Children's Theatre Plays

46 pages

Flexible cast

Here is a collection of humorous sketches which explore the world of travel and transportation, and answer the timeless question that has plagued mankind from the beginning: "Are we there yet?" Whether walking, on wheels, with wings or by water, performers and audience alike will embark on a rollicking, hilarious adventure about the human need to get from one place to another. Travel way back in time to when walking was the only way to get somewhere. Then came the discovery of the wheel, and things really started rollin'! Soon mankind conquered the sea, the s...

32 pages

3 m, 4 w, 8 flexible, some doubling possible

Princess Beauteous is the ultimate grand prize winner and gets to marry Prince Absurdly Handsome on his reality TV show. On the journey to the prince’s kingdom, she and her lazy servant, Falada, get hijacked by Repulsa, a hideous, desperate-to-be-famous peasant girl. Repulsa tricks the princess, switches places with her, and even has Falada’s head cut off. (But don’t worry, he’s okay. He’s just a little decapitated.) The arrival of the hideous new fiancée and her beautiful servant throws the reality show into a hilarious fiasco. But all ends well…at least for...

58 pages

Large, flexible cast

From the day we're hatched to the day we spread our wings and fly on our own, there are requisite, riotous rites of passage that must be experienced. This collection of humorous scenes explores the innocent squawk of infancy, the terrible twos, the treacherous teens and everything in between. There are survival courses on how to handle any kind of baby-sitter - from the perfect to the perfectly insane. There are tactics for dealing with those who endeavor to shape, stretch and warp our minds and bodies - like gym teachers, substitute teachers and those cafete...

40 pages

Flexible cast from 12 to 60

This happenin' history lesson presents a fresh perspective as to who, what, where, when and how this crazy planet and its people came to be. From dinosaur extinction to space exploration, they're all rediscovered in this clever, chaotic, comical cataclysm of creativity. Doing their best to contribute to the world's development are the solar system (each planet has his or her own personality); the dinosaurs (the herbivores are higher class than the lowly carnivores); the first humans (totally clueless!) and the daring, early explorers including Columbus with h...

35 pages

14 parts. (with doubling 2 m, 1 w, 3 flexible)

Yazoo! Get ready for one tall tale of adventure as Sheriff Cyclone Malone must protect his town, Yazoo Junction, from evil pirates! The pirate captain, along with two bumbling crewmen, has somehow managed to build a submarine – with torpedoes! – and is sailing on the river outside of town. Cyclone’s gonna need help to deal with this problem. The sweet schoolmarm (and Cyclone’s gal) Cozy Dumond tries to get a message to the neighboring sheriff, but she is tricked by the disreputable Violent Lavender, captured and tied to the submarine’s periscope. Cyclone and ...

35 pages

5 m, 5 w, 1 B, 2 G + chorus (can be doubled to 3 m, 3 w, and 3 chorus)

Joanna Spyri's classic story of the orphan who spreads sunshine everywhere she goes is well represented in this fast-paced adaptation. Heidi conquers her grandfather, Peter, Klara, Herr Sesemann and all those with whom she comes in contact.

33 pages

Widely flexible cast, minimum of 12. (Approx. 4 m, 3 w, plus 5-23 flexible, extras)

Adapted from Washington Irving's short story. No one will be caught napping as Washington Irving's supernatural tale comes to vibrant life in this action-packed comedy that combines faithfulness to the original text with slapstick humor, hilarious dialogue and fascinating characters. Young Rip Van Winkle escapes from an overly-critical wife, bowls with the ghostly Henry Hudson in the Catskill Mountains, then mysteriously awakens 20 years later to find life in his colonial village vastly changed. With minimal set requirements and maximum involvement by an extr...

20 pages

3 m, 11 w

Take seven inept campers who must win a variety show competition on which the whole camp's reputation is based and what have you got? Instant disaster! Luckily for the campers, Jo White, who would rather sing than whistle while she works, has escaped to their cabin. Hilarity and confusion follow, but the camp's reputation is saved!

35 pages

3 m, 2 w, flexible cast of 25, doubling possible

Deep in the forest on a cold winter's night, an owl tells his friends about another winter's night when a shooting star lit up the sky, fell to the ground, and left a human child in a hollow tree. A woodcutter, who sees the shooting star, finds the child, takes him home, and rears him as a member of his family. The Star Child grows up to be a very handsome young man, but he doesn't have compassion or kindness. He mistreats the poor and the sick, he hurts the animals of the forest, and he shows no love for the family that raised him. Eventually he loses his ha...

51 pages

Widely flexible cast (14 or more)

Kipling's dramatic and entertaining stories about how the Camel got his hump, how the Elephant got his nose, how the Whale got his spout, and other richly woven tales come to life in this engaging full-length play. Mr. and Mrs. Kipling and their two bubbly yet unpretentious daughters serve as narrators. The story weaves from several animal tales to the final human one, how Man-or in this case an enterprising young girl!--wrote the first letter. Especially engaging is the two-person whale which is a great theatrical device. Easy to produce, this whimsical play...

