Craig Sodaro
Craig Sodaro is one of Eldridge Publishing's most popular and prolific playwrights with over 60 titles currently in print. Most of his work is ideal for children's theatre and school performances, and several plays have been turned into musicals. His audience participation plays are extremely well received. For community theatre plays he writes under the pen name of Sam Craig. Mr. Sodaro taught for 33 years in public schools, but now writes full time. He and his wife Sue have four grown daughters. Here he speaks in his own words about his love of writing. "I always wanted to write. From the first time I read my first full-fledged book - a long-forgotten mystery - I wanted to be an author. I've always had an imagination that runs overtime. My mind has always been more interested in the possibilities of what if two times two equaled five rather than four. "I grew up in Chicago, but I don't think the Midwest has had a great deal of influence on my writing. I was fortunate enough to travel as a youngster, and the places we visited - the West, East, and South, all seemed steeped in atmosphere and dramatic possibilities. Eventually, I traveled to Alaska, Europe, and Africa, and each experience planted seeds for future stories. "I wrote my first play in high school - an anti-administration absurdist comedy performed in my last period art class. Our teacher turned a deaf ear to the proceedings, but we all caught her laughing. I liked this idea of audience response, and during college, I entered a playwriting contest. I won the fifty dollar prize and saw my characters come to life under the blue, red, and amber stage lights. I knew that this was the direction my writing obsession would have to take. "Success on stage would have to wait for a number of years, however, since I married, began teaching, and had four children and received many, many rejections slips. Eventually I found a formula that worked: large cast mystery with mainly female parts, one setting, and a lot of one-liners. Since then, I've written a hundred and thirty plays, many of which have been published and/or produced. I've had the thrill of walking down 54th Street in New York to a flag-adorned theater where one of my plays premiered. I've received terrific letters from kids who have had parts in the plays I've written, and I've found myself in Amazon.com. "Once in a while people ask me how I write so fast. I guess it’s that I have a lot of stories to tell. And idea will grab me, and then for quite some time—even while working on another script—I’ll keep thinking about the characters and develop the major plot points in my imagination. Once I sit down to the computer to write, the characters really tell the story almost too quickly for me to write down what they’re saying. And that's what I think playwriting is all about. It's telling a story in the simplest but most dramatic way possible. There's a ninety minute or so limit on reaching the climax, and for literature that's quick. I write fast simply so I can find out what's going to happen at the end, just like anybody who watches the play."
Trial of the Wicked Witch: The Musical
Musical by Craig Sodaro Stephen Murray
68 pages
8 m, 12 w, 1 flexible
The Wicked Witch is on trial for her crimes in the land of Once Upon a Time in this madcap musical featuring several favorite characters from many fairy tales. The cast of characters includes the Fairy Godmother as the judge, the Three Little Pigs as bailiffs, and Jack the Giant Killer as the guard. Witnesses for the prosecution and defense provide a variety of toe-tapping tunes such as a swinging Big Bad Wolf in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” an operatic Rapunzel in “I Love to Sing,” and a rocking Gingerbread Man in “Go, Gingie, Go!” The Wicked Witch herself cas...
Tom 'n Huck
Classic by Craig Sodaro
59 pages
27 parts, approx. 10 m, 15 w, 2 flexible
The irrepressible Tom Sawyer, his best buddy Huck Finn, and many other beloved characters created by Mark Twain come to life in this all-American adventure. When the two boys are accused of stealing Becky Thatcher's gold necklace, and with even Aunt Polly and the Widder Douglas doubting them, Tom and Huck decide to take off for the swamp. The real culprit, Herman Cornwallis, is delighted to see them run away so he can have more time with Becky. In the swamp the boys meet up with Mary Meechum, thought to be a witch. The three accidentally overhear the suspicio...
Queen of the Silent Scream
Mystery by Craig Sodaro
22 pages
5 m, 5 w
Norma Starr, one of the last great silent screen stars, made her share of enemies during her career and she's gathered all of them for her birthday celebration - her director, a rising starlet, her shifty agent, a handsome matinee idol, her costume designer, her maid, and her oldest friend, who carries a dangerous secret. As they all watch, Norma relishes a chocolate- covered cherry from a box given anonymously. At that moment, she dies. Det. Larry Stark, L.A.P.D., and his tactless assistant, Roscoe, invite all the suspects to a "reunion" party during which s...
