of science. Unit set with simple props. Approximate
running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes. One intermission. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R72.
N. F. Simpson
Was He Anyone? -
Absurdist comedy. By N. F. Simpson. Cast:
3m., 4w. (playing many roles). Albert Whitbrace is treading water in the
Mediterranean. Rescue organizations set about their tasks. Questions must
be answered, forms filled out. His wife must prove that she can’t afford a
“Everyone in this play seems like
someone I know.”
private rescue. Occasionally, Albert can be heard calling for help. As the
nonsense mounts, someone decides to throw the poor man a life preserver.
It hits him on the head and—after two years afloat—he drowns! Multiple
simple sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: W10.
Cynthia Mercati
“Wonderful, important stories to tell.”—Theresa Donato, Orlando Repertory Theatre, Orlando, Fla.
Faces of Freedom -
Des Moines Playhouse, Des Moines, Iowa, production.
Photo: Russ Bickett.
Drama/Comedy. By Cynthia Mercati. Cast: 5m., 5w., doubling or
expansion to 20 or more possible. Faces of Freedom is a vivid theatrical experience, using both
an ensemble and monologues to tell the true stories of the young immigrants of today and yesterday. Moving fluidly from past to present and back again, the play interweaves Maria’s journey to
America in 1907 with Tron’s escape from death and imprisonment as a Vietnamese boat person
in 1978. Against this backdrop, we meet the newest immigrants: Halima, whose family fled the
Taliban, and Vida, who is trying to find the courage to cross the first city street she has ever seen.
We get to know Juana, whose fast-food counter is her passport to a better world, and Carlos, whose
skill with a soccer ball is his entry into a new school. In seeing their stories, we see reflected our
family’s story of coming to America, and we learn—perhaps for the first time—the story of our
newest neighbors. Appropriate for reader’s theatre. Flexible staging. Approximate running time: 1
hour. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F81.
139
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Nancy Pahl Gilsenan
“The playwright, whose work was presented ... at the National Playwrights Conference of the Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater
Center in Waterford, Conn., last summer is questioning, with the wonder of a pure and innocent child, the arbitrariness of
circumstance. Why is one person put into a class, a color, a climate, a condition of life? And how can all that be transcended?
Nonsense to the notion of everybody being created equal. One character is preoccupied with ‘setting the silver’ and
another has his hut set ablaze in a civil war. That Miss Gilsenan also gets us to question our own value system is no small
accomplishment. Also, she has succeeded in establishing ironies and solidifying a genuine friendship between
two women with brains, souls, hearts and astounding resilience. The play ends on such a tidal wave of emotion that
the audience is awash in tears.”—Alvin Klein, The New York Tmes
Beloved Friend - Drama. By Nancy Pahl Gilsenan. Cast: 13m.,
9w., integrated. At the beginning, Kristin, a high-school student in Minneapolis, is encouraged to correspond with an African girl of her own
age who lives in Rhodesia. Kristin’s relatively affluent life in Minneapolis is in sharp contrast to that of her young African friend, Rachel,
for whom life is a struggle against both poverty and indignity, as we see
it almost simultaneously on the other half of the divided stage. As their
lives become increasingly different, with Rachel involved in the struggle
for equality in her country, the relationship between the two girls now
growing into their maturity becomes closer and even more important. In
odd, unexpected ways, they affect and help each other through the crises
of life. Kristin helps Rachel secure a little higher education that is of tremendous later importance. Rhodesia becomes an independent land and
Rachel the Minister of Education. As she comes to Washington, D.C., on
her country’s business, Rachel is struck by the fact that she hasn’t heard
from Kristin. On impulse, she takes a plane to Minneapolis, where she’s
directed to a hospital. Kristin, now a victim of multiple sclerosis, is in a
partial coma. Softly Rachel’s voice pulls Kristin back into consciousness
and, in what is one of the most moving scenes in modern theatre, the
two lifelong pen pals have their moment of at last recognizing and then
touching what is for each of them —their beloved friend. Multiple simple
sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B52.
“Don’t Count on Forever deals with the impact of divorce on a graduating senior—
an all-too-common occurrence in today's society. Producing it opened up good dialogue
among our cast members— four of whom could relate personally to the events of the play.”
-Debra Dion Faust, Ipswich High School, Ipswich, Mass.
Don’t Count on Forever - Drama. By Nancy Pahl Gilsenan. Cast: 6m., 8w. What Any Famous Last Words? 17-year-old Lisa doesn’t realize yet is that her parents’ marriage is dissolving and that her
family is about to go through a traumatic change. Lisa was sure she could count on everything
... good friends, a good future, and most of all, a really good and supportive family. With
a mixture of outrageous humor and painful drama, the playwright juxtaposes the two most
significant elements in a young person’s life: home and school. In her role as student, Lisa is
the popular editor-in-chief of the high-school yearbook. Her days are a constant struggle to
control her zany staff: the sports editor who won’t keep his letter jacket on, the photographer
who won’t take her ammunition vest off, the copy editor who worries about going to the prom.
In her role as daughter, Lisa is the only child of Frank and Joan, whose relationship is headed
toward divorce. Her evenings are a struggle to control her emotions as they fly from love to
hate to confusion and back again. When commencement night comes, Lisa’s father has left his
family. Everything Lisa has always counted on is over. But she refuses to be defeated. In her
remarkable address to the senior class, she reveals what she’s learned. Graduation, she tells her
friends, is the time to pack up all the good memories, throw away the bad ones—and set out for
new beginnings. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D38.
Tender Lies - Comedy. By Nancy Pahl Gilsenan. Cast: 4m., 4w.,
extras. A living tribute to the human spirit, Arlo Gibson gives unusual
care to the preservation of the waning dignity of each of the people who
populate his porch. Among them are an elderly woman whose once-elegant existence has deteriorated into an impoverished wait for life to end;
a young woman who longs to be an artist but who pits apricots to support her alcoholic mother; and a man of strong religious conviction who
killed his son’s rabbit in a fit of rage and cannot find forgiveness. Arlo
suggests that an insecure girl stop wearing dark glasses because. “You
Comedy.
By Nancy Pahl Gilsenan. Cast: 2m., 8w., extras.
Written for a predominantly female cast, this comedy centers on Lucy, a famous and funny playwright who has been rushed to a hospital because,
on the opening night of her latest play, a chicken
bone hidden in an enchilada has lodged in her
throat. It doesn’t stop her talking, which is good
because she has to deal with the insanity of hospital red tape—followed by minor surgery and a
major anesthetic. As the anesthetic begins to take
hold, Lucy starts to examine her life. Is she an
artist or is she a thief who steals the lives of real
people to make her fiction? This comedy is fast,
fresh—and very intelligent. One int. set. Royalty:
might feel safer talking to strangers in broad daylight.” Over time, Arlo
makes even his most pathetic discovery sparkle. His method is simple—
he tells “tender” lies. Or, as a critic covering the opening of the play in
California wrote in his rave review, “He cajoles his tenants out of counterproductive behavior by creative prevarication.” Let your actors and
your audience experience the theatrical magic of human understanding.
Let this gentle yet extraordinary power get to them, too! One ext. set.
Jeff Barker
“Gripping and tender work.” —The Capitol Democrat
Unspoken for Time - Drama. By Jeff Barker. Cast: 9m., 9w., 1 girl.
Diane Swanson, a college freshman, arrives home for Christmas break. Blaine
McCall, a friend of the Swanson family, has also come back to town seeking
custody of his 8-year-old daughter, Miriam. When a fight erupts between Diane and her mother, Diane experiences a frightening flashback for which she
has no context. She hides this from her mom and returns to school. There she
struggles to conceal these haunting experiences from her best friend, Samantha, and her new boyfriend, Joseph. Over spring break the rift between Diane
and her mother begins to heal, but immediately upon returning to college she
is assaulted by a more terrifying set of flashbacks revealing that Blaine sexually abused her during her preteen years. Driven to the brink of suicide, isolated from all of her support systems—including Joseph—Diane telephones
Blaine and makes a bargain with him in order to protect Miriam. Only when
she hears that Blaine is no longer seeking custody of the child does Diane
finally admit the secret terrors of her childhood, speak the words out loud,
and begin taking steps toward her own healing. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: U21.
140
Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa. Paul Leinheiser, Kira Jones and Danyale Temple. Photo: Tom Becker.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
The Mark Twain Comedy Playwriting Award is given for the best student-written full-length comedy. Samuel Clemens
(Mark Twain), a fearless observer of society, was outrageous, delightful and informative in his uncompromising perspective on social injustice and personal folly. This award is supported by proceeds from the annual
Kennedy Center Celebration of American Humor / Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize.
“A screamingly funny and original execution of the
romantic comedy genre ... Hummel has
created original, fresh, fast-paced dialogue for
fascinating characters.” —Duluth News Tribune
Mark Twain Comedy Playwriting Award
Adam Hummel
The Movie Game -
Romantic comedy. By Adam Hummel.
Cast: 5m., 4w. The Movie Game is the story of Jack Goldberg, an unemployed cinephile who has found himself in the midst of a pre-midlife
crisis. Disenchanted with his weekly custom of meeting lifelong friend
Sam (Samantha) at a condemned neighborhood movie theater for Chinese takeout, Jack decides the time has come for a drastic change. In an
attempt to shake the rut he is in, Jack agrees to see “the therapist to the
stars,” Dr. Seuz, after his overbearing mother schedules an appointment
for him. Seuz soon convinces Jack that, in order for him to move on
with his life, he must undergo a radical type of therapy that forces Jack
to play the leading man in his own romantic comedy. What begins as
an informal, albeit unconventional exercise soon escalates to include an
over-the-top director, a supporting cast of Jack’s mother and father, and
a love interest—played by Jack’s awkward and bookish sister. Meanwhile, Jack takes matters into his own hands after meeting and falling
head over heels for the beautiful, but regrettably engaged Maggie. Sam
University of Minnesota, Duluth. (l-r) Jaime Tintor, Carolyn Jensen, Dave Strong, Jessica Lind and Jason Peterson.
Photo: Brett Groehler.
envisions a different ending to Jack’s movie, an ending that puts her in
Jack’s arms instead of Maggie. Through a script that combines humor
and heart, laughter and love, we’re treated to a romantic comedy for
the stage that tips its hat to pop culture and pays homage to such classic
films as The Philadelphia Story, Annie Hall, and When Harry Met Sally.
Simple multiple sets. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MD4.
Todd McCullough
Mark Twain Comedy Playwriting Award
Rainy Day People -
University of Wyoming Studio Theatre, Laramie, Wyo. Missy Moore and Todd McCullough.
Jeannine Coulombe
National AIDS Fund/CFDA-Vogue
Initiative Award
Comedy. By Todd McCullough. Cast: 5m., 7w. (3m., 5w.
with doubling) Rainy Day People takes a comic look at love, sex and other antidepressants. Zack Wallis has turned misery into a paycheck, writing a wildly popular newspaper
column full of his cynical views on modern existence. However, on meeting Zoe Lofton,
an equally depressed bookstore clerk working on a musical adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s
Notes From Underground, he finds himself in love—and happy—for the first time. Yet
while finding true love might be a dream come true for most people, for Zack it means losing his inspiration to write. Torn between his relationship with Zoe, the advice of his newage therapist, and threats of dismissal from his editor, Zack ultimately has to decide if true
happiness is profitable, preferable, or even possible. As rain falls, the main characters are
interrupted and confronted by an eclectic chorus of sad and soaked New Yorkers who rant
and rave on the downside of everything from relationships and single
parenthood to art and amputation.
Rainy Day People is a smart, hilarious play that focuses on the age-old
question “What is happiness, and is
it available in easy-to-swallow capsules?” Area staging with optional
rain machine. Approximate running
time: 1 hour, 20 minutes. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: R70.
The Vacant Lot -
Drama. By Jeannine Coulombe. Cast: 3m., 2w. (One of the
male actors plays 4 roles. This doubling is specific and intentional.) In the last moments
of her life, Melissa Cole searches for peace. But in her desire not to be another person
in a hospital bed dying from AIDS she lands in a place that is not here and not eternity.
Assisted by Fred, an unexpected and otherworldly guide, she travels from a bench in
Central Park to the wart on Abe Lincoln’s face on top of Mount Rushmore, hoping
to connect the dots of her life. Fred helps her find the strength to face the harrowing
relationships, struggles and mistakes that have plagued her life, but in the process helps
her to not only remember but also relish the joys of being alive. “Memories are strange,”
says Melissa. “They don’t like to show you the whole picture. Some things are so vivid
and others seem so blurry.” Trying to make sense of both the blurry and the vivid, Melissa
strives to embrace the whole picture. In the end, she discovers that her connection to
Fred may be more than it appears, and her ability to embrace her life and find peace has
consequences for them both. Unit set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: V32.
University of Minnesota-Duluth Theatre. Brandon Breault and Carolyn Jenson.
Photo: Brett Groehler.
141
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
AATE Distinguished Play Award Winners
Joanna H. Kraus
Angel in the Night - Drama.
By Joanna H. Kraus. Cast:
4m., 4w., 1 girl, minimum with doubling (may be expanded to 9m.,
7w., 1 girl). This drama about a young girl’s courage is based on the
true story of Marysia Pawlina Szul, a Polish Catholic teen, who saved
the lives of four Jewish people during World War II and is honored
both in Yad Vashem, Israel, and the Avenue of the Righteous Park,
Evanston, Ill. In the present, two survivors meet on the occasion of the
tree-planting ceremony to honor Marysia Pawlina’s deed. In the past,
in 1942, a family who has escaped a Polish ghetto begs the girl to hide
them. At great peril to herself and without her family’s knowledge or
approval, she is their sole protector and provider for two years. One
of the fugitives leaves the hideout and casts suspicion upon Marysia
Pawlina. Nazi soldiers arrest, imprison, interrogate and beat her,
but she refuses to admit the truth. As the Russian army advances, a
Polish guard helps Marysia Pawlina escape. This inspirational story
of courage, compassion and heroism reinforcs the concept that one
individual can make a difference and that love is stronger than hate.
Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A61.
Study guide: $25.00. Code: Q98.
Ric Averill
The Edward B. Weinstein Center for the Performing Arts, National-Louis University, Chicago, Ill.
Photo: John Weinstein.
V. Glasgow Koste
Kevin Willmott
T-Money & Wolf - Drama. By Ric Averill and Kevin Willmott. The Chicago Gypsies Cast: a multicultural cast of 20 to 24 actors. What do a hardened
Nazi war criminal and a young gang member from New Jersey have
in common? From a Newark jail cell their respective stories unfold,
and the similarities of their lives and their choices become painfully
apparent. By seeing the choices made by each of these prisoners, actors
and audiences are challenged to review their own choices and the
finality of some consequences. This shocking and challenging material
was originated at a midwestern high school, then developed at the
Kennedy Center New Visions/New Voices symposium. Area staging.
Dramatic comedy. By V. Glasgow
Koste. Cast: 1m., 6w. Spanning three generations, this play for
family audiences is about the migratory life of a “show business”
child during the Great Depression. Charley is the youngest actor in
a company that suddenly finds itself stranded in Iowa. She travles
with her temperamental actress-mother; her loving, song-and-danceman of a father; and her “illegitimate adopted grandmothers.” The
“Chicago gypsies” stubbornly see their way through these “worst
of times” to the “best of times” and a reunion that makes these odd
yet ordinary people shine. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: C69.
A Woman Called Truth - Drama. By Sandra Fenichel Asher. Cast: 3m., 3w. “Well, children, where
there’s so much racket, there must be something out of kilter.” So begins Sojourner Truth’s historic “Ain’t I
a Woman?” speech, words which reverberate over a century later to speak to us of racism and sexism today.
This play chronicles the life of this remarkable woman from the day she is sold away from her family as a
young girl, through her struggle to free herself and her son, to her emergence as a popular and respected figure
advocating abolition and women’s rights. Combining her actual words with authentic slave songs, spirituals
and folk songs of the period A Woman Called Truth has been honored by the National Endowment for the
Arts, the IUPUI Children’s Theatre Symposium and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. As one
enthusiast put it: “This play should tour the country forever!” Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: W74.
Photo: Scott Humbert.
Michael Cowell
Song for the Navigator - Drama/Comedy. By Michael Cowell. Cast: 5m., 2w. with doubling. There are
The Open Eye, New Stagings. Patricia Floyd and company.
Nancy Pahl Gilsenan
John Knowles
problems at home and Gabby is sent to his grandfather on a tiny South Pacific island for the summer. On Satawal,
Gabby’s blind grandfather, Samal, is “the navigator.” He “feels” the waves with his body, he “sees” the sky, and
he predicts the weather two weeks away. He knows all the old magic and wants Gabby to learn the traditional
ways of navigation. Reluctantly, Gabby agrees. When Gabby and his cousin,Tilifag, set sail for an outer island by
themselves, an unexpected storm swamps their canoe. They lose their charts, compass and walkie-talkie. Only
by remembering Samal’s ancient chant is Gabby able to guide them to safety. When the summer ends, Gabby
leaves Satawal with a new understanding of himself and the meaning of friendship, and with a profound love for
his grandfather. Simple sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S37.
A Separate Peace - Drama. By Nancy Pahl Gilsenan. Based
seems the perfect match until the fear in Gene and the world around
on the book by John Knowles. Cast: 8m. John Knowles’ classic him can no longer tolerate the life in Finny. The two face each other,
tale of two high-school boys standing on the threshold of war and both figuratively and literally, on a tree limb overlooking death,
adulthood comes to the stage. Gene is a careful, studious young man, and Gene pushes. “My war ended before I ever put on a uniform,”
full of fear of the future. As America is about to enter World War II, Gene says. “I was in active duty all my time at school; I killed my
he attends summer school at Devon in New England. There he meets enemy there. Only Phineas never hated anyone.” This is the story
Phineas, whose love for life defies the reality of draft boards and of learning to face the world and face oneself; of searching for a
battleships and challenges the adult world. Phineas, the exceptional “special and separate peace”of one’s own which is timeless. Area
athlete and consummate charmer. The two become fast friends. It staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S79.
142
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Pamela Sterling
AATE Distinguished Play Award Winners
Frances Hodgson Burnett
“Excellent counterpoint of dialog, nice movement of story
line, and a very moving conclusion!
A wonderful and timeless story for family theatre.”
-Mark Price, Rainbow’s End Theatre, Independence, Mo.
The Secret Garden -
Drama. Adapted by Pamela Sterling. Underscoring by Chris Limber. Based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Cast: 5m., 3w., 1 robin. This joyous story is about how Mary and Colin, whose
natures have been badly warped, thrive with the discovery that selflessness
opens the secret door to happiness. They are encouraged by the warm-hearted
maid, Martha, and her brother, Dickon, who understands the language of
birds; the crusty gardener, Ben; and, of course, the robin that leads Mary to the
garden that changes her life. Highly theatrical, yet easy to stage. Area staging.
Royalty: $60/ performance, plus optional music rental. Optional underscore/
SFX CD available. Price: $7.50. Code: S26.
Nancy Pahl Gilsenan
In the Middle of Grand Central Station - Drama. By Nancy
Pahl Gilsenan. Cast: 6m., 6w., extras. Grand Central Station is a noisy, anonymous, unforgettable place to visit, but who’d want to live there? Yet hundreds of
people, many of them penniless, all of them lost, call Grand Central home. This
is the story of one, a 15-year-old runaway named Marta de Silva. Loosely based
on the true story of a young woman who lived in Grand Central for four years,
this play examines the search of one very intelligent, warm, troubled person to
find a place of her own in a disintegrating social system. From a broken fam-
Theatre IV, Richmond, Va., production of A Secret Garden.
ily, to city psychiatric wards, through residential treatment centers,
Marty has continued to run—until she reaches the “living room”
of the world’s most famous train station. Here she finds freedom,
friends, dignity, drugs, and a hopelessness few can imagine. This is
a play about survival and what happens to young people’s dreams
when the odds are stacked against them. Area staging. Royalty:
“[An] impassioned new play ... a tale of teachers and students educating each other, reaching across a gulf of
cultures and generations for a common understanding through music.” —Palm Beach Post
Tammy Ryan
The Music Lesson - Drama. By Tammy Ryan. Cast: 2m., 4w. Weaving together
the music of Bach, with memories of the Bosnian War and the universal conflicts between
teacher and student, The Music Lesson tells the story of Irena and her husband Ivan, two
musicians who escaped the war in Sarajevo to start a new life in Pittsburgh. When Ivan
meets Mrs. Johnson, a recently divorced single mother, at the local grocery store, he brings
home two new students: 10-year-old Eddie, a talented violin student, and the unwilling
Kat, his 14-year-old sister. While her passion for music and the students she taught helped
Irena survive the war, she now stands torn between Maja, the 12-year-old piano prodigy
she left behind in Sarajevo, and Kat, the bright but angry American teenager who wants
to learn, but resists her teaching. Shifting elegantly from past to present and resonating
with powerful music, this is the tale of two countries, two families, two generations and
the ways they teach and heal each other. A winner of the IUPUI Bonderman Award and a
Carbonell Award for Best Production. “First-rate family drama ...We hear what it’s like
to be a teenager in a civil war.” (Philadelphia City Paper) “A play of vital theatricality,
rich in vivid and resonant images.” (Arcade Suburban Publications, Pennsylvania) “A
beautifully told story about healing and hope.” (Main Line Times, Pennsylvania) Single
set. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: MD8.
The People’s Light & Theatre Company, Malvern, Pa. (l-r) Ceal Phelan, Saige Thompson
and Rebecca Hatcher Lisak. Photo: Mark Garvin.
Meryl Friedman Fran Leeper Buss
Fleeing persecution in El Salvadore, a small family is
smuggled into the U.S. to try to make a life in Chicago.
Journey of the Sparrows -
Lifeline Theatre, Chicago. Albina Dodeva and Amy Garcia.
Photo: Suzanne N. Plunkett.
Drama. By Meryl Friedman. Adapted from
the book by Fran Leeper Buss. Cast: 2m., 5w. Fleeing persecution in El Salvador,
16-year-old María, her older sister Julia, their little brother Oscar, and a young man,
Tomás, are nailed into a crate and transported with a load of vegetables from Mexico to
Chicago. When they arrive in the city, their struggle to make a new life begins in earnest as they try to earn a living and yet remain “invisible” in order to avoid arrest and
deportation. Despite their ordeals, hope and love can still be found, especially in the
stories and drawings María creates to lift the family’s spirits, drawing on their native
culture to find meaning in a new and vastly different society. This powerful, uplifting
story of triumph over incredible odds was originally commissioned by Lifeline Theatre in Chicago. Highly recommended for ages 10 to adult. Simple set. Royalty: $65/
performance, plus optional underscore music rental. Price: $7.50. Code: J32.
