Community

67 pages

10 m (doubling possible), 6 w

Elaine has had enough. Ralph, her exasperating, risk-taking husband, has got to go. With the help of Pookie, her younger sister; Anthony “Prettyboy” Ferrari, her father; and Rudy Gambruzzo, her father’s personal assistant, Elaine sets out to stage an accident that will rid her of marital stress. In the space of one morning, Elaine accidentally gets the pool guy and the mailman killed before finally clobbering Ralph. Then she learns that Ralph must be alive that afternoon to sign a vital contract or she will be not only happily widowed, but unhappily bankrupt....

28 pages

5 m, 1 w

To save his crown, a distraught King of Bohemia comes incognito to 221B Baker Street to seek the help of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes quickly sees through the man's disguise. The throne is threatened by a photograph of the King and Irene Adler taken five years previously. She is threatening to reveal it, now that the King is planning to marry someone else the second daughter of the King of Scandinavia. Holmes makes valiant efforts to retrieve the document, but Irene Adler outwits his every move. On her marriage to Godfrey Norton, a lawyer, she indicates that she w...

0 pages

Flexible cast

This 45-minute operetta, with over 15 sparkling songs, is the perfect choice for a combined grades presentation. Based on Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," the parts of Scrooge, Fred, Bob, Jacob Marley's Ghost, Mrs. Cratchit and 2 Gentlemen can be played by older students while the parts of Peter, Tiny Tim, Ragamuffins, Grocery Lads and Shopping Lasses can be played by younger students. Other characters, including Angels and Festive Ghouls and Ghosts, are ideal for any age students. In addition to the even distribution of parts, the song melodies are within easy ...

35 pages

3 m, 1 w

Inevitably, community theatres are destined to have Shakespeare and zombies. This comedy has both! Dr. Marlowe-Thomas, an aspiring new director, is desperate to stage the ultimate Shakespearean production of the "Scottish Play." She is convinced Shakespeare originally wrote his plays to be performed by a cast of actors that included zombies. To that end, she is auditioning Ian, a struggling young actor, using an original manuscript of “Macbeth.” Before they realize it, two actual zombie actors (Rick Burbage and Eddie Booth, both based on historically renowned...

29 pages

5 m, 3 w, 1 flexible

William Shakespeare retired at about age 48. Why did this prolific genius stop writing? How did he get along with his long-neglected wife, Anne, once he gave up the stage? “The Shakespeares” imagines what The Bard’s last years were like in Stratford-upon-Avon. The play is full of inside jokes for Shakespeare fans. But even for those unfamiliar with his plays, there are laughs (and a few tears) as we watch this profoundly mismatched couple try to make a go of it. Shakespeare’s confidante, daughter Susanna, realizes that her father’s creative spirit is being cr...

69 pages

4 m, 6 w

Even though lovely young Julia works hard, she and her aunt will not be able to afford to keep their humble home, which sits at the edge of a garbage dump. If they lose their home, they’ll also lose the treasure Julia’s papa buried somewhere on the property that would take care of all their needs. (Hero Dan would ask his parents for money to help Julia, but alas, he too is an orphan.) As they try yet again to figure out the special riddle to the treasure’s location, a German Mennonite detective appears on the case and is soon followed by two old ladies with l...

64 pages

11 m, 4 w

In this Civil War drama Charles Knox, a major in the Union army, is in an untenable situation. Two guerilla soldiers, accused of participating in an attack on an ambulance train, have been captured. But these two soldiers are far from being tough killers. One is an affable Irishman who just wants to raise horses, and the other is a local boy who’s never been in battle before. Knox makes them an offer that if they give him information about their leader, he will spare their lives, even though he has been ordered to show no mercy. The situation is further compl...

32 pages

6 m, 2 w, 1 flexible, extras

It's 1983. Peter Miller from Chicago, a recent college graduate, is determined to write an account of the pain and suffering caused by the new AIDS epidemic, so he persuades the directors of a clinic to allow him to masquerade as a patient. All goes well until the other patients on the floor discover his pretense. In an intensely emotional scene they hold him down and inject him with what he believes is the virus. In the end, Zeb, the last of the five patients to survive, has the honor of telling Peter of the subterfuge, that he was not injected the “bug” at ...

72 pages

4 m, 4 w

Harriet Guildenstern, 20-something, has been in therapy for years because she cannot make a decision. The play opens the day before her marriage to Adrian, a strange guy who thinks he has psychic gifts. The mysterious Adrian spends all of his time upstairs behind a locked door, on the phone. Gertrude Guildenstern, Harriet's stepmother, is completely discombobulated by the upcoming wedding because she's desperate to see Harriet settled at long last. She's worried that once again Harriet will change her mind. So she keeps calling her telephone psychic, Madame O...

38 pages

4 m, 3 w

Philip, the Stone Age lord of an elegant cave suite, is something of a Neanderthal when it comes to change. Rumors of a new secret weapon worry him. So does the alarmingly barbaric tribe that has settled across the river who live in boxes made of wooden logs with a panel that opens and closes! Then there's his son, Thomas, who has dropped out of hunting-fishing-agriculture school and does nothing but play with inventions. His daughter, Sharon, befriends animals instead of attracting a nice caveman who will carry her off to a decent cavern in a good neighborho...

74 pages

7 m, 7 w

Based on the novel by Steve Allen. The rock star was dead, murdered on national TV, right in front of millions of his devoted fans. Little does anyone know, this is merely the beginning of a series of bizarre murders on the talk show circuit that sends shock waves through Hollywood. Who is crazy enough to kill people in full view of millions of loyal watchers? From celebrities down to regulars in the TV audiences, what do these victims have in common? Enter Roger Dale, an extraordinary detective a little bit down on his luck. With the help of his assistant, J...

68 pages

7 m, 6 w, 1 flexible, extras

New York, 1920. Hanover Brunswick is the man who has everything except the love of his wife…or so he believes. When he learns that his beautiful neighbor Louisiana is marrying a man she’s never met – the soldier Apollo Vladermilk – Hanover plots to disguise himself as Apollo and marry Louisiana, thus giving his wife grounds for a divorce. Meanwhile, the real Apollo arrives in town and quickly gets into trouble with the law. To protect himself, he exchanges clothes with Louisiana's father, the overbearing Boswell Lavador. Soon there are three Apollos running l...

44 pages

7 m, 11 w. Much doubling possible.

The terrible waste of war never seemed more contemporary than in these quintessential tragedies by Euripides set before and after the siege of Troy. Far from being “historical dramas,” they speak to any generation embroiled in conflict. We see up close and firsthand that war is the most pitiful—and most poetic—of human activities. In the first play, "Iphigenia at Aulis," 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. Valiant effor...

65 pages

7 m, 6 w, 1 boy, 2 girls, extras (Doubling possible.)

Critics called this play "An American Christmas Carol," with its Christmas card vignettes, Victorian costumes, intriguing world of characters, a touch of Americana, and a surprise ending that will make one's spirit's soar. It is the turn of the century and Madame Sheronovich, the once-great prima-ballerina, has just moved into the palatial Wedding Cake House with her dysfunctional family. As Madame auditions for a new dance mistress, a beautiful young lady appears. She is the one for whom Madame has been searching. Later that day, a mysterious sea captain arr...

32 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...