School

50 pages

3 m, 3 w, extras as desired

Ahoy, mystery fans! Book passage on the Titan, a cruise ship headed for the grave of the Titanic, where it hopes to bring up artifacts for auction. But when romance goes sour and the very wealthy and demanding Blake Witherspoon is murdered, a new course must be chartered. The social director tries to steer passengers back to having fun, but Tara Dawn DePue, a detective and antique dealer, decides to solve the crime. With the captain too sick to help, the audience and crew must try to find out who killed Witherspoon before the killer strikes again. Audience me...

77 pages

4 m, 5 w, 2 flexible parts

Lt. Kenneth Paris must discover who poisoned TV actress Linda Parker during the final dress rehearsal of the play in which she was to star. But this play has as many laughs as it does suspects! When the actors and crew repeat their backstage movements at the same time as the "on-stage" actors perform the very melodramatic "Kisses to Die For," the whole play turns into a farcical three-ring circus! Almost everyone had good reason to want to kill Linda, but which one had the opportunity? With so much action on stage, it won't be easy to tell. Paris enlists the ...

80 pages

11 m (one non-speaking), 9 w

A terrible storm is raging, forcing an odd assortment of characters to seek shelter at Moss Manor, a broken-down old inn run by Mother Moss. As fate would have it, this is the night Mrs. Moss' son, Pete, returns from the service to marry his sweetheart, Terri Cloth. Terri's uncle is violently opposed and comes to the inn to demand the marriage not take place. At the height of the storm, the lights go out and someone is murdered! Who is the victim? And if the victim is supposed to be dead, how come the guests keep finding the body in different places? Who is t...

42 pages

7 m, 9 w

Unlike most villains, who only have to fight a hero in trying to win the lovely lady, Egar Duntley has to face Miss Lil's whole boardinghouse full of zany characters. There are Miss Lil's mischievous little brothers who dislike him, the deaf lady who keeps staring at him, the men-hungry spinsters who are chasing him, and others. Even more laughs come from Della, Duntley's cleaning lady accomplice. She is chased by an old boarder and served some "fruit juice" which makes her stiff as a board - a part any comedic actress will love to get her teeth into. The her...

68 pages

Flexible cast, 10 to 50

Picture yourself in your own family album with this incredibly funny, sometimes touching, always entertaining play. Pick and choose from some 20 different scenes about family life to design a play that makes your drama family unique. The scenes are in four groups, "Getting Along," "Bustin' Loose," "Problems and Opportunities," and "Life and Death." Some of the scenes are just plain fun, like "TV Wars" and "Name That Stress." Other scenes capture the heart, as "The Funeral" and "Senior Split." Rap numbers bridge your acts while an opening and closing family "p...

51 pages

4 m, 8 w, 2 flexible

When Chris, a popular, straight-A student, suffers the loss of his younger sister in a hit-and-run accident, he is left to struggle through the remainder of his high school career. But Jake Simmons, the star quarterback and class bully, won’t leave him alone and begins to torment Chris about his personal tragedy while taking bullying to a whole new level. Haunted by his sister and reeling in his pain, Chris decides to take matters into his own hands. In Our Own Backyard tells a story of profound loss, personal tragedy, teen angst and violence amongst a group ...

58 pages

5 m, 7 w, 2 flex

This modern retelling of the Austen classic places the entire story in an upper-class restaurant. The Bennett sisters are now four waitresses whose world is turned upside down by the arrival of the restaurant owner, a very rich but unlikeable man who seems to bring doom with him. As Piper fights for those she believes in, she comes to realize that she may have been prejudiced against the wrong characters and too proud to admit that she has misjudged nearly everyone. The modern setting allows for easy costuming and props, and focuses on the major relationship ...

47 pages

19-33 or more. (6 m, 6 w, 7 flexible, much doubling possible.)

Team Justice, a team of four incredibly obnoxious superheroes, must overcome a group of supervillains who have ingratiated themselves with the city council of Littleton. The villains have taken over the city by entangling its superheroes in a nightmare of tickets, citations, and bureaucratic red tape. The only way to repeal the supervillains’ nefarious legislation is for the arrogant, socially incompetent superheroes to somehow convince enough random citizens to sign a petition…without using their superpowers, which are now illegal. They must do this before t...

60 pages

6 m, 7 w, 10 flexible, doubling possible

The Untold Story of Rapunzel and her Twelve-Story Prison.  Not many folks know the TRUE story of how the beautiful, golden-haired Rapunzel ended up alone, locked in a tower …until now! You see, her parents promised their first-born child to a witch (who preferred to be called an enchantress). But little did the witch know that Rapunzel had an ugly twin sister Ethel. By stealing the witch’s glasses, the parents are able to switch babies. Years later, the witch discovers the truth, gets the now spoiled, self-centered Rapunzel back, and hides her in a tower with...

74 pages

With doubling 4m, 5w, 2 flex

Kira, the little mermaid, longs to see life on the surface. When she realizes her overprotective father will only show her a deserted island and has promised her hand in marriage to nerdy Duke Dorsal, she takes matters into her own hands. She sings for the Sea Witch who takes her voice, with the knowledge that she must win the heart of a human or be turned into sea foam. While on land, she saves the prince who falls for her cousin, and finds true love in the end. Jellyfish telling knock-knock jokes, a kingdom with a yoga instructor, a magical triton that can ...

