Community

69 pages

4 m, 7 w

It's business as usual for Wilson and Associates, a suspiciously funny firm consisting of three flat-broke lady con-artists. They'll do practically anything to meet the rent, from reading horoscopes over the phone to renting themselves out as graveside mourners. One client, a dithering old lady, absent-mindedly drops the tidbit that she has just held up the local bank and the action springboards from there. The girls find themselves in a web of arson, counterfeiting and robbery and then, their worst fears are confirmed, the Better Business Bureau shows up! On...

70 pages

Cast: 3m, 5w

The director of the Moon Lake Community Theater, Missy Bailey, has dreamed about directing a production of a 1930s psychological melodrama called “Night Comes Early.” As a teenager she saw a professional production of the play and it had a lasting impact. Now that the opportunity has come, she encounters overwhelming obstacles: cast members who don’t know their lines, who drop out at the last minute, who have psychological issues, and workmen who can’t finish building the set. No one is ready on opening night, but the show must go on, even without enough acto...

58 pages

4 m, 3 w, extras

Two old grumpy Polish ladies, Lottie and Bernice, become trapped in a television studio by a blizzard and end up taking over Western New York’s favorite morning show “Buffalo Yak.” Well, they do have some help. Two constantly bickering janitors, Hal and Sal, agree to handle the editorials while Candy Bickel, a wildly ambitious station intern who sees the blizzard as her break into media stardom, takes over the news desk. Neurotic program director Virgil Mooch tries to help, despite the fact that being on-camera makes him throw up. Lloyd Block, the station man...

26 pages

4 m, 5 w

"Conform!" is an absurdist farce which takes place in a park where three men in boxes comment on humanity and the passersby who frequent their territory. They urge one and all to conform to the constraints of society, but in the end it is they who must practice what they preach. Through the use of stereotype, cliché and controversial comments, the characters humorously expose their flaws and allow the audience to laugh at some of their own shortcomings. One of three plays highlighted at the Florida State Thespian Conference in 2007 where one judge described i...

49 pages

2 m, 4 w

The hit TV game show "Stop, Shop, and Bankroll" has come to your town to tape a few segments, bringing its dashing host, Benny Sharpe, and the lovely hostess, Loreli Lawless. As usual, the director is worried about her temperamental stars, but between Loreli's new feather dress and Benny's vanity, trouble is guaranteed. Contestants from the audience participate in the shopping part of the game, until Benny cashes in his chips - poisoned by person or persons unknown! Miss Peabody, the cookies-and-cream librarian who's no stranger to murder, attempts to keep or...

80 pages

6 m, 10 w, 2 flexible

Flashback to 1955, the stormy evening before the 33rd annual Knotting Bake-Off, brought to you by J & J Toothpaste. The contestants have gathered at the Knotting Inn down at the Jersey Shore, each hoping that their perfectly crafted baked good will win the coveted blue ribbon. It seems someone’s dessert is more deadly than tasty, though, when they discover an entire gaggle of bratty students have been poisoned during a press conference. It is clear that someone at the inn has a sweet tooth for murder. But who could the culprit be? The egotistical bake-off...

43 pages

Flexible cast (minimum 15 actors)

"The Christmas Café" is set in a restaurant where Betty, the waitress and cook, serves customers from three different familiar holiday stories: "The Night Before Christmas" by Clemet Clarke Moore, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, and "The Nutcracker" by E.T.A. Hoffman. In "All of the Other Reindeer," Blitzen is burned out and upset that he's always last on the team. The other reindeer have suggestions: Cupid thinks he needs a love life; Donder suggests a good stock portfolio, Prancer thinks an exercise regime is the answer. Baffled, the other reindeer ...

