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Eldridge Announces Top School Plays and Top School Musicals

Customers often ask us here at Eldridge which of our nearly one thousand plays and musicals are top sellers. Our top selling school plays and top community theatre plays are usually comedies.  This year, playwright Byran Starchman stands above the rest with his large-cast full-length comedy, “Just Another High School Play.”  This delightful play captured the attention of school theatres all across the country to make it the best a new Eldridge play has ever done in its first year out!

Bryan is currently working with writer/composer Steve Murray on a musical version of this top-selling high school play.  Steve is well-known in the musical theatre world for his incredibly popular school musicals such as “The Bard Is Back,” and “Pom-Pom Zombies,” both ideal titles for junior and senior high school, and his youth theatre musicals such as “Mother Goose, Inc.” and “The Edge of the Nest.”

Speaking of comedies, no list would be complete without mentioning the ever-popular playwright Pat Cook. Be sure to check out his numerous Eldridge titles, especially “Barbecuing Hamlet.” In the play, a community theatre is trying to produce a little bit of Shakespeare, with hilarious results.  

This play falls under our “Almost Shakespeare” category, but, Eldridge also publishes a whole section of the Bard.  Our Shakespeare adaptations are shorter and more easily performed than the originals, making the work much more accessible to young actors.  

In the youth theatre category, playwright Wade Bradford’s latest fairy tale adaptation, the enchanting “Thumbelina,” is sure to rise to the top of the list. It can be performed by young actors or by older actors for young audiences.

Also deserving of top billing are two new one-act dramas by Tim Mogford.  “Libby Pearce Drinks” was performed to great acclaim this summer in Arizona at the national SADD convention.  “Text This” tackles ever-growing problem of cyber-bullying.  These plays of social significance are perfect for one-act competitions, but more importantly, are sure to make an impact with students.

In our dinner theatre plays category, “Just Desserts” has been a favorite for years. This comic murder mystery is by Craig Sodaro, one of our most talented and prolific playwrights.  Another popular interactive play is “B-I-N-G-O Spells Murder” by Robert Mattson.  We’ve seen performances of both plays this year and can personally guarantee they deserve to be on the favorites list.

Another top-selling play on our list is “The Little Town of Christmas.”  This holiday play is a classic and has been performed countless times. We publish several hundred non-denominational religious plays and religious musicals in a separate catalog, Eldridge Christian Plays and Musicals.

In addition to Eldridge’s two separate catalogs of plays and musicals, be sure to check out our new company, Encore Performance Publishing, which offers some 300 family-pleasing plays and musicals for middle schools, high schools, colleges, community theatres, and religious institutions.