143
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Celeste Raspanti
Artist Marika Friedmanova,
died at Auschwitz, 1944.
Such, such a yellow Is carried lightly way up high.
It went away I’m sure because / It wished to kiss the world goodbye.
For seven weeks I’ve lived in here / Penned up inside this ghetto,
But I have found my people here / The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut candles in the court.
—Poet Paul Friedmann,
Only I never saw another butterfly.
died at Auschwitz, 1944.
I Never Saw Another Butterfly - Drama. By Celeste Raspanti. Cast:
4m., 7w., 4 children, extras. Over 15,000 Jewish children passed through Terezin,
and only about a hundred were still alive when Terezin was liberated at the end of
the war. One of the survivors, Raja, having lived through it all, teaching the children when there was nothing to teach with, helping to give them hope when there
was little enough reason for hope, creating a little world of laughter, of flowers and
butterflies behind the barbed wire, tells the true story of the children. It’s her play
and it’s theirs. There were no butterflies at Terezin, of course, but for the children,
butterflies became a symbol of defiance, making it possible for them to live on and
play happily while waiting to be transported. Area staging. One-act cutting available. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I22.
Sidekick Players Club, Delta, BC, production.
Deborah Lynn Frockt
“Appealing and impassioned ... dramatizes a fascinating chapter of Holocaust history
while also examining the universal theme of how family bonds can sustain
the spirit in harsh times.” —Seattle Times
The Book of Ruth - Drama. By Deborah Lynn Frockt. Cast: 3m., 2w. Celebrating faith and community,
family and continuity, The Book of Ruth is a poignant tale of love between generations. Separated from the rest of
their family, Hannah and her granddaughter, Ruth, sit imprisoned in a Nazi internment camp, struggling each day
to care for each other, to avoid the transports east and to stave off starvation. Amidst the despair of war, the two
struggle to preserve their humanity, their culture—and each other. While Hannah perpetuates herself by sharing her
many treasured recipes with Ruth, Ruth finds solace in drawing elaborate pictures which transport them both far
from the confines of their prison. Ruth is desperate to feed her starving grandmother, but Hannah is focused only on
nourishing her granddaughter’s soul. Deeply moving and ultimately uplifting, The Book of Ruth was a winner of the
prestigious AT&T OnStage award. Unit set, flexible staging. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: BA3.
Cherie Bennett
Alliance Children’s Theatre. (l-r) Mary Lucy
Bivins and Lori Prince. Photo: Michelle Hollberg.
“Anne Frank and Me is an extremely powerful and moving play. Many of our audience members went out of their way
to thank us for the production, tears in their eyes. Overwhelmingly, our young actors felt this was a life-changing,
life-affirming experience.” - Heidi Schiller, Pensacola Little Theatre, Pensacola, Fla.
Anne Frank & Me - Comedy/Drama. By Cherie Bennett. Story by Cherie Bennett
Coterie Theatre. Lindsay Francis and Alicia Jenkins. Photo: Marianne Kilroy.
Newbery Medal-winning book!
and Jeff Gottesfeld. Cast: 4m., 6w., expandable. This multiple national award-winning
new American classic, which was a hit in New York, is about the awakening of a modern
teen Holocaust denier. Nicole Burns doubts the truth and cares even less, but ultimately
comes face to face with the hell of the Holocaust, and—in an extraordinary sequence—
meets Anne Frank on a cattle car to Auschwitz. We start out with Nicole in today’s teen
world of MTV. Hip-hop dancing, unfinished homework assignments, and young love
are all transported with her to Nazi-occupied Paris, 1942 to 1944, and then are brought
forward again to the light and hope of the present. “Remarkable. As heartbreaking as it
is ingenious.” (Tennessean) “A triumph.” (New Times, Kansas City) “Packs a fresh, solid
punch. The audience was swept up into the story.”(Sun Newspapers) “A masterpiece.”
(The Observer, Nashville) Simple set. Approximate running time: 95 minutes. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A68. Study guide: $25.00. Code: Q94. 70-minute
version $7.50. Code: A67.
Dr. Douglas W.Larche
Lois Lowry
Number the Stars - Drama. Based on the book by Lois Lowry. Adapted by Dr. Douglas
W. Larche, with educational and editorial assistance from Susan Elliott Larche. Cast: 7m., 7w.
(extras as desired). During the German occupation of Denmark in World War II, the Nazis closed
Jewish-owned businesses and rounded up the Jews for relocation to concentration camps. Danish freedom fighters of all ages risked everything in daring attempts to rescue the entire Jewish
population. In this stirring new play, young Annemarie and Kirsti Johansen face soldiers, interrogations, fierce dogs, personal danger, the loss of loved ones and their own fears as they try to help
their friend Ellen Rosen escape to Sweden and safety. Courage, faith, ingenuity and even their
fledgling acting skills eventually win the day. All the drama, pathos, adventure, terror and humor
that have made Number the Stars a national bestseller (and winner of the Newbery Award and the
American Library Association Book of the Year Award) come to life in this powerful adaptation.
Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N45.
144
NYS Theatre Institute, Troy, N.Y. (l-r) Shannon Rafferty, Mary Jane Hansen
and Gabriella Greco. Photo: Tim Raab/Northern Photo.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
José Rivera
“My middle schoolers loved the mix
of smart-mouthed, modern-day heroes
and fantastical supporting characters.”
“José Rivera has created a delightful new play ...
for his daughter and for children everywhere.”
—La Jolla Playhouse Performance Outreach Program
-Becky Schlomann, Dept. of Theatre & Dance, Univ., of Texas at Austin
(Guest Director at Bailey Middle School, Austin, Texas)
Maricela de la Luz Lights the World - Fanciful drama.
By José Rivera. Cast: 3m., 3w. Shortly before Christmas, Maricela de
la Luz and her brother, Riccardo, come out of a mall and the world suddenly changes. First it’s the unexplainable snowfall. Then all the adults
start disappearing. A polar bear appears, followed by penguins. The governor urges everyone not to panic. Maricela and Riccardo have no way
of reaching their mother, who’s in Las Vegas with a new boyfriend, or
their father, who’s stationed in Korea. Anxious to be safely at home, they
hit the road, but things are even worse there. A distraught Mayan Moon
God claims his brother, the Sun God, has been kidnapped by the forces
of the cold and begs the children for help. Convinced he is nothing but
an unemployed actor, the kids refuse. The two-headed goddess of the
U.S./Mexico border is harder to dismiss. She explains to them that something is out of balance in the mythic world—that’s why everything is
so strange in San Diego. She predicts a great battle between the gods of
warmth and the gods of cold. She begs them to join this battle and help
restore the Mayan Sun God and save the city. Suddenly she freezes and is
rendered speechless. Her life’s in danger and the children must save her.
Looking for help, our young heroes confront a massive cyclops, hungry
Roadworks Productions at Victory Gardens Theatre, Chicago. (l-r) Su Sazama, Xochitl Gamez, Marcus Castillo and Daniel
DeLeo. Photo: Ru Robbins.
snow wolves, a sleepy Hercules, a seven-headed hydra, a toxic talking
fog, two severed heads, and finally a snowman who wants them to give
up fighting and surrender to the forces of inertia and cold. On this unusual, magical journey the children refuse to give in to evil and learn the
meaning of heroism and commitment. Single flexible set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MB3.
Silvia Gonzales S.
Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest
Young Audience Award Winner!
“Alicia is a real walk on the loco side.”—The Sun Newspapers
Alicia in Wonder Tierra (or I Can’t Eat Goat Head) - Fantasy/ Ad-
venture. By Silvia Gonzalez S. Cast: 4m., 4w., extras. While reaching for a Mexican
doll in a curio shop, Alicia trips over some pottery and the doll goes flying out of
her hand and disappears under a Mexican blanket. Alicia follows, and thus begins an
amazing adventure. Alicia finds herself in a fantastical world, where she meets a Day
of the Dead sugar skull, an armadillo, and the chicken-claw-wielding Elvira gang—if
touched by the claws, the soul becomes trapped in Mexican pottery. With the aid of
the puppet, Ramon, Alicia heads off to find the Pottery Maker and learn the truth about
the trapped souls. Along the way, she meets a goat head steaming in an oven, a sad old
toad that is so ugly bricks keep falling on him, a soul-brother cactus man, and the Tree
of Heads, which holds the heads of Pancho Villa, Charo, a mambo king, a pachuco,
and a Hispanic yuppie. Beyond the Distorted Memory Forest, the Village of Laughter,
and a maze of black velvet paintings, she finds the Pottery Maker who reveals the
secret of the Mexican pottery. Suddenly, Alicia finds herself back at the curio shop,
where the shopkeeper looks like Ramon and her mother reminds her of the doll. As
Alicia in Wonder Tierra, Coterie Theatre world premier production. Photo: Jeff Church.
they leave, her mother tells her they must go home to help
cook a very special meal for a family gathering: baked goat
head. Flexible staging. One-act cutting available. Royalty:
The Migrant Farmworker’s Son - Comedy/Drama.
By Silvia Gonza- exits with blue Mexican peasants ... as if in a Diego Rilez S. Cast: 3m., 2w., extras. Henry’s mother encourages him to be more Ameri- vera mural. Flexible staging. Royalty: $65/ performance.
can, while his non-English-speaking father feels alienated from his family and is Price: $7.50. Code: M90.
frustrated—occasionally abusive. Oliverio, an old farm worker, becomes the boy’s
friend and recites poetry to him. Hidden in the poems are messages to help Henry
understand his father. After a father/son confrontation, Henry finally learns the
source of his father’s pain. Only then does he discover that Oliverio was killed in
a rollover tractor accident ... five years ago! Mission accomplished, the old man
¡BOCÓN! -
Lisa Loomer
Comedy/Drama. By Lisa Loomer. Cast: flexible, usually 3m.,3w.
playing multiple roles. ¡BOCÓN!, a fable filled with humor and mysticism and song, is
about 12-year-old Miguel who flees a repressive military regime in Central America. A
natural storyteller and irrepressible “big mouth” or bocón, Miguel loses his voice when
his parents are taken. So begins a metaphorical journey north to the City of Angels.
Along the way he meets La Llorona, the legendary “Weeping Woman”of Mexican and
Central American mythology. Through their magical friendship, Miguel finds his voice
and the courage to cross the border to a new life. Miguel’s story is relevant to immigrant children from all parts of the world ... and to any child who is learning the many
meanings of finding one’s own “voice.” A live musician usually accompanies the piece.
One flexible set. Approximate running time: 55 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: B36.
University of Wisconsin at Madison production. ( l- r) Marcela Garcia, Keysha Mabra,
and Louis Washington.
145
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Elizabeth Wong
Letters to a Student Revolutionary -
Comedy/Drama. By Elizabeth
Wong. Cast:3m.,3w. (expandable chorus, multicultural cast). This powerful and disarmingly funny play is about friendship and political awakening. Bibi Lee is a typically jaded American rebel reluctantly on a “back to your roots” family vacation in
China. Desperately, Bibi sets out to find fast food and familiar faces. Instead, she finds
Karen, a young, idealistic Chinese girl who wants to practice a little English. From
this seemingly innocent chance encounter, these two young women—one Chinese,
the other Chinese-American—embark on a charming, poignant 10-year correspondence, cut abruptly and tragically short by the June 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
This bittersweet tale seeks to make sense of history, how we participate in it and how
we are overwhelmed by it. By focusing on the loves and losses, desires and disappointments of Bibi and Karen, the play explores ideas of capitalism and communism,
and ultimately becomes a clarion call to remember the price of democracy. Bare stage
w/ props. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L74.
Anne L. Peters
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre world premiere. (l-r) Keenan Shimizu, Christen Villamor and Karen
Lee. Photo: Corky Lee.
Winner of the Seattle Group Theatre’s Multicultural Playwrights’ Festival
A Life - Drama/Comedy. By Anne L. Peters. Cast: 1m., 3w. A Life is
the story of Eunice, a feisty Jamaican woman, who refuses to go gently
into her twilight years. Eunice is 74 years old and recuperating from a
heart attack—two factors that cause her daughter Pat, a media celebrity,
to close down her mother’s house and transfer her to a nursing home.
Now Pat wants to take her mother to live with her, and Eunice will have
none of it. Shifting between longing for the past and the reality of the
present, Eunice protects her dignity and asserts her “right to choose” with
humor and poignancy. But the harsh realities of old age and dependency,
most clearly personified by the cool, young doctor who attends her, are
forces to be reckoned with. And not even her 45-year-old friendship with
Berta, a stubborn Southern woman, and her new friendship with a boy
who needs her can ultimately protect Eunice from these forces. One int.
set. Royalty: $25/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L73.
“Ms. Chen's dramatic imagination is obviously unusual. More important, it is always unpredictable. In this play
she examines serious problems: the historical role of women in society, especially women in Chinese society;
a whole range of cultural conflicts between men and women; divorce; child abandonment; and much more.
But her vision is so steady, balanced and good-humored that she makes one laugh, sometimes at the absurdity
of her plot, without for a moment doubting the gravity of her message.” —D.J.R. Bruckner, The New York Times
Kitty Chen
Sidney Howard Will Irwin
Lute Song - Comedy. Adapted by Sid-
Eating Chicken Feet - Comedy. By Kitty Chen. Cast:
3m., 4w. Blending the absurd and playful with the dark and
painful, Chen examines the effects of divorce on a ChineseAmerican family, particularly Betty Sung, who, trying to
reunite her parents, falls into a coma. The play is a journey
through her mind, as it springs up out of the hospital bed to
observe, comment on, and direct the actions of her family—in
hilarious pursuit of a perfect family happiness. Her fantasies
eventually go amok, and Betty is forced to wake up and begin to look at reality. “[Chen’s] vision is so steady, balanced
and good-humored that she makes one laugh at the absurdity,
without for a moment doubting the gravity of her message.”
(New York Times) Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: E32.
Eating Chicken Feet. Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. (l-r)
Christine Campbell and Liana Pai. Photo: Martha Holmes.
ney Howard and Will Irwin. Cast: 9m.,
6w., extras. “Life is the remedy for optimism,” says the Honorable Tchang in this
enchanting play, and Lute Song, as originally produced in Peking in 1404, has had a
continuous stage life right up to the current
season! A young scholar reluctantly leaves
his bride to seek advancement in Peking.
He succeeds but is forbidden to return or
communicate with his home. His beautiful wife journeys alone to Peking, and a
marvelous confrontation scene and climax
follow. Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $65/
Elizabeth Wong
Kimchee and Chitlins: A Serious Comedy About Getting
Along - Satire/Drama. By Elizabeth Wong. Cast: 4m., 3w. (expand-
West Coast Ensemble premiere. (l-r) Allison Sie, Nyra Crenshaw, Julia Nickson, Benjamin Lum, and Eddie Mui.
Photo: Bob Bayles.
146
able, multicultural). Named for the trademark dishes of Koreans and African-Americans, this wickedly funny play skewers the news media and
modern race relations. Reporter Suzie Seeto finds herself sitting pretty
in the anchor seat, but she’s haunted by the bogeyman chorus which
questions the way she got there. Immediately it’s a nonstop flashback
barreling towards the dark, roiling truth about racism, power, and personal integrity in the workplace. Matilda, a Haitian woman, claims she
was beaten up by Korean grocer Key Chun Mak. Suzie hates covering
“minority issues” but goes reluctantly to Brooklyn to investigate. But
Matilda has disappeared; African-Americans are boycotting Mak’s New
Way Grocery Store; Korean-Americans are loading up on ammunition.
As the Rashomon-like mystery unfolds, Suzie discovers that nothing at
the New Way Grocery Store is what it seems. Even a videotape takes
on a life of its own, as it rewinds and reconfigures events. Bare stage w/
props. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: K25.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Laura Annawyn Shamas
Lady Joan Lindsay
“An excellent play for a large cast of females. This is a vibrant script which provides ample opportunities
for strong female portrayals. The elements of mystery provide fun, but the story is also meaningful in theme.
One of the best plays I've done in 17 years.” —Richard Bellamy, Cape Cod Academy, Osterville, Mass.
“Picnic at Hanging Rock is an eerie and chilling tale which
Picnic at Hanging Rock - Mystery. By Laura
Annawyn Shamas. Based on the book by Joan Lindsay.
examines the mystery of what happened at Hanging
Cast: 8m., 18w. For a group of Australian schoolgirls, a
Rock and the impact it had on its survivors.”
romantic Valentine’s Day outing ends in an intriguing
mystery. What has happened to the three seniors and the
mathematics teacher on top of the jagged peaks of Hanging Rock? Based on the Joan Lindsay runaway bestseller
Picnic at Hanging Rock—the source of the acclaimed Peter Weir film—this exciting play explores a baffling disappearance. Who in the large cast of fascinating characters
is responsible for the crime? Is it Mrs. Appleyard, the
matron and headmistress of the college who nips brandy
on the sly? Does the young, beautiful French teacher Mademoiselle de Poitiers know more than she will say to the
police? And what about the two young men who watch
the girls climb the mountain? Why do they return to the
rock after the police investigation? Or maybe one of the
eight remaining schoolgirls conspired against the others.
A delicate look at crisis, greed and honesty at the turn of
the century in Australia. Hauntingly and ironically, the
play shows that what seems proper on the outside may
be morally corrupt on the inside. The final climactic twist
is shocking and bittersweet, with an impact that is unforgettable. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: P62.
—canberra.citysearch.com
Picnic at Haning Rock. Catholic University Drama Department, Washington, D.C.
William Glennon
The Last Leaf -
O. Henry
Comedy/Drama. By William Glennon. From O. Henry’s story. Cast: 2m., 2w. Sally and Beth,
fresh out of art school, live in an attic in Greenwich Village.
Determined to break through the barriers of a male-dominated art world at the turn of the century, they share their hopes
with Tom, the somewhat artistic building custodian, and Harold, a personable young doctor anxious to continue an interest
he once had in drawing. Sally’s determination finally lands
them a small gallery, when a pneumonia epidemic strikes the
village and everything is suddenly changed. What begins as a
genial comedy grows much richer, becoming a thought-provoking rumination on the meaning of friendship. One int. set.
A.A.T.E. Playreading Project
National Award
D.K. Oklahoma
The Light in the Mill - Drama.
By D.K. Oklahoma. Cast: 2m., 7w. The
time is 1843, and the play opens in pre-dawn shadows when a body is carried on
stage and hidden in a storage area of a cloth repair room in a New England textile mill. The intruder flees as a group of millgirls arrive for work, grieving over
the recent, mysterious drowning of a co-worker, beautiful Magda Thorn. Magda’s
seemingly unmoved mother arrives at the mill to demand money from her daughter’s supervisor. What is the secret “arrangement” between the supervisor and the
dead girl’s mother? Then it’s discovered that Magda’s grave has been robbed. The
possibility of her ghost haunting the mill throws some of the millgirls into hysteria. There is a desperate confrontation when the body is discovered, revealing even
more long-buried, shocking secrets and ending in yet another death. The nonstop
action builds to a thundering and disturbing climax. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L64.
Kennedy Center’s
New Visions/New Voices
program
Across the Plains: The Journey of the Palace Wagon Family -
Drama. By
Sandra Fenichel Asher. Cast: 2m.,3w., with doubling, as many extras as desired. Based on actual
letters, diaries, magazine and newspaper articles of the period, this play follows young Virginia Reed
and her family on their journey from Illinois to California as part of a wagon train that became known
as the “Martyr Pioneers.” Folk songs combine with dramatic action to recreate moments both typical
of the 19th century’s vast migration and unique to the courageous struggle of members of the Donner
Party, who were trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains during the ferocious winter of 184647. Commissioned by the Coterie Theater, Across the Plains was selected for the Kennedy Center’s
New Visions/New Voices program and received the American Alliance for Theatre and Education’s
Playreading Project National Award. In the words of seventh-graders who attended the Coterie’s
performances: “I would recommend this play to anyone.” “There was not a bored person in the whole
theatre.” “I was with you on the long journey to California.” “It was truly the best play I have ever
seen.” Minimal sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A70.
Vin Morreale Jr.
Southern Discomfort -
Drama/Comedy. By Vin Morreale Jr. Cast: large, flexible. These 12 short scenes and monologues
create a vivid emotional tapestry of the South today. Experience the
charm and vigor of old Dixie, as the essence of the South comes alive
through its diverse individuals, colorful speech patterns, personal
courtesies and timeless concerns. Familiar characters, from all walks
of life, weave stories both touching and true to life. It’s all here—love
12 short scenes
and monologues
The Coterie Theatre premiere. (l-r) Milly Hands, Kelly McMahan and
Michael O’Connell. Photo: Marianne Kilroy.
and passion, poverty and stardom, ambition and disenchantment, history and racism, family and tradition, death and hope—all viewed
through the unique perspective of America’s southern states. Ranging
from gentle comedy to intense drama, these interrelated pieces offer
a seamless evening of absorbing entertainment. Simple sets. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SC2.
147
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Mary W. Schaller
Did Richard III really arrange the deaths of
the “Little Princes,”or is he innocent?
The Final Trial of Richard III -
Drama. By Mary W.
Schaller. Cast: large, flexible. On the eve of the 500th anniversary of the
battle of Bosworth Field, a court has been convened in the Halls of Eternity. Richard III, the so-called “most infamous king in history,” is the defendant. The question? Is Richard truly deserving of his evil reputation
or has he been the victim of a Tudor smear campaign? The prosecutors
are History and Rumor, while Richard stands in his own defense with
only Charity to counsel him. Venerable Time himself sits in judgment,
and the audience becomes the jury. Witnesses such as Thomas Moore
and William Shakespeare are called to testify, and several scenes of the
Bard’s Richard III are enacted by The Royal Shakespeare Company as
evidence in the trial. Is Richard guilty of the murders of the Little Princes
in the Tower? Did he really kill his own brother, the Duke of Clarence,
or Buckingham, Henry VI, Edward of Lancaster or even Anne, his own
wife? Is Richard III innocent? Only the jury (the audience) can decide.
The play has a double ending (sentence or pardon) as the jury decides
which it will be. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: F39.
