Classics

32 pages

Approx. 15 m, 15 w, much doubling possible

Here's a delightful and easy-to-do version of Dickens' Christmas story, faithfully adapted for young people and their families. Originally written as a touring show, it is adaptable to any theatre or stage facility. All the beloved characters and scenes are included: Scrooge and Cratchit in the counting house; the Ghost of Christmas Past; Scrooge’s sweetheart Belle at the Fezziwig ball; the Ghost of Ghost of Christmas Present and the Cratchit home with Tiny Tim; and even the sensitive scenes at the pawn shop and graveyard. Of course, there’s the happy ending ...

63 pages

7 m, 3 w

Molière’s comic masterpiece centers on the character of the French courtier Alceste and the beautiful young widow Célimène he hopes to marry. But the two have radically different personalities: Alceste is a snob who insists on telling everyone the truth as he sees it, and Célimène’s instinct is to tell people - and particularly attractive men - only what they are dying to hear. So Célimène flirts and gossips with the courtiers who come to her house while Alceste fumes in jealousy. A virtual menagerie of other characters seek to intervene, either to bring the ...

75 pages

11 m, 14 w, 28 flexible, much doubling possible

Here is a lovely version of the adventures of Dr. Dolittle, the gentle Englishman who can talk to animals. All his furry and feathered friends are along for the ride including Jip, the dog; Dab-Dab, the duck; Chee-Chee, the monkey; Gub-Gub the pig; and, of course, Polynesia, the parrot; as well as a slew of seagulls, dolphins and sharks, and the unique two-headed creature, Pushmi-Pullyu. Follow Dr. Dolittle to Africa to cure a tribe of sick monkeys. Watch him thwart a fierce band of greedy pirates. Join him on a mission to rescue Professor Long Arrow, a famou...

58 pages

6 m, 6 w, 16 flexible, extras if desired

Follow Prince Tamino in this hilarious tale as he travels to the castle of the evil Sarastro to save the princess Pamina. Along his magical journey he meets a wild cast of characters including Papageno, the three muses, the Greenbird, the spirits, and the fabled Queen of the Night. Armed with a magic flute given by the queen, Tamino is ready to take on Sarastro. Once inside the castle our prince and his friends face monsters, magic, and a test to free his beloved Pamina. Fast-paced dialogue and hysterical characters enchant this large-cast play based on the o...

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.

36 pages

5 m, 7 w, 3 flexible, extras, doubling

From short stories by H.H. Munro (Saki). "The Mouse and The Storyteller" are two hilarious tales which take place aboard a train traveling from Philadelphia to Boston. In Philadelphia two architects board the train and sit next to a frail, elderly sleeping lady. They have checked out a dilapidated building so full of mice, that they inadvertently bring one onboard the train. Their quest to catch the mouse, which they both fear, without waking the sleeping passenger is outrageous. After they detrain in New York, a woman and her four horrible children share the...

26 pages

4 m, 5 w

Adapted by Philip Lerman From the classic by Euripides. The scene is the port city of Aulis, where the Grecian army waits to embark on the conquest of Troy. The army’s commander, Agamemnon, has been forced to offer his young daughter, Iphigenia, as a martyr to ensure victory in the coming war. Valiant efforts by her mother, Clytemnestra, and the Grecian hero, Achilles, to prevent the sacrifice have proven futile. Iphigenia is left to choose between a war she abhors and violent civil unrest in Greece if the war is aborted. Concluding that the welfare of her co...

73 pages

11 m, 13 w, 4 flexible, much doubling possible

Adapted from the novel by Wilkie Collins. It's the late 1800s and young Walter Hartright, on his way to a new teaching position, meets a mysterious woman dressed in white. Terrified, she asks him the way to London and mentions that she once was very happy at the very house Walter is going to. Later, Walter meets his pupils: Marian Halcombe and her half-sister Laura Fairlie, the latter who strongly resembles the woman in white. Walter soon falls in love with Laura, but his happiness is dashed when he finds out her engagement to Sir Percival Glyde has been arra...

71 pages

7 m, 9 w, 25 flexible, doubling possible

Adapted from the stories by Rudyard KiplingHere's an energetic dramatization of the classic tale of Mowgli, the man-cub, who was abandoned as a baby in the jungle and raised by wolves. With Baloo, the bear, and Bagheera, the panther, as mentors, the growing boy has no trouble avoiding Shere Khan, the tiger, who wants to eat him. But when his two protectors leave him alone in the jungle to test his mettle, Mowgli suddenly finds he's got more trouble than he knows how to handle. The monkeys kidnap him and haul him off to the Forbidden City. Then two hyenas, who...

47 pages

Large, flexible cast. Approx. 20 actors.

In pageant, verse and fearsome argument the gods on Olympus set the great Perseus myth in motion. When the Oracle tells the human king, Acrisius, that his grandson will kill him, the old miser locks his daughter, Danae, up in a tower guarded by fearsome dogs. Zeus comes to her and devours the dogs and soon Perseus is born. Acrisius locks mother and baby in a chest and sets it afloat on the sea. The gods see the chest safely to the isle of Seriphos where Perseus grows into a local hero. The jealous king sends him on an impossible quest: to bring in the head of...

55 pages

Flexible cast of 14 or more

Timeless Tales: A Hans Christian Andersen Quartet weaves together four of Hans Christian Andersen's best-known stories in an exciting and flexible format. Narrated by Andersen himself, the play introduces us to the master storyteller from Denmark, providing background information on his childhood and the circumstances leading to the publication of his plays. After the "Prologue," the actual dramatization of the tales begins. They include: "The Princess and the Pea," "The Little Mermaid," "The Emperor's New Clothes," and "The Ugly Duckling." This last...

30 pages

5 m, 5 w, 9 or more flexible

From the short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benet. Poor Jake Stone is a total loser. When he finally loses the worst job he's ever had, he makes the claim that he would do anything to be a winner. Soon he meets Lucy, a seemingly attractive, professional woman who can make a special deal with him: she gives Jake wisdom, and he signs away his soul. Rather than waste his opportunity, Jake becomes a kind and intelligent person who gives much to the world. As the time to relinquish his soul draws near, he seeks out the counsel of Daniell...

53 pages

Flexible cast up to 42

Here is a holiday treasure with a beautiful variety of music, from the cheery "A Fifteen Shilling Christmas," and "The Fezziwig Ball," to the dramatic "Link by Link," and "Make Each Day Count." There's also the bright song, "The Spirit of Christmas," and the unforgettable closing number, "God Bless Us, Everyone." The story stays close to Dickens' original novel in dialogue, but adds additional speaking roles for great casting flexibility. Along with the hard-hearted Scrooge, the Christmas Spirits, the Cratchit family and the beloved Tiny Tim, there are carole...

88 pages

9 m, 15 w, and numerous extras, doubling possible

Set in an all-female boarding school in Victorian London, young Sara Crewe loses all her money and place in society when her father dies. Forced by the merciless headmistress to work in slave-like conditions in the school she once attended, Sara dreams of a better life. She uses her vivid imagination to deal with her adversity and even bring happiness to those around her. She encounters all sorts of characters, from the school bully and her cronies, to the nervous servant girl, to the mysterious old gentleman who moves in next door... The songs have been writ...

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...