Musicals

76 pages

6 m, 10 w, 2 flexible

Sixteen students have been invited to a week-long audition for a summer production at the Professional Actors School of Theatre and they are vying for the top eight leads. Working under the take-no-prisoners stage manager, we see the students in private moments of triumph and disaster as they learn lines, songs and dance routines. Penny misses her deceased father who used to encourage her so much; Jake is frantic because his assigned reading requires him to cry; and Melanie may have to go back home to help with the family finances. The exuberance and determin...

79 pages

About 35 speaking roles including a young girl and boy; can be performed from 15 - 40 actors

Here’s a unique and dynamic look at Fanny Brice, the original Funny Girl, and her rise from poverty to become a superstar, then falling for a man who's a crook. This musical couldn’t be timelier with a big-budget revival of “Funny Girl” coming to Broadway soon. In this version we get to meet lots of colorful characters, including Fanny’s good friend Gypsy Rose Lee, Flo Ziegfeld, W. C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Nicky Arnstein, and Brice's mother and father. Every actress will enjoy singing songs Fanny Brice made famous, as "My Man" and "Second Hand Rose." Other so...

51 pages

flexible cast (minimum 11 with doubling)

The adventures of the resourceful Rat, trusty Mole, gruff Badger, and the ever frivolous Toad are intermingled with the actual story of how "The Wind in the Willows" came to be written in this beautiful full-length musical. To entertain his son, Kenneth Grahame wrote stories about the rich Mr. Toad, who steals a car and ends up in jail. The story's villains, the Weasels and Foxes, take over Toad's estate in his absence. Badger, Rat, and Mole come to the rescue, conquer the Weasels, and save Toad Hall from ruin. Interspersed with the animals' adventures we see...

61 pages

With doubling: 7 m, 12 w, 2 flexible. Many extras including children

Lewis Carroll, the author of "Alice in Wonderland," has been contracted by a theatrical producer, Sir Henry Irving, to adapt his book into a stage play. Carroll, multi-talented but totally disorganized, has put off the writing of the play until the day before it is due. To help him create it, he gets Alice Liddell and her friends and family to improvise all the delightful characters. Even his staid housekeeper, a local handyman and two of Carroll's university students end up playing the roles of the Queen of Hearts, the Caterpillar, and the March Hare and Dor...

71 pages

5 m, 5 w, many extras

Ashley, a freshman sprite, makes her first visit to Mt. Olympus to meet the powerful pantheon of gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece. She is overwhelmed by the way the Great Olympians live and the power that they wield, and wants to grab a little of the glory for herself. She becomes friends with Persephone, the goddess of spring who is running away from her brooding husband, Hades. Together the women set off on an ambitious odyssey to steal Zeus' lightning bolts, Poseidon's trident, and Hades' helmet of invisibility and take over Mt. Olympus! They are pursu...

40 pages

Approx. 6 m, 5 w, 6 flexible, extras. Much doubling possible

Calvin is a slight youngster who can’t compete with the more athletically-inclined kids in the neighborhood. A wise magician lends him an old “Magic Machine.” Through its erratic powers Calvin, his best friend Jenny, and a lost dragon drop into odd versions of three fairy tales. In "The Three Little Bears" Calvin stops the bears from eating them for dinner and teaches the bears how to be happy. In "Rumpelstiltskin" Calvin helps the miller’s daughter by shouting out the evil little man’s name, and in the third story, "Alice in Wonderland," Calvin stops the cou...

60 pages

6 m, 5 w, 11 flexible, 1 child, extras

Humorous and poignant lyrics, accompanied by charming, romantic melodies, enhance Shakespeare's most popular play of two girls and two boys who find themselves, by accident and the mischief of the Faeries, very mixed up in love. First both boys love one girl, then both girls love one boy. A situational comedy of the funniest kind, the drama is intensified by a group of bumbling rogues who perform a farcical entertainment for the King's wedding. The group's most famous member is Bottom, who, in another part of the play, becomes an attractive donkey-suitor to t...

