Community

68 pages

3 m, 2 w

Dr. Jack Ramsay, an obstetrician/gynecologist, is "going bare," that is, going without insurance coverage to avoid paying outrageous malpractice premiums. When he is hit with a frivolous lawsuit to the tune of $4.2 million, Jack and his devoted wife, Barbara, conspire to get a divorce that puts all their assets into her name. "You'll be too poor to sue because I'll have all your money," she chirps. Possibly a destitute doctor will discourage the plaintiff's attorney from pursuing a large settlement. Jack loves the idea and so the divorce plans proceed over th...

68 pages

3 m, 5 w, plus one offstage female voice

Meet the residents of Moonshadow Apartments: Irene and two of her favorite tenants—Henry and Shake. Henry is secretly in love with longtime friend and content creator Emma. When she invites Henry to accompany her to a distant tropical paradise, he must choose between his comfortable, controlled existence or the intimidating world outside his door. Advising Henry is his elderly, still-a-hippie landlady Irene. She’s at a crossroads in her life as her guardian niece Sloane and her lawyer Miss Penny are plotting to oust Irene and take control of the building. Ire...

50 pages

6 m, 3 w

Hard times have come on Gumption Gulch and Grandma Gertie Parker is forced to open a clothes-washing service to earn extra money. Even Sheriff Gideon Gumption is “moonlighting” (though the term has him totally baffled) at the stagecoach office and a local lunch spot. Grandma Gertie’s old nemesis has sent her two boys, Luther and Ulysses Bragg, to town to put Gertie’s laundry service out of business as payback for an old feud. Add in a possum-farming brother and sister couple (Elrod has a serious case of “the anxieties”), a blacksmith who dreams of being a com...

70 pages

5 m, 5 w

"Doing a kiddie TV show is like playing the bagpipes," Uncle Neddy says. "Who knows when you make a mistake?" And whether it is hunting down an escaped snake or sawing a lady in half, he and his sidekick, Skeezix the Clown, have been at it for decades. However, when the new station manager plans to get rid of his show, it is time for action! Filled with oddball characters, from a neurotic moose-toting puppeteer to a muscle-bound yes-man, this frantic slapstick comedy races along with action on both ends of the stage. Everyone is tuning in to the final show to...

20 pages

1 m, 6 w

The ladies meet at Suzie's home for a game of poker which they know little if anything about. Suzie's husband, Willoughby, sticks his two-cents-worth in and the game disintegrates into a sharing of make-up and poker-bridge. As usual men are a part of the discussion!  Also join the ladies in these other comedies: "Ladies at Lunch" (#1648) "Ladies on Vacation" (#1649)

17 pages

6 m, 6 w, extras

Poor Santa is being tried in court for breaking and entering, unfair interstate trade practices, illegal parking, unfair wages, and flying with no flight plan. Witnesses are cross-examined by the attorneys and the jury takes very little time to reach a verdict. One act.

68 pages

3 m, 1 w, 5 flex; total of 9 with doubling, 42 w/o doubling

Ever forced to wait and wait…and wait? Want to scream at nonsensical bureaucracy? Then you’ll sympathize with Mr. Poosch who, after he accidentally leaves his well-made coat in the country to the North, finds tremendous hurdles when he attempts to get it back. First, he cannot obtain the right paperwork to travel, and then, when he finally arrives, it is Sunday and the country is closed on Sundays. A homeless man finds the coat and finds his luck turns around while wearing it. Meanwhile, poor Mr. Poosch finds himself broke, hungry, and laboring in the street....

28 pages

6 m, 5 w doubling possible to 4 m, 3 w

This powerful one-act is based on the first pages of Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables." The year is 1815 and Jean Valjean has been imprisoned nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. Now, after being released, Valjean finds it impossible to find lodging or food. Society has treated him like an animal and he feels like one. Finally he finds refuge at the Bishop's home. The clergyman welcomes him with kindness and even trust, using his best silver candlesticks at the evening meal, much to the dismay and warnings of the susp...

74 pages

3 m, 7 w, 3 flexible parts

Did Julie Marshall beat her fianceé to death with a fireplace poker? Her attorney, Sam Zangrillis, thinks he can prove her innocent, but District Attorney Adrienne Bancroft, a former friend and colleague of the deceased, is out for revenge. Here's a slick and suspenseful courtroom drama that will keep everyone in the audience guessing because the witnesses seem to cloud the case rather than illuminate it. Julie's main alibi, her roommate, is a single, lonely woman, possibly envious of Julie having a serious relationship. The dead man's sister, who discovered ...

80 pages

11 m (one non-speaking), 9 w

A terrible storm is raging, forcing an odd assortment of characters to seek shelter at Moss Manor, a broken-down old inn run by Mother Moss. As fate would have it, this is the night Mrs. Moss' son, Pete, returns from the service to marry his sweetheart, Terri Cloth. Terri's uncle is violently opposed and comes to the inn to demand the marriage not take place. At the height of the storm, the lights go out and someone is murdered! Who is the victim? And if the victim is supposed to be dead, how come the guests keep finding the body in different places? Who is t...

42 pages

7 m, 9 w

Unlike most villains, who only have to fight a hero in trying to win the lovely lady, Egar Duntley has to face Miss Lil's whole boardinghouse full of zany characters. There are Miss Lil's mischievous little brothers who dislike him, the deaf lady who keeps staring at him, the men-hungry spinsters who are chasing him, and others. Even more laughs come from Della, Duntley's cleaning lady accomplice. She is chased by an old boarder and served some "fruit juice" which makes her stiff as a board - a part any comedic actress will love to get her teeth into. The her...

41 pages

3 m, 4 w, or all men

Back by popular demand! All the beloved characters are present - the large awkward, wig-wearing heroine, Little Nell; tall, slinky mustachioed villain, Carlton Bainbridge; and the affable, lovable, but-oh-so-slow hero, Hector Skyscraper. Revolving around the heavy plot of "Marry-me-or-I'll-foreclose," you'll want to cry with the heroine, hiss the villain and applaud the hero. This play's a favorite with community groups. One hour (can be lengthened or shortened).

69 pages

3 m, 7 w, 1 flexible, optional doubling

Mary Beth Langmeyer is charged with first-degree murder after she shoots her husband while he sleeps. She claims he had been physically and emotionally abusive during their marriage, and that she feared for her life if she reported it. The case becomes a battle of personalities between the district attorney and the defense attorney as they stretch the limits of civility and flirt with contempt charges. The jury of five women and one man deliberate, ultimately finding themselves deadlocked. In the end, the audience votes as to whether the lone male juror will ...

20 pages

5 m, 5 w

Sally Sweet (Buffalo Bill Chip's girl) controls the water for the whole valley where Baron von Broccoli owns most of the land. Now the Baron has a dream to change the eating habits of America - from sugar-frosted broccoli flakes to brocale, an alcoholic drink. He needs more land and LOTS of water. Therein lies the plot. Enter Caesar Salad, a hired killer; Tom O'Hawk, an Irish-Indian; and the BLOBS (Broccoli Lovers Of Broken Stump).

26 pages

1 m, 3 w, 1 flexible, 1 boy, extras

Goldie, Frank, and Myrna, three counselors at an emotional helpline, have devised a way to have Christmas Eve off this year. They have engaged Thomas Wellmore, a charming but self-centered Wall Street type, to man the phones. He willingly embraces the opportunity to “balance his karma” and “do something real at Christmas for those less fortunate.” As the evening wears on and no one calls, he becomes increasingly irritated and his true character is revealed. Then, at the stroke of midnight, a cleaning woman enters with her young son, Christopher. Though the ey...