School

27 pages

3 m, 4 w

When Chris, a high school student, isn't able to attend the funeral of his best friend, James, he decides to hold a farewell party at the gravesite. Attending the party with Chris are six of James' closest friends: Katherine, an intelligent but "ditzy" girl; Sarah, the new kid at school; Betty and Larry, soon to be married; Lisa, James' ex-girlfriend; and Tillman, the class brain. The group quickly discovers that they don't know each other very well - James was the common bond between them. As the play progresses, each person reveals what he meant to them. To...

64 pages

8 m, 6 w

What happens when two villains in a melodrama meet? The action begins when an English Vicar returns home from doing missionary work in America. Unbeknownst to him, he has brought back a map to a thriving gold mine in California. The Vicar is followed across the pond by the villainous Bart Lovelace and his accomplices who are trying to find the map. Meanwhile, an English villain, Agamore Primrose, has been courting one of the Vicar’s lovely daughters in hopes of gaining a small but handsome inheritance should the Vicar succumb to an untimely accident. During t...

69 pages

with doubling, 7 m, 7 w

Leo Mintz, a one-time big shot Broadway agent, now represents bird acts, roller-skating kids who recite poetry and flea circuses. However, Leo's problems are just starting when a known gangster Louie DeMarco "persuades" Leo to represent his protege with no discernible talent, the lovely Christine. As if this weren't bad enough, Leo promptly falls in love with her. "They should just type up a label which reads 'East River' and slap it on our foreheads!" scowls Liz, the secretary and bouncer for Leo's agency. Then, to throw everyone off the track, Leo stages a ...

42 pages

9 m, 9 w

What happens when a sympathetic teacher slips an advance copy of the algebra midterm exam to a struggling student and warns him not to share it with the rest of the class? In two words: cheating scandal! Come sort out the vagaries of honor, friendship and the straight skinny with the 18 members of Mr. Bolton's fourth-period algebra class. Join them as they discover the value of truthfulness, morality and higher math in a way that is at times hilarious, touching, and provocative. The one-act play is chockful of vividly drawn characters, generously explored eth...

56 pages

3 m, 2 w (playing three roles)

Why would Hollywood soap opera star Ava Eveready check into a decrepit inn like Henry Cabot's lodge on a stormy night when the phone lines are down and the only road to town will soon wash out? Because her calculating husband Robert planned it that way so he could poison her. Also along for the ride are Ava's secretary with whom Robert is involved, and Ava's identical twin sister, Eva. But everything about Robert's well-rehearsed plan goes wrong. And bumbling Sheriff J. T. Malden, Cabot's good buddy, is right there to confuse the plot even more when he falls ...

16 pages

4 m, 1 w, 2 flexible

This play is written in the tradition of the great Marx Brothers movies and plays of the ‘30s and ‘40s. The not-so-famous lawyer Julius P.Milksop (Groucho) is defending Luigi and Adolph (Chico and Harpo) in court. They turn the courtroom into a circus of hilarious gags. The two are on trial for stealing jewelry from the famous Buckwalter estate. (Mrs. Buckwalter is a Margaret Dumont-type.) The stage directions for this play could never be complete, so it is up to each production to come up with business, bits, gags, etc., to fill in the gaps, thereby making e...

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...

51 pages

2 m, 3 w

After years of waiting for a traditional marriage proposal, Caroline's had it. When she takes matters into her own hands and plans a "surprise" wedding at her family's vacation home, side-splitting mayhem is set in motion. This wedding, hardly the dream variety, has all the same trappings as a surprise birthday party: secrets, shrewd planning, and timing gone awry. Grudgingly participating in the scheme is her practical best friend and maid of honor, Beth. She questions everything from her bridesmaid dress (which she refers to as a fuchsia tortilla) to the ju...

52 pages

7 m, 2 w

The Robinson family is on a journey overseas to begin a new life. After a harrowing storm, their tall-masted ship sinks, and they are shipwrecked on a deserted island. Mother and Father and their three children, Fritz, Ernest and Franz, are now forced to truly begin a new life: a struggle for survival. Salvaging what they can, the innovative family constructs a tree house in which to live. They embark on daily scavenging treks to recover what food, weapons, and other supplies have washed ashore the uninhabited island...or is it? Soon, strange things begin to ...

51 pages

8 m, 5 w, 9 flexible, extras

This adaptation, appropriate for middle school and high school students alike, contains much of Shakespeare's original poetry and language but with an additional female role, that of Nerissa, a gentlewoman of the court. The play, a satiric comedy about "romantic" love, features two contrasting couples. There is Benedick, a cad, who has sworn to forever remain a bachelor. But as it turns out, he meets his match when he encounters Beatrice, a strong, intelligent, witty woman. Beatrice doesn't need a man, and she doesn't want one either. Then there is Claudio, t...