56 pages

Flexible cast: 9-30 actors.

Gather ‘round, friends. Here are four Appalachian folktales your audiences will love … and your actors will love performing, too! Our favorite folk hero, Jack, appears in all four stories: “Jack’s Mother’s Second Marriage,” “Jack and the Mean Old Man,” “Foolish Jack,” and “Soldier Jack.” All four tales are fast paced and humorous, and still hold true to the oral traditions of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In fact, playwright R. Rex Stephenson gathered some of the material from the archives of the WPA Virginia Writer’s Project and some tales from interviews with l...

51 pages

6 m, 6 w, 1 flexible

This beloved tale from Hans Christian Andersen gets an original spin when set in the kingdom of Pilsenferfer! The King and Queen think it’s high time their son Prince Albert found a bride and settled down. But shy Albert can’t stop collecting butterflies for his conservatory long enough to find and woo a royal maiden. And really, who needs to go to all that trouble when the lovely Anne, one of the Queen’s maids, shares his passion for butterflies AND sews the buttons on his coat. If only she were from royal linage like the other candidates, including the food...

35 pages

8 m, 7 w

What happens in a toy store after hours? The dolls come alive in a world filled with comedy and adventure. Meet totally clueless Pretty Hair Melinda, and her pals, Beach Buff Ben and Surfer Sam. There's also streetwise Jewel and playboy millionaire doll, Mike, who is really secret agent, James Pond, 007. Raggedy Freddy and Franny, lovable and mischievous, tangle with the grumpy and sarcastic Teddy Bear and have to run for their lives. When a group of the dolls venture over to aisle 10 for a little excitement, they accidentally unleash the Bionic Warrior doll....

27 pages

12 to 14 flexible parts

All the familiar characters from the classic fairy tale are here but with a little bit of a modern-day twist, including gullible, inquisitive Jack and his poor mother; a smart, determined cow; the magical egg-laying goose; and a not-so-scary Giant and his wife. Children will be laughing out loud when Jack's cow refuses to be sold and is constantly chased across the stage, first by the bean seller and then additional characters from other fairy tales! The smart aleck Narrator almost gets into a fight with the Mother about the magical qualities of the beans and...

68 pages

7 m, 6 w, extras. Doubling possible.

The classic story of two emotionally-stunted children who discover, through their love for a garden, and the teachings of a boy of the English moors, that the key to happiness lies in caring for others. The story opens as two British officers in India discover 10-year-old Mary Lennox alone, her parents having just died in the cholera epidemic. She is sent back to England to live with an uncle, Archibald Craven, whom she doesn’t know, in the foreboding Misselthwaite Manor. His son Colin is sickly and bedridden and his cries can be heard echoing down the dark h...

23 pages

6 m, 7 w, extras

In this melodrama for fifth and sixth graders, Peter Prune steals Priscilla's homework to give to his girlfriend to gain brownie points. Foulfellow Fern, a not very efficient detective, is called in. But as always, the hero, Godfrey Goodfellow, methodically narrows the suspects down to the nasty villain.

74 pages

With doubling 4m, 5w, 2 flex

Kira, the little mermaid, longs to see life on the surface. When she realizes her overprotective father will only show her a deserted island and has promised her hand in marriage to nerdy Duke Dorsal, she takes matters into her own hands. She sings for the Sea Witch who takes her voice, with the knowledge that she must win the heart of a human or be turned into sea foam. While on land, she saves the prince who falls for her cousin, and finds true love in the end. Jellyfish telling knock-knock jokes, a kingdom with a yoga instructor, a magical triton that can ...

28 pages

2 m, 13 w

It’s Princess Daylight’s christening, and the blessings of the good fairies are interrupted by a wicked Swamp Fairy.  The Swamp Fairy vexes the princess with two evil curses: she will never see daylight, and her vitality will wax and wane with the phases of the moon. The good fairies mitigate the curses as much as they can. Thanks to their help, the princess will be awake at night, and the curse will be broken when she is kissed unknowingly by a prince. As the years go on, Princess Daylight’s curse seems to worsen. Her only joy is dancing in the moonlight.  F...

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...

39 pages

5 m, 6 w, 2 flexible

Here’s unconventional, humorous, and easy-to-stage treatment of the famous fairy tale. Rather than one huge ball to find his future Princess, the Prince has met eligible ladies of the kingdom at smaller, separate gatherings called “Choose a Princess Parties.” Now, after 118 parties, where the Prince has danced with “364 clods,” the Zanzibany family has finally received its invitation. The formidable sisters Wartzella and Bageena, along with their domineering mother, go to the party escorted by Cinderella’s meek father and their clumsy farmhand. Cinderella is ...

