71 pages
10-15 m, 10-18 w, doubling possible
It's the 1950s and you're all set for a big night at the drive-in movie! Roll down your car window, hook up the speaker, and hear the movie manager, Mr. Gleason, announce the rules to enjoy yourself, "in the comfort of your own car!" Upcoming attractions are acted out onstage, including "Time Travelers in Space Suits," as is the latest installment of a Western serial "The Adventures of Rocky Rhode." But not all the drama is coming from the big screen. Young lovers Tony and Gloria are arguing about the main feature, the scary "The Vampire's Hickey," and countr...
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!...
70 pages
17 m, 22 w, 8 either, doubling possible
Geoffrey Chaucer introduces us to a group of 14th century pilgrims preparing for their journey to Canterbury the next day. He proposes that each tell a story going to and from the shrine, but the group is so anxious they begin immediately. The Physician begins with the tale of a wicked judge who desires his scribe's sweetheart for himself. Can the young scribe save her from the unwanted marriage? The Pardoner tells the next tale of three thieves who plan to find Death and kill him, but their greed leads them directly to him. The Nun tells the story of Chantic...
67 pages
13 m, 15 w, and extras
The women of Blue Butte are worried that their men are too ready to feud and fight. In an effort to stop them, the women go on strike, refusing to cook, clean or kiss them unless they sign an agreement to stop carrying guns! The men are reluctant and try to convince their women to go back to things as before. The women, in an effort to stay strong, decide to stay together at Colleen’s restaurant. Soon the deputy and his friends find out Custer Tarnation, a dangerous villain, is headed their way. They get an idea: one of their buddies will dress up as the infa...
63 pages
Flexible cast. Approx. 9 m, 9 w, 10 or more flexible
The Reporters Grimm bring you the news scoop of the year: True Love Conquers All! Set in the middle of the Great Depression, the familiar story of Cinderella has been given a vibrant twist. Cinderella Fitzgerald once led the perfect life, until her father loses everything when the stock market crashes. Shocked at the news, the poor man remains frozen at the dinner table and Cinderella and her conceited stepsisters and her vengeful, gold-digging stepmother, must live and move around him. This Depression really is depressing! Sure, Cinderella still has her frie...
42 pages
Flexible cast 20 - 60
Here are three comic plays based on the work of the Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus. The first play is "The Pot of Gold," in which Euclio, a miser, goes to great lengths to hide a secret fortune from his family and neighbors. In "The Brothers Menaechmus," identical twins who were separated at birth cause confusion when one of them coincidentally arrives in their hometown on the day of his brother's wedding. The collection concludes with "The Haunted House" as a clever servant concocts a tale of the supernatural to aid his master in marrying a slave who...
52 pages
Flexible cast, approx. 11 m, 14 w, extras, doubling possible
This play forces us to examine the points in our lives when we make decisions - right or wrong, good or bad - that will define our own future as well as the lives of others. Built upon a series of monologues and scenes, the play depicts young adults dealing with the reality of HIV and AIDS. For some it's simply a threat -something not to be let out of its cave. For others, the monster has become an unwanted part of their daily existence. This uncompromising drama uses vivid and timely dialogue. A perfect competition piece, it features minimal staging, a choru...
66 pages
9 m, 15 w
It's the turn of the century and the late Mr. Asbury has willed each of his three grown children a million dollars...with a few conditions! Talkative William must not speak one word; shy Margaret must sing on stage; and Joseph must fall in love and marry. And the conditions must be met in seven days at a country inn under the scrutiny of the scheming attorney and the family butler, who will become rich themselves if the children fail. Also at the inn are several lovely - and lonely - young ladies who'd like to marry; their pushy mothers; a traveling showman; ...
68 pages
Flexible cast (40+) to a minimum of six (4 m, 2 w)
Beguiled in early childhood by his nursemaid's grim and ghoulish stories, Charles Dickens harbored all through his life a fascination with ghosts, apparitions and chilling coincidence. This play is a collection of eerie tales from the greatest storyteller of all. The stories are a lively mixture of comedy, pathos, and the supernatural and include: "The Signal-man," "The Bagman's Uncle," "The Letter From Afar," "Trial for Murder," "The Queer Chair," "Sisters From Perth," "The Portrait Painter," and "The Lawyer and the Ghost." These stories are perfect as a new...
80 pages
12 m, 14 w, 5 flexible; doubling possible; extras as aliens
Elise Sims has just finished college, and she's ready to take on the world. Now she just has to tell her family about her plans. But they live in Oyer’s Corners, a town full of odd folks who make a living by selling tours and souvenirs to UFO seekers. Elise's grandfather, Jebediah Sims, started the UFO legend nearly forty years ago when he claimed he was abducted and taken aboard a flying saucer. New technology is making it increasingly difficult to fake UFO evidence, and the townsfolk are struggling to keep the legend -- and Oyer’s Corners -- alive. One fact...
59 pages
7 m, 8 w, extras
El Fuego, a hot sauce empireowned by the Cienfuegos family for generations, has recently been falling victim to the newer, sleeker Hielo Azul, a corporate giant that wants to crush El Fuego for personal reasons. The Cienfuego family includes Violeta, the matriarch with dark family secrets; Hector, the wandering vagabond who left the family and the business many years ago but has suddenly returned; Julio, the playboy son and heir to the empire; and Margarita, his brilliant and bookish twin sister. They, along with Julio’s supermodel girlfriend and Margarita...
64 pages
10 m, 3 w, 11 flexible, extras
This adaptation of William Shakespeare's zesty classic comedy remains true to the original, but with its tighter construction is more easily accessible to junior and senior high school actors. Set in Padua, Italy, in the late 1500s, the story concerns the shy Bianca and the mean-spirited Katharina, the two daughters of a rich merchant named Baptista. Though Bianca is being courted by a number of young men, Baptista announces that she may not marry until Katharina is wed. None of the men in town are willing to marry Katharina, so Bianca remains unwed, even as ...
70 pages
7 m, 15 w, 6 or more flexible, doubling possible
Nurse Betty has been bumped off because somebody at County General doesn't want the world to read her novel "ER Confidential." But whose secret has she uncovered? Surely not the two candy stripers who earn extra money by smuggling in fast food to the patients. Maybe it's bossy Nurse Rackett, who longs for the good old days. Or could it be Dr. Nan Jeffries, hoping to escape her mother's clutches and marry Orderly Dan...the guy who once had a fling with Nurse Betty. What about Will Bates, the multigazillionaire computer genius who's supposed to be recovering up...
58 pages
9 m, 8 w, 5 flexible, extras
Adapted from the play by William Shakespeare. A ship at sea is suddenly swept up in a fierce tempest. The King of Naples, the Duke of Milan, and others become shipwrecked upon a mysterious island. Unbeknownst to them, the island is ruled by Prospero and Prospera, the rightful Duke and Duchess of Milan. With their magical powers they have cast the royals upon the island with an ultimate plan. But will Prospero and Prospera's scheme be cut short by their own prisoner/slave, Caliban, who along with the drunken butler, Stephano, have hatched a scheme of their own...
56 pages
12 m, 15 w
Sammy Sunnyside, world-renown comedian, wants to retire and give his famous joke chest to the most deserving of his relatives. The chest is almost priceless since it contains all of Sammy's comic material since his career began. Sammy and his shy but trusted attorney, Dagwood, dress themselves as kindly old ladies and show up at Sammy's birthday party attended by lots of other relatives and uninvited guests. In disguise they hope to find out who really wants to carry on his comical tradition or who just wants his gold mine to sell off. But everything gets scr...