30 pages

5 m, 3 w, 15+ ensemble

Death and Strife, along with the Chorus of Darkness, serve as narrators in this foreboding tale, the story of Romeo and his first love, Rosaline. Although their families have been at war with each other for centuries, the young couple are so enamored with each other, they are ready to defy their families and face the inherent danger. But Death and Strife will cleave their tentacles onto the dreams and aspirations of this mortal pair. Filled with moments of bittersweet tenderness and joy, the play unexpectedly turns dark when Rosaline betrays Romeo and arrange...

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...

52 pages

2 m, 2 w, 10 flexible, optional washboard band and townspeople

The little Western town of Possum Trot has been under a gypsy spell for two hundred years, a spell that turned the whole village into nincompoops who are so clueless they sweep with the wrong end of a broom and put themselves in jail. They've never been smart enough to progress with the rest of the world. Seymour Justice, the guilty gypsy's great-grandson (seven generations later), wants to break the spell once and for all. His perseverance pays off when he and his best friend, Edmund, finally stumble upon the lost village. The secret to breaking the spell is...

65 pages

6 m, 14 w

A quintessential 1950s mom, June Seevers, and her committee are working hard to win the "Small Town USA" title and a cash prize for their town of Sunnydale. The judges are due in two days to verify that it is, indeed, an All-American, apple pie-eating, crime-free hamlet. Did we say crime free? Then what about the mysterious customer at the Malt Shop who falls over dead during the committee's final meeting? It looks like he was poisoned, and the victim's sister may be a committee member! But who? With the help of her family, the prissy librarian, and even the ...

67 pages

4 m, 3 w

John and Maria are happily celebrating their first wedding anniversary when Maria's mother, Nicolette, shows up unexpectedly. Nicolette announces that she is divorcing Maria's father, Sal, because he forgot their 27th wedding anniversary. And if that isn't enough to ruin John and Maria's celebration, Sal pays a visit. A fight breaks out, and one thing leads to another until, eventually, Sal and John end up sleeping in the guest room. This leaves Maria no other choice but to share a bed with her talkative mother. To save his sanity and his own marriage, John s...

42 pages

5 m, 3 w, 1 flexible

Dinner theater can mean death to an actor's career, or occasionally, an actor. That's what the cast of "Weekend at Withingham's" finds out when the lead of their dreadfully bad dinner theater production dies right before his entrance. But who can help? They would need a great detective. Unfortunately, what they get is a man that is so psychiatrically challenged that he thinks he's Sherlock Holmes and his psychiatrist is Doctor Watson. An audience-participation play full of dual characters, quick repartee and just a touch of deduction, "The Man Who Thought He ...

64 pages

Widely flexible cast, from 12 to 40+

You ever have a "Big Day"? We all have. Not quite like this group, however. Take the case of Butch and Murph, who decide to hold up a bank only to find that Murph is the "one millionth customer!" amid a flurry of confetti. Or little Phoebe, whose class assignment was to write a 500-word essay on her "Big Day" in which she tells of her birthday party where the dog set the couch on fire. We see the invention of the wheel and what it was REALLY for. And then there's Lucille, who gets her first driving lesson from her father ... the church pie sale being only one...

58 pages

3 m, 3 w

It's a few minutes to eight, New Year's Eve, 1940, at a radio studio and a group of beleaguered employees are desperately trying to put on a live show. It's the most important episode ever of "Invitation to Danger," but everything is going wrong -- the organist and the sound effects man have eloped, the director is missing, one of the cast has passed out on the sofa and the script has arrived at literally the last moment! Will our heroes Steve, Blackie and Pete finally uncover the true identity of the Hooded Terror or will he escape them again? Will our pluck...

75 pages

11 m, 14 w, 28 flexible, much doubling possible

Here is a lovely version of the adventures of Dr. Dolittle, the gentle Englishman who can talk to animals. All his furry and feathered friends are along for the ride including Jip, the dog; Dab-Dab, the duck; Chee-Chee, the monkey; Gub-Gub the pig; and, of course, Polynesia, the parrot; as well as a slew of seagulls, dolphins and sharks, and the unique two-headed creature, Pushmi-Pullyu. Follow Dr. Dolittle to Africa to cure a tribe of sick monkeys. Watch him thwart a fierce band of greedy pirates. Join him on a mission to rescue Professor Long Arrow, a famou...

51 pages

7 m, 8 w, 2 flexible

Because of a miscommunication with the principal, high school drama teacher Mr. Morris finds himself with only ONE DAY to cast, stage and perform the school play. In desperation, he turns to two of his best students, Paul and Laura, to take charge and co-direct the show, unaware that the two are in the middle of a nasty break-up and are no longer speaking. Things go from bad to much, much worse when Paul and Laura, practicing with their friends independently, don't realize they are rehearsing for DIFFERENT SHOWS, "Little Orphan Annie" and "Annie Get Your Gun....