42 pages

10 or more actors and extras

Things are about to get weird at Picka Packa Pizza. Word is out in the spy community that super-spy Jamie Gold is coming to this hole-in-the-wall pizzeria to pick up top secret documents. The problem is, Gold is a master of disguise and could be anyone, from average customers to the picky eater who can’t decide what to order to the new delivery person who’s got the worst luck in the world. But that won’t stop two teams of rival snoops from trying to make a name for themselves by getting the best of Jamie Gold! Their only clue is that instead of a password, Go...

28 pages

Approx. 6 m, 8 f, easily expandable and gender flexible

"Woolfie" takes place in a series of flashbacks as the wolf must defend himself in the Trial of the Century! Accused of a variety of heinous crimes that include blowing down other people's houses, impersonating grandmothers, and gobbling up little girls, the much maligned and misunderstood Woolfie must defend himself or face dire consequences. This new look at an old tale explores prejudice in its many forms, and features such characters as Judge Billy Goat Gruff, Little Bo Peep as the bailiff, gangster pigs, a befuddled attorney, and an interactive panel of ...

42 pages

Flexible cast of 12 (approximately 2 m, 10 w), extras

This comedic tale begins with the familiar version of the fairy tale featuring an overly kind Princess, a vain Prince and the traditional evil witch, but there are twists to come as the story gets retold from the viewpoints of the Prince and witch. The second version zigzags in a totally new direction as the poor Prince is turned into a frog and is then plagued and pursued by a horrid giggler of a Princess, who actually wants to kiss him! The third version lights up the stage as a beautiful young woman with magical abilities turns the Prince into a frog in an...

44 pages

3 males, 7 females, 1 flexible, extras

Here’s the Cinderella story retold, with a little help from above! Overworked and derided by her stepmother and three stepsisters, kindhearted Cinderella can only dream of attending a ball at the castle. Suddenly her Angel Godmother appears, but she almost blows the whole fairy tale before the Godfather rushes to the rescue on his Zucchini 500. (There’s a shortage of pumpkins!) Prince Eugene dreams of finding an honest girl, but his eccentric fans make a nightmare of his party. His only hope is the sweet young woman who isn’t afraid to state her own thoughts....

34 pages

8 m, 6 w, extras, doubling possible

This re-creation of Robert Louis Stevenson's well-loved action classic will delight audiences of all ages and can easily be taken on tour. Young Jim Hawkins finds a treasure map and the adventure is on. If crossing the ocean is not adventuresome enough, Long John Silver and his band of pirates plan to take over the ship and steal the treasure for themselves. With the help of a castaway named Ben Gunn and a group of islanders, the pirates are defeated in battle and the treasure is recovered by Jim and his friends. About 40 minutes.

53 pages

Large, Flexible cast

Welcome to the mythical Forest of Fables, home of the Tortoise and the Hare, the Ants and the Grasshopper, the Lion and the Mice, and many other colorful creatures. This realm is also the home of Aesop, the friendly storyteller from Ancient Greece. The animals and two immortal Muses prepare for Aesop's surprise 98th birthday party, until they realize that they have no music for their upcoming celebration. The problem is solved when a nervous Donkey, a vain Cat, a hopeful Rooster, and a dim-witted Dog join forces and ensure that old Aesop gets the party of a c...

48 pages

4 m, 6 w, extras

“Now, my friends… do you like stories about rousing sword fights? Do you like stories about fire-breathing dragons? Well, this story has absolutely none of that!” says Christophe as the townspeople of a small European village gather to hear this itinerant storyteller. Soon the villagers clamor to tell their own stories. And the seemingly silly and simple tales, infused with the villagers’ personalities, become important lessons of patience (“No More Than a Tiger’s Whisker”), friendship (“Birds of a Feather”), and love (“A Ring of Truth”). The villagers add no...

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...

28 pages

2 m, 8 w, 2 flexible parts

In this 40-minute frumpled version of Lewis Carroll's story, Alice comes face to face with a Jaberwocky who could be Fonzie's twin! The Jaberwocky cons Alice into stepping through the looking glass. Then he steals her book so he and his four supremely cool Jaber-Babes - Daphne, Daisy, Dimples, and Delli - can get into the real world. Alice must quickly find them before they use the book or she'll never get back home. She gets lots of confusing "help" from the Messenger Rabbit, Tweedle Dum and Dee, and the Red and White queens.

23 pages

6 m, 8 w

Christine's in big trouble. Her mother warns her not to open the old book of fairy tales, but Christine breaks the rules and opens it anyway. Now the pages are strewn across the stage. The book just happens to be magic, and the characters from the stories inside soon appear in Christine's family room. Chaos ensues as Cinderella kisses the Frog Prince, and the evil Queen from Snow White falls in love with Rumpelstiltskin. Hansel and Gretel are eating the aluminum siding off the house, and the Miller's Daughter convinces Rumpelstiltskin not to kidnap her baby, ...