71 pages

7 m, 9 w, 25 flexible, doubling possible

Adapted from the stories by Rudyard KiplingHere's an energetic dramatization of the classic tale of Mowgli, the man-cub, who was abandoned as a baby in the jungle and raised by wolves. With Baloo, the bear, and Bagheera, the panther, as mentors, the growing boy has no trouble avoiding Shere Khan, the tiger, who wants to eat him. But when his two protectors leave him alone in the jungle to test his mettle, Mowgli suddenly finds he's got more trouble than he knows how to handle. The monkeys kidnap him and haul him off to the Forbidden City. Then two hyenas, who...

71 pages

Flexible cast from 10 to 40

If drama has always taken a back seat to athletics at your school, it's time to bring all those sports nuts into your theatre. From baseball to football to tennis to chess and beyond, you'll find scenes about every aspect of sports -and life - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the funny! Pick and choose from 18 scenes to create a show that's just right for your team. You'll laugh at scenes like "Competition," "Coaching School," and the hysterical new game show, "Face Off." You'll be taken by scenes as "Teamwork," "Finding Time," and the offbeat "Adult Games," ...

49 pages

5 m, 3 w, 1 or 2 flexible

What do you get when you put a married couple, a butler, an evil owner of an estate, a local spiritualist, and five ghosts in a mansion overnight? Kenny and Janelle are a determined couple, willing to spend the night in the haunted Gottlieb Mansion to become the new owners. Consuela Gottlieb has other plans, while the ghosts are just trying to get the key to their spirit home. With a group hug at the end, this witty comedy is sure to keep the audience laughing. About 75 minutes. Great show for Halloween or any time of the year.

47 pages

Large, flexible cast. Approx. 20 actors.

In pageant, verse and fearsome argument the gods on Olympus set the great Perseus myth in motion. When the Oracle tells the human king, Acrisius, that his grandson will kill him, the old miser locks his daughter, Danae, up in a tower guarded by fearsome dogs. Zeus comes to her and devours the dogs and soon Perseus is born. Acrisius locks mother and baby in a chest and sets it afloat on the sea. The gods see the chest safely to the isle of Seriphos where Perseus grows into a local hero. The jealous king sends him on an impossible quest: to bring in the head of...

28 pages

4 m, 4 w

In order to save his darling Lily Lackamoney from the clutches of the rapscallion J. Tamarack Gargle, the hero, Balderdash Trustworthy, goes to the city to find the necessary money. Gargle, determined to have the fair damsel, employs the dirty work of Maxine Mascara to throw Balderdash into the river. However, just as the preacher is pronouncing Lily and Gargle man and wife, Balderdash enters in a blaze of glory! One act.

65 pages

5 m, 5 w

Helga Frankenstein figures the best way to get rid of all those nasty stories about the family castle and her relatives is to turn the place into a tourist resort. And her very first guests are vacationing Americans Chandler and Lindsey Page. Lindsey just loves the place but Chandler keeps seeing all sorts of odd things, such as some of Junior Frankenstein's "experiments." And the old ranch has just everything: werewolves, mad scientists, sooth-saying gypsies and the usual angry mob of villagers who storm the castle from time to time, just to break up the mon...

28 pages

3 m, 7 w

Summer St. Silver, an ultra-avant-garde director, is asked by Ms. Francis, the overly positive counselor of the middle school, to bring its students together by putting on a play for the state competition. Summer accepts, not knowing the trials and tribulations she will endure. It’s an ultimate clash of personalities from the hilarious auditions, the disastrous rehearsal process, to the cast’s big blowup. Each character offers his or her unabashed thoughts and ridiculously critical opinions in the form of “confessionals” to the audience. When Summer decides t...

40 pages

3 m, 5 w, 3 flexible (Some male roles have been adapted to female roles.)

On an enchanted island, a powerful man named Prospero uses his magic to create a tempest to shipwreck his enemies on his shores. Once they are on land, Prospero leads the castaways about with the help of his fairy servant, Ariel, who has long been promised her freedom. The conspiring nobles who once usurped Prospero’s dukedom are haunted by Ariel, and their plot to murder one of their own is thwarted. Meanwhile, one of the castaways, a kind prince, falls in love with Prospero’s daughter. Prospero’s monstrous servant, Caliban, meets up with the ship’s captain ...

