Children's

55 pages

Widely Flexible

The music is stunning in this story set in Athens around 400 BC. Despite the city's wealth and splendor, the Athenians have recently been defeated by the joint Spartan and Persian armies and now reluctantly, after years of superiority, have to put up with foreign interference. Anxious to find out what is in store for their great civilization, Socrates, Plato and Hippocrates set off to see the great Oracle at Delphi. The Pythia tells them to seek advice from Zeus himself at the great statue in Olympus where they will discover their destiny. Lots of fun songs, ...

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.

60 pages

4 m, 2 w, 3 flexible

The Hero Squad, four superhero friends, decide to make amends and invite their arch-enemy, the nefarious criminal mastermind Nikolai Oshgoshbgoshnikov, over for a Christmas party and caroling. Little do they realize, Nikolai is secretly plotting against the heroes with special eggnog designed to turn them evil. Meanwhile, an old roommate from Nikolai's past, the gargantuan bovine supervillain Angus Khan, has returned with his own plan to rule the world. The Hero Squad have a lot on their plate: Not only must they deal with the wrath of one very angry cow, as ...

55 pages

Flexible cast, approx. 10 m, 4 w (or 7 actors with doubling)

A musical version of Charles Perrault's story, done in the style of the English Pantomime, and featuring the various pantomime traditions including a "Pantomime Dame" (played by a male), "Principal Boy" (played by a girl), "Principal Girl," fairies who talk in rhyme, and significant audience interaction. This script, with six delightful songs, was commissioned by Seattle Children's Theatre and later televised. A wonderfully antic version of the popular story with enough action for any member of the family. Recipient of the "Ohio State Award Best Children's Pr...

34 pages

3 m, 3 w, extras

When young Guy discovers that his inheritance consists only of a cat and a pair of boots, he is highly distressed, until he gets to know the cat. Saucy and one-of-a-kind, Boots the cat vows to help Guy achieve his goal of marrying the beautiful princess from next door. Boots also helps free the town from the clutches of Ugolin, an evil ogre who has magical powers to turn himself or others into any animal he chooses. Guy and Boots trick the king and queen into thinking Guy is the "Marquis of Carabas" and also trick the ogre into turning himself into an insect ...

26 pages

2 m, 4 or 5 w

Prince Charming Smile meets Steve, an itinerant narrator, and after a furious swordfight they become friends. Prince Charming Smile tells Steve that he is the only Prince Charming without a lady fair, and he is on the quest for one. When he meets Rapunzel, “imprisoned” by the wicked witch Imaboil and the New Age witch Esmepus, he falls deeply into shallow love. He decides to rescue her and win her as his wife. But the rather vapid Rapunzel doesn’t want the Prince, so Steve conjures up a sleeping Snow White for him and a happy ending for all the characters. Tw...

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" ...

48 pages

18-19 roles (2 m, 1 w, 15-16 flexible)

When a pirate ship inadvertently sails over the lost city of Atlantis, an adventure-seeking girl – who happens to be the granddaughter of Poseidon himself – makes friends with a charmingly naïve sailor, causing their two worlds to collide. As the pirates continue to arrr-gue and the Atlanteans ask an endless series of questions with no answers, new friends Duffle and Pana explore strange new worlds they have never seen before. With the help of a Narrator giving advice and a friendly dog who just wants to play, and with Poseidon’s undersea magic adding to the ...

61 pages

Resource Book

Enjoy these three short plays in your middle school or junior high classroom. All three plays have roles which are mostly flexible in gender to include as many students as possible. The plays have interesting plots, easy settings, and short, easy-to-learn lines. Your student actors will have fun developing and portraying the varied characters. Young actors will enjoy performing them for their classmates and parents, too!

“Murder in the Cloister” - 9 characters+ extras. Who would murde...

60 pages

3 m, 3 w, 3 flexible, and chorus

"Rumpelstiltskin, A Medieval Musical Fairy Tale" takes place during a May Festival, somewhere centuries ago. two traveling minstrels visit a small community where, with the help of the townspeople, they stage a production of the strange tale of a small man who steals children and sells them -- Rumpelstiltskin. It just so happens that they cast a real evil magician in the title role. Music, romance and magic weave together as the townspeople unite to outwit the man who sells children, both in the imaginary tale and in real life. We invite you to join with us a...

56 pages

6 m, 4 w, 9 either

Here’s an exciting, magical and very untraditional version of Snow White! This time the evil Queen Zantha wants to change the ending so she’ll win. Her goal is to not only be the fairest in the land, but to unite a special scepter and mystical orb which will give her ultimate power. She will then rule both Snow’s kingdom of Aradon and the Prince’s kingdom of Mirador. Zantha cons Snow into eating a poisoned apple. The Prince, who wishes to marry Snow, and the Loyal Huntsman can only use magic and sorcery to fight Zantha, and her equally power-hungry family inc...

29 pages

4 m, 3 w, 2 flexible

Here is a classic children's tale told with Japanese Kabuki theatre techniques. Gosho-no-Goodo, an evil Samurai, has stolen the sword of Subi-Sumo, the good Samurai. Subi would not care that much because he'd rather paint than do battle, but unfortunately, he must retrieve his sword at all costs. To a member of the Samurai, a stolen sword is a disgrace. If he doesn't recover it, Subi cannot marry his love, a princess named Kyo-no-Imi. As Subi and his two servants go on a quest for the sword, they meet a witch posing as an old woman. They help her and she thanks Subi with a potion which s...

41 pages

5 m, 3 w, 2 flexible

Mayhem and comedy are guaranteed when a small troupe of animal actors perform "The Taming of the Shrew" for King Louie, a lion, and Queen Marie, a lioness. Bartholomew, a fox, and Cassandra, a cat, are the leaders of an acting troupe consisting of a sarcastic crow, a bumbling bear, a young rabbit, and a sleepy dog. Include a diva cat opera singer, Miss Bianca, and the fur is guaranteed to fly! As the stage story of "The Taming of the Shrew" unfolds, we see that the actors are like the characters they portray. We also see how much can go wrong when performing ...

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

4 main characters, additional cast of 13 or more.

In this new version of the fairy tale, all the characters are likable - the greedy king is now a kind ruler looking for money to save endangered species and the passive young woman who must spin straw into gold is resourceful and self-reliant. Even the funny little character, whose name reflects his rap-style speech, is likable, just lonely. Luckily, the Hunters-of-the Perfect-Wave help the play have a happy ending.