Prom Night Fright
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
59 pages
10 m, 15 w
There are a few little obstacles with the prom this year. First, it's taking place at an abandoned inn, which not only needs to be fixed up (with a bulldozer!) but is inhabited by the ghosts of a gangster and his moll who are not happy about being disturbed. Next, the kids on the prom committee have dates with all the wrong people and can't stop playing dating roulette. And finally, the love-starved janitor who has been dreaming for 20 years to marry Miss Gray, their teacher, is holding everyone hostage. And you thought not knowing how to dance was a problem!...
The Medici Code
Comedy Mystery by Craig Sodaro
68 pages
6 m, 11 w
When a mysterious old woman named Q slips tickets for a trip to Medici Castle to Lucy Lyons, she feels compelled to go there. Lucy, a classical scholar and cryptologist who is temporarily caring for her nieces and nephew, Emmy, Jess, and Ben, is intrigued by the remote, historical hotel. But the tour group they are with is strange, and soon one of the tourists suddenly disappears. His wife, however, seems more interested in getting a missing parchment back than finding her husband. Q appears and tells Lucy she needs to crack the Medici Code, a dangerous, long...
Cat and Mouse
Drama by Craig Sodaro
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...
Belle of the Ball
Melodrama by Craig Sodaro
36 pages
3 m, 7 w
The fairy tales of Cinderella and Snow White are lassoed together in this high-kicking western melodrama! Goldie Miner had to give up her infant daughter, Ashabelle, 18 years ago to eke out a living panning for gold, but she thought she left her with a good family. Now she's returned with plenty of gold for her daughter but finds Ashabelle wears patched clothes and does all the stepfamily's chores. When Ashabelle isn't allowed to go to the ball, her mother fixes her right up, including a pair of new boots. The next morning Earnest Lee Feelgoode finds the bell...
Alice's New Adventures in Wonderland
Fantasy by Craig Sodaro
67 pages
5 m, 8 w, 23 flexible, doubling
Alice has accidentally discovered a strange new world and she's convinced her two friends to explore it with her. They meet the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, and Tweedledee and Tweedledum, all on their way to the castle for the Princess' homecoming from college. But the Princess is now a tattooed tough girl who has brought home some very unsavory friends. The Queen has them all arrested and the King allows them one phone call. They call Monstressa, an opportunist who wants to turn Wonderland into an amusement park. Alice and her friends must...
Sinbad
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
60 pages
11 m, 17 w, 22 flexible, much doubling possible
This sparkling adaptation of one of the most beloved tales from "The Arabian Nights" will take you aboard a dazzling, fun-filled, theatrical voyage. All of Sinbad's adventure-filled travels come from his desire to win the caliph's daughter, Minerva. In the land of Hashmona he presents the perfect present to its insatiable queen and is rewarded with gold and jewels for a dowry. But when he returns to Bagdad to claim the princess, his rival, the despicable Semitar, kidnaps Minerva. Sinbad sets sail to rescue her, but finds himself stranded on Paradise Island, w...
Shop Til You Drop - Dead!
Comedy Mystery by Craig Sodaro
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...
Pollyanna
Classic by Craig Sodaro
68 pages
6 m, 18 w, doubling possible
Adapted from the book by Eleanor Porter. It's the early 1900s and young, frightened Pollyanna Whittier arrives in Vermont, full of hope that her new life with Aunt Polly will help ease the pain of her parents' deaths. But Polly Harrington has only taken her niece out of a sense of duty and quickly regrets it. The girl immediately begins making friends with the very people Polly Harrington has worked hard to either ignore or run out of town. Pollyanna seems to find joy in everything and gradually brings the town to life. But when Aunt Polly finds her niece hel...
Edelweiss
Drama by Craig Sodaro
68 pages
3 m, 11 w
As the Nazi noose tightens around the neck of the common German, the effects are felt even in a classroom at the Scholoss Strasse School for Girls. Dorchen Werth, a young teacher just beginning her career, sees her students as a microcosm of society. Eleanore is in love with the local Hitler Youth leader; Hilde is a hard worker who strives to protect her young sister, Gertrude; Lilli is desperate to find a man who will show her affection; Paula has aspirations to attend the university; Renita is afraid because of her heritage; Annabelle is torn by divided loy...