65 pages

Large, flexible cast

In Act One, "Voices From the Titanic," the stage comes alive with the passengers and crew who address the audience directly. We see the magnificent, "almost unsinkable" ship through the eyes of both the first-class and third-class passengers. When the ship's lookout, Frederick Fleet, spots the iceberg, all the officers are called upon to carry out the most dreaded command Capt. Smith ever had to issue: "Get the lifeboats ready!" The ending is an emotional powerhouse as the cast recites name after name of those who survived ... and those who did not. In Act Tw...

24 pages

3 m, 3 w, 6 flexible, extras

Terry Barker, an ambitious newspaper reporter, agrees to spend the night alone in a wax museum to write a Halloween feature. The small, family-owned museum is facing tough competition for tourists dollars from other local attractions, so this publicity is critical. But before the sun rises on the following day, there is a dead body and an unusual list of suspects. Could the murderer be the owner himself or his brother, who never speaks because he has a "condition"? Perhaps the two over-zealous young employees are guilty. Everyone, it seems, has a secret...per...

74 pages

8 m, 8 w, 2 flexible

All the fun and nostalgia of the '50s make this play a winner! Judy Harding's life as a 16-year-old isn't too sweet right now. Her dad can't find the money to fix up the family's soda shop; her older brother is flunking out of school; and her younger brother has retreated into a fantasy world of comic book superheroes since their mom died. To add to the dilemma, Judy has a major crush on a new student who's a mysterious loner. Enter Angela, a bumbling angel-in-training who must earn her halo by helping the Hardings. But when the shop is hit first by a fire an...

20 pages

6 m, 6 w, 1 flexible

As auditions for the school play begin, members of the drama club hear a voice from the back of the auditorium claiming to be the director, Mr. John Shakespeare - a character they made up to get permission to put on the play! The plot is complicated by the unrequited love of several of the students, a club member who lapses into characters from plays mentioned and the possibility the Mr. Shakespeare might be the ghost of Alice's father! Since some of the exits, entrances and character positions are in the rear of the auditorium, the audience is drawn quickly ...

54 pages

4 m, 6 w

Faced with losing the Last Chance Inn once again, Ma and Pa Culpepper turn to glamorous Sahara Hartburn. Sahara pays off their loan with money from a "well-heeled admirer" and promptly takes over the inn. Transformed into the Hartburn Hotel, the place becomes a residence for young ladies with a "no men allowed upstairs" policy. Sahara schemes to find a scandal that will give her new venture some publicity, and finds it when the new schoolteacher, Polly Sincere, is paid a visit by her dapper and devoted boyfriend, Jasper Jones - in her room! To escape, Jasper ...

22 pages

2 m, 3 w

As his teenaged daughter readies for her first date, George Masters must decide whether to act like a father with great wisdom...or allow his imagination to run completely amok. Is his daughter's boyfriend a wild surfer dude, a tough biker hood or even a nose-in-the-air intellectual? Each fantasy sequence between George and the boyfriend is funnier and more disastrous than the last. Even the level-headed mom and cute younger sister get added to the mayhem. Great fun and great roles, especially for the one actor playing all three boyfriends.

74 pages

5 m, 6 w

When Letha Gordon keeps an appointment with her ex-husband, she suddenly finds herself the prime suspect in his murder. But who would want to kill the headmaster of a prestigious New England prep school? Perhaps it's his neighbors, who have had their eyes on his property. Or maybe it's the embittered housekeeper whose son was expelled from the school, the same son who is now hiding out there because he hasn't anywhere else to go. What about the music teacher who lives in a dream world of fear and fantasy? Or could it be the victim's second wife, Letha's own s...

70 pages

28 flexible parts

"The Bard!" offers an enjoyable, approachable introduction to William Shakespeare. In Act I, we discover his world and his realities, his life and his times. In Act II, abridged scenes from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Romeo and Juliet," "Twelfth Night," "The Merry Wives of Windsor," and "Macbeth" make the man and his works come alive for both the actor and for the audience. 

Sound effects include dramatic opening music with Gregorian chant; trumpet fanfare; wind, thunder and lightni...

59 pages

6 m, 9 w, extras

Based on the story by Mark Twain.  The small town of Hadleyburg is world famous for its honesty, but it is a reputation that has never faced real temptation...until the day a stranger arrives. He leaves a large sack containing gold coins and a note with the last words spoken by an unknown local citizen who had once helped the stranger. Now he wants to find and repay his benefactor. The citizens of Hadleyburg had long boasted that they were incorruptible; however, greed, suspicion, and lying quickly surface. In Twain's true Americana style, the social and mora...

71 pages

7 m, 16 w, 2 flexible

When Simplcuss, a naive Swiss farmer, heads for Rome to follow his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian, little does he know what adventures are in store for him. Stumbling into the house of General Spurius Sillius in search for food and water, he's mistaken for the dreaded gladiator, Terribilus, who is due to fight in the Colosseum the following day. Not only does Simplcuss have to figure out how to save himself, but he's overheard the General's wife, Drusilla, and Senator Publius Piscious plotting to kill the Emperor's daughter and the Emperor himself! Mat...