Children's

36 pages

Approx. 3 m, 4 w, 3 flexible

Little Red loves playing in the forest with all her animal friends and doesn’t want any responsibilities—like taking food to Grandma’s house. But a hungry wolf changes that! Posing as an injured sheepdog, he’s able to trap her forest friends into a cave and con Red in to telling him where Grandmother lives. Once there he eats Grandma and Red! Luckily, the ever-cautious Sammy the Skunk saves the day with his brains and his “perfume.” Grandma and Red are rescued from the Wolf’s tummy for a happy ending, including a more responsible Red! A "country and western" ...

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...

40 pages

3 m, 2 w, 1 flexible

Get the youngsters in your audience twitching their noses, making engine noises, bowing to the king, catching imaginary gold thread, and shouting out names, especially Rumpelstiltskin! With such audience participation, this fairy tale adaptation is loads of active fun. It features a braggart father, his long-suffering wife, their poor but beautiful daughter, a strict rule-enforcing chancellor; a monarch whose kingdom depends on straw being spun into gold, and of course, the mysterious little man who is willing to perform that exceptional feat – but at a treme...

56 pages

9 m, 9 w (or with doubling 5 m, 5 w)

Here’s the familiar story of Snow White but with enough plot twists and turns to keep all of us guessing what will happen next! The Dwarfs, including three sisters and four brothers, are a regular-sized family named Dwarf. While Snow’s appearance in their midst is a surprise, they show that unlike the Queen’s focus on physical beauty, real beauty is in caring for each other. At the end Snow does not automatically ride off with the Prince because he’s handsome. She makes a rational decision about who loves her, whom she loves and why. Full evening. Perfect for...

37 pages

5 m, 7 w

Young Peter devises a plan to capture a "fearsome" wolf who apparently has a rather large "sweet tooth," or teeth, in this case! Despite warnings from Grandpa, Peter enlists the help of his two girl friends aided by their animal friends, Natasha, a vain bird Olga, a practical duck Pavlov, a lovable dog and Catrina, a sly cat. In a hilarious scene, the wolf swallows Natasha - who gives him hiccups and a terrible tummy-ache - and he's caught by Peter and the girls. Feeling sorry for the wolf, everyone agrees to keep his cravings a secret and to return him to th...

37 pages

2 m, 3 w, 2 flexible

There's more to Rapunzel than just her long, long, hair! Locked in a high tower as a baby, she grew up, raised by Gothel, the witch, and her parents who talked to her from the ground. Rapunzel's father, fancying himself a scholar, taught her how all the planets revolve around a flat earth, and her mother, who thought herself wise in the ways of the world, taught Rapunzel never to have an opinion of her own. One day a goofy prince rides in on stick horse and vows to free her. But here's where the traditional story changes. Our heroine frees herself and learns ...

44 pages

4/5 m, 4 w

This hour-long tale has all the classic characters: two poor but beautiful sisters, a handsome prince turned into an animal by evil magic, a mean troll, and even meaner tax collectors. Unlike traditional tales, however, these characters have a lot of personality. Rose Red ignores everything while trying to find the troll's treasure. Meanwhile, her sister, Snow White, thinks everyone should work instead of having fun. The Prince is selfish and sticks to the letter of the law, the tax collectors are greedy, and the evil troll - well, he's evil! When the Prince ...

34 pages

4 m, 6 w

Narrated by a flustered but well-meaning fairy named Fortunata, this charming original fairy tale for children tells the story of Tucker, a handsome young man who sets out to seek his fortune. Fortunata decides the young man must be aided by his two pets, Punch the dog and Prudie the cat, who chase and tease each other like, well, cats and dogs! Tucker, though dubious, agrees. Fortunata also gives Tucker a magical ring which grants him any wish, although he must use it wisely. On his journey Tucker becomes smitten with a lovely young maiden Annalise, and he a...

62 pages

Flexible casting

Design your own evening of entertainment from these four enchanting tales filled with charm, imagination, and a quirky sense of humor. With lots of small, easily learned roles, all of which are fun to play, these comedies are enjoyable for young actors, onstage and off. In "You Call That a Bed Monster?" Princess Julia wakes up one morning to discover that her beloved bed monster, Humphrey, is missing. Her bumbling guards drag in an assortment of critters, all mistaken for Humphrey, much to the chagrin of the King and Queen. In the title tale, "The Magic Harmo...

37 pages

Flexible cast of 10

From the story "Kaa's Hunting" by Rudyard Kipling.  Deep in a jungle in India in the middle of the 19th century a tribe of monkeys come chasing in with the boy Mowgli in their midst. In the middle of their play, Kaa, the great python, terrifies them as well as Baloo, a great bear, and Bagheera, a panther, who are Mowgli's friends and protectors. Once out of harm's way, the two scold the boy and teach him how to make himself safe in the jungle. They fall asleep. The monkeys, eager to get Mowgli to make them huts like his, wake him and drag him off. Baloo and B...

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...

73 pages

8 m, 16 w, 5 flexible

King Barney and Queen Rose suffer from a terrible jinx. Rose's sister, Jean, who wants to be queen herself, has cursed them with an "ugly duckling." Their oldest child, Dora, is as spoiled a brat as the kingdom has ever known. Desperate for help, the Queen calls on Magdelia, the witch who taught Jean everything she knows. Magdelia has only one antidote: some unlucky fellow must fall in love with Dora. A matchmaker suggests Bodkin, a simple woodcutter, who longs to marry. Dora is kidnapped and sent to Bodkin, who begins to slowly chip away at her nasty persona...