Robert Johanson
Charles Dickens
Great Expectations - Drama. By Robert Johanson. From the novel by Charles
Dickens. Cast: 11m., 5w. (with doubling, expandable to 20m., 9w.). In its premiere at
the Paper Mill Playhouse, the audiences and critics cheered this new adaptation of one
of the greatest novels in the English language—a story of pride and ambition blinding
a soul to the true values of life. Here are all the memorable characters—Young Pip,
the blacksmith’s apprentice whose secret benefactor gives him his great expectations
of becoming a London gentleman; the mad Miss Havisham who shut herself up in
her gloomy mansion when she was jilted on her wedding day; her adopted daughter,
Estella, whom she has trained to break men’s hearts; the gentle blacksmith, Joe, and
his shrewish wife; the escaped convict, Magwitch, and the scarred man who is stalking him—a vast array of wonderfully actable roles. With gripping drama, delightful
humor and true Dickensian flavor, this is a terrific way to introduce audiences to one
of the great works of literature. Unit set. Optional underscore tape available. Royalty:
$60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G56.
“An ideal family entertainment.”
Paper Mill Playhouse production.
Photo: Jerry Dalia.
—Forbes Newspapers
A Tale of Two Cities - Drama. By Robert Johanson. From the novel by Charles Dickens.
Cast: 13m., 8w., 3 children (24 actors with doubling, up to 40 without doubling), extras. “It was the
best of times; it was the worst of times.” So begins one of the great novels of English literature, as well
as this exciting new dramatization. Sidney Carton, a dissolute lawyer, who bears striking resemblance
to Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, loves the same woman as Darnay, the charming Lucie
Manette. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, this romance eventually leads to the
guillotine and the famous final line: “It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done.” Here are
some of Dickens’ most remarkable characters: the Revolutionary hero Defarge and his ever-knitting
wife; Dr. Manette, falsely imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years and then “recalled to life”; the evil
Marquis St. Evremonde; the hilarious Jerry Cruncher with his grave robbing and his wife’s “floppin”; and the devoted Miss Pross. This production can be done on a unit set with clever effects fully
described in the script to whisk the audience from the slums of Paris to a rich chateau, English courtrooms, graveyards and La Guillotine herself. Unit set. Optional underscore tape available. Royalty:
$60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T31.
Paper Mill Playhouse production.
Charlotte Brontë
“Jane Eyre continues to enthrall,
amaze and enchant.” —Clive Barnes, New York Post
Jane Eyre -
Paper Mill Playhouse world premiere. (l-r) William Ryall as Mr. Brocklehurst, Blythe Auffarth as Young Jane,
NancyMcDoniel as Mrs. Reed, and Justin M. Restivo as John Reed. Photo: Jerry Dalia.
148
Drama. By Robert Johanson. From Charlotte Brontë’s
novel. Cast: 6m., 14w., with doubling and extras. Can be expanded to 35
to 60 actors. Charlotte Brontë’s magnificent Gothic love story is brought to
stirring life. The play’s premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse received unanimous praise: “Hugely entertaining.” (Wall Street Journal); “Rich in mystery
and romanticism, abundant with brooding atmosphere.” (Variety); “Enthralling, beautiful, humorous and wildly romantic.” (The Trenton Times) In the
burned-out ruins of Thornfield Hall, the adult Jane Eyre recalls the disturbing events of her childhood and young adulthood: her miserable upbringing
as an orphan thrust upon unsympathetic relatives, her trials at the infamous
Lowood School, and eventually her acceptance as governess at Thornfield
Hall where she encounters its enigmatic master, Edward Rochester. Jane
eventually unravels the secrets of this mysterious place and finds her own
personal epiphany through honesty, courage and sacrifice. A moving story
for all times and a stunning portrayal of one of the world’s greatest heroines.
Unit set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: J31.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Angela Randazzo
Bats in the Belfry -
Comedy. By Angela
Randazzo. Cast: 6m., 8w., extras if desired. To start
with, there are four spinster music teachers who turn
out to be witches. Then there are: their imaginary companion who materializes into a warlock, an ingenue
who turns into a cat, and her fiancé who seems to have
the makings of a junior warlock. After it’s all over, one
wonders who is the more bewitched, the players or the
onlookers. Mayhem and merriment soar, entwining
the fiancé, his snobby parents, a reverend, a wide-eyed
spinster and some rock ’n’ rollers who are hooked on
nostalgia in a web of witchcraft and magic. One int. set.
ZARA (or) Who Killed the Queen of
the Silent Screen? - Mystery. By Angela
Bats in the Belfry.
John O’Brien
“Break a Leg is a hilarious show that is perfect for highschool students. There are loads of fun characters that
young actors have no trouble in making their own.
Take a laugh-out-loud script, add some Shakespeare
and a set that falls down and the audience will still be
laughing on the way home.”
-Jacqueline Hubbard, Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation, Ivoryton, Conn.
Break a Leg! - Comedy. By John O’Brien. Cast: 4m., 10w., extras. Expand-
able to 26. The traditional opening night cry of “Break a leg!” really means “Good
luck,” but in this comedy send-up of every possible theatrical disaster, breaking a
leg is the only thing that doesn’t happen. Actors answer the phone before it rings.
Doors open before anyone knocks. Guns and lights go off when they shouldn’t
and don’t go off when they should. Then the leading actress gets upset because her
mother’s boyfriend eloped with her boyfriend’s mother. “Disaster-proof” fun for
all! One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B54.
Jane Kendall
Jane Austen
Randazzo. Cast: 6m., 4w. This comedy thriller was
tried out and perfected in production at the small theatre on the Universal Studios lot in California. Seances, ghosts and the jazz age are all part of the murder of
Zara St. Cyr, the fascinating film star. Sixty years after
the crime, Martin James, a writer, is determined to find
out “who done it.” Martin and his wife, Susan, move
into Zara’s beach house. A mysterious gypsy arrives—
and the magic soars. Martin and Susan are thrust into
the nostalgic past where they find Zara very much alive
and kicking. She insists Martin is Gilbert Van Cleef,
the movie director. During the stormy night, tension
builds as Zara’s houseguests reveal their motives for
murder. Among them are: Vilma and Verla Violetta,
Zara’s ex-vaudevillian aunts; Baron Dashiell Dragonette, an unscrupulous Englishman; Max, Dragonette’s
skimming nephew; and Carlo Bontifiorri, Zara’s secretary. Caught up in the intrigue, Martin believes he is
Gilbert Van Cleef and becomes a suspect himself. Will
he discover who killed Zara and return to the present
or will he be trapped forever in the past under the spell
of the delightfully devious Zara St. Cyr? One int. set.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: Z10.
“Pride and Prejudice is a great high-school play.
It is comedy with a message.
This show is both classy and classic!”
-Norma Jean Acker,
Maple Valley Junior/Senior High School, Vermontville, Mich.
Pride and Prejudice - Comedy. By Jane Kendall. From Jane
Austen’s novel. Cast: 5m., 11w. Five daughters to marry off! Was ever
a mother as put upon as Mrs. Bennet? Jane falls deeply in love with the
wealthy Mr. Bingley, and it looks as if a romance is possible between
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy is a very proud young man
and he is shocked by Mama’s vulgar matchmaking! He not only leaves
for London but manages to take Mr. Bingley with him. One int. set.
Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P36.
Jane Austen
Emma -
Comedy. By Sandra Fenichel Asher. From Jane Austen’s novel. Cast: 6m., 8w., extras as desired. “Life is what happens
while you’re busy making other plans.” Jane Austen never wrote
those words, but she proves them conclusively in Emma, her comic
masterpiece. In this lively and faithful adaptation, she steps on stage
herself to shepherd her delightful characters through the pitfalls and
surprises that await them. Emma Woodhouse who is “handsome,
clever, and rich” attempts to marry off her trusting young friend Harriet to all the wrong people, and she nearly misses out on true love
Portland Lutheran School, Portland, Oregon, production of Pride and Prejudice.
herself. Set in remote Surrey, an English county “full of beauties,”
and peopled with unforgettable comic characters, Emma stands out
as one of the great beauties of the English language. Area staging.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
“A sensitive comedy about friendship between
generations.” —Stamford Mail
Little Old Ladies in Tennis Shoes - Comedy. By Sandra Fenichel Asher.
Little Old Ladies in Tennis Shoes.
Cast: 1m., 6w., 1 boy. Kate Corrigan has her life in order, or so she likes to think. In
what she describes as “not lower middle age” but “upper youth,” she has a lucrative job,
a no-strings-attached man, and a new house in the suburbs. “Consider yourselves part
of the clutter,” she blithely tells new neighbors Molly Blumenthal and her grandson,
Jeff. And delightful clutter they are, overwhelming Kate’s tiny existence with a rollercoaster friendship, pot roast, and the problems of all the elderly women on the block.
As she meets these women, living in quirky isolation after outliving their husbands’
and their families’ needs for them, Kate realizes the life she’s found looks a lot like
the one she’d been running from. “Is it in the genes, an instinct,” she wonders, “like
elephants heading for the burial ground? Am I a little old lady in training?” Confronted
with old fears and new choices, Kate finds her life opening up—wide enough, for the
first time, to admit love. “Full of wit and laughter ... warmth and wisdom,” echoes the
Sierra Madre News. “L’chaim!” say Kate and Molly. Audiences of all ages applaud
their determination to “grow older, wiser, stronger in every way. But not old.” One int.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L63.
Cerceau -
Drama. By Viktor Slavkin. Translated by Fritz Brun
and Laurence Maslon. Cast: 5m., 2w. “If you were of a mind to append a subtitle to Viktor Slavkin’s Cerceau, it seems to me that ‘A
Little Soviet Night Music’ wouldn’t be too far off. In this wryly melancholic drama, a Moscow engineer named Rooster invites a group
of his contemporaries to spend a weekend in the country at the dacha
he’s just inherited from his great aunt ... They philosophize and flirt
and dance ... They don old clothes from the atttic, and when the attic
yields up the implements of cerceau—hoops to be tossed in the air and
Joseph Robinette
The Chocolate War -
Robert Cormier
Drama. By Joseph Robinette. From
the book by Robert Cormier. Cast: 12m., 6 to 11w. (flexible, but
at least 1w. required). Robert Cormier’s brilliant novel The Chocolate War is a compelling coming-of-age story about young people
in conflict at a New England prep school. The richly drawn characterizations and crackling dialogue keep the intriguing action moving
from beginning to end. As dramatized by Joseph Robinette, all the
elements of the book are brought vividly to life—the humor, drama,
despair and hope ultimately lead to an ending that is as satisfying as
it is surprising. Though a number of the roles are students at the prep
Viktor Slavkin
“A Little Soviet Night Music” —New York Times
wooden swords to catch them—they try their hand at the old French
game ... While nobody sings ‘Send in the Clowns,’ by the end of the
weekend they’ve all behaved a little foolishly ... and the smiles of a late
summer’s night have begun to harden.” (New York Times) One int., one
ext. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C82.
“Based on the groundbreaking young adult novel ...
Complex ideas develop and unfold with clarity.”
—New York Times
school (male), an ensemble of five to10 actors who voice the inner
thoughts of the characters and comment on the proceedings throughout may be played by men or women or any combination thereof,
thus making for a well-balanced cast, if desired. The New York Times
Book Review called The Chocolate War “masterfully structured and
rich in theme. The action is well crafted and suspenseful; complex
ideas develop and unfold with clarity.” The resulting dramatization
remains faithful to this unforgettable, thought-provoking novel which
has successfully made the quantum leap from page to stage. One unit
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: CA6.
Joseph Robinette
James R. Shaw
“A powerful, intriguing, subtly crafted story.”
Ashes, Ashes, All Fall Down -
Rowan University, Glassboro, N.J.
150
Play with
music. By Joseph Robinette. Music by James R.
Shaw. Cast: 6m., 4w. Despite its serious nature, this
play is alive with humor and hope as it pursues such
contemporary themes as hero worship, estranged relationships and the need for “family.” Suggested by the
rock concert in Cincinnati at which several young people lost their lives, this exciting, dynamic drama examines the lives of six youths who are killed by the crush
of a large crowd awaiting a similar sold-out event. It
also deals with four other people who are attempting to
discover the reasons for the deaths. Described by one
critic as “a powerful, intriguing, subtly crafted story,”
this is an important show for all ages, but it will have
particular appeal for young adults. The original tryout
production at Rowan University resulted in a huge
student turnout. Area staging. Audition tape available.
Royalty: $65/ performance, plus optional music rental.
Price: $7.50. Code: A29.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Kristin Laurence
Louisa May Alcott
“Great adaptation. The all-female cast
works wonderfully.”
-Jeni Yantis, Okaw Valley High School, Bethany, Ill.
Little Women - Drama. Adapted by Kristin Laurence. Based on
Jamaica High School, Sidell, Ill., production of Little Women.
Photo: Rinda Maddox.
the book by Louisa May Alcott. Cast: 9w. This full-length version of
Little Women is loved by directors everywhere and has had hundreds
of successful productions. The play begins that memorable Christmas
when Marmee leaves to visit her sick husband and Jo sells her beautiful
hair to help finance the trip. It ends just a year later when the happy
family is again preparing to celebrate not only Christmas but also the
return of Mr. March. In between these two events, we again live, laugh,
love and cry with Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth as they go through the many
trials and tribulations that have made this story an enduring classic. One
int. set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L27.
“This play had a great cast size and was much more accessible for us as a high school because it didn’t encompass
the entire, lengthy Little Women saga ... It was a huge success for us and outsold any drama we’ve ever produced!”
-Rhonda Busch, Martin Luther High School, Greendale, Wis.
Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy -
Drama/
Comedy. Adapted by Sandra Fenichel Asher from the writings
of Louisa May Alcott. Cast: 7m., 12w. (doubles to 6m., 10w., and
nonspeaking extras if desired). Louisa May Alcott published Little
Women: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, the first volume of her now-classic
book, in 1868. That story’s instant success prompted the second
volume, Little Women: Good Wives. This sprightly adaptation,
commissioned by DreamWrights Youth and Family Theatre of
York, Pa., is based on that first volume, along with “The Battle of
Beaumanoir,” a later Alcott story containing obvious echoes of Jo’s
penchant for swashbuckling tales and her touching friendship with
their neighbor, Laurie. Special attention is given to the imaginative
play of the young characters: storytelling, playacting, letter writing,
newspaper publishing, and other creative endeavors still available
to young people today. “A charming and intelligent adaptation
... breathes new life into Louisa May Alcott’s beloved story ...
remarkably faithful to the text.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Area
staging. Approximate running time:1 hour, 50 minutes. Royalty: $60/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: LA9.
David K. Longest
“I read several adaptations of Little Women, but this script was an answer to
prayers. The vivid, true characters and the beautiful simplicity of the story
preserve Louisa May Alcott’s vision.”-Amy Barron, Growing Stage, Leesburg, Va.
Little Women of Orchard House - Drama. By David K. Longest. Cast: 6m., 16w., 4
girls ages 7 to 11 (up to 13m., 29w., 4 girls). Playwright David Longest has taken the classic Louisa
May Alcott novel and expanded it into a sweeping historical tale. The play begins with Louisa May
recalling her own childhood. We quickly meet the real Alcott sisters and the many literary greats
who visited Orchard House, their home in Concord, Massachusetts: Henry David Thoreau, once
Louisa May’s teacher; Thomas Niles, her editor and publisher; Ralph Waldo Emerson, a close
friend of the family; George Bartlett, a local Concord actor; and a host of other real-life characters
who influenced Ms. Alcott throughout her life. As the dramatization of Little Women begins, the
fictional plot of the novel and the real-life friends and family of Louisa May Alcott are cleverly
entwined. This powerful, tender and touching play brings us new insight into the person Louisa
May Alcott actually was and showers us with renewed hope in the strength of family bonds and the
spirit of love. Unit set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L95.
New Albany High School. (l-r) Emily Reidinger, Stephanie Senn, Natalie Barrett
and Elizabeth Bigler. Photo: David K. Longest.
Jean and Walter Kerr
Franz Werfel
The Song of Bernadette - Drama. By Jean and Walter Kerr.
The Song of Bernadette.
From the novel by Franz Werfel. Cast: 7m., 11w., extras. Among her
schoolmates, Bernadette Soubirous’ habit of daydreaming makes her
seem stupid. Strict Sister Vauzous finds her a trial. But when Bernadette
goes out to gather wood, a beautiful vision appears to her. The report of
the vision comes as the last straw to her parents, who believe Bernadette
is lying and punish her. Soon the mayor and the chief of police, for
the “dignity” of their town, attempt to compel Bernadette to deny her
visions. But, she remains true to her visions and enters a sisterhood.
There she finds herself under the strict discipline of Sister Vauzous, who
has always distrusted her sincerity. In a magnificent finale, even Sister
Vauzous accepts the divinity of Bernadette’s vision. Bare stage w/props.
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FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Winifred Wolfe
“What a fun, wonderful play! My kids had a blast performing the fun,
crazy characters. It was also a great challenge for them.”
-Charla Little, Red Oak High School, Red Oak, Texas
Ask Any Girl - Comedy. By Winifred Wolfe. Cast: 5m., 12w.,
extras. Meg Wheeler comes to New York intent on enlarging her horizon. She moves into a boarding house in Manhattan that’s filled
with attractive girls, most of them just as eager as Meg to find the
ideal man. Meg has a unique ability to invent plausible statistics,
such as “82.4% of girls over 16 are allowed to stay out till mid-
night.” But, when she tries her homemade facts on Miles Doughton,
head of an advertising firm, her system fails. Meg is fascinated by
Miles’ younger brother, Evan, and Miles decides to give her a hand in
snaring Evan but, in the course of it all, he and Meg fall in love with
each other! One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: A20.
“What would have happened had Shakespeare had a wonderfully gifted sister?”—Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
The Other Shakespeare -
Drama. By Laura Annawyn
Shamas. Cast: 7m., 7w. (Roles are doubled. Cast may be larger.) The
exciting premise of this play is explored with haunting poignancy
through the eyes of Cassandra Shakespeare, the brilliant sister William Shakespeare might have had. In this moving, bittersweet play,
Nothing But the Truth -
literary figures of the past come to life, and the artistic struggle of
a young Renaissance girl becomes startlingly immediate. Although
Cassie speaks from the 16th century, she speaks for the creative
struggle and hopes of women today. Three simple int. sets, one ext.
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O34.
Ronn Smith
Drama. By Ronn Smith. Adapted
from the novel by Avi. Cast: 5m., 5w. (may be expanded to as many as
38 speaking roles). Some gender flexibility possible. Philip Malloy is a
14-year-old student at Harrison High School. One day, Philip decides to
hum along with The Star Spangled Banner as the song is played over the
public-address system during morning announcements. Margaret Narwin, Philip’s homeroom teacher, promptly sends him to the vice principal’s office for breaking a faculty rule requiring all students to stand at
“respectful, silent attention” while the national anthem is playing. When
multiple versions of what happened in the classroom are picked up by a
Avi
candidate running for the school board, the host of a talk radio program,
and a reporter for the local newspaper, what should have been just a
simple, internal incident for the school turns into an unfortunate public
crisis for both Philip Malloy and Margaret Narwin. The coverage—and
increasing controversy—place Philip, his family, Harrison High and the
entire community at the center of a national media event. But why do the
versions differ? And who is telling the truth? There are no easy answers
presented in this play, which is ultimately concerned with the critically
important issues of respect, personal freedom and patriotism. Minimal
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N51.
Lew Riley
Game Show - Comedy . By Lew Riley. Cast: 5m., 5w. This comedy “Even the audience wins at Game Show.” —Los Angeles Times
goes behind the scenes and then in front of the cameras as it follows five
fascinating contestants: a fidgety Vietnam veteran; a know-it-all senator’s assistant; a cocky young filmmaker; a dizzy housewife/author; and
a bubbly senior citizen—from the time they meet backstage at a popular
game show until one of them wins the grand prize. Who wins the big
money is one of Game Show’s several compelling subplots. Another is
the possibility of a rekindled romance between one of the contestants
and the show’s production assistant. And then there are the hilarious an-
Nancy Manera
Simon J. Donoghue
Mixed Nuts - Comedy. By Nancy Manera and Simon J. Dono-
ghue. Cast: 3m., 5w. What happens when a shy, aspiring writer from
the Midwest comes to the Big Apple in search of fame and fortune?
For Michael Caldwell, life becomes a series of hilarious encounters
with the unpredictable residents of his dilapidated apartment house.
Among them are Marshall Ryan, a commercial actor who specializes
in portraying inanimate objects; Tanya Romanov, a Russian ballerina
tics of the game show’s narcissistic emcee and his beautiful bimbo of
an assistant. Who was the only bachelor president? What boy dubbed
Lauren Bacall’s voice when she sang in To Have and Have Not? What
was unusual about Babe Ruth’s uniform when he hit 60 home runs?
These and other intriguing questions are answered during Game Show,
a warm and witty look at an American institution—the television game
show. Updates can be made to make the play more current. Two int. sets.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G45.
“This play is hilarious! It is great for students because
it allows them to experiment with character acting.”
-Deana Moore, Niantic-Harristown High School, Niantic, Ill.
on the lam from the KGB; and Philomena Della Vecchia, a wisecracking actress. Phil may be the woman of Michael’s dreams if he can just
keep her quiet long enough to tell her. To retain his own sanity, Michael retreats to his fantasies, only to find the world of his imagination
is even more nervewracking than the reality surrounding him! One int.
William Roos
“Both cast and crew had a lot of laughs producing this show. The characters in January Thaw are well defined
and easy to portray. With all the ... witty dialogue, there was never a moment of boredom at rehearsals. There
was even room for improvisation. We all had FUN!!” -Denise Deapo, Jordan Elbridge High School, Jordan, N.Y.
January Thaw - Comedy. By William Roos. Based on the novel
by Bellamy Partridge. Cast: 7m., 6w. Produced on Broadway by Michael
Todd, this gentle, charming comedy concerns the Gage family who try
to settle down in the old farmhouse they’ve acquired. Then Jonathan and
Mathilda Rockwood move in, and they have the right to live in the house
according to an old deed. As a contest for possession begins, the two
families are isolated by a blizzard. In the freezing house, while the Gages
breakfast on what’s left—cornflakes, molasses and olives—the smell of
fresh biscuits comes from the rooms of the old-fashioned Rockwoods.
One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: J11.
