Children's Theatre Plays

25 pages

5 m, 8 w, 8 flexible

Cinderella (that isn't her real name!) labors away for her wicked aunt and evil cousins, sneaking free moments whenever she can to read. Her aunt believes learning just monopolizes the time a woman can spend being beautiful and burns all the books in their cottage. Cinderella manages to save a copy of "Romeo and Juliet," but eventually even that is burned. With a little help from a silly fairy godmother, Cinderella attends a palace ball and impresses the Prince with her intellect. After she flees the ball, the Prince pursues her, looking not for a woman who c...

45 pages

2 m, 2 w

The zany antics of the commedia style, with lots of bumbling, scheming, incorrigible improvisations and very physical comedy, allows just four traveling actors to create this fast-paced story of Aladdin. Arelquin, Punchin, Columbine and Rosetta portray all the many roles in the story of a lazy young boy who needs to work to help support his mother, especially since his father froze up and is standing in a forest where birds nest in his hair! Aladdin almost falls for the machinations of an evil magician, but instead he saves himself and gains access to the Gen...

36 pages

2 m, 2 w

Four commedia dell’arte actors perform all roles in this fast-paced, hilarious play. The rats of Hamlin (dressed with black ball caps) are hungry and demand the Mayor “set things rat, rat now!” And so you can see how poor pronunciation of a simple word created a terrible disagreement between the rats and the citizens of the clean little hamlet. The Mayor, portrayed by Punchin, the dell’ arte character with the big, proud nose, asks the Queen of the Cats, the Duke of the Dogs, the Earl of the Eagles, the High Prince of the Possums, and even the Countess of Cat...

41 pages

1 m, 1 w, 3 flexible

Here is a troika of short, story-theatre plays that will take you on three very unusual journeys. First stop is a town where the cow-dreamer ran away... and we all know that without someone to dream cows there simply are no cows. Then we travel to a farm where the devil comes to call every day at noon. Only the dog knows who he is, and it's up to her to save the farmer and his wife. Finally, we visit a marsh and find out what happens when the Sun gets so curious about the Earth that she comes down to see what it's like for herself. Because the narration fills...

48 pages

8 m, 10 w, 19+ flexible, doubling possible

Step onto the set of “Dragon's Lair,” a reality television show where fairytale entrepreneurs pitch their new ideas and products to the richest and most powerful business investors in all the land. The Dragons, named for their ruthless business practices, include Rumpelstiltskin, a gold-obsessed goblin who spun his way to riches; Evil Queen, inventor of Magic Mirror and dungeon torture devices; Fairy Godmother, a lifestyle guru and magical matchmaker; and notorious outlaw philanthropist Robin Hood. If the Dragons hear a great idea, they’re ready to invest, us...

50 pages

Approx. 8 m, 8 w (doubling possible)

Travel back in time as the real story of "The Elves and the Shoemaker" unfolds in a flurry of magic and mayhem. It begins when seven zany Elves - not just two as Mr. Grimm wrote - end up lost at the shop of Hans, the shoemaker. They need to perform three good deeds to get back, and no one could use help more than poor Hans, who has just enough leather to make one pair of shoes. The trouble is, elves don't go around wanting to do good deeds. They have to be coaxed! But one pair of perfectly made shoes leads to another and then, after Mr. Grimm tells Hans' stor...

52 pages

7 m, 7 w

This play is a new twist on the old-fashioned fairy tale. Two emperors from tiny, neighboring kingdoms are good friends but compete in wearing the latest fashions. Because they each continually want new, sumptuous wardrobes, their kingdoms are broke! Even their wives have to resort to doing dirty castle chores because there’s no money to pay any staff. Finally an elaborate ruse is planned where both emperors are taught a lesson about vanity and trying to impress others by clothes. If there were flashlights and spotlights in this historic time when men wore be...