43 pages

7 m, 7 w, 15 flexible

Adapted from the novel, "The Wizard of Oz," by L. Frank Baum.  7 m, 7 w, 15 flexible. Much doubling possible. Extras as munchkins and winged monkeys.  Trapped in Kansas and longing for a mall, Dorothy and Toto are suddenly whirled off stage, right into the audience, where a yellow brick road weaves in and out of the tables and munchkins are serving food. In this outrageous version of L. Frank Baum's lovable book, the Tin Man has frozen in front of a computer, and the Cowardly Lion stands on a guest's chair to escape a mouse. As the plot unfolds, we eventually...

64 pages

5 m, 4 w, 3 girls

"Dear Editor, is there a Santa Claus?"- a question innocently asked by 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon. Christmas was coming and all was right with the world ... until her friends mischievously fill her in on the "facts" about Old Saint Nick. Who could tell her the truth? Not her father, a doctor who is always fighting against old world cures. Not her teacher, who is already fed up with Christmas even though it hadn't arrived. So Virginia writes a letter to the editor of The New York Sun, for her father always said, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Virginia'...

36 pages

Cast of 12 plus ensemble. Most roles are gender flexible except for those noted. Doubling possible.

James, a young boy, suffers from Angelman Syndrome. This neurodevelopmental disorder causes problems with speech and mobility forcing him to spend his life in a wheelchair. The story shifts from James’ imagination where he dreams of being a superhero called “The Amazing Angel-Man” to the real world, where the realities of his condition have a serious impact on his family, particularly his father. As the play progresses, these two separate worlds start to overlap, leading to an uplifting resolution that upholds the values of hope and imagination. The play was ...

74 pages

5 m, 5 w, 5 flexible (doubling possible)

Mr. and Mrs. Moss are the proud new owners of an old abandoned inn which they immediately want to restore and turn into a nightclub. Unfortunately, they're so busy overseeing suspiciously inept repairmen that they pay little attention to the local legend that tells of a treasure hidden somewhere on the estate. So when a severe storm develops forcing an unusual assortment of guests to stay the night along with the questionable workers, it doesn't take a genius to guess a murder will take place. With no help available, the hapless hosts take it upon themselves ...

50 pages

3 m, 3 w, extras as desired

Ahoy, mystery fans! Book passage on the Titan, a cruise ship headed for the grave of the Titanic, where it hopes to bring up artifacts for auction. But when romance goes sour and the very wealthy and demanding Blake Witherspoon is murdered, a new course must be chartered. The social director tries to steer passengers back to having fun, but Tara Dawn DePue, a detective and antique dealer, decides to solve the crime. With the captain too sick to help, the audience and crew must try to find out who killed Witherspoon before the killer strikes again. Audience me...

71 pages

4 m, 8 w, 4 flexible

At the end of the 1940s an old theatre building is about to be torn down. As the theatre’s acting troupe is packing up the props, costumes and set pieces, an old magician’s trunk is wheeled onstage. Suddenly, members of the company are turning up dead. Margaret, the director’s assistant, is the only witness to these crimes, and no one will believe her! Can she solve the mystery, or at least convince her fellow cast and crew about the sinister happenings, before the entire company is doomed? And when ghosts from the past mysteriously return, will former victim...

65 pages

2 m, 5 w

Margaret Osgood, a sweet, quiet woman who is somewhat oblivious to details, is now shocked to find herself a recent widow and quite wealthy. She tries to adjust to her new life, first by buying herself a mink coat, a long-awaited extravagance, and joining the Wandering Widows’ Club where she makes good friends and creates a new social life. She soon finds herself pursued by Charlie, her late husband’s business partner, who questions her desire to donate much of her new-found money to charity. Is he just concerned about her financial future or is he more inter...

49 pages

5 m, 3 w, 1 or 2 flexible

What do you get when you put a married couple, a butler, an evil owner of an estate, a local spiritualist, and five ghosts in a mansion overnight? Kenny and Janelle are a determined couple, willing to spend the night in the haunted Gottlieb Mansion to become the new owners. Consuela Gottlieb has other plans, while the ghosts are just trying to get the key to their spirit home. With a group hug at the end, this witty comedy is sure to keep the audience laughing. About 75 minutes. Great show for Halloween or any time of the year.