Ruth Perry A.A. Milne
The Red House Mystery - Thriller. By Ruth Perry. From
the book by A. A. Milne. Cast: 7m., 8w. The sudden violence of murder erupts at an English house party. To the police, it’s obviously
just another case of sibling rivalry. But a guest is suspicious of this
152
slick solution. There are others besides the brother who hold grudges
against the murdered man. We have not one but several complex life
patterns to keep us enthralled. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R34.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Walter Kerr
Aristophanes
“A wonderful adaptation that plays well and offers
many opportunities for stage business and laughs. Easy
for students to understand and perform. A play that is
both hilarious and serious in its theme.”
-Joni DePerno-Zahas, Camden High School, Camden, N.Y.
The Birds - Comedy. By Aristophanes. Acting arrangement by
Walter Kerr. Cast: 20+, flexible. “The intention has been to make the
play sound as it might have sounded to an average Athenian sitting in
a popular comic theatre. The Birds (414 B.C.) was Aristophanes’ first
Utopian play. Here, he has his ‘comedy team’ leave Athens, fed up
with the frauds and bores of Athenian society, in an effort to found a
better society among the birds. To do so, they must first locate Epops,
King of the Birds, who was once a man like themselves and who
might be expected to know both sides of the problem. How they find
him and what they persuade him to do is the body of the play. The first
act concerns the founding of Cloud Cuckooland and its triumph over
all earthly quacks. The second concerns its triumph over the polytheistic absurdities to which Athenian religion had been reduced.” One
ext. set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B56.
Walter Kerr
Molière
The Miser -
Comedy. Adapted by Walter Kerr. From the classic by Molière. Cast: 8m., 6w. The miserly Harpagon has plotted to
marry his pretty daughter to a rich old man, but she has managed to
bring her beau into the house disguised as a servant and the two flirt
at every opportunity, in spite of her father. Harpagon intends to marry
also. He wants the beautiful Mariane, with whom he hopes to get a
large dowry. Mariane is in love with Harpagon’s son. In desperation,
the young people steal their father’s gold, hoping that it will bring
him to his senses. It does, in the end, after some swift-paced scenes of
brilliant dialogue, clever action and fun. One int. set. Royalty: $60/
“Imaginary Invalid is a delight to produce and
perform. A fast-moving enjoyable script that allows for
an abundance of ‘period’ creativity.”
-Imelda M. Cantu, Falfurrias High School, Falfurrias, Texas
Kenneth Weston Turner
The Imaginary Invalid -
Molière
Comedy. Adapted by Kenneth
Weston Turner. From the classic by Molière. Cast: 8m., 4w. or 7m.,
5w. Cranky M. Argan imagines he has every ailment there is. He plans
to marry his daughter to a dull young doctor so he will always have a
physician handy. But Angelique swears she will enter a convent first,
for she is in love with the young, handsome Cleante, and so we’re
off into the Molière world of humorous extravaganzas! One int. set.
Michael R. Malkin
The Doctor in Spite of Himself -
Molière
Comedy. Translation/
adaptation by Michael R. Malkin. Cast: 8m., 3w. After a quarrel
with his wife, the quick-witted woodcutter Sganerelle goes off to
chop wood. To spite him, his wife convinces two passing servants
that Sganerelle is a brilliant but eccentric doctor, which leads to escapades and complications in the best Molière tradition. One int., one
ext. set. Royalty: $50/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D36.
Lowell Swortzell
Our American Cousin -
Tom Taylor
Comedy. By Lowell Swortzell. Includes the classic by Tom Taylor. Cast: 12m., 6w., extras. This unusual
show is partly the play that was being given at Ford’s Theatre the night
Lincoln was shot and partly the events of that tragic night. At the exact
moment Lincoln was shot, the play-within-the-play is interrupted. Bare
stage w/props. Royalty: $50/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O23.
Tim Kelly
Victor Hugo
“This is an excellent version that works well with limited
scenery and staging time. The roles are spread out well,
giving many actors a chance to shine. The challenge of
the more dramatic roles was appreciated by my cast.”
-Todd Kelly, Pottsgrove High School, Pottstown, Pa.
Les Misérables -
Drama. Adapted by Tim Kelly. From the
novel by Victor Hugo. Cast: 14m., 16w., optional extras, smaller
with doubling. Les Misérables, one of the world’s greatest literary
classics, sold out its first edition the day it went on sale in 1862. Our
gripping version has been designed for very simple production. It is
the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his relentless pursuit by “law
and order” police inspector Javert. The script boasts a brilliant cast of
characters who weave an exciting tapestry of humankind at its best
and worst. Special emphasis has been placed on the many small roles
and female characters—the tragic Fantine and her daughter Cosette,
the wretched Madame Thenardier, the lovelorn Eponine, and others.
Visually exciting, emotionally powerful, this is imaginative theatre
with a capital “T.” Area/arena staging. Approximate running time: 2
hours. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L57.
Tim Kelly
Charles Dickens
Nicholas Nickleby - Drama. Adapted
by Tim Kelly. From the
novel by Charles Dickens. Cast: 15m., 15w. (flexible with doubling). A
superb dramatization of the essence of Dickens’ most theatrical novel,
a parade of colorful characters: wicked Uncle Ralph, stylish Madame
Mantalini, “decayed” Arthur Gride, pitiable orphan Smike, the winsome Cherryble brothers, lovely Madeline Bray, scheming Lady Hawk,
and the amazing Crummles with their seedy theatre troupe. Standing
above all the villains is the infamous Wackford Squeers who, with his
horrible wife and daughter, runs his dreadful school with his cane and
tablespoons of foul-tasting medicine. A delightful blend of comedy,
mystery and melodrama written for easy production. Area staging. Approximate running time: 2 hours. One-act cutting available. Royalty:
$60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N27.
Michael Henry Heim
The Seagull -
Anton Chekhov
Comedy. By Anton Chekhov. Translated by Michael Henry Heim. Cast: 8m., 5w. One of the first productions of the
Moscow Art Theatre, the plot deals with young Treplev, his unfulfilled
literary ambitions and his love for Nina. Convinced that he has lost her
and furious at her attention to the literary lion, Trigorin, the despairing young man kills a seagull and lays it at Nina’s feet as a symbol
of his ruined hopes. Nina leaves with Trigorin, only to return later after Trigorin has lost interest in her. In a moving, half-coherent speech,
she compares herself to the seagull destroyed by a man’s momentary
whim. Professor Heim gives us a fluent, utterly Chekhovian text without making it so contemporary that the play loses its sense of period.
This is The Seagull that soars. One int, one ext. set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S85.
George Bernard Shaw
“I cannot remember any time when I did not exercise
overwhelming imagination in telling ...
stories about women!” -George Bernard Shaw
G.B. Essence of Women - Dramatic scenes and lively com-
ment from George Bernard Shaw. Arranged by Dorothy Olney and
Day Tuttle. Cast: 2m., 2w., expanded as desired. “I cannot remember
any time when I did not exercise overwhelming imagination in telling stories about women!” wrote Shaw, and his outrageous approach
has been arranged here as a provocative and stimulating evening that
lightly skips among the Shavian high points. Adroitly interspersed
with the dramatic scenes is commentary from Shaw. The show is designed so that two actresses and two actors may play all the roles or
you may use different players in each role. Unit set. Royalty: $60/
153
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Craig Sodaro
Moongirl - Drama. By Craig Sodaro. Cast: 4m., 6w. The disturbing world of cults becomes a reality
for Anne Burkhardt when her only daughter, 18-year-old Kathy, is lured into the Universal Union Church
headed by a charismatic leader named Ely. For Kathy, acceptance into the group fills a void in her lonely
life; for Anne, the group presents the ultimate threat to a daughter she’s tried to protect ever since her father died years ago. Anne and Renee, Kathy’s only friend, try desperately to reason with Kathy, renamed
Moongirl. When Kathy decides to move to Ely’s “starbase,” Anne contacts Sylvia Russell, who specializes
in deprogramming cult victims. Although Kathy is sent home, bridging the gap that has widened between
the mother and daughter seems impossible until a shattering climax forces Kathy to decide in which world
she belongs. Moongirl powerfully and constructively explores the choices facing young people today.
While the contemporary problem of cults provides the background, Moongirl focuses on the characters
and the universal theme of freedoms and limits. Especially powerful roles for women. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M50.
Second Hand Kid -
Drama. By Craig Sodaro. Cast: 3m.,
4w. When longtime widow Connie D’Amato decides to take a foster
child, she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for. Instead of the
10-year-old “Shirley Temple” she was promised, Connie’s charge is
16-year-old Lisa, a repeat offender who has a history of addiction
and abuse. Connie’s 27-year-old daughter, Angela, takes an instant
dislike to Lisa ... and for good reason. Not only does the teenager
upset a monotonously secure routine, she also brings new problems.
Her vicious brother, Ed, shows up to “keep an eye on Lisa.” What’s
worse, Angela catches Lisa stealing Connie’s meager savings. Only
Papa, Connie’s father-in-law, is able to touch Lisa across the generations. Eventually each character must make a decision—and none of
their lives will ever be the same. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S35.
Gay Nineties Melodrama
Tim Kelly
“This is an excellent production for a high school or community theatre that’s looking for something different
that doesn’t require a lot of set ... All my students had a lot of fun and learned something about theatre styles.”
-Judine Brey, Colby High School Masquers, Colby, Wis.
Virtue Victorious (or Only a Mother’s Love Could Save
Him) - Melodrama. By Tim Kelly. Cast: 5m., 6w. Treachery and
deceit! Geoffrey Badum, the villainous relation of Old Cedarchest,
richest laundry owner in New England, has wormed his way into his
cousin’s good graces in the hope of marrying the sweet and lovely
Lotta. However, she has already married Sterling Ware. Infuriated,
Old Cedarchest casts his daughter out of his house forever. The newlyweds are befriended by Sailor Bob, who is busily perfecting the
No Opera at the Op’ry House Tonight (or Too
Good to Be True) - Melodrama. By Tim Kelly. Cast: 5m., 6w.
The Salami Opera Company is about to fall apart in the dusty hamlet
of Desert Rat. And that foul villain, Baron Wolfgang von Wolfpack,
knows that the prima donna, Alma Pumpernickle, is about to inherit
a fortune. He’d force her to marry him except that she has no title,
and family pride prevents him from marrying a commoner. To solve
his dilemma, he enlists the aid of a notorious confidence woman, Lily
Liverspot. It is she who discovers that the young nobleman, Count
Onitt, is living incognito as Billy Bright, a composer so poor he cannot afford a piano. Lily schemes to have the young people married
so Alma will have a title. After an annulment, von Wolfpack will be
able to marry her and claim her unsuspected wealth. Lily arranges a
hilarious marriage, but before Wolfpack can claim his prize, he must
reckon with the outrageous Madame Violetta. Multiple simple sets.
Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N19.
Charles H. Randall
Joan LeGro Bushnell
plans for his new submarine. Alas, tragedy strikes when Sterling
falls into a laundry tub and is returned to Lotta’s humble cottage
cleaned and pressed. Her adorable baby, Little Richard, in her arms,
the widow leaves the village to begin a new life but returns months
later, only to expire on the steps of the Charity Hospital. A final scene
in the church graveyard has Lotta’s ghost rising from behind a tombstone to bring the villains to justice and happiness to all. Multiple
simple sets. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: V15.
Gary Peterson
David Byrne
Klondike Kalamity - Melodrama. By Gary Peterson and David
Byrne. Cast: 6m., 3w., 1 bear’s arm. The Great Yukon Blizzard of 1888
sets the scene for this hilarious romp over the fields of melodramatics.
Included in the cast are: the fair and lovely maiden; the poor, crusty but
honest freelance lumberjack; the stalwart and heroic mountie—and a villain you will simply love to loathe! Add to their ranks a snow-blinded Indian, a flapjack-filching bruin and one befuddled lass who keeps forgetting her identity (not to mention her sex!) and you have a madcap farce in
the finest and funniest tradition of the melly-drammer. Will Fangduster T.
Barrelbottom get away with his unmentionably nefarious scheme? Can
our true-blue hero ever hope to clear his foully besmirched name? Is
there a chance that the heroine may escape the sawmill blade? One int.
set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: K18.
Addison Aulger
“This is the best full-act melodrama in print.”
-John Schreiber, Triton High School, Dodge Center, Minn.
Trapped by a Treacherous Twin (or Double Trouble)
- Melodrama. By Charles H. Randall and Joan LeGro Bushnell. Adrift in New York (or Her First False Step) - Melo-
Cast: 4m., 4w. The stalwart hero and the fiendish villain are identical
twins played by the same actor. An actor’s dream! Christmas morning finds their mother, Grace Haverford, sharing confidences with the
portrait of her husband, Herbert, who mysteriously vanished exactly
one year ago today. This is also the birthday of Noel and Yule, identical twins who are as different as, well, as hero and villain! Each of
the brothers is smitten in his own way with the beauty and virtue of
Sadie Rose. A cloud of doom hangs over Haverford Manor until, at
the last, virtue does triumph! One int. set. Royalty: $60/ performance.
154
drama. By Addison Aulger. Cast: 9m., 6w., extras. Here’s the best Gay
Nineties melodrama we’ve seen, and the more seriously your actors
play it, the more humorous your audience will find it! The show begins
at the Old Homestead where “our Nell” is enticed by the villain to go to
New York and sing in a fine music hall. The second act is at a Bowery
honky-tonk where she makes her New York debut. Then back at the
Old Homestead, “our Nell,” having endured many trials and tribulations, comes home after walking from the railroad station through a
terrible storm. And—happy end—she’s still “pure as the driven snow!”
Two int. sets. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A11.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Anne Coulter Martens
One Foot in Heaven -
Hartzell Spence
Comedy. Adapted by Anne Coulter
Martens. Based on the book by Hartzell Spence. Cast: 8m., 10w.
The rundown parsonage at their new parish comes as a shock—but
that’s only the beginning. Rev. Spence finds the church building coming apart, the congregation split into warring factions and the choir
“a cross between the devil’s grandmother and a swarm of mountain
wildcats.” Eileen and Hartzell, his teenage children, are disgusted at
having been yanked out of a comfortable parsonage and a fine high
school. But then Hartzell meets pretty Louise, and Eileen is introduced to the football captain. The humorous complications that result
make trouble for Rev. Spence. His struggle to build a new church,
organize a new choir, and crush intolerance leads to a battle among
his flock, and the threat of being dismissed from the clergy! Hartzell’s
complications have led him not only to the brink of romantic disaster,
but right into the local jail—just when the future of the Spence family
depends on him! The surprising conclusion brings down the curtain
on an evening that both entertains and lifts the spirit. One int. set.
Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O14.
John McGreevey
Catherine Marshall
A Man Called Peter - Drama. Adapted by John McGreevey.
From the book by Catherine Marshall. Cast: 7m., 8w. Peter Marshall
has gathered the young people of the community into his home. He
makes their joys and sorrows his own. His wife knows how ready he
is to overtax his strength on behalf of others, but he good-humoredly
evades her efforts to shield him. To Peter, life is service. Sometimes
this means he gives offense to the more conservative elements in the
church. Two elder members are scandalized when they walk in on
their minister illustrating (with the tea cloth on his head) how to play
the role of an Arab sheik. He even opposes a distinguished senator
when he finds him determined to jail a boy who has erred but is now
ready to live honestly. Although he has more serious problems, we
see his indomitable spirit triumphing over every threat. This splendid
play is great for any community and so wide in its appeal that it attracts unusually large audiences. One int. set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M14.
John McGreevey
The Robe -
Lloyd C. Douglas
Drama. By John McGreevey. From the book by
Lloyd C. Douglas. Cast: 13m., 9w., extras. Marcellus, a young Roman
officer, has been exiled. In Jerusalem, it becomes his duty to crucify a
Galilean. Although he believes the man innocent, he obeys. He also
tosses dice for the simple homespun robe which the Galilean wore. He
wins but becomes a desperately troubled man, restless and obsessed
with thoughts of the Galilean and the persecuted Christians. Marcellus turns more and more to the Galilean but hesitates to accept him as
divine until, in a final scene of emotion and power, he accepts death for
himself and his young wife rather than renounce his faith. Bare stage
w/props. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R19.
Southwest Florida Christian Academy, Ft. Myers., production of One Foot in Heaven at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre.
Roland Fernand
Taylor Caldwell
Dear and Glorious Physician -
Drama. Dramatized by
Roland Fernand. Based on the story by Taylor Caldwell. Cast: 10m.,
13w., extras. This is the story of Luke, who wanted above all things to be
a healer and who found that healing was not only a function of the body
and of the mind but also of the spirit. While learning about the growth
and training of a healer and the influences that shape his early life, we
realize something of the struggle this man is having with the concept of
God and the beliefs of those with whom he lives. Embittered when he
cannot save the life of the girl he loves, despite his desperate efforts, his
faith shattered, the young man tries to bury himself in his work, only to
find that he must somehow rediscover the faith he’s lost. Bare stage w/
props. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D41.
John McGreevey
Alyene Porter
“One of the most enjoyable plays I’ve directed. At some
points you didn’t know if you should laugh or cry.”
-Norma Bagley, Carriage House Players, Fayetteville, Tenn.
Papa Was a Preacher -
Comedy. By John McGreevey. Based
on the book by Alyene Porter. Cast: 7m., 8w. For the minister’s family, growing up has many tribulations which most children escape. They
can’t roller skate in public because some of the parishioners object. The
boys can’t protect their cotton patch from a gang of “toughs” because
their father opposes fighting. The daughters of the richest parishioner
try to make the preacher’s sons date them (or else!). The troublemaker,
Miss Jones, even objects to Alyene reciting the poems of William Shakespeare. Woven throughout this very funny play is a delightful boy/girl
complication in which the two brothers want to date the same girl while
their sister is being courted by a would-be musician. One int. set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P14.
“One of, if not the best drama around— touches the heart and humors the soul.”
-Teresa Maynard, Smoky Mountain Community Theatre, Bryson City, N.C.
Suzan L. Zeder
“This was one of the most meaningful plays we have ever produced both for the actors and the audience.”
-Grace Sayers, Sand/Storybook Theater Centre, Inc., DeLand, Fla.
Do Not Go Gentle - Comedy/Drama.
Flat Rock Playhouse, State Theatre of North Carolina production. (l-r) Ben Mackel, Terry Loughlin, Kim
Cozort, Brooks Hornsby and June Havoc.
Photo: Chris Bartol.
By Suzan L. Zeder. Cast: 2m., 4w.
Lillian Boedecker Barron is 84 years old, vibrant, funny, wise, and recently deceased! During her lifetime, Lillian shared a special bond with her granddaughter, Kelly, and suffered an estrangement from her son, Windsor, a colonel in the
Air Force, as he moved his family from base to base. After her death, Lillian
discovers that she cannot “move on” until the rifts are mended. Windsor and
Kelly come to settle her affairs and are aghast to discover that the walls of the
house have been painted with wild, sometimes humorous, sometimes horrific
murals and drawings. As they unravel the secrets of the paintings, The two make
astonishing discoveries about themselves and a special relationship between Lillian and a neighborhood child. This powerful, poignant play explores the wonder
of words and the transformative power of art as it offers humor and hope to all
who have ever been, a grandparent, parent, or child. Single set. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D64. A special 40-minute cutting of this play
which has been approved by the author is available for amateur competitions
only. Royalty: $35/performance. Price: $5.50. Code: D72 .
155
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
David Rogers
Max Shulman
Famous for his wild comedies about young people,
Max Shulman achieves a new high as Dobie Gillis
relentlessly pursues his “Helen of Troy.”
Rally ’Round the Flag, Boys! - Comedy. Adapted by David
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis - Comedy. Dramatized
“This fun look back at the simpler times of the 1920s was
filled with quips that prove that while times change,
human nature doesn’t.”
by William Davidson. From the book by Max Shulman. Cast: 6m.,
12w. There’s a special quality in this most amusing of Max Shulman’s comedies about young people and college complications.
Helen, whom Dobie adores and reveres “above Helen of Troy,” is
going steady with Petey Bellows, who thinks, according to Dobie,
“because he’s captain of the football team, president of the student
council, a three-letter man and editor-in-chief of the School Echo,
he is somebody.” Too bad Helen agrees! Through three breathless,
hilarious acts, Dobie pursues Helen—and he does catch up! One int.
Anne Coulter Martens
Betty MacDonald
“The play is funny—without being silly or gross, which is hard
to find nowadays.” -Wendy Wade, Olympia Middle School, Stanford, Ill.
The Egg and I - Comedy.
Adapted by Anne Coulter Martens.
Based on the book by Betty MacDonald. Cast: 9m., 13w. “Chickens?” gasps Betty MacDonald when her husband Don buys a little
farm in the mountains. “Who, us?” shriek teenage Anne and Joan
when asked to help. But they find themselves surrounded by peeping chicks and everyone has to move fast. To Anne, with her eyes
on a good-looking neighbor boy named Thad, this is fun. But how
long will it remain fun to get up at four, put the coffee on, go out to
the baby chicks with warm water, put toast in the oven, go out to the
chicks with mash, set the table and then go out to the chicks again?
When failure threatens to close the farm, Betty is finally ready to give
up, but there is a funny, tender scene in which they realize that they
are not quitters after all. Much heartwarming comedy unfolds as they
learn to cope with the Egg. One int. set. Royalty: $25/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: E14.
Rogers. From the book by Max Shulman. Cast: 15m., 11w., extras.
When the U.S. Army decides to establish a missile base at Putnam’s
Landing, problems explode. Lt. Guido DiMaggio, a hometown boy, has
been appointed public relations officer to keep open warfare from breaking out between the army and the citizens. But Guido can’t even keep the
peace with his fiancée, Angela, a second-grade teacher already in hot water thanks to her “advanced” theories on child psychology. Grace Bannerman, a determined committeewoman bent on producing a Fourth of
July pageant, forces the resentful town boys into playing the Americans
and drafts Guido’s soldiers into playing the British redcoats. Then a missile happens to go off in the middle of the Fourth of July fireworks and
helps build the big finish for this especially funny comedy. Area staging.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R10.
-Laurel M. Cortellino, Methuen High School, Methuen, Mass.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - Comedy. Adapted by Kristen
Sergel. From the book by Anita Loos. Cast: 7m., 10w., extras. “A
refined girl like I” is the way Lorelei describes herself, and it’s a role
in which any young actress can have the time of her life. Lorelei, a
dazzling blonde, and Dorothy, her sensible brunette friend, are planning to complete their educations by going to Europe for the summer.