23 pages

3 m, 4 w

Join Michelle, Bonnie, and Jake as they bumble through getting the high school yearbook together. As senior editor, Michelle wants "her" book to be perfect. Unfortunately, Bonnie, the copy editor, can't spell, and Jake, the photographer, is a little too laid back for deadlines. A core group of four actors portray every organization from the French club to the pep squad as they come to have their pictures taken. The fast-paced photo sessions and accompanying "captions" earn an A on the laugh scale. See how Bonnie and Jake finally create a "yearbroke" too funny...

30 pages

5 m, 5 w, 9 or more flexible

From the short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benet. Poor Jake Stone is a total loser. When he finally loses the worst job he's ever had, he makes the claim that he would do anything to be a winner. Soon he meets Lucy, a seemingly attractive, professional woman who can make a special deal with him: she gives Jake wisdom, and he signs away his soul. Rather than waste his opportunity, Jake becomes a kind and intelligent person who gives much to the world. As the time to relinquish his soul draws near, he seeks out the counsel of Daniell...

39 pages

6 m, 11 w, 1 flexible

Babysitter Ariel Watson is watching the 13-year-old triplet daughters of a famous scientist and his wife. What Ariel does not know is that the triplets have a time-traveling device in their bedroom, which brings copies of themselves out of a parallel universe. Soon there are nine girls in the house and then twelve. Ariel does not believe what is happening, until the visitors begin telling her, a piece at a time, that her future self has had a terrible “thumb accident.” By the end of the story Ariel is frantic to get to the future and stop herself, much to the...

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

"I wasn't expecting anything to happen," intones detective Ace Baxter, "and that's just when anything CAN happen!" And happen it does, as Ace finds himself in a locked room standing in front of the only exit with a murder victim who was shot in the back ... and with Ace's own pistol. Shadows loom large when you're on the lam, as Ace finds out, whether he's disguising himself as a cleaning woman to inspect the scene of the crime, or ducking Sergeant Flint, who's chomping at the bit to clamp the cuffs on Baxter. The Professor helps out when he can, vowing to al...

40 pages

2 m, 2 w (playing 18 roles)

Freedom Riders is set in 1961 as two young women from Harvard try to decide if they should join the Freedom Rides of the 1960s. As you travel along you will meet Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Bobby Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, W.E.B. Dubois and many others who fought both for and against our nation's struggle for Civil Rights. Experience sit-ins and lunch counters and the dark days of Jim Crow. Learn the history as four performers bring this struggle alive though the words of historical figures, song, and recreations. The struggle for Fr...

64 pages

5 m, 5 w

Gerald and Cristine Dandridge always give a Halloween party for their friends. This year, however, they're having the party at their country house. It's a nice little fixer-upper with all the conveniences and one haunted scarecrow. At least, that's the story that came with the house. The night of the party things barely get under way when someone notices the scarecrow has vanished. And when it finally DOES turn up, it's carrying an axe. Yes, sir, this time it's personal! Int. set.

72 pages

5 men, 5-6 women, 2 boys, 1 girl, 2 extras

Eddy is a struggling playwright and also a dad in charge of taking care of the house, the kids, and the mother-in-law while his wife works the daytime shift at a fast-food restaurant. And boy, does he have his hands full! The house is a disaster, and as far as taking care of the children, what can he really do? Rambunctious triplets and an adventurous teenage daughter are not meant for the inexperienced! Then there is his mother-in-law whose age seems to be affecting her mind, and a neighbor lady with opinions, but without manners. Toss in a couple of FBI age...

36 pages

13 - 22 plus extras

Susan and Xander patiently sit through their dad’s meeting, a gathering of local dentists, where it is decided that the best way to keep patients from being scared of regular checkups is for the dentists to dress as clowns while working. Refreshments are offered, but deciding to not eat Bernice Hoffenbridle’s cookies might be the best decision the kids have ever made, especially when they hear that her new bakery is conveniently located right between the nuclear waste treatment plant and the experimental chemistry lab. But the adult dentists do indulge in the...

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...

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....

53 pages

Flexible cast up to 42

Here is a holiday treasure with a beautiful variety of music, from the cheery "A Fifteen Shilling Christmas," and "The Fezziwig Ball," to the dramatic "Link by Link," and "Make Each Day Count." There's also the bright song, "The Spirit of Christmas," and the unforgettable closing number, "God Bless Us, Everyone." The story stays close to Dickens' original novel in dialogue, but adds additional speaking roles for great casting flexibility. Along with the hard-hearted Scrooge, the Christmas Spirits, the Cratchit family and the beloved Tiny Tim, there are carole...