School

54 pages

11 m, 11 w, 2 flexible, 8 boys, 6 girls.

This faithful yet unique adaptation of the Charles Dickens' holiday story begins in "another world" where Tiny Tim appears. More than just an employee's crippled son, he is a symbol of Scrooge's own infirmity. Scrooge's deceased business partner, Marley, is granted permission to return to Earth with a small but powerful army of holiday spirits on his adventure to convert the covetous old sinner into a Yuletide saint. The most popular scenes of the novel are dramatized, but especially powerful is the future scene of Bob Cratchit's gut-wrenching loss of his bel...

66 pages

5 m, 5 w, 1 girl, extras

He's back! And this time he's online! Scrooge is on the net. Set amid modern technology, this new adaptation of Dickens' classic tale introduces us to Monica Banks, ever so "affectionately" called Money Banks by her overworked staff. She has no time for holidays. Scrooge first appears on the screen of Monica's computer for the start of her virtual adventure across the World Wide Web to find the true meaning of Christmas. In a blithe trip with the outrageously costumed Scrooge, Monica reviews her whole life, from a lonely childhood, to her current overworked c...

31 pages

8 m, 8 w

As Christmas day approaches, a young girl asks her father for a story. He spins a delightful tale about a little girl named Betsy who makes a wish to have Christmas every day of the year. Her wish comes true. At first it is all very exciting, with Santa's visit, the opening of packages, the singing of carols, and the arrival of the cousins for dinner. But soon the daily repetition wears thin. Santa is too exhausted to deliver presents and goes to sleep in Betsy's living room. The carolers have no energy to sing, all of the forests are cleared of Christmas tre...

39 pages

5 m, 6 w, 2 flexible

Here’s unconventional, humorous, and easy-to-stage treatment of the famous fairy tale. Rather than one huge ball to find his future Princess, the Prince has met eligible ladies of the kingdom at smaller, separate gatherings called “Choose a Princess Parties.” Now, after 118 parties, where the Prince has danced with “364 clods,” the Zanzibany family has finally received its invitation. The formidable sisters Wartzella and Bageena, along with their domineering mother, go to the party escorted by Cinderella’s meek father and their clumsy farmhand. Cinderella is ...

49 pages

Flexible cast from 25 - 50

Here is the classic re-telling of the rags-to-riches fairytale of a young girl forced to live with her cruel stepmother and her equally cruel daughters. Cinderella's kind and gentle nature, despite her surroundings, makes her a favorite with the three feisty mice who have also taken up residence in the house. Their motto? "Get `em and bite `em and beat `em up!" Meanwhile, in another part of the kingdom, a somewhat childlike King and his Queen are zealous in their pursuit of grandchildren. A ball, a ball is the thing wherein they'll capture a daughter-in-law a...

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...

25 pages

5 m, 8 w, 8 flexible

Cinderella (that isn't her real name!) labors away for her wicked aunt and evil cousins, sneaking free moments whenever she can to read. Her aunt believes learning just monopolizes the time a woman can spend being beautiful and burns all the books in their cottage. Cinderella manages to save a copy of "Romeo and Juliet," but eventually even that is burned. With a little help from a silly fairy godmother, Cinderella attends a palace ball and impresses the Prince with her intellect. After she flees the ball, the Prince pursues her, looking not for a woman who c...

50 pages

6 m, 3 w

Hard times have come on Gumption Gulch and Grandma Gertie Parker is forced to open a clothes-washing service to earn extra money. Even Sheriff Gideon Gumption is “moonlighting” (though the term has him totally baffled) at the stagecoach office and a local lunch spot. Grandma Gertie’s old nemesis has sent her two boys, Luther and Ulysses Bragg, to town to put Gertie’s laundry service out of business as payback for an old feud. Add in a possum-farming brother and sister couple (Elrod has a serious case of “the anxieties”), a blacksmith who dreams of being a com...

28 pages

1 m, 6 w, ensemble of 15 or more actors

Set in Madame Claudette’s Shadow Circus of 1915, this stirring play follows the life of a foundling infant who grew up to be known as the “Prince of Clowns.” Alfie’s life is narrated by the Bearded Lady, who offers us an insightful philosophy of life. Meet dynamic characters such as the Fortune Teller, Madame Claudette herself, and the refined young woman, Nedda, who is running away from a dark past. Nedda and Alfie become a popular circus act and live peacefully. However, Alfie’s family is threatened ten years later by the villainous mobster Olympia.  Nedda’...

68 pages

3 m, 1 w, 5 flex; total of 9 with doubling, 42 w/o doubling

Ever forced to wait and wait…and wait? Want to scream at nonsensical bureaucracy? Then you’ll sympathize with Mr. Poosch who, after he accidentally leaves his well-made coat in the country to the North, finds tremendous hurdles when he attempts to get it back. First, he cannot obtain the right paperwork to travel, and then, when he finally arrives, it is Sunday and the country is closed on Sundays. A homeless man finds the coat and finds his luck turns around while wearing it. Meanwhile, poor Mr. Poosch finds himself broke, hungry, and laboring in the street....

44 pages

6 m, 2 w, 14 flexible

This play begins at the ending of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" but envisions a modern twist - it's a police drama, in which incompetence and political pressure rule the day. Balthasar and Friar Lawrence still flee the bloody scene in the Capulet family tomb and are apprehended by church security guards. But this time, security calls the police, who proceed to investigate the crime. The police release the friar because they can't imagine how he would be involved and instead try to pin the crime on Balthasar. The mayor, Escalus, is under political pressure ...

24 pages

1 m, 1 w

A male nurse is facing a stalemate after years of sessions with his therapist…until today. Finally, the hole in his mind is filled by the actual memory of moments of terror. His realization? That in keeping a few co-workers and himself alive behind a blocked door, others were killed on the other side of the door while begging to be let in. It is, sadly, a story of a shooting that is all too timely. Here is a play that will open some conversations that we don’t really want to have about an issue we wish would go away. When the evening news no longer leads with...

32 pages

12 roles. While 10 roles are flexible, 2 of them are better played by females.

The Collective has called an Inquiry for Inclusion to decide if all of humanity is to be allowed into their enlightened community. Seven representatives for all of humanity are questioned by opposing sides to see if we are indeed worthy of being considered an advanced and enlightened species. About 35-40 minutes.

45 pages

2 m, 2 w

The zany antics of the commedia style, with lots of bumbling, scheming, incorrigible improvisations and very physical comedy, allows just four traveling actors to create this fast-paced story of Aladdin. Arelquin, Punchin, Columbine and Rosetta portray all the many roles in the story of a lazy young boy who needs to work to help support his mother, especially since his father froze up and is standing in a forest where birds nest in his hair! Aladdin almost falls for the machinations of an evil magician, but instead he saves himself and gains access to the Gen...

63 pages

5 m, 10 w, 15 flexible, 1 optional

Welcome to Delight, Italy! The once happy village is now a sad town ruled by the not-so-very-nice Signora Notsobene Pantalone. The townspeople are frightened of her, while her spirited daughter, Piccola, feels smothered by her mother's rules. Then a ragtag troupe of traveling actors turns everything upside down. Led by a woman who looks surprisingly like the signora, and with other characters assuming disguises, there's lots of comedic confusion. And it might just lead the citizens of Delight back to their heritage of fun. Winner of the Columbia Entertainment...