They’ll “improve their minds” all day, but for their evenings their
main interest is in dates! A frivolous and witty show! Two int. sets.
Onions in the Stew - Comedy. Adapted by Anne Coulter Mar-
tens and William Dalzell. Based on the book by Betty MacDonald.
Cast: 7m., 11w., extras. Betty MacDonald has talked her two teenage
daughters and somewhat doubtful husband into sinking every cent
they have into a home on an island in Puget Sound. Now they stare
wistfully across the bay toward the lights of the big, comfortable city.
On their very first day the tide came in unexpectedly and swept half
their possessions off the beach—everything Betty does backfires humorously. Her daughters have gone boy crazy—putting on lipstick
to gather driftwood, switching from hair curlers to hair straighteners
and coming up with mysterious ailments to avoid homework. Betty
is sunk, miserable at having brought this apparent disaster on them
all. Yet, in the midst of everything, the family finds a special value in
the life they are creating—a value they wouldn’t trade for anything
in the world! One int. set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: O16.
Girl Crazy - Comedy (without music).
By Anne Coulter Martens, Newt Mitzman and William Dalzell. Based on the musical
screenplay by Guy Bolton. Cast: 10m., 8w. Danny Churchill gets
shipped out to the dilapidated family ranch in Arizona because his
family thinks a year out west is just what he needs. Danny arrives in a
taxi and the bill is astronomic! But how else would you get from New
York to Arizona? Danny obviously has ideas of his own. He turns
the place into a really ritzy dude ranch, and soon it’s alive with eastern girls and singing cowboys. But it’s a western girl who interests
Danny. Just as Molly is beginning to wonder if Danny really means
it, another New York visitor arrives. Girl Crazy is packed with scenes
that are almost vaudevillian in their speed and humor. Your audiences
will delight in the fun of the hypnotism scene, the wonderful scene
where the real Indian comes to the aid of the counterfeit Indian, and
the comic dialogue in which the taxi driver makes the grim discovery
of just why he has been elected sheriff. It all works out and it’s fun
all the way! One int. set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: G23.
156
Whippet Theatre, Shelby High School, Shelby, Ohio. (l-r) Dan Steele, Jessica McClish, Erin Kirk, Maggie Blum and Jennie Kirk.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Jon Jory
“Love, Death and the Prom is the perfect play for teenage
performers. It captures the joy, anxiety, love and angst of
teenage life!” -Kathy Buck, Riverview High School, Riverview, Fla.
Love, Death and the Prom -
Comedy/Drama. By Jon
Jory. Cast: variable. Quite small with doubling. Like University,
these are miniplays that connect and create a fascinating full evening of theatre. These plays are as hard-hitting, poignant and funny
as those in University, but in this case they’re concerned with people
just a little younger. “Love” begins the play in ways that are both
touching and wryly humorous. Then on to “death” as some young
people cope with the staggering news of a suicide. And, of course, it
ends with “the prom.” These three related themes bring new understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the young adult time of life.
Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L69.
University - Comedy/Drama. By Jon Jory. Cast: variable. Jon
Jory, has written this brilliant collection of miniplays which he developed to provide young actors with challenging roles and thematic
considerations that would stretch and develop them. “At Actors Theatre,” writes Jory, “we believe that these miniplays demand the same
preparation by the actor that a leading role in a full-length play requires. It is this act of preparation which is the crucial learning experience for the young actor.” Audiences have responded well to these
pieces, which together create an impact strongly communicating the
young and complicated world of students. Area staging. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: U16.
“An evening of uproarious laughter. The audience barely
was able to catch their breath before laughing again. A
great evening of entertainment.”
-Jim Miller, Osceola Community Players, Osceola, Ind.
“The audience roared with laughter as Chantal trained
Gene into the perfect husband! A delightful script with
challenging roles—Fun play to do!”
-Laurie Kirk, Shelby High School, Shelby, Ohio
If a Man Answers -
Comedy. Adapted by David Rogers.
From the book by Winifred Wolfe. Cast: 4m., 9w. Chantal’s mother
gives her a dog-training manual as the secret way to keep a husband
happy. So Chantal is soon trying such directions as: “Praise him when
he is learning to fetch and carry.” “Make the words ‘come here’ mean
something pleasurable.” “Be sure to frolic with your pet a part of
every day.” Chantal is doing fine in spite of the exotic models who
swarm about her husband’s studio until her friend Tina comes to
visit. Chantal confides the secret of her happy marriage to Tina, who
promptly tips off Chantal’s husband. Fireworks follow! One int. set.
Cheating from Love, Death and the Prom. Lancaster County Day School, Lancaster, Pa.
“It’s packed with belly laughs and high humor.”
—The Washington Star
A Gap in Generations - A
new commedia. By Jerry Blunt
and the Affamati Company. Cast: 9m., 5w., extras. This broad, exuberant, comedy-farce, created by a professor and his students, is not
only delighting other colleges and high schools but, when invited to
open the American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C., it
brought raves from the professional critics as well. “Life, vital and
original, came last night to Ford’s Theatre,” wrote the Washington
Post critic, who goes on to describe the show. “We discover a square
in old Bologna peopled by types that could have strayed in from The
Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, or Volpone. They are being
put down by a military type whose official disappearence leads to
entwining stories of young loves, old lecheries, and mistaken identities.” The play is done in true commedia dell’arte fashion with stylized costumes and masks.” Bare stage w/props. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G11.
Stephen Gregg
“A fun concept, brilliantly executed!”
-Marilyn Pilkey, Canyon High School, Canyon Country, Calif.
The Largest Elizabeth in the World -
Comedy. By
Stephen Gregg. Cast: 2m., 3w., extras. When Elizabeth’s mother
dies, it upsets the balance of an already fragile family. Elizabeth and
her father can’t get along. Elizabeth and her sister communicate almost entirely by writing journal entries to each other. Elizabeth herself is beginning to get taller. Much taller. And as the family’s problems grow, so does Elizabeth (which is handled easily and cleverly
in the staging). With the help of a new neighbor, the family strives
to reconnect—but they’d better hurry because Elizabeth is already
15 feet tall and getting bigger! Funny, touching and important. One
int. set. Longer version available in manuscript $35.00 (Code: LB8).
Woodstock High School, Woodstock, Ill., production of A Gap in Generations.
157
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Strong plays about confronting evil in a changing world.
Paul Nicholas Mason
Circles of Grace -
Drama. By Paul Nicholas Mason. Cast:
6m., 2w., 1 girl. Circles of Grace opens in a happy household in a
peaceful nation, just moments before the unexpected arrival of an officer of an occupying army. The officer takes command of the house
and makes some very unsettling arrangements—all the while preserving the veneer of civility. The family initially accepts his domination, but eventually they are moved to rebellion. Soaring speech,
vivid characters and a haunting conclusion guarantee that audiences
will leave the theatre disturbed, moved and wanting to talk about how
peaceful people can/should respond to brute force. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C91.
The Discipline Committee The Discipline Committee. Lakefield College School production. Photo: Todd Andrew Lamont.
John Zodrow
All Out -
Comedy. By John Zodrow. Cast: 15m., 8w., extras. The
stage is set for a television reality game show, but it’s to be a game that
goes to the essence of morality today. To what extremes will the contestants go to win a prize of $100,000? The show begins as a typical,
enthusiastic, laugh-it-up contest. Then, peeling away layer by layer the
exteriors of the various contestants, the sometimes debasing price of success begins to be revealed. Will the husband slap his wife in front of seven
million viewers? Will the wife go “all out” in her quest for the big prize?
And will the audience realize, as they become unwitting participants in
the game show, exactly what they are encouraging the wife to do? One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A23. 30-minute
version. Cast: 6m., 4w., 6 to 7 extras. Price: $5.50. Royalty: $35/performance. Code: AA8.
Peggy Devitt Katz
Tucker’s Ridge -
Drama. By Peggy Devitt Katz. Cast: 3 to
4m., 3w. Tucker’s Ridge is a compelling drama of friendship, fatality
and the search for a brighter future by two teenage boys trapped by
geography and family in a rural mountain town. A scholarship opportunity offers one of them the chance to escape. “This place has
got me by the heart,” Tucker says to his friend Luke. “I’m afraid it
will kill me if I stay.” Oddly enough, Luke, who suffers abuse from
an alcoholic father, cannot face leaving. When Tucker does not come
home one night, his mother fears the worst and shares those fears in
a haunting nighttime scene with the local sheriff. The final scene is
driven by the fury of loss, followed by a surprising twist that will captivate the hearts of your audience. The beauty of this play’s language,
and the color of the rural dialect, create characters that are vital and
believable and bring freshness and life to the problems, fears and
hopes of today’s youth. Unit set. Approximate running time: 50 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: TA2.
Drama. By Paul Nicholas
Mason. Cast: 3m., 1w. “To describe Paul Mason’s play as entertaining would be inaccurate—it’s much too powerful for that; you leave
the theatre with much to ponder.” (The Examiner, Cork, Ireland) Set
in a boys’ boarding school, this award-winning play begins with two
male teachers interviewing a senior student accused of performing
an act of brutality on a younger boy. The teachers’ initial confidence
in their ability to extract a confession dissipates in the face of the
youth’s cold hostility. Slowly, it becomes clear that something more
sinister is going on than first met the eye. The deteriorating situation
is saved by the intervention of a young female teacher who has been
sitting in on the proceedings—she interweaves three stories with a
cross-examination that eventually reveals the unsavory truth. A chilling twist near the conclusion will leave your audience gasping. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D63.
Craig Sodaro
Voices From Washington High - Drama. By Craig So-
daro. Cast: 7m., 8w., 1 m. voice, 2 w. voices. From today’s headlines,
Voices From Washington High confronts violence in the hallways of
a modern American high school. A group of lifelong friends agrees
that, as seniors, they’ll have the best year ever. But their lives are
swept into a whirlpool when a newcomer begins setting one against
another. Jealousy and alienation take a terrible toll. And then a shot is
fired. The principal attempts to downplay the tragedy claiming it was
an isolated incident. But it’s only the beginning. Voices offers strong
and powerful characters: Jessy, the smartest kid in class, who hopes
her dreams will even be partially realized; Coulee Mark, the new kid,
who takes on the world like an enemy; Laura, the girl who needs
someone—even the wrong someone; Eddie, the guy who wants out,
but doesn’t know the way; Miss Allen, the counselor who tries to
warn others that what’s happening isn’t going to disappear; and Claudia, the freshman, who wants to have it all. In this powerful play, we
hear the voices of the kids, their teachers, and their parents, all edging
carelessly toward violence. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Bruce Jacoby
The Girl in the Mirror -
OAST Youth Theatre, Tonbridge, Kent, U.K., production of The Girl in the Mirror.
158
Photo: Basil Barnes.
Drama. By Bruce Jacoby. Cast:
6m., 10w., extras optional. Susan Connors, age 17, lies in a coma in the
intensive care unit of a hospital. She has tried to kill herself by taking
an overdose of sleeping pills. “Whether she lives or dies now,” a doctor
explains to Susan’s mother, “is largely a matter of her own will. We’ve
done everything we could.” This unusual, original drama reveals what
is going through the dying girl’s mind as she lies in her bed. It is a play
about depression and suicide but also about how easily people can misunderstand each other with tragic results. It is a play about communication, about feelings, about sympathy and, most importantly, about selfknowledge. Area staging. One-act cutting available.65 pages. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G35.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
William Gleason
“Simply hilarious! Inspector Clouseau steals the show!
Perfect for every age group!”
-Frank Porter, Heritage Academy High School, Columbus, Miss.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again - Comedy. By William
Gleason. Based on the film by Blake Edwards and Frank Waldman.
Cast: flexible. 8m., 8w., minimum w/doubling. The cast may be expanded
by having different actors, male or female, play many additional small
roles. The comic essence of the marvelous film with all its verbal and
visual humor has been captured here in an entirely practical play that is
both easy and fun to stage. The world’s most unusual criminologist, Chief
Inspector Jacques Clouseau—a role originally created by Peter Sellers—
fights for his life and for the future of all mankind in the most bizarre and
dangerous caper of his brilliantly successful and utterly clumsy career.
Paul Dreyfus, once his long-suffering boss, now turned into a raving lunatic, holds the world at bay with the ultimate weapon, the Doomsday
Machine. Dreyfus is out to get Clouseau, the man whose undeserved
success has driven him crazy, and he threatens to vaporize continents if
the nations of the world don’t deliver Clouseau to him—alive or, if at all
possible, dead! Blissfully unaware that the army of deadly assassins is
gunning for him, or that the beautiful girl who seeks him out is a Russian
agent, Clouseau incredibly stumbles and slips by every attack. However,
the world is running out of time because the increasingly frustrated Dreyfus, doodling with the Doomsday Machine, is running out of patience. At
the critical moment, it suddenly appears that Clouseau is finally running
out of luck. Then he fires from the hip and hits—our funny bone! Area
Northdale Middle School, Coon Rapids, Minn.
staging. Sound effects CD available (Q83 - $25.00). Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: P52.
Not Fit to Print - Comedy. By William Gleason. Cast: 10m., Saturday, the 14th - Comedy. By William Gleason. Cast: 6m.,
10w. Start the presses and bring this media mania to the stage. With
a rainbow of colorful characters, this is sure to be a hit. Idealistic allAmerican journalism student Ida Perry has been offered a prestigious
internship, but the bottom falls out of her dream. Her father has been
laid off and Ida not only has to pay her own tuition but she must contribute to the family. She takes a part-time job writing for the Metro
Inquirer, probably the most scandalous newspaper in history. “Man
Eats Own Face” is a typical headline. Another reporter greets her
with, “How do you spell lascivious?” But never underestimate the
power of a bright girl caught between a rock and a hard place. She
becomes as much a surprise to the Metro Inquirer as it is to her. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N31.
7w., Mason. It made all the headlines 30 years ago. Only one camp
counselor was found alive and she hasn’t spoken a word since. They
closed Camp Slippery Floors down. Everybody wanted to forget what
happened that night, and almost everybody did forget—except Mason.
Mason never forgets! Now Camp Slippery Floors is going to open again,
and Mason is waiting in the wings for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The
unsuspecting camp counselors are looking forward to a summer full of
surprises, and Mason is more than willing to provide them with a few.
Yes—Mason’s still crazy after all these years, and he’s back with a sack
full of uglies, a bizarre bag of tricks, and still holding a grudge. Treat
your audience to a slashing good time with a show that pokes fun at the
king of the cut-ups, Mason. Not more gore, but laughs galore. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S77.
The Prime Time Crime -
Comedy. By William Gleason.
Cast: 17 (or 10) m., 8w. A comedy spoof in which parodies of the
television prime-time crime fighters all descend on Shropshire Manor, nearly knocking one another down as each, in his own special
way, tries to solve a humorously complex Agatha Christie sort of
mystery! A diabolical plot is unfolding and the relatives are dropping
like flies. Murder most foul! Who is the phantom? No one knows,
but he haunts the halls and rooms of Shropshire wearing black and
showing no mercy. The local constable is unable to handle it. Join
in the mayhem and merriment as our crime fighters search for the
Phantom! One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: P42.
And Flights of Angels - Drama. By Terrence Ortwein. Cast:
he never repeat? What would he emphasize? And how should the story be told? Since “the play’s the thing,” Horatio gathers a troupe of
actors to “play the play.” This allows the director great creativity in
casting and technical values. If you have always wanted to do Hamlet
but felt it was just too difficult, this is your chance. Bare stage or unit
set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: A55.
Terrence Ortwein
16 actors. Flexible, gender-free casting is encouraged. In the final
moments of Hamlet, the dying prince pleads with his one, true friend,
Horatio, to tell his story to those who would otherwise not understand his life and death. And Flights of Angels is Horatio’s response;
it is Horatio’s Hamlet. What secret did Horatio know? What would
Joseph Robinette
“Get Bill Shakespeare Off the Stage is a lighthearted
comedy that highschoolers can easily identify with. The
simple set enables us to focus on strong characterization.” -Ruth Wareham, Colonial Heights H.S., Colonial Heights, Va.
Get Bill Shakespeare Off the Stage! -
Get Bill Shakespeare Off the Stage.
Comedy. By Joseph Robinette. Cast: 6m., 10w. After some humorous and, at times,
bitter differences of opinion, the students and the new, idealistic highschool drama teacher develop a better understanding of one another. The
students arrive at a surprising appreciation of the same Shakespeare they
had wanted to get off the stage. This exciting show, with its lively backstage action and unique character development is a director’s dream and
an audience’s delight. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: G36.
159
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
The original — now a modern classic —
by the young playwrights at Walden Theatre
Glimpses - An evening of theatre. By Many Young Playwrights.
Cast: variable. Here is a full evening of dramatic excitement created
by a group of talented young playwrights. From a child’s remembrance of a pair of red tennis shoes, through five different views of
growing up as seen in “The Adolescent Fugue,” to a searing view
of a young man’s inner rage at society, each of these separate but
related works provides insightful “glimpses” of the world as young
writers see it. The scenes, dramatic monologues and short playlets
are presented here in a context that results in a full-length show of
many and varied textures. Please note that the work by these playwrights was in no way edited or censored by either adults directing
the project or by this publisher. The impact of their “glimpses” has a
frank reality in a few of the individual pieces that may be considered
unsuitable for some audiences. Happily, with so many choices before
you, cuts are easily made and you may also insert original work by
your own young playwrights. Thus, you present the show as it works
best for your actors and your audience. Bare stage. Royalty: $65/
Glimpses. Photo: David S. Talbott.
I Saved a Winter Just for You - Drama/Comedy. By Many Snap Judgments Young Playwrights. Edited by Tom Erhard. Cast: 3m., 5w. For an
honest, hard-hitting evening of theatre, what better excitement than to
hear teenagers confront their problems in their own voices? This 90minute script gives voice to young people’s excitements and frustrations in trying to express themselves, the bitter and the farcical sides of
human relationships, the difficulty in communicating with parents and
the terror of child abuse, the tension of growing up in a war-threatened
world, and the warmth of human caring and sharing. These stories and
poems were carefully selected from the Southwest High School Creative Writing Awards program which goes into 500 high schools in seven states and is conducted by Tom Erhard, professor of theatre arts at
New Mexico State University. Erhard, author of many plays for young
people, edited and dramatized these stories and poems to create intense
theatre that builds to a powerful climax and then a warm, upbeat finale.
Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I41.
Tom Erhard
Laughing Once More -
Comedy/Drama. By Many Young
Playwrights. Edited and adapted by Tom Erhard. Cast: 3m., 6w. This
is the third in the exciting series of anthology-theatre evenings of powerful and honest writings by high-school students about their own lives,
their problems and their triumphs. As with his I Know I Saw Gypsies
and I Saved a Winter Just for You, Erhard has assigned a basic personality trait to each performer. They then play appropriate characterizations
in the dramatizations of carefully arranged poems and stories. The focus is on the wonderful and mysterious process of creative writing by
young people. To the challenge that all youthful writing is downbeat,
several performers convince the others that much high-school writing
is, instead, very upbeat. This evening of theatre looks at finding ideas
to write about, the inspiration of good teachers, the incredible difficulty
and complexity of boy/girl and parent/student relationships, and the
hurts and terrors that exist in young peoples’ everyday lives and provides a laughing conclusion of happy-ending stories and poems. Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: L52.
Ev Miller
The issues are as current as tomorrow’s newspaper
and as old as the printed word.
Sticks ’n Stones -
Drama. By Ev Miller. Cast: 8m., 11w.
“Sticks ’n stones/ May break my bones/ But names will never hurt
me.” The “names” used here, however, are to prove more devastating
than “sticks ’n stones.” Matt Collins is an outstanding young English
teacher whose reputation is flawless. His students love him and their
parents are grateful for him. Collins has assigned a modern American
novel, one that is certainly as pristine as any PG-rated movie. Even
so, the mother of one of the students objects. Collins is half inclined
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An evening of theatre. By Many Young
Playwrights. Cast: variable. The voices of these young playwrights
offer a new theatrical kaleidoscope of short pieces, but in this work
from Walden Theatre, there’s a sense of structure. A young man begins the play as he starts unwrapping a Snickers candy bar while a
young woman watches with disgust and loathing. The young man is
totally focused on the candy bar, and the young woman is explaining to us exactly why she could not consider a relationship with this
impossible person. Then we’re off into other wonderful short pieces. However, as increasingly assertive punctuation marks, the boy,
the girl and the Snickers bar recur—each time taking their story to
a higher level. Serious subjects are adroitly addressed, and there’s
comedy and farce. Here again Walden Theatre offers the clear and
uncensored voices of young, talented playwrights. Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S17.
“What a great high-school ensemble show! ...
Teenagers love this show.
Its simplicity is great for schools with little financial support.”
-Theresa Kimball, Mt. Zion High School, Jonesboro, Ga.
Sometimes I Wake Up in the Middle of the Night
- Comedy/Drama. By the Young Playwrights of the Walden Theatre
Conservatory Playwriting Program in New York. Cast: 10 to 20 actors. In the middle of the night, our unexpressed hopes, needs and fears
can possess us, and there are times when all of us lie awake in the dark,
feeling vulnerable and alone. The young playwrights from the Walden
Theatre Conservatory have explored these profoundly felt emotions
and have written, in response, an extraordinarily insightful collection of
scenes and monologues that together make up a full evening of theatre.
The pieces that comprise this play are funny, sad, disturbing, real; they
are the honest and forthright expressions of “today.” The play focuses
on subjects that range from the lighthearted anxieties of teenage love to
the pain and loss of divorce or suicide. The experiences of youth, with
all the exuberance and all the pain, provide an opportunity for young
actors and their audience to examine their own wants and needs and
to gain understanding of the wants and dreams of others. May be performed on a bare stage with stools and ladders. Please note that this
play has some strong language which may be deleted. Area staging.
to substitute another book, but then push goes to shove and his back
starts to stiffen. Emotions begin to rise on both sides. When a national fringe group tries to use the differences here for its own purposes, the young teacher is suddenly not only fighting for the right
to teach what he thinks is worthwhile, he’s fighting for his job. How
much freedom does a teacher have in the classroom? With exciting
theatricality, the audience decides! Area staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S76.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Mark Rosenwinkel
Herman Melville
This haunting high-seas adventure is filled with mystery and drama.
It is a story of peer pressure and conformity, loyalty and
comradeship, and the question of what is right and wrong.