55 pages

Flexible cast, approx. 10 m, 4 w (or 7 actors with doubling)

A musical version of Charles Perrault's story, done in the style of the English Pantomime, and featuring the various pantomime traditions including a "Pantomime Dame" (played by a male), "Principal Boy" (played by a girl), "Principal Girl," fairies who talk in rhyme, and significant audience interaction. This script, with six delightful songs, was commissioned by Seattle Children's Theatre and later televised. A wonderfully antic version of the popular story with enough action for any member of the family. Recipient of the "Ohio State Award Best Children's Pr...

49 pages

Large, flexible cast (minimum 5 m, 5 w)

Extra! Extra! Sing all about it in this witty, fast-paced musical revue that examines every human foible, failure, fact, fiction, and fascination that's fit to print. The setting is a busy newsstand/coffee shop run by Joe, the old, wizened proprieter. He is assisted by a Kid who is young and idealistic about life. As the two of them purvey papers to their many customers, every section of the paper -- the want ads, horoscopes, obits, advice columns, weather, and crossword puzzles, are spoofed, spotlighted and celebrated in song. Your theatre will really make h...

45 pages

2 m, 4 w

It's 1975 - disco and polyester are in. Your audience is attending the 20-year reunion of the Class of 1955. Twenty years has brought about some drastic changes. Will everyone recognize the promiscuous Mitzy as Sister Mary Martha? Or how about that wallflower turned soap opera diva, Veronica West? Reunions are great for reminiscing. It's too bad the evening is dampened by the unsolved murder of the prom queen. Flashback in time to that fateful year and participate in solving the mystery. A sweet, nostalgic blast from the past that's great for all ages, "Flash...

41 pages

5 m, 3 w, choruses

This lighthearted comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan has enjoyed great audience appeal since it opened in 1878. This version, with its subtle cuts in the libretto and tasteful song selection, features more simplified harmony for the chorus and in some cases easier keys for teen singers. At a trim 90 minutes, it's a perfect length for today's audiences. The story is as familiar as ever: Old Admiral Sir Joseph Porter plans to marry the much younger Josephine with the consent of her father, Captain Corcoran. But Josephine is in love with Ralph, a common seaman,...

36 pages

Large, flexible cast (approx. 17 boys and 19 girls)

If you want to know what really goes on in middle school, join these students as they perform insightful songs highlighting their monologues and scenes. "Doing the Tag" introduces friendships and rivalries, "Hanging in the Hallway" finds a girl longing for the boy of her dreams to notice her, and "I'm Hot/I'm Not" shows us all about popularity. "America" tells the troubles facing a foreign-born student, while "Cambiata" deals with the challenge of the unchanged male voice in chorus class. "Hormonal Blues" finds a boy in the throes of first love with a girl he...

47 pages

2 m, 3 w

Barrett is an outstanding musician and songwriter. Due to his talents his band is growing in popularity. This would-be great news but Barrett is on the spectrum and in addition to the normal teen pressures, he must manage his autism. He is most comfortable expressing himself with music. He is struggling with the fact that he is in love with Sarah, his best friend, and the lead singer of the group. Although his songs are written about her, Barrett has changed the lyrics so that she has no clue. When she finds out, Barrett must figure out what to do to save his...

68 pages

1 to 4 m, 12 w

In the late 1800s rumors were circulating about alleged horror taking place on Blackwell’s Island, home of the New York City Lunatic Asylum. Women were apparently the victims of abuse and torture, and one woman, a newspaper reporter, decided to risk her own life to investigate. Nellie Bly committed herself to the asylum, documenting her findings and ultimately revealing the horrors to the entire world. This musical is adapted from Robby Steltz’s award-winning one-act play “Nellie” as well as Nellie’s own book “Ten Days in a Madhouse.” Featuring music by Steph...

59 pages

7 m, 6 w, 3 boys, 1 girl; extras are highly flexible, allowing for medium (20+) to large (55+) cast sizes; doubling is possible

Set amidst the dark mists of the Catskill Mountains, The Curious Tale of Rip Van Winkle journeys to the colonial Dutch village of Knickerbocker, where legendary loafer Rip Van Winkle holds court. One fateful evening, Rip ventures into the woods, encountering the spirits of Henry Hudson and his crew. After drinking a flagon of "Hudson's Hearty Ale," Rip falls into a 16-year sleep, awakening in the midst of the Revolutionary War! Sparkling with Dutch dances ("Welcome To Knickerbocker") and rousing village choruses ("Responsibility"), this show will lea...