66 pages
2 m, 3 w, 1 flexible
Nora Marsh has lived with the burden of a father who's been branded a traitor. She has tried to keep their inn, the Cat and Mouse, running smoothly, but her father's depression and drinking after his return from the World War II European front has made life difficult. Her life begins to further unravel when a new border, Daniel Cavell, turns up missing. Kate Sherwin, the local Civil Defense warden, and Cavell's mother, Ruth, begin a search which ends when his body is found in the window seat of the inn's living room. Kate has long suspected Nora's father Harr...
60 pages
6 m, 5 w
Raven and Lulu are two young women seeking refuge who become unexpected guests at Dracula’s annual Halloween party. Igor the hunchback and their host, Dracula, seem friendly but chills and laughter escalate as monstrous guests arrive. It becomes clear that Zack the Zombie, Frankenstein, and the mummified Egyptian Queen Nefertiti are not in costume but are real…and possibly dangerous. An out-of-season Ghost of Christmas Past even makes an appearance and takes Dracula on a journey of discovery. Will Dracula’s affection for one of the girls keep her safe, or is ...
74 pages
16 m, 4 w + extras
Here is Shakespeare's classic story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, with all of the psychology, guilt and tragedy that one is accustomed to in the original story. Nothing vital has been cut, but the play has been shortened, maintaining an incredible through-line of action. This version sails along. Perfect for high school and college theatre departments. A special CD of music and sound effects is available to enhance your production. (Music sample at right is "Ophelia's Theme.") About 2 hours.
80 pages
5 m, 9 w, extras
Billionaire industrialist Wentworth Jefferson invites private investigator Joey (Jo Ellen) Reynolds to a party at his mansion where she meets, and secretly photographs, the people he believes might wish to see him dead. Frozen for a moment, as if caught on film, we meet the suspects: his flighty wife, Mamie; her children, playboy Sam Kane and sculptress daughter, Selena; his bitter ex-wife, Julia Jefferson; society columnist Felica Phillips, whom he once jilted; his spinsterish personal assistant, Debra Mason; and a senior executive in his firm, Paul Carter, ...
72 pages
3 m, 9 w
The Peaceful Glen Memorial Players are about to mount a new production, but this time, it's a fight for their lives. It's not just the usual hand-to-hand combat between board members Duncan and Hope for the last donut. This time the company is about to lose their building. According to the late Archibald Donnelly's will, they could keep the building as long as they do "quality productions." Oh, they have tried, in their own left-field way, to do the classics. "Isn't it true," family heir Blair Beesley asks, "that you did 'Twelve Angry Men' with five actors an...
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 ...
60 pages
4 m, 4 w
A funeral parlor is the perfect setting for this quirky, off-kilter farce where family and “special” friends come to mourn, to surprise, to plot, and even to negotiate their futures. Everyone thinks Donny D’Silva was killed in a car crash. But it wasn’t Donny at all. Then again, it was – until everyone assumes the real victim is Rodrigo Benitez, Donny’s former employee. Then, Rodrigo shows up, so it’s not him either! Throughout the confusion, the families of the would-be dead make every effort to take advantage of the loss of their respective loved one. So wh...
74 pages
5 m, 6 w
"I wasn't expecting anything to happen," intones detective Ace Baxter, "and that's just when anything CAN happen!" And happen it does, as Ace finds himself in a locked room standing in front of the only exit with a murder victim who was shot in the back ... and with Ace's own pistol. Shadows loom large when you're on the lam, as Ace finds out, whether he's disguising himself as a cleaning woman to inspect the scene of the crime, or ducking Sergeant Flint, who's chomping at the bit to clamp the cuffs on Baxter. The Professor helps out when he can, vowing to al...
72 pages
From 14 to 26 speaking roles, extras. (5 m, 5 w, 4 flex)
Inspired by the life and works of Rudyard Kipling. Celebrated author Rudyard Kipling is shocked after receiving news that his only son John is missing in action in WW I. Kipling bottles his grief, throwing his focus on a new book. Suddenly he’s interrupted by a mysterious little girl named Priyam. Charmed by her innocence, he shares his famous story “The Jungle Book” with her. As the tale of Mowgli springs to life, Kipling’s own memories of how John became a soldier start to intertwine. As truth blends into fiction, Rudyard’s memories shift to nightmares. He ...
74 pages
14 m, 10 w, 4 flexible, extras
Rick Burgess and coworkers, Joe and Samantha, are on an outward-bound training weekend, organized by their boss, Rick's father, when they become hopelessly lost in the forest. Through the fog they finally stumble upon a remote little village, Ashdown-Lee. But the villagers are dressed as peasants and wary of the intruders. Ingrid, the mayor's daughter, however, is attracted to Rick and invites the trio to stay. They soon discover that the magical village appears only one day every fifty years. To the villagers it is the next day, but to the rest of the world ...
44 pages
4 m, 3 w
Two married couples pool their resources to buy a diner in the middle of the desert. Excited and enthusiastic at first, they come to realize their dream isn’t turning out to be the success they wanted. Unable to afford to fix the diner’s broken sign or pave the dusty parking lot, the hoped-for customers continue to drive by without stopping. Inside the diner, with failing equipment and dwindling funds, the two couples discover they can’t even sell the building for a portion of what they paid for it. They are about to give up in desperation when a handsome, ch...
75 pages
1 m, 3 w and flexible extras
Miss Ida Ingram's dying wish was to have her ashes scattered over the Grand Canyon - no small request for the two remaining sisters, Isabelle and Imogene, as they are elderly and have never before ventured out of South Carolina. Into the picture comes a long-lost nephew, Brandon, who agrees to drive his maiden aunts to Arizona to give himself time to think through his own mid-life crisis. Leigh Ann, a young neighbor woman who was practically raised by the elderly triplets, soon catches up and joins them on this incredible trip where they meet everyone from a ...
72 pages
3 m, 3 w, 2 flexible (one non-speaking)
A madman is on the loose and college student Penny, somewhat flighty, has gotten a gun for protection over the objections of her brainy roommate Janice. The objections prove all too true when Penny accidentally shoots her boyfriend, Glen. Granted, his sense of humor often makes people want to shoot him, but this was truly an accident. Fortunately, Janice is a pre-med genius and she is able to use a very unorthodox method to save Glen’s life...kind of. His head at least, but only temporarily. While Glen protests to being stored in the TV cabinet, Penny is conc...
72 pages
5 men, 5-6 women, 2 boys, 1 girl, 2 extras
Eddy is a struggling playwright and also a dad in charge of taking care of the house, the kids, and the mother-in-law while his wife works the daytime shift at a fast-food restaurant. And boy, does he have his hands full! The house is a disaster, and as far as taking care of the children, what can he really do? Rambunctious triplets and an adventurous teenage daughter are not meant for the inexperienced! Then there is his mother-in-law whose age seems to be affecting her mind, and a neighbor lady with opinions, but without manners. Toss in a couple of FBI age...
62 pages
4 m, 3 w
What do you do to prepare for a visit from your parents? Plenty, when you're the daughter of strict Italian Catholic parents who expect to meet your female roommate, who is actually a guy. John was hoping to celebrate his and Maria's two-year anniversary as housemates by proposing to her. Instead he finds himself as "Suzanne" wearing a dress and trying to cope with Maria's cranky father, her overbearing mother and her wild younger sister. Then there's Maria's old childhood friend who tries to make his move on Maria as well as "Suzanne." Add John's trouble-mak...