Moby Dick - Drama.
By Mark Rosenwinkel. Adapted from Herman Melville’s novel. Cast: 4
actors (cross-gender). Ishmael, a young man in search of adventure; first mate, Stubb; and Queequeg, the
mystical Polynesian harpooner (“He’s the son of a cannibal king, they say.”) set off aboard the Pequod,
a whaling ship piloted by the brooding Captain Ahab. As they sail deeper into unknown waters, they
discover the real reason for their quest—to hunt and kill Moby Dick, that legendary white whale who
long ago devoured the captain’s leg. Ahab’s dark obsession for the creature soon takes hold of the entire
ship, driving them all toward a violent confrontation with the great beast itself. This adaptation is suitable
for standard stage production as well as touring, using simple music and sound effects to create stunning
theatrical moments. Single set. Approximate running time: 80 minutes. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price:
$8.50 (music in book). Code: M68. 50-minute manuscript version: $35.00. Code: MA6.
Tim Kelly
Curse of the Werewolf - Comedy/Mystery.
By Tim Kelly. Cast: 5m., 7w.
or 6m., 6w. Buzz Halliburton,
an entertainer fallen on hard
times, is summoned to Gargoyle House, a spooky castle on a lonely New
England island. With him is his partner, Admiral Byrd, a penguin who
tap dances to “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” The relatives turn out to be candidates
for the funny farm. Colonel Snipes plots to blow up the island. Veronica,
his wife, wears evening gowns in the daytime. Little Messalina is a child
terror who has baby piranhas for pets. The housekeeper, who often appears without her head, is menacing; the gardener is probably insane.
One grisly murder takes place before Buzz’s arrival, but there are more
to follow! Because of the family curse, there’s a werewolf in the house.
But who can it be? The new governess? Sheriff Birdsong? The neighbor
with the leaky boat? Olga, the gypsy, who still uses a wagon and horse?
Things really get hot when Buzz is declared heir to the Snipes fortune
and a young man claiming he is the real Buzz Halliburton shows up
only to be “wolfed” down. Who dunnit? Everything is here: a touch of
romance, a classic will-reading scene and fiery red eyes at the window.
The laughs never stop and there are plenty of chills. Simple to stage, this
energetic and crazy spoof will keep your audience howling. One int. set.
Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C80.
Idaho Theatre for Youth. (l-r) Nadine Griffith, Donald E. Horton and
Michael Hacker. Photo: Stan Sinclair.
David Rogers
Boys and Ghouls Together - Spoof. By David Rogers. Cast:
6m., 10w. Night falls on a ancient castle in the Alps, and a group of young
Americans crosses the drawbridge to meet the incredible family! Papa,
descended from Count Dracula, and Mama, descended from Dr. Frankenstein, can’t find a husband for their teenage daughter, Dirga. So, despite Granny’s objections, they turn their home into a hostel. The first
Americans arrives for a weekend, and the Draculas pick young Buddy
for their future son-in-law. He’s awfully normal, but he’s all there is. The
group is a bit unnerved by the castle. There’s a caged raven quoting Nevermore and a man’s face screaming the hours from inside a cuckoo clock.
Besides dancing to “Night on Bald Mountain” and weird refreshments,
there is the howling of Dad’s wolves and the grunting of the pet alligator
... an experience that neither they—nor you— will ever forget! One int.
set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B30.
John Mattera
Dracula - Thriller.
Pat Cook
“Excellent! Very well received. Highly
recommend for Halloween; it is versatile and
offers great variety of holiday emotions.”
-Phil Huber, Portland High School Drama, Portland, Mich.
Boo! Thirteen Scenes From Halloween -
Comedy/
Drama/Review. By Pat Cook. Cast: 5 to 38 m. or w. With a full moon
and a grinning jack-o’-lantern beaming from every window, it’s a hard
heart that doesn’t get a little spooked at Halloween. Celebrate the holiday with this witch’s brew of playlets, each designed to make your skin
crawl and tickle your funny bone. This eerie review of 12 skits and a
one act is just the thing for a few scary chuckles. Thirteen stories in
all, they can play for a full evening’s entertainment or just add to any
variety show. Full of a wicked assortment of trick-or-treaters, grave
diggers, witches and goblins, each story is a haunt all itself. Find out
about The Curse of the Ugly Dolls, The Grave Situation, A Very Dirty
Trick, and A Very Sweet Treat. See how to pick out The Perfect Mask
and why Two Heads Are Better Than One. This ghostly brew is easily
produced with a flexible cast. Simple sets. Royalty: $60/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: B77.
Tim Kelly
A-Haunting We Will Go -
Comedy/Mystery. By Tim Kelly.
Cast: 7m., 13w. Screams in the dark and galloping gooseflesh! Here’s a
modern mystery-comedy suited to any group searching for a play that
has no problems in terms of production. Glamorous, young television
producer Norma Corwin made a childhood vow that once in her life
she would spend a night alone in The Inn of the Three Sisters, an eerie
and forbidding hotel famous for an unresolved murder, horrifying spirit
manifestations and murderous intrigue. When she learns the inn is to
be dynamited to make way for a new highway, she decides the time is
now (or never) and the fun begins. A strange assortment of uninvited
“guests” arrive to add more mystery: ESP expert Madame Lugosi; a
young serviceman who says he’s lost his way; a doomed young woman
who comes to warn Norma that she’s in great danger; and the spirits
of the three young sisters who, with the villainous handyman Flint, are
cursed to relive the ghastly murder each night. One int. set. Royalty:
Bram Stoker
By John Mattera. Based on the book by Bram Stoker. Cast:
9m., 7w. Practical and playable, this stage adaptation is closely based on the original, presenting the frightening story that made this a horror classic. The mysterious
Count Dracula has gone to England where he is living on a large estate next to an
insane asylum run by the incredibly naive Dr. Seward. The others that make up the
cast of this thriller include Professor Von Helsing, who must convince Dr. Seward
that Count Dracula is a vampire; Renfield, a fly-eating lunatic who serves the Count
(once too often); beautiful Lucy Westenra, who has an uncanny resemblance to a
girl Count Dracula loved over a hundred years ago; Charles, the Westenra family
butler whose poor eyesight saves him from being hypnotized; as well as three female
vampires! The plot develops with all the excitement of the original and then the audience is given the jolt of a startling double twist. Multiple simple sets. Royalty: $60/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: D35.
161
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Bill Majeski
“Awesome! Everyone laughed including the kindergartener who yelled out,
‘I knew she did it!’ A very fun play to perform!” -Pat Hoover, Orr School, Orr, Minn.
The Very Great Grandson of Sherlock Holmes -
Comedy. By Bill
Majeski. Cast: 4m., 7w. The very great grandson of the master sleuth is trying to make it
as a private eye, his mind filled with beautiful girls in dire straits who will be saved by his
massive intellect. Unfortunately, great-grandson Sherwood is not quite up to his illustrious
ancestor Sherlock, a fact pointed out to him by the descendant of Dr. Watson. Thrust into
a marvelous and complex murder mystery, young Sherwood tries desperately to rise to the
occasion, but his brilliant solution is apparently no more than a humorous disaster. However,
this great-grandson still retains a bit of the classic brilliance attached to his name and, in an
exciting and highly visual climax, he demonstrates the intent of the victim’s last message
and nails the culprit. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: V11.
Sherlock Holmes’ Great Grandson Goes Hollywood - Comedy. By Bill Majeski. Cast: 16m., 12w. This suave, in-
trepid, deep-thinking sleuth, who also happens to be a direct descendant
of the great Sherlock Holmes, goes to Filmville where he hobnobs with
the weird and the beautiful. Surrounded by sweet young things who find
him irresistible, he tackles a complicated and convoluted series of murders. Baker Street, as you’ve already guessed, was never like this, but
those brilliant genes handed down from the master to his great-grandson
keep turning on at unexpected moments! This play has a very fast pace
along with many, many brief but marvelous comedy bits. As a result almost everyone in this large cast has a big bit downstage center. Two int.
sets. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S80.
“Both actors and audience enjoyed this
colorful and lighthearted evening of theater.”
-Marnie Herzfeld, Conestoga High School, Berwyn, Pa.
Gross Encounters of the Worst Kind - Comedy. By
Bill Majeski. Cast: 5m., 9w., extras, 4 male voices. Seventeen-
year-old Trish sees a UFO and hears a voice calling to her, “I’ll be
back. I’ll be back.” Everyone—the police, the press, television and
her family—wants to know more about it. Was Trish hallucinating?
Was it because of her emotional condition? Or was it real? Trish herself isn’t sure until she has a visitor from Star Shores-C2B4U. He is
charming and quite smitten by Trish, who is very comfortable with
him and happy to have her sighting confirmed. The family is convinced of their daughter’s sanity and Trish is left smiling heavenward
as she hears the familiar call, “I’ll be back. I’ll be back.” One int. set.
David Rogers Paul Henning
The Beverly Hillbillies - Comedy. By David Rogers. Based
on the television program by Paul Henning. Cast: 9m., 12w., extras.
The lovable Clampett family rides onto your stage for an evening of
hillbilly hilarity. Starting in the Clampett’s mountain cabin, the play
follows them through the discovery of oil, their improbable invasion of
hi-falutin’ Beverly Hills society and the absurd adventures and ridiculous romances they encounter there. They and the people they meet in
“Californy” provide challenging characterizations for your cast. Two
int. sets. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: B16.
P. M. Clepper
Just for Kicks - Comedy. By P. M. Clepper. Cast: 13m., 13w.,
Photo from the TV series.
Christopher Sergel
You Were Born on a Rotten Day -
Comedy. By Christopher Sergel. Cast: 8m., 18w. (smaller with doubling). This spoof
will probably set astrology so far back that the ancient Chaldeans
will have to start over! The play begins with an unexpected astrologer in direct and devastating communication with your audience. In
a sense, this comic spoof becomes a modern retelling of the classic
situation in which astronomers could only get help for scientific study
by telling horoscopes. In the disguise of an outrageous astrologer, our
modern science teacher rediscovers the same thing—the world is his,
along with the girl he cares about, if he’ll just remain an astrologer!
This is a comedy in which hilarity is ascending and, if you produce it,
our unofficial horoscope says your house will be full! Area staging.
Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: Y13.
162
extras. When a school has never ever won a football game it’s hard
not to try anything for a victory. The principal devises a devilish
scheme. How can his team be faulted for its losses if its coach is a
woman? So he appoints the English teacher, Janet Talber. What he
doesn’t realize is that Janet is not about to be a token coach—she
means to win! Like the principal, she has a plan—she makes Diane,
a talented athlete, the star kicker! One int. set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: J14.
Ev Miller
I’m a Stranger Here Myself - Drama. By Ev Miller. Cast:
4m., 6w. Casey O’Hara, a good-looking high-school senior, knows
what life is all about. It means being cool and laid back; it means just
barely getting by; and it means being best friends with his crazy pal,
Mark Lee. Suddenly, Casey’s world changes. His parents split up and
he meets a girl named Lori. Now, he is not so sure of where he’s going,
and he begins to wonder if Mark’s world is really what he wants for
himself. Written with startling sensitivity and power, this play shows
us the world as it really is for Casey and those with whom he becomes
involved. We strongly urge you to consider this exciting work. Area
staging. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: I40.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
David Rogers
“This is a really fun ensemble piece with a wide variety of colorful
characters. It gives a new twist to the idea of a simple love story.”
-Debbie Harms, North Cedars Schools, Stanwood, Iowa
It Happens Every Summer - Comedy. By David Rogers. Cast: 7m., 13w.,
extras. A group of college girls are working as guest editors for the June issue of a
New York fashion magazine. Every June, the editor-in-chief of Debutante and her
staff welcome the prize winners of the guest editor contest from colleges all over the
country. This year, they find the girls wackier and more wonderful than ever. They
include Jennifer, deeply anxious to prove herself and be retained on the regular staff;
a chic girl who finds New York “luxuryish”; the Southern belle, expert at gold digging; and the “writer” who is determined to have her avant-garde novel, Guts, published. Truly funny situations sparked by witty lines created by one of Broadway’s
best comedy writers make this a high and happy evening. One int. set. Royalty: $60/
Never Mind What Happened, How Did It End? -
Comedy. By
David Rogers. Cast: 19m., 19w. (fewer with doubling).Contemporary in subject matter
and nostalgic in execution, this deft and charming comedy investigates the changing attitudes toward young love over three generations, beginning in the present with 18-yearold Ann; her mother, Donna; and her grandmother, Penny, who was a fabulous movie
star. The interplay and counterpoint of the scenes of the three young girls in different
times offer an intriguing overview of young people today, yesterday and the day before
that. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N11.
“Students and audience alike had a total blast with this play.
There were lots of major roles and the staging ... was unique.
Always something hilarious going on!!”
-Pat Steppler, Miami School, Miami, Alberta
Soft Soap - Comedy. By David Rogers. Cast: 13m., 14w., extras as
desired. Betty Brown is so “into” soap operas that she actually transfers
herself from Midwestern Tech’s student lounge into the television screen
and the uproariously lurid world of “Yesterday’s Tomorrow.” Will Betty be
able to save Spring Weatherby from being shipped to the diamond mines
Luella McMahon
First Baptist Academy, Dallas, Texas, production of It Happens Every Summer.
of Brazil by the evil Tempest Frost? Can Betty bring Spring’s father out of
his amnesia to prove Spring’s mother did not kill Rain Flood? Can Tommy
Smith get Betty out of the clutches of the villainous Hale Storm? Tune in
tomorrow or send for this hilarious spoof before the next commercial. One
div. int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: S65.
Christopher Sergel
State Fair - Comedy. Adapted by Luella McMahon and Chris-
topher Sergel. From the book by Phil Stong. Cast: 6m., 5w. Phil
Stong’s novel was so successful it inspired several motion pictures as
well as a musical comedy. When this stage version was sent to him,
he replied, “Splendid. Absolutely splendid!” All the color and excitement of a state fair—and the surprising ways in which it changes the
Phil Strong
lives of a young man and the girl he meets and falls in love with—are
beautifully expressed in this play about American life. This is a show
that audiences love, for they recognize both the people and the situations and react with delight to its humor and comment. One ext. set.
“Meet Me in St. Louis is so much fun to perform. The characters are so full of life and are a challenge for young actors.
The audience loved it and the sisters with all their antics kept the audience laughing.”
-Charla Little, Red Oak High School, Red Oak, Texas
Meet Me in St. Louis -
Meet Me in St. Louis. Trinity Christian Academy, Addison, Texas. (l-r) Amber Patton and Sarah Foley.
Comedy. Based on the
book by Sally Benson. Adapted by Christopher Sergel.
Cast: 7m., 9w. It’s rare for a play to capture truly a special
moment in time, a particular moment in the lives of some
real people. What makes this play so exceptional is not
only that it does this so beautifully but that it’s done with
fun, excitement, and some broad comedy scenes that often stop the show with laughter! Four attractive sisters are
all blazing with excitement over the wonderful World’s
Fair that is about to open right there in St. Louis. The girls
are also in a state about the love life of their only brother,
whom they suspect of ditching his sweet hometown girl
for a snob from the East. In the midst of the sisters’ humorous maneuvers to rule (or ruin) their brother’s new
romance, Father finally breaks in with his announcement.
He’s been offered a better job in New York! This will
mean leaving their home in St. Louis and missing the
fair! At this, the girls unite for action. A most popular and
charming play! One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance.
163
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
William Gleason
“No Crime Like the Present was an immediate hit with our
audiences, as have been Bill Gleason's other plays. His
comedies are delightful and include many sure-fire laughs,
a breath of fresh air in these troubled times.”
-Art Haggertsen, White Sands Elementary/Middle School,
White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
No Crime Like the Present - Comedy. By William Glea-
son. Cast: 7m., 7w. Cassandra Dumont was on her way to the top and
she was willing to step on a few toes to get there—half the people in
the city had a limp. As co-anchor of the “Six O’Clock News,” at television station KDOA, she had made enough enemies to fill a phone
book. So it was no big surprise when somebody decided to cancel
her ticket. Everybody who knew her had a motive. Tune in and find
out for yourself that there’s No Crime Like the Present. Area staging.
Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: N28.
Happy Daze - Comedy. By William Gleason. Cast: 16m., 17w.,
They’d Hang You in Nashville. Stephen F. Austin State University production.
They’d Hang You in Nashville -
less with doubling. Julian Thaddeus Springer (J.T.) has troubles in
school both as an athlete and trying to attract a girl—any girl! His problems carry over to his home life, and his parents exile him to his room.
There’s nothing there except a television set, and he begins watching
nostalgia programs, set in what seems to him a much happier time. He
becomes convinced that he’s a 1950’s personality. To escape the unhappiness of his real world, he creates a make-believe world—a town
called Oakdale in the 1950s—and in Oakdale he’s not a weirdo! In fact,
he’s someone special. Special enough to fight through his problem and
come back prepared to cope with today. Bare stage w/props. Royalty:
Comedy. By William
Gleason. Cast: 7m., 4w. A spoof of the country and western music
scene. In Nashville, Miss Bobbi Jo Pickens, the BIG country and
western singing star, has the clout to get anyone who is disrespectful
of her huge talent hung. Two recent college graduates, Stanley and
Bob, are trying every strategy to keep the outraged landlord from
their door while Stanley writes soon-to-be-forgotten lyrics with titles
such as “My Heart Fell Apart When You Went to Pieces Over Me.”
Understandably, he can’t sell these gems and their plight is desperate! Seeking remedies, the two young men find themselves in an incredible alliance with Bobbi Jo Pickens, and it’s then that they begin
to discover the real meaning of “desperate.” One int. set. Optional
music in book. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T20.
They Came From Somewhere -
The Calamityville Terror -
Comedy. By William
Gleason. Cast: 8m., 7w. A meteor streaks out of the southern sky and
lands near the town of Latigo, Texas—a place so small that it’s about
to drop off the map. Maybe the miracle of the meteor will attract
some attention. Certainly it’s attracting something! There are, indeed,
creatures from an alien environment in Latigo. What the natives don’t
know is that they are from Poughkeepsie, N.Y. This cosmic farce
could only happen when worlds collide. Area staging. Royalty: $65/
performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T57.
“This play is full of adult humor, creative writing and
quality characters. Audiences love the play because of
the actor/audience interaction.”
-Don King, James A. Garfield High School, Garrettsville, Ohio
Mystery. By William Gleason. Cast: 4m., 7w. All the ingredients for a chiller-thriller are here,
and this time they are handled with an unusual amount of comedy. A
high-school administrator and some of her students are moving their
school into a huge old manor house that has been made available
to them at an incredible bargain. As the high-school girls, with help
from some local boys, begin setting up their school, strange things
start happening. Some of them are funny while others begin to be a
little frightening. The proposed schoolhouse is filled with mysterious
surprises that build to near-terror. There are some unusual roles for
your cast in this mystery / comedy. One int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C51.
Christopher Sergel
Helen Doss
Hit and Misdemeanor - Comedy. By William Gleason. Cast: The Family Nobody Wanted - Comedy. By Christopher
7m., 8w., extras. A prime-time television crime show features two
young female cops in the leading roles, and with the show getting high
ratings, the girls are not only rich and cute but rolling in fan letters.
There are only two things standing between them and complete happiness: first, they can’t stand each other, and second, someone is trying to
kill them. Suddenly the television fun and games change from makebelieve land to a real-life situation, and just as suddenly the two girls
discover that their costume “uniforms” have to stand up to the harsh
scrutiny of a killer who really means it. This is a wonderful Gleason
mix of comedy and suspense in an entertaining and exciting play. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H50.
164
Sergel. From the book by Helen Doss. Cast: 7m., 10w. When a young
minister and his wife found that they couldn’t have children of their
own, they set out to adopt some. After adopting young Don (now a
handsome, interesting teenager), they wanted many more children.
They discovered that nobody wants children with Mexican, Oriental
or Indian blood, and so they adopted a houseful of “unadoptables” who
grew up together, all part of one family. Now Don, the oldest, is asked
to deny these brothers and sisters for the sake of the one girl that matters to him. The stirring resolution, with its laughter and pathos, makes
this a unique combination of high ideals and high entertainment. One
int. set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: F11.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
The Worst High School Play
in the World - Comedy. By William
Gleason. Cast: 8m., 8w., squirrels optional. This play begins in the year 1243
A.D. and all is not well in the land of Saxonia. Darkness and discontent hang thick
in the air like sausages in a smokehouse.
The reasonably handsome King Isadore is
off to the Crusades to smite heathens and
purchase porcelain. In his place, his creep
brother, Prince Viscera, brings sorrow and
fear to every hearth and leaves them sitting on the front porch like two quarts of
spoiled milk. There is also joy in Saxonia,
for Isadore has not only left town but he
has also left a son. The boy’s name is Ivanha and this is his story. It is a story of love
and revenge. More than that, it is the worst
plot you’ve ever seen on a stage! Return
with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear
when men were men, women were women
... and squirrels were squirrels! Give your
audience the chance to laugh, to cry, to
cheer and to gag. Pull out all the stops and
give them The Worst High School Play in
the World. One ext. set. Sound effects CD
available (Q69 - $25.00). Royalty: $65/
William Gleason
“A great success! Well attended and well received by student body—created
an instant-message frenzy! Received a standing ovation from 300 students!”
-Sharon Garry, Jefferson Township High School, Oak Ridge, N.J.
San Marino High School production.
The Perils of Lulu -
Comedy. By William Gleason. Cast:
7m., 7w. Little did Lulu Barnes know or suspect that she would be
caught up in an incredible series of events while delivering a bag
of goodies to her granny. Lulu, the sweet, the innocent, the innocuous, skips along the way merrily missing a maelstrom of malevolent
machinations! Turn your bare stage into a vast panorama of terror and
disasters. Get yourself ready for—The Perils of Lulu. Bare stage w/
props. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.Code: P51.
“The Clumsy Custard Horror Show was a smashing
success. It was a great choice for a spring play: lighthearted and fun for actors and audience members.
I would highly recommend this play for production.”
-William Dawson, West High School, Waterloo, Iowa
The Clumsy Custard Horror Show - Comedy. By Wil-
liam Gleason. Cast: 6m., 8w., 1 Worfle. Your audience will get into
the act (as they do in The Rocky Horror Picture Show) throughout
this hilarious comedy. King Dumb is ready for his daughter to select
a husband and all the knights of the realm are anxious to claim her
hand. But the sweet Princess Prince has fallen for a gentle yet courageous lad she assumes to be a pauper. Not so! Little does she know
that this scruffy stranger is Swash-buck Valpariso, bearer of the magic sword and master of fast feet. This play will leave you breathless
with anticipation, reckless with abandon and proud to be a Zobian.