52 pages

9 m, 9 w, 8 flexible, doubling possible

Seeking comfort from her miserable life and an easy ticket to the prince's ball, our heroine Ashenputtel cries out for her Fairy Godmother. The magical matriarch who arrives, however, is a no-nonsense narrator who works her magic by giving lesser-known folktales a playful yet empowering twist. This Fairy Godmother offers no magical pumpkin carriages, but rather spins three separate tales of women from around the world who make their own happily ever after. Story one, from Ecuador, is "The Search for the Magic Lake," which features a peasant girl who must bold...

18 pages

3 m, 2 w, extras, if desired.

Four Warriors, each with superior abilities, are sent to the Highlands by their respective villages to seek a military vantage point. Each warrior discovers a large rock that will help destroy their enemy and each encounters an old man who helps them learn to live in peace. This allegory of urban street gangs examines the lunacy behind "dying for one's colors."

64 pages

15 to 24 or more

Eighteen-year-old Katie has a problem: she's a tooth fairy who’s just not interested in the family business. While out exploring the human world, Katie meets Max, a young man who inexplicably is able to see her. This is unusual in that the fairy troops are not visible without their consent. Although forbidden to return to the world of humans by her father the king, Katie is determined to see Max again. Their growing friendship becomes moot when during the Centennial, a celebration of all the fairy troops, the Troll King demands his reward for not having kidna...

21 pages

(1 m, 9 w)(3 m, 5 w)

Here are two short, funny but gentle plays that are just right for very young audiences. The first, "Wishing You Were Here" (1 m, 9 w), is a tender story about a young fairy, still in training, who gives a little girl everything she wishes for. The trouble is, when the wishes come true, they don't create the ending the girl or the fairy thought they would. In "The Slumber Party" (3 m, 5 w), a group of girls are confiding their secret hopes and crushes - until some "ghosts" burst in. Brothers can be such a pain! Together both plays run a total of about 30 minu...

34 pages

Flexible cast of 19

An evil computer virus - named Virus - invades a disk containing children's beloved fairy tales, stories, and nursery rhymes. He causes all of the story characters to become mish-mashed together. Imagine Little Red Riding Hood's confusion when the Wolf in the woods asks about Three Little Pigs instead of the way to Grandmother's house! Byte and Bit are computer chips who try to set things right and defeat the evil virus before he infects other computers. Things look so bad, even the witch of Hansel and Gretel and the evil queen of Snow White help out against ...

27 pages

3 m, 8 w, 5 flexible, doubling possible

Adapted from the English fairy tale. Baroness Agatha, a rich and powerful noblewoman, learns from a hermit that her newborn son, Alex, will marry Marie, a mere peasant's daughter. The Baroness will have none of this! She intends to kill her, but the baby somehow survives being thrown into a river and ends up being raised by a fisherman and his wife. Fifteen years later, Alex accidentally sees Marie and instantly falls in love with her. The Baroness again arranges to have Marie murdered, but a helpful innkeeper intercepts the fateful letter and changes it to r...

24 pages

Flexible cast of 20

Potato the pig just wants a friend —but doesn’t know what that word means. With help from his friend Casey, Potato sets out to find a friend. It’s a seemingly simple quest that quickly turns into a house full of scheming cats, energetic dogs, a few friendly bears ... and who invited the Singing Raccoons? Not Casey’s parents, that’s for sure! Underneath all the wackiness, A Friend for Potato is a look at what friendship means, and what it takes to be a good friend. About 40 minutes. No specific set requirements.

26 pages

Flexible cast 5 - 18

Puns and pratfalls abound in this fun, frumpled 35-minute version of three Grimm fairy tales. And with the help of a narrator, the audience can cheer the heroes and boo the villains. In "Rumpelstiltskin," a greedy king, a miller's daughter and a comical chap named Rumpelstiltskin all mix together in the story of gold spinning and name guessing. In "Rapunzel," a witch puts lovely Rapunzel in a tower where a handsome prince rescues her. But the standard happy ending is reached in anything but a standard way. In "Red Riding Hood," Little Red finally escapes the ...