52 pages
9 m, 9 w, 8 flexible, doubling possible
Seeking comfort from her miserable life and an easy ticket to the prince's ball, our heroine Ashenputtel cries out for her Fairy Godmother. The magical matriarch who arrives, however, is a no-nonsense narrator who works her magic by giving lesser-known folktales a playful yet empowering twist. This Fairy Godmother offers no magical pumpkin carriages, but rather spins three separate tales of women from around the world who make their own happily ever after. Story one, from Ecuador, is "The Search for the Magic Lake," which features a peasant girl who must bold...
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...
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...
65 pages
6 m, 10 w, 6 flexible, extras
Trixie Mindstem is a bright and friendly, if not particularly attractive, senior at Noodlenick High School. Like many other girls, she has become a victim of the handsome and rich but deceitful Mark Toppledander. He steals her term papers and passes them off as his own; he invites her to his formal graduation bash but tells her to wear casual shorts and flip-flops; and he says behind her back, "Looks aren't everything, and in her case they're nothing." But he never should have crossed Trixie Mindstem because she has a few tricks of her own. While the space co...
74 pages
12 m, 13 w
Katie O'Brien and her four daughters land in America with plenty of hope and little else. They quickly fall prey to a scheming landlord, but despite this, one of Katie's daughters, Colleen, falls in love with his son -only to realize he may be as conniving as his father. Another daughter, Mary, finds herself torn between helping their desperate neighbors and keeping the trust of her family. The other daughters must cope with schoolmates who hate immigrants and a young bunch of pickpockets. Despite all the hardships, however, each of the newcomers ultimately c...
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
10 m, 12 w, 5 flexible, doubling possible
Caesar is sent back to earth in human form to find out what true love is all about. His job: make sure Diana Flinchart, a sophomore at Rome College, is happy. Diana is pledging a sorority headed by Lisa Lennox, the campus goddess who is going with Dexter, the "Big Man on Campus." Diana's father, the dean of the college, equates happiness with lots of friends, particularly Dexter. Imagine how happy he is when Dexter asks Diana to the spring formal. Of course, sparks fly when Lisa finds out and when Caesar learns Dexter's real motives for asking Diana out. The ...
80 pages
17 m, 15 w, 4 flexible. With doubling 9 m, 10 w.
The life of the poor country lad, Pip, changes one day when an unknown benefactor sees that the young man is brought to London and made a gentleman. But who is behind Pip’s “great expectations,” and why is it kept a secret? By the time Pip learns the truth of his circumstances, he has gotten involved with some fascinating people and undergone a vital change of character. This adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic is an excellent choice for schools in that it stays true to the novel, including the amusing theatre scene in which a humorous heckler wreaks ha...
70 pages
Flexible cast, approx. 8 m, 14 w, extras
Teenager Jane Hastings inherits remote and creepy Wolfbane Abbey. It's a combination school and clinic for students who have trouble "adjusting." No wonder - they're werewolves! The doctor who runs the Abbey decides Jane must be driven out of her mind so he can be trustee. This isn't as easy as it sounds - even though the place is filled with more horrors than a wax museum. With two friends, Jane does her best to sort out the Abbey's problem and "curse." The characters are great fun to play in this fast-paced spoof, including bewildered police, a werewolf hun...
80 pages
11 m, 12 w, extras
The Globe actors are rehearsing Shakespeare‘s newest show, "As You Like It," when word arrives that the license has been denied. Forced to be gone for the day to deal with the problem, Shakespeare leaves star actor Richard Burbage in charge. While Shakespeare’s gone, his wife, Anne, and their two daughters arrive to help out. Soon, the elder daughter, Susanna, is falling in love with one of the actors, while the younger daughter, Judith, is trying to ferret out the spy that is trying to sabotage her father’s theatre. Anne, meanwhile, is getting into a power s...
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...
74 pages
Flexible cast of 20
A kazillion dollars is a one followed by so many zeros they fall off the edge of the page. That's the ransom Lala Man and Lulu have demanded for the bratty child they have kidnapped and hidden in the grimy Pig Sty Family Restaurant. But they did not count on Doofus and Goofus, two determined but hysterically dense teenage girls who hope to raise a mere million dollars by 5 o'clock by working as waitresses. It's an explosive comedy of a million laughs and almost as many misadventures as the girls earn - and lose - a million dollars three different times!
57 pages
10 m, 12 w, 11 flexible
Winter tales from around the world come together to celebrate the joys and wonders of this dark and cold season. Ellisandra, a weather spirit who hopes to become Frost Queen, takes a tired woman, Faith, on a journey of imagination. They first meet the Snow Maiden, a beautiful woman who can only live during winter, in a legend from Russia. Tempesta, a stormy weather spirit who also seeks the title of Frost Queen, presents her own Native American tale from Minnesota. It's about a young poet at odds with a warrior lifestyle and his encounter with a Great White B...
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...
64 pages
15 to 24 or more
Eighteen-year-old Katie has a problem: she's a tooth fairy who’s just not interested in the family business. While out exploring the human world, Katie meets Max, a young man who inexplicably is able to see her. This is unusual in that the fairy troops are not visible without their consent. Although forbidden to return to the world of humans by her father the king, Katie is determined to see Max again. Their growing friendship becomes moot when during the Centennial, a celebration of all the fairy troops, the Troll King demands his reward for not having kidna...