Ev Miller
That Alien Touch - Science fiction. By Ev Miller. Cast: 4m.,
2w., 7 roles either m. or w. Two visitors from outer space are assigned
to observe the strange creatures on planet Earth and are under strict
orders not to interfere with life in any way. One dark night they witness a high-school student critically injure himself in a lonely one-car
accident, and they decide to save his life. The visitors implant unusual
life-saving rods in each of Robert’s wrists, not only saving his life but
also making him a healer. The problems that Robert faces because of
his powers, and his decision about them, make this a very theatrical
piece. Unit set. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: T66.
David Rogers
Get Witch Quick - Comedy. By David Rogers. Cast: 6m., 14w.
Though it looks normal, Craft College is a finishing school for witches.
Draperies open and close mysteriously, books fly through the air unaided, and a student is believed to have turned into a cocker spaniel
on the eve of graduation! The only non-witch in the school is Steve, a
substitute teacher who doesn’t even know that it’s a witches’ school.
He starts to fall in love with a talented young scholarship student, but
another student (the kind that gives witchcraft a bad name) puts a spell
on him to make him fall in love with her. The scholarship student, however, has some spells of her own! All tricks are easily performed, will
mystify your audience and have the virtue of being unexpected. One
int. set. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: G15.
May the Farce Be With You - Farce. By David Rogers.
Cast: 9m., 15w. Acrobat man, Albatross, H20 Girl, Astarte, Tapeman,
Miss Invisowrap, Electroman, Gadzooks—that’s only part of the cast
of this comedy farce. They are members of the Elite Idealistic Earth
Individuals Organization, commonly called the E.I.E.I.O. Their annual conference at a spa called O. MacDonald’s Farm (what else?)
is attacked by invaders from the evil planet Inferna. Star Raider, the
intergallactic villain, has discovered the secret of the E.I.E.I.O.’s
strength: they all seem to be insignificant earth people, then they
change their clothes and become superheroes. So he has prepared
a serum that will rob them of the ability to change clothes! Can the
Earth be saved from enslavement by nonmembers Superbrain and
Wizard Woman? Learn the answer in this takeoff on all the superheroes you’ve ever heard of. One int. set. Royalty: $60/ performance.
Here and Now -
Drama. By David Rogers. Cast: 6m., 7w.,
plus 3 parts which may be either. A group of actors begins rehearsing a play loosely based on actual experiments in a Connecticut high
school in which students, teachers and parents met for sessions in a
human relations group called a “Here and Now” meeting. As they
work on their roles, their identification with the characters becomes
stronger, and as the confusions and tensions of their characters surface, their own hang-ups emerge, too. Finally, characters, actors
andaudience realize that they are not alone with the pressures and
confusions young adults, teachers and parents face today. Bare stage
w/props. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: H16.
165
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
Walden Theatre Young Playwrights
In Sight - Drama. By Many Young Playwrights. Cast: vari-
able. Created by the young playwrights of Louisville’s Walden
Theatre who followed those who wrote the two earlier hits,
Glimpses and Rites, this full evening of theatre is in two parts,
the first called “Quick Turns on the Carousel” and the second
entitled “Fun House Reality.” These short, incisive pieces explore the perceptions of the needs, the joys, the concerns, and
the sorrows these young playwrights see in the world around
them. The cumulative effect of this work is extraordinary, and
its effectiveness with a young audience is especially strong.
Somehow these young writers are able to reach an audience of
their peers with devastating relevance to what truly matters to
them. In Sight offers you a festival opportunity that is not only
perfectly suited for young performers but also a refreshingly
truthful celebration of youth. Bare stage. 74 pages. Royalty:
Rites - Comedy/Drama. By Many Young Playwrights. Cast: 4 to 7m., 4 to 7w. Another celebration of
young talent, this new, full evening of theatre was created, like Glimpses, by those participating in the
Walden Theatre program for young playwrights. The importance of this work lies in the young writers’
ability to express the universality of youth. The material glows with the brightness of present experience,
and therein lies its overwhelming appeal to young audiences. The work concerns relationships, both inside
and outside the family, and it includes the brilliant, insightful “Point/Counterpoint,” “Fuel for Thought,”
and “Golden Gun/Diamond Bullet,” along with connective short pieces. Some of the work is by the exciting playwrights who created Glimpses, but they’re a year older now and there’s an intriguing difference.
Bare stage. 73pages. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R29.
Choices -
Comedy/Drama. By Many Young Playwrights. Cast: 10 to 20 actors. Authored by a new
group of Walden Theatre young playwrights, this collection of monologues, scenes and 10-minute one acts
explores the decisions and realizations that today’s adolescents and young adults make about themselves.
Friendship, love, parents, alcoholism, and the trials of growing up are discussed frankly, from light-hearted
to the serious. Choices provides a full and rich evening of entertainment. Bare stage. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: C81.
Echoes -
Drama. By Vaughn McBride. Cast: variable. Vaughn
McBride has worked for years with the Actors Theatre of Louisville
and as a teacher and mentor to young playwrights with the Walden
Theatre in Louisville. His talent and experience have combined in this
unique work which is best described to you by the playwright: “When
I first began teaching playwriting at Walden Theatre I quickly learned
that honesty is not the best policy ... it is the only policy. As I encouraged young minds to write from the reality and basic honesty of their
own feelings and place in life, a new kind of writing was opened up to
me. Most of the pieces in Echoes were written for a particular student,
a particular personality. Many are drawn from events and emotions
which the young people shared with me. Should a particular piece be
Vaughn McBride
John Sands in the Young Playwrights’ Choices.
too graphic, too out of place for the usage you plan, it can be eliminated. I feel strongly that there is much truth in these pages. But as
always, we select our own truths. Although individually these Echoes
may prove valuable as audition pieces or contest material, they are
primarily meant for presentation as an event ... a showcase evening for
young talent. The number and diversity of the monologues provide the
director the opportunity to shape the evening around the talent to be
showcased and the audience to be played to. It is the director’s choice
as to the number of pieces and the order and length of the production.
Echoes I and Echoes II simply provide the bookends.” Bare stage. 60
pages. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: E25.
Frank Shiras
Go Ask Alice - Drama. By Frank Shiras. Based on a young girl’s
diary. Cast: 8m., 15w. Using almost no scenery, this easily produced
yet powerful play explores the mind and experience of a high-school
girl who inadvertently gets into drugs. It involves your actors and your
audience in some real problems, doing so in an entirely constructive
way. The lesson inherent in this play is so effective because it is not
the result of a lecture but rather a sharply visualized tragedy that happens to a member of the peer group. “A raindrop just splashed on my
David Rogers
The Late Great Me -
Sandra Scoppettone
Drama. Adapted by David Rogers.
From the novel by Sandra Scoppettone. Cast: 10m., 12w., extras. David
Rogers, who also adapted Flowers for Algernon, has turned this popular
novel into a touching, hard-hitting play that probes beneath the surface of
a major problem of today— teenage alcoholism. Shy and insecure, Geri
Peters is amazed when David Townsend, the good-looking boy at school,
is attracted to her. Too late, she learns that he has sensed the weakness
that leads to her own descent into alcoholism. The play is written with
sensitivity, at times with humor, but always with a firm and helpful point
of view. Area staging. 114 pages. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price:
$7.50. Code: L38.
166
forehead,” Alice wrote in her diary, “and it was like a tear from heaven.
Am I really alone? Is it possible that even God is crying for me?” Alice
is a fairly typical girl from an average family with parents who love
her. What makes Alice different is that she’s tricked into trying drugs
and then becomes addicted. She fights against her addiction, but by the
time she has learned the answers, it’s already too late. One div. int. set.
One-act cutting available. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.
Code: G24.
Jay Christopher
Runaways - Drama. By Jay Christopher. Cast: 7m., 12w. Run-
away House is a haven for young people in distress, and it is the setting
for this play that deals dramatically and constructively with a growing problem. It is also the story of Bill and Linda, two young social
workers. For them, Runaway House provides a common purpose in
life which strengthens the deepening bond between them. You will be
exposed to both worlds—the anguish of the social workers trying to
communicate with their young charges and the runaways, rejected, unable to go home but afraid to be alone. Both worlds collide almost
tragically when Linda learns that her own sister has run away from
home. Area staging. Sound effects tape available (Q81 - $25.00). 65
pages. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: R25.
PLAYS FOR ONE ACTOR
Leonard Nimoy
“Highly successful—S.R.O.—Excellent newspaper reviews—
perfect for a library production.”
-Ken Tschan, Goshen Public Library, Goshen, N.Y.
“Vincent by Leonard Nimoy is an excellent monologue
portraying Vincent Van Gogh’spersonal views and
experience through his brother's eyes.
It is very well pieced together using Vincent and Theo’s
letters and specific and transcendental moments
in their life experience.” -Orlando Gonzalez,
Eclectico Internacional, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Vincent -
Drama. By Leonard Nimoy. Based on the play Van
Gogh by Phillip Stephens. Cast: 1m. Originally presented by the Guthrie Theatre, this multi-image dramatic staging received rave reviews
when it was toured with Leonard Nimoy playing the one extraordinary role. The excitement and color of van Gogh’s life and art enhance
this production through the projection of a set of slides that are easily
handled and carefully cued to add impact to the words. The slides, an
education in themselves, may be rented to use with your production. As
the Variety critic put it, “The actor doesn’t have the stage to himself. He
plays against the celebrated artist’s brilliant painting projected on two
large screens.” The total effect is dazzling! This is an especially easy
show to present, provided you have a capable actor for the single role.
Bare stage w/props. 54 pages. Royalty: $65/ performance, plus media
rental (slides or power point presentation). Price: $7.50. Code: V17.
Leonard Nimoy performing Vincent.
“We have received very positive feedback from students and school administrators during our touring production
of Amelia Lives. The play manages to give both an historic and personal rendering of a fascinating woman who
dared to dream big and live her life on her own terms.” -Mike Solomonson, Northland Pioneer College, Holbrook, Ariz.
Amelia Lives -
Drama. By Laura Annawyn Shamas. Cast: 1w.
Winner of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award for Outstanding
New Drama, Amelia Lives chronicles the triumphs and tragedies of
Amelia Earhart. Described by the Denver Post as a “funny, breathless
celebration of adventure,” this show begins with her last flight and traces
highlights of Earhart’s public successes and private secrets as memories
pass before her eyes. Adventure, romance and mystery all play a part in
this exciting show which has been called a “tour de force... exuberant,
entirely convincing and certainly a must.” On stage, Amelia Earhart, the
legendary figure whose enigmatic disappearance continues to haunt us,
lives! Bare stage w/props. 37 pages. Approximate running time: 55 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50.Code: A37.
Cornelia Otis Skinner
One Woman Show - Monologues. By Cornelia Otis Skinner. This collection, selected and introduced
with suggestions for presentation by Miss Skinner, can become your one-woman show. These monologues
with which she made triumphant tours offer a wonderful variety: a frantic mother trying to help her son with
his complex math homework or explain to him about the facts of life; a cruel old woman in a rocking chair
on a summer resort porch casually dominating other people’s lives; a young woman trying to deal with an
idiot beauty salon; another woman’s train of thought as she sits alone at a concert; a startling array of quick
portraits of American women visiting Paris and many, many more. Bare stage w/props. 125 pages. Royalty:
$65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: O15.
Bernard Sabath
You Caught Me Dancing - Comedy. By Bernard Sabath. Cast: 1w. Katy Leary was for 30 years
Susan King as Katy Leary. Photo: Bernard Sabath.
both servant and companion to Samuel “Mark Twain” Clemens. The time is six months after his death in 1910,
and Katy, 47, is closing the family home. Clemens, his wife and two of their daughters are gone, and Katy
must make a new life. Will she accept a housekeeping job with another
illustrious family, buy into a New York City boarding house or marry a
former beau who suddenly reappears and proposes marriage? Chatting
and reminiscing, Katy ponders the choices as she packs her belongings
and prepares to leave. This script offers an actress a rewarding role that
challenges every bit of comedic and dramatic skill she possesses. One
Michael Johnson
Magdalene - Drama. By Michael Johnson. Cast: 1w. Ever new and varying legends appear over
the centuries concerning the “thirteenth disciple” of Christ, the courtesan Mary Magdalene. Her story
comes to us as the vivid archetype of the fallen, the prostitute in all of us being transformed and redeemed by an all-forgiving Grace. Discovering the burial shroud of Jesus after His resurrection from the
garden tomb, and treasuring it as the symbol of the Eternal Beloved in her heart, Magdalene recounts and
relives some of the most poignant and dramatic moments of her life. The language used is a rich, simple,
biblical poetry and Magdalene emerges not as the holy recluse of popular legends but as a woman discovering her own femininity by being deeply touched and appreciated by a man. One simple set with
minimum props. 39 pages. Royalty: $35/ performance. Price: $5.50. Code: M69.
Thelma Ann Jones. Photo: Marian Greenway.
167
PLAYS FOR ONE ACTOR
Anne Ludlum
“A powerful vehicle for an exceptional actress. Takes us into its world
and teaches us about ours.” -Amie Brockway, The Open Eye Theater, Margaretville, N.Y.
Shame the Devil!- An Audience With Fanny Kemble - Drama. By Anne Ludlum. Cast:
1w. An October evening in 1850—Fanny Kemble bursts into her Manhattan parlor—terrified and angry. Her
former husband has published a scurrilous attack on her character, and she fears this will not only damage
her reputation but also her new career as a solo reader of plays. To defend herself, Fanny tells her story, using material from her constant intellectual companion, William Shakespeare. She takes us through her young
career as a member of the great Kemble-Siddons theatrical family, her marriage to a prominent lawyer, the
birth of her children, and her discovery that her husband owns slaves. Fanny recreates her life on the Sea
Island plantation visiting rice fields, calling at slave cabins, inspecting the infirmary—and she is galvanized
into action. In a climactic revelation, she realizes that “the misery of the slave has as counterpart—the moral
wretchedness of the master.” The consequences of her public opposition to slavery are severe: divorce, loss
of her children, and the need to earn her own living as a middle-aged, single woman. This play is based on
writings of Fanny Kemble, especially her Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation 1838-1839. Unit
set. 58 pages. Approximate running time: 90 minutes. Royalty: $65/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: SC5.
65-minute manuscript version: $35.00. Code: SC7.
Gainesville, FL production. Anne O’Connell. Photo: Tom Kennedy.
Men on the Verge of a His-panic Breakdown - Comedy.
Guillermo Reyes
By Guillermo Reyes. Cast: 1m.
(may be performed by as many as 7 actors). This series of comedic monologues, which the N.Y. Times called
“glorious,” chronicles the lives of various Latino immigrants dealing with transcultural shock of race and gender
identity called the “His-panic breakdown.” The play is bracketed by the misadventures of the naive Federico or
“The Gay Little Immigrant That Could” who arrives in L.A. during the first day of the 1992 riots and believes
he’s witnessing the filming of another Lethal Weapon sequel. Other characters include Vinnie, a kept boy being
asked to leave the home of his sugar daddy because he’s turned 30; Edward, a Latino actor passing for Anglo
who gets a Latino part and has to deal with his real identity; Demon Roommate, a lonely young man with an
apartment a little too close to the airport; Paco, a Cuban restaurateur who was imprisoned by the Communists
for being gay and has now been exiled by his right-wing Miami family for the same reason; Teacher, a stuffy,
sexually repressed English-lan-guage instructor who abuses his Latino students when they can’t learn properly
the “language of Princess Di”; and La Gitana, a drag flamenco dancer struggling with AIDS as he stages his final
performance. We end with Federico’s final misadventure as he tells of his newfound romance, a better job and
his acquisition of citizenship in a grand, positive finale. “Unerringly witty.” (The Village Voice) “Excelente!” (El
Diario) Unit set. 42 pages. Royalty: $65/performance. Price: $7.50. Code: MB5.
Felix A. Pire in the L. A. premiere. Photo: Leonard Pollack.
The Velocity of Gary (Not His Real Name) -
James Still
Emmy award-winning writer
Drama. By James Still. Cast: 1m. “It’s not that Gary
doesn’t say ‘I do’ several times a day. He does. And it’s not that he has a reputation for saying ‘I don’t.’ He doesn’t.
Everyone falls in love with Gary for both of these reasons.”A story, a confession, a revelation—this play takes place
in the past, in the present, and in the infinity of Gary’s mind. Armed with his theme (“Anything can happen.”) and
leopard-print underwear, Gary dreams about kissing somebody but finds himself in New York addicted to phone
sex, attending memorial services for strangers and passing out at the memory of Cream of Wheat boxes. While he
sleeps with Batman and a man named Ponce de Leon, he fantasizes about Dracula and Greek gods. His affinity for
strange situations leads him through a circle of porn stars, deaf transvestites, and a dog named Rodney. It’s through
his surprising friendships with a man named Valentino and a woman named Mary Carmen that Gary discovers his
greatest poetry, humor, pain, and hope. “Still’s powerfully moving narrative is about a young hustler learning too
much too fast, but still naive and romantic and in love with hope.” Minimal set. 39 pages. Royalty: $65/performance.
Photo of James Still by Gary Glickman.
“Fields believed fervently in the idea of democracy and the American dream.
He was a staunch supporter of the presidents, and he also exhibited a keen
sense of who they were. His thumbnail sketches of the chief executives
are trenchant, informative and entertaining. But the beautiful thing about
this piece is that it provides another opportunity to peek into vast,
undiscovered emotional territory.” –Robert Guillaume
Looking Over the President’s Shoulder - Drama. By James Still. Cast: 1m. When Alonzo
Indiana Repertory Theatre, Inc., Indianapolis, IN.
John Henry Redwood as Fields.
Photo: Richard Feguson-Wagstaffe.
168
Fields accepted a job as a butler at the White House in 1931, his plan was to work there for the winter.
That winter lasted 21 years. Based on a real-life story, Fields, grandson of a freed slave who grew up in an
all-black town in Indiana, was forced by the Depression to give up his dreams of being an opera singer and
accept a job at the White House, where he was quickly appointed Chief Butler. Looking Over the President’s Shoulder is told from the unique perspective of the Chief Butler who served four U. S. presidents and
their families: Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. Famous guests
through the years included Winston Churchill, Marian Anderson, Errol Flynn and the king and queen of
England. As Fields says: “It was like being in the front row and watching the passing parade of history.”
Set on the eve of his last day on the job, Fields reflects on his 21 years of service to his country with humor
and pride. He was a man with a story to tell, and this tour de force for one actor gives Fields the chance to
tell it. Culled from Fields’ private papers, diaries and interviews, Looking Over the President’s Shoulder has
played at major theaters across the country including the Indiana Repertory Theatre (where it premiered)
and the famous Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Flexible/unit set. 51 pages. Approximate running time:
2 hours. Royalty on application. Price: $7.50. Code: LC2.
PLAYS FOR ONE ACTOR
Herbert Mitgang
1809-2009 PREPARE NOW TO CELEBRATE A VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY!
“A powerful play that left the audience in awe of the story.”
-Jonathan Perry, Music Theatre of Idaho, Nampa, Idaho
Mister Lincoln - Drama. By Herbert Mitgang. Cast: 1m. This is Lincoln’s life
and mind from the moment he stepped on the public stage, during his youth and maturity
in Illinois as an advocate, to the momentous years he spent in Washington as the great
emancipator during the Civil War. The events and ideas are rooted in historical records
and new discoveries by the playwright about Lincoln the man, the husband, the wartime
commander in chief, the president—with special emphasis on Lincoln’s own brilliant
language. By the conclusion of the play, the audience has discovered the inner life of the
human, humorous, and often troubled president’s personal and public self. Bare stage w/
props. 47 pages. Royalty: $60/ performance. Price: $7.50. Code: M58.
Vaughn McBride
“This is an extremely well written, powerful piece of theatre–
an actor’s dream. Wonderful levels to explore directionally.
Poetic in its writings, with strong personal impact.”
-Mark L. Colbenson, Lone Wolf Players, Park Rapids, Minn.
Roy Dotrice as Mister Lincoln in Ford’s Theatre production.
V. Glasgow Koste
I Remain ... J. Austen - Drama.
By V. Glasgow Koste. Cast: 1w. Now, through the power of theatre, Austen is alive and well and living in any place
where she chooses to “body forth” at the flamboyant
age of 218-going-on-forever. Quirky, jubilant, curious, Jane’s ironic comic edge cuts her losses to reveal
a fiercely independent woman, liberated by her work’s
immortality to speak her mind and open her heart. A
tour de force for an actor of any age, this Jane wears
whatever current clothes she fancies and “speaks
American.” This is a Jane of infinite variety—not
staled by custom or stereotype, facing death and the
loss of love, laughing at herself, revelling in the sound
and sense of language, burning with work, demanding,
raging, discovering, still growing. From Seattle to New
York, audiences have found the play “superb and totally absorbing ...spellbinding.” Bare stage. 15 pages.
Pass My Imperfections Lightly By - Drama. By Vaughn McBride. Cast:
1w. Mary Todd Lincoln was an enigma to most people, a shrew who was eventually
committed to an insane asylum. But her awareness of the political pulse of this country
was instrumental in the election of her husband as president. Her ego-driven idea of
how the leader of a nation should be presented changed the White House from a “countrified plantation” into a figurehead residence fit for a president. She was an emancipated woman long before her husband began the emancipation of another minority. For
all her faults, Mary Todd Lincoln was in many ways the first first lady, a woman who
insisted that her voice be heard. One int. set. 36 pages. Royalty: $65/ performance.
Price: $7.50. Code: P69.
Josefina López
Confessions ... - Comedy/Drama. By Josefina López. Cast:1w.
This collection
is specifically designed for young Latina actors. The monologues include: Rosie, 10,
a walking media sponge who has her own TV network in the bathroom; Sofia, 16, a
barrio girl who has a white boyfriend and is tempted to get pregnant to escape; Lolita
, 25, who teases and punishes men with her powerful sexuality; Tiffany, 20, a valley girl Chicana activist who finds courage and strength in Frida Kahlo’s paintings;
Roxie, 30, a self-defense instructor who mistakenly attacks a man who was merely
going to ask her for the time; and Valentina, 26, who is trying to organize people to
fight racism and Proposition 187. Bare stage. 34 pages. Royalty: $35/ performance.
Price: $5.50. Code: CA2.
Willard Simms
“An extraordinary piece of writing that takes us past the scientist
down to the man. Viewers who expect a ‘two-hour math lesson’
are treated to a story of an enigma who makes us laugh and cry.”
-Mark L. Colbenson, Lone Wolf Players, Rochester, Minn.
“This is a delightful play. Insightful and informative.
It is thought-provoking without crossing the line to ‘preachy.’
Einstein becomes a real person who laughs, jokes, hurts and feels.
I highly recommend this play!”
-Mark L. Colbenson, Lone Wolf Players, Park Rapids, Minn.
Einstein - Drama. By Willard Simms. Cast: 1m. This play, which toured na-
tionally to rave reviews, presents the private, personal, and deeply human side of
this great genius, the reluctant celebrity who changed forever the way we look at
the universe. Variety said: “The importance of the play is the easy way the audience comes to view the complexities of a man who committed his entire life to
science ... Simms lightens the burden of a one-man show by writing dialogue full
of wit, humor, and one-liners ... telling, through a string of anecdotes, Einstein’s
metamorphosis from a bored high-school dropout to the winner of the Nobel
Prize.” This play has at its heart the terrible anguish Einstein ultimately faced
when forced to choose between morality and science. One int. set. 40 pages.
Larry Gelman as Einstein.
169
Full-length Plays Alphabetical Index
A
Abdication, The 85 Across the Plains: The Journey of the Palace Wagon Family 147 Adrift in New York (or Her First False Step) 154 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 97 After Darwin 72 Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death 71 A-Haunting We Will Go 161 Ain’t Nothing But a Thang 107 Alabama Rain 69 Alicia in Wonder Tierra (or I Can’t Eat Goat Head) 145 Alien Voices Collection (reading copy of each ms) 37 Alien Voices Instructional Video/Study Guide 37 Alien Voices Radio Manuscripts 36, 37 First Men in the Moon, The 37 Halloween Trilogy, The
Canterville Ghost, The 37 Cask of Amontillado, The 37 Mark of the Beast, The 37 Invisible Man, The 37 Journey to the Center of the Earth 37 Lost World, The 37 Time Machine, The 37 Wright Brothers’ First Flight, The 37 Alive and Kicking 112 All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten 125 All My Husbands 117 All Out 158 Amelia Lives 167 And a Nightingale Sang 75 And Flights of Angels 159 And Then They Came for Me:
Remembering the World of Anne Frank 66 And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of
Anne Frank (German ms) 66 Angel in the Night 142 Angel in the Night (study guide) 142 Animal Farm 49 Anna Karenina 94 Anna Weiss 92 Anne Frank & Me 144 Anne Frank & Me (70 min. version) 144 Anne Frank & Me (study guide) 144 Anne of Avonlea 133 Anne of Green Gables 133 Antigone (Mann) 45 Antigone (Wertenbaker) 73 Any Body Home? 55 Any Famous Last Words? 140 Archipelago 64 Ashes, Ashes, All Fall Down 150 Ash Girl, The 125 Ask Any Girl 152 Atalanta 115 Auschwitz Lullaby 66 Auschwitz Lullaby (large-cast ms) 66 B
Baby Grand 92 Backsliding in the Promised Land 47 Back Story 74 Ballad Hunter 64 Bats in the Belfry 149 Belles on Their Toes 128 Belongings and Longings 64 Beloved Friend 140 Beverly Hillbillies, The 162 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 100 Big Bucks 118 Bingo 108 Birds, The 153 Bird Woman:The Story of Sacagawea 132 Black Elk Speaks 65 Bless Me, Father 112 Blue Surge 56 ¡BOCÓN! 145 Boiler Room, The 102 Bondagers 85 Book of Ruth, The 144 Boo! Thirteen Scenes From Halloween 161 Bow-Wow Club, The 106 Boy Gets Girl 57 Boys and Ghouls Together 161 Boys in Autumn, The 97 Brass Butterfly, The 123 Brave New World 104 Break a Leg! 149 Breaking and Entering 100 Bring Me Smiles 75 Brontës, The: Eccentric Lives 124 Bundle, The 108 C
Cairn Stones, The 87 Calamityville Terror, The 164 Canticle for Leibowitz, A 104 Captain’s Outrageous 116 Car Pool 71 Case of Humanity vs. Pontius Pilate, The 135 Cerceau 150 Chancellor’s Tale, The 103 Cheaper by the Dozen 128 Cherry Orchard, The 98 Click on the page number to visit the catalog page.
ALPHABETICAL INDEX
China Doll (The Imagined Life of an American Actress) 50 Chocolate War, The 150 Choices 166 Choice, The 92 Cinderella Complex, The 127 Circles of Grace 158 Classic, The 70 Clearing, The 94 Clockwork 119 Clumsy Custard Horror Show, The 165 Conference of the Birds, The 99 Confessions ... 169 Confessions of Women From East L.A. 89 Could Angels Be Blessed 84 Credible Witness 100 Crime and Punishment 82 Crown Matrimonial 114 Curse of the Werewolf 161 Cyra & Rocky 134 Cyrano 62 Cyrano de Bergerac 123 D
Dags 127 Daisy in the Dreamtime 40 Dancing in Cleo’s Café 83 Dancing the Box Step 111 Dandelion Wine 105 David Copperfield 53 Day of the Kings 41 Day They Kidnaped the Pope, The 102 Deadly Weapons 138 Dear and Glorious Physician 155 Death and Life of Larry Benson, The 137 Death and Sale of Alexander Goland, The 116 Death and Taxes 119 Death of the Black Jesus, The 96 Déjàvu 98 Denial 67 Diaries, The 63 Dino 137 Discipline Committee, The 158 Doctor in Spite of Himself, The 153 Don Juan on Trial 103 Do Not Go Gentle 155 Do Not Go Gentle (competition piece) 155 Don’t Count on Forever 140 Dracula 161 Dracula! (radio ms) 36 Dumb Luck 115 Dust Eaters 44 E
Eating Chicken Feet 146 Echoes 166 Egg and I, The 156 Eighth Order, The 84 Einstein 169 Elaine’s Daughter 110 El Quinto Sol 93 Emerald Circle, The 132 Emma 149 Engagement, The 86 Entertainer, The 98 Entries 89 Everyday Heroes 138 Everything’s Relative 116 Evil Little Thoughts 55 Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit 92 Exception, The 90 F
Face of Emmett Till, The 43 Faces of Freedom 139 Fahrenheit 451 105 Fair Maid of the West, The 60 Falling Upward 105 False Admissions 71 Fame 131 Familiar 63 Family Man, A 95 Family Nobody Wanted, The 164 Fastest Woman Alive, The 54 Father Knows Best 131 Father’s Shadow/Sombra del Padre 60 Ferris Wheel 70 Ferris Wheel (revised ms) 70 Fifth Sun, The 93 Fifth Sun, The (large-cast ms) 93 Fighting Words 57 Figments 104 Final Trial of Richard III, The 148 First Love 86 First Men in the Moon, The (radio ms) 37 Five Nickels 55 Flea in Her Ear, A 117 Flesh and Blood 83 Flowers for Algernon 129 Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said 104 Fool, The 108 Forgiving Harvest, The 49 Francis and the Biograph Girl 83 Frankenstein (Averill) 45 Frankenstein (Nowlan and Learning) 105 Frankenstein (radio ms) 36 Frank’s Life 74 Fraternity 45 Free Man of Color 51 (m) denotes musical / (ms) denotes manuscript
ALPHABETICAL INDEX
From the Mississippi Delta 49 Fun 123 Huckleberry Finn 126 Human Cannon 109 G
Game Show 152 Gangster Apparel 86 Gap in Generations, A 157 Gardinia’s ’n’ Blum 112 Gas 107 G.B. Essence of Women 153 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 156 Get Bill Shakespeare Off the Stage! 159 Get Smart 116 Get Witch Quick 165 Girl Crazy 156 Girl in the Mirror, The 158 Glimpses 160 Glory of Living, The 56 Go Ask Alice 166 GOOD 75 Great Expectations 148 Great Peace 109 Greek Holiday 110 Gross Encounters of the Worst Kind 162 Gun-Shy 61 H
Hale the Hero! 87 Halloween Trilogy, The (radio ms)
Canterville Ghost, The 37 Cask of Amontillado, The 37 Mark of the Beast, The 37 Happy Daze 164 Hard Hearts 117 Harvest Moon 133 Heartbreak 76 Heart Divided, A 134 Hearts 58 Hecuba 73 Hedda Gabler 41 Hedy Understands Anxiety 106 He Held Me Grand 64 Here and Now 165 Hillary and Soon-Yi Shop for Ties 81 Hit and Misdemeanor 164 Homecoming, The 130 Home Fires 76 Home on the Mornin’ Train 133 Homeward Bound 117 Honeymoon at Graveside Manor 119 Horse-Scents 100 House for Sale 47 House of the Seven Gables 121 How I Spent My Life’s Vacation 87 I
I Ain’t Yo’ Uncle: The New Jack Revisionist Uncle Tom’s
Cabin 96 If a Man Answers 157 If It’s Monday, This Must Be Murder! 118 If the Shoe Fits 48 I Just Stopped By to See the Man 52 Ik, The 99 I, Lionel 130 Illustrated Woman, The 84 Imaginary Invalid, The 153 I’m a Stranger Here Myself 162 Inadmissible Evidence 98 In Celebration 114 Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca, The 113 Indiscretions 88 I Never Saw Another Butterfly 144 Inns and Outs 121 In Sight 166 Interrogation of Nathan Hale by Captain John Montresor of
HRM Expeditionary Forces, The 114 In the Garden of Live Flowers 69 In the Middle of Grand Central Station 143 Inventing Montana 82 Investigation, The 99 Invisible Man, The (radio ms) 37 I Remain ... J. Austen 169 Irish Play, An 80 I Saved a Winter Just for You 160 It Happens Every Summer 163 It’s a Wonderful Life (radio ms) 36 It’s Murder in the Wings! 119 J
Jane Eyre (Johanson) 148 January Thaw 152 Jerry Finnegan’s Sister 55 Jigsaws 103 John Lennon & Me 134 Johnny Tremain 131 Journey of the Sparrows 143 Journey to the Center of the Earth (radio ms) 37 Just for Kicks 162 K
Kabuki Lady Macbeth 42 Kara in Black 46 Kimchee and Chitlins: A Serious Comedy About Getting
Along 146 Kiss the Bride 95 Click on the page number to visit the catalog page.
ALPHABETICAL INDEX
M
Klondike Kalamity 154 Knee Desires the Dirt, The 79 Knock Me a Kiss 79 L
Lady of the Camellias 130 Land of Little Horses, The 56 la ofrenda (the offering) 46 Largest Elizabeth in the World, The 157 Larry’s Favorite Chocolate Cake 111 Last Leaf, The 147 Last Lists of My Mad Mother 59 Late Great Me, The 166 Laughing Once More 160 Lear 108 Learn Me Somethin’ 129 Les Misérables 153 Les Trois Dumas 79 Letters to a Student Revolutionary 146 Levee James 52 Libertine, The 88 Lies and Deceptions Quartet, The
Deadly Weapons 138 Everyday Heroes 138 Tangled Web, The 139 Wrestling Season, The 138 Wrestling Season, The (Russian ms) 138 Life, A 146 Life in the Fat Lane 53 Life’s a Dream 102 Light in the Mill, The 147 Like Bees to Honey 81 Little Old Ladies in Tennis Shoes 150 Little Women 151 Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy 151 Little Women of Orchard House 151 Live Drawing: A Portrait of the Mona Lisa 48 Long Bridge Over Deep Waters, A 44 Long Bridge Over Deep Waters, A (13-actor version) 44 Long Red Herring, The 119 Look Back in Anger 98 Looking Over the President’s Shoulder 168 Looking Through You 54 Lost Horizon 109 Lost World, The (radio ms) 37 Love by the Bolt 117 Love, Death and the Prom 157 Love of the Nightingale, The 73 Lovers 88 Lovers and Executioners 62 Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer, The 41 Lunacy 115 Lute Song 146 Luther 98 Magdalene 167 Man Called Peter, A 155 Man Who Lost the River, The 97 Man With Bogart’s Face, The 68 Man With Bogart’s Face, The (radio ms) 38 Man With Bogart’s Face, The (radio playbook) 38 Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The 156 Marat/Sade 99 Maricela de la Luz Lights the World 145 Marriage Fool, The 86 Martian Chronicles, The 105 M*A*S*H 115 Maybe Baby, It’s You 39 Mayor of Zalamea, The 102 May the Farce Be With You 165 Me and My Friend 95 Meet Me in St. Louis 163 Men on the Verge of a His-panic Breakdown 168 Messenger, The 87 Meteor, The 90 Middleton Zephyr 119 Midsummer Night’s Dream, A 99 Migrant Farmworker’s Son, The 145 Mill on the Floss, The 94 Miser, The 153 Mr. Clemens and Mr. Brown 97 Mister Lincoln 169 Mixed Nuts 152 Miz Lena’s Backyard 101 Moby Dick 161 Moby Dick (50 min. ms) 161 Molly’s Delicious 70 Monday Always Leads to Murder 118 Moongirl 154 Moonstone, The 123 More Stately Mansions 123 Most Wanted 71 Mouse That Roared, The 128 Movie Game, The 141 Murder by Natural Causes 120 Murder Most Fouled-Up 100 Murder on Center Stage 120 Murder Plot 71 Murder’s Bad But Monday Can Kill You! 118 Murder Takes the Veil 120 Music Lesson, The 143 My Night With Reg 77 My Sin and Nothing More 56 My Son the Lawyer Is Drowning 124 N
Nagasaki Dust 67 Narrow Road to the Deep North 108 (m) denotes musical / (ms) denotes manuscript
ALPHABETICAL INDEX
Nathan the Wise 50 Nathan the Wise (60 min. ms) 50 Neighborhood Crime Watch 112 Never Come Morning 93 Never Mind What Happened, How Did It End? 163 Nevermore! 113 New Anatomies 72 Nicholas Nickleby 153 Night of the Living Dead 45 1984 105 No Crime Like the Present 164 No Opera at the Op’ry House Tonight (or Too Good to Be
True) 154 Not Fit to Print 159 Nothing But the Truth 152 Not in the Stars 58 No Wider Than the Heart 102 Number the Stars 144 O
Oedipus at Kolonos 73 Oedipus Tyrannos 73 Oh, Holy Allen Ginsberg (ms) 103 Old Lady’s Guide to Survival, The 110 Oliver Twist 124 One Foot in Heaven 155 One Woman Show 167 Onions in the Stew 156 Ordinary People 69 Other Shakespeare, The 152 Our American Cousin 153 Our Country’s Good 72 Our Miss Brooks 130 Outsiders, The 136 P
Papa’s Blues 106 Papa Was a Preacher 155 Paper Chase, The 82 Parlor Games 101 Pass My Imperfections Lightly By 169 Pearl and May at the Bowling Alley 83 Pearl, The 127 Penny Candy 54 Perils of Lulu, The 165 Phantom of the Opera 113 Phoenix Dimension, The 111 Picnic at Hanging Rock 147 Pilgrims (radio ms) 38 Pill Hill 92 Pillow Talk 127 Pink Panther Strikes Again, The 159 Pioneer, Go Home 127 Pizza With Shrimp on Top 46 Plague 107 Playing Juliet/Casting Othello 121 Play Strindberg 90 Please Don’t Go Back Where You Came From 131 Polaroid Stories 81 Portrait of a Nude 103 Portrait of a Woman 114 Precious Bane 85 Pride and Prejudice 149 Prime Time Crime, The 159 Prince, The 79 R
Radiance of a Thousand Suns, The: The Hiroshima Project 67 Radium Girls 139 Rainy Day People 141 Rally ’Round the Flag, Boys! 156 Real Women Have Curves 89 Rebel Without a Cause 136 Red Black and Ignorant 109 Red House Mystery, The 152 Rehearsal for Murder 120 Remarkable Incident at Carson Corners, The 137 Rememberer, The 135 Restoration 109 Reviving Ophelia 46 Ripe Conditions 91 Rites 166 Rivers of China, The 114 Robe, The 155 Rock Shore 39 Romeo and Juliet—Together (and Alive!) at Last 135 Rounding Third 61 Rowing to America: The Immigrant Project 122 Rumble Fish 136 Runaways 166 Running in the Red 74 S
Sabina 81 Sabina (professional ms) 81 Sans-culottes in the Promised Land 42 Sarah 132 Sarcophagus 122 Saturday, the 14th 159 Saved 108 Scapino! 101 Scapino! (production book) 101 Scarlet Letter, The 123 Scratch (ms) 65 Screwtape 109 Seagull, The 153 Searching for David’s Heart 134 Click on the page number to visit the catalog page.
ALPHABETICAL INDEX
Searching for David’s Heart (actors of color ms) 134 Searching for Eden: the diaries of adam and eve 43 Sea, The 108 Second Hand Kid 154 Secret Garden, The (Sterling) 143 Seek 42 Sense and Sensibility 51 Separate Peace, A 142 September Shoes 44 Shakespeare Project, The 53 Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery 96 Shame the Devil!- An Audience With Fanny Kemble 168 Shame the Devil!- An Audience With Fanny Kemble (65
min. ms) 168 Sherlock Holmes’ Great Grandson Goes Hollywood 162 Shooting Simone 91 Sign of the Four, The 48 Sins of Sor Juana, The 80 Sketching the Soul 65 Skinflints and Scoundrels: Molière’s Miser 47 Smell of the Kill, The 58 Snap Judgments 160 Snatch a Falling Star 112 Snows of Kilimanjaro, The 109 Soft Soap 163 Something in the Air 61 Sometimes I Wake Up in the Middle of the Night 160 Song for the Navigator 142 Song of Bernadette, The 151 Song of Survival 66 Sounds of Silents (The Essanay Years) 63 Southern Discomfort 147 Southern Girls 78 Spinning Into Butter 57 Spring Awakening 108 Stand and Deliver 129 Stardust (Kerr) 127 Stars in the Morning Sky 122 State Fair 163 Sticks ’n Stones 160 Stick Wife, The 78 “Sting, The” 101 Stories Gone Wilde 49 Strands 107 String of Pearls 47 Successful Strategies 71 Sueño 60 Sugar Bean Sisters, The 40 Summer 108 Summer of Jack London, The 68 Sunday Gold 130 Sunday, Sunday 121 Sun Yat Sen: In the Mouth of the Dragon 93 Sun Yat Sen: In the Mouth of the Dragon (Chinese ms) 93 Sweetest Swing in Baseball, The 39 Sweet Nothing in My Ear 84 T
Tale of Two Cities, A (Johanson) 148 Tales From The Daily Tabloid 82 Talking Bones 106 Tangled Web, The 139 Tear Along the Dotted Line 112 Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon 126 Tender Lies 140 That Alien Touch 165 Thebans, The (Wertenbaker)
Antigone 73 Oedipus at Kolonos 73 Oedipus Tyrannos 73 The Largest Elizabeth in the World (longer ms) 157 Theme and Variations 122 Theory of Everything, The 68 These Men 110 These Two Couples Went to Italy 80 The War Plays: Dramatic trilogy
Great Peace 109 Red Black and Ignorant 109 Tin Can People, The 109 They Came From Somewhere 164 They’d Hang You in Nashville 164 Those Crazy Ladies in the House on the Corner 119 Thread That Runs So True, The 127 Three Birds Alighting on a Field 72 Three Murders and It’s Only Monday! 118 Three Musketeers, The 60 Three the Hard Way 80 Thunder on Sycamore Street 137 Ties That Bind, The 96 Time After Time 113 Time Machine, The (radio ms) 37 Time Present 98 Tin Can People, The 109 T-Money & Wolf 142 To Kill a Mockingbird 78 Tom Jones 101 To Moscow 90 Tom Walker 62 Training Wisteria 63 Trapped by a Treacherous Twin (or Double Trouble) 154 Travels With My Aunt 77 Tucker’s Ridge 158 Turn of the Screw, The 123 Twelve Angry Jurors 137 Twelve Angry Men 137 Twelve Angry Women 137 Twilight Serenade 43 Two 76 Two-Headed 59 (m) denotes musical / (ms) denotes manuscript
ALPHABETICAL INDEX
Two Husbands in Heaven 95 Wrestling Season, The (Russian ms) 138 Wright Brothers’ First Flight, The (radio ms) 37 Wuthering Heights 124 U
Uncertain Hour, An 76 Uncertain Hour, An: A Memory Play for Radio (ms) 38 Uncle Earl 48 Uncle Vanya: Scenes From Country Life in Four Acts 50 Unconquered Spirits 89 University 157 Unspoken for Time 140 Up the Down Staircase 126 V
Vacant Lot, The 141 Velocity of Gary (Not His Real Name), The 168 Very Great Grandson of Sherlock Holmes, The 162 Vice as in Versa 115 View From Sunset Towers, The 111 Vincent 167 Virtue Victorious (or Only a Mother’s Love Could Save
Him) 154 Voices From the Shore 53 Voices From Washington High 158 Vote? 51 Vows of Penelope Corelli, The 70 Y
Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (radio ms) 38 Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (radio playbook) 38 You Can’t Get There From Here 118 You Caught Me Dancing 167 You Have the Right to Remain Dead 118 You Have to Serve Somebody 95 You Were Born on a Rotten Day 162 Z
ZARA (or) Who Killed the Queen of the Silent Screen? 149 W
Wait! 59 Waiting for MacArthur 58 Waiting to Be Invited 52 Waiting Women 124 Wake, The 92 Walking to Waldheim 110 Was He Anyone? 139 Welcome to Four Way: The Town That Time Forgot 111 Welcome to the Monkey House 104 We Will Remember: A Tribute to Veterans 54 Where the Lilies Bloom 132 Whiteout 107 Who Loves You, Jimmie Orrio? 69 Whose Life Is It Anyway? 65 Whose Life Is It Anyway? (female version) 65 Why We Have a Body 91 Wildboy 132 Winesburg, Ohio 126 Winter 91 Woman Called Truth, A 142 Woman From the Other Side of the World 85 Woman, The 108 Wonderful World 61 Worst High School Play in the World, The 165 Wrens 87 Wrestling Season, The 138 Click on the page number to visit the catalog page.

Alien Voices - Dramatic Publishing

Transcription

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