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Comedy/Drama
Full-length, 85-95 minutes
3 females, 1 male
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Meet the Nowaks of Buffalo, NY. Clara and her three grown kids have always known they were special, ever since the miraculous night in 1942 when the Blessed Mother appeared to Grandpa in his barbershop! Since then, the neighborhood has looked upon the Nowaks' 20-foot commemorative shrine as a beacon of hope and faith amidst the urban rubble. And now daughter Ruth unveils her plan to write and star in a one-woman show about the family miracle so the "whole world will know!" However, as her plans for theatrical immortality unfold, the entire family's faith is shaken to the very core when a deathbed confession causes the family legend to unravel. The results are heartfelt and hilarious. (Included is a guide for turning this play into a Christmas Play.)
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| "...a sprightly, gentle comedy, where revelations that might remake a family's sense of itself are each rolled out in service of laughter." |
| --Daniel M. Gold, The New York Times |
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Holiday drama
Full-length, 75-90 minutes
2 females, 3 males (1-25 actors possible: 1-10 females, 1-15 males)
$75.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
This beloved American holiday classic comes to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast. With the help of an ensemble that brings a few dozen characters to the stage, the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds as he considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve. (A short version of this play is also available.)
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| "One of the best holiday shows around. This is a fresh and inventive way of reconnecting with a classic story of love and redemption." |
| --Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-Times |
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Comedy
Full-length, 80-95 minutes
3 males (3 actors possible: 0-3 females, 0-3 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Instead of performing Charles Dickens' beloved holiday classic for the umpteenth time, three actors decide to perform every Christmas story ever told -- plus Christmas traditions from around the world, seasonal icons from ancient times to topical pop-culture, and every carol ever sung. A madcap romp through the holiday season!
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| "Warning: If you see Every Christmas Story Ever Told, you'll never be able to watch Dickens' A Christmas Carol without laughing out loud." |
| --David Jacobson, Life Newspapers (Sacramento) |
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Farce
Full-length, 110-120 minutes
3 females, 4 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Two cops. Three crooks. Eight doors. Go. In a cheap motel room, an embezzling mayor is supposed to meet with his female accountant, while in the room next-door, two undercover cops wait to catch the meeting on videotape. But there's some confusion as to who's in which room, who's being videotaped, who's taken the money, who's hired a hit man, and why the accountant keeps taking off her clothes.
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| "A smash hit! Two hours of non-stop laughter. The plot weaves you through mix-ups and mayhem you won't believe. This is one funny show you don't want to miss!" |
| --Jim Fordyce, ABC 53 (Michigan) |
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Tom Jones adapted by Jon Jory
from the novel by Henry Fielding |
 
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Comedy
Full-length, 130-140 minutes
4 females, 5 males (9-27 actors possible: 4-12 females, 5-15 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Abandoned as a child to the care of Squire Allworthy, Tom Jones is now all grown up and launched into the bewildering romantic world. He falls madly in love with the virtuous Sophia Western -- but Sophia's father is determined to keep the two apart. In his pursuit of true love, the well-intentioned Tom finds himself the object of female attention and romantic complication. But will these misadventures permanently jeopardize his chances with Sophia? Adapted from the classic novel by Henry Fielding, Tom Jones is a bawdy and rollicking comedy for the stage that will have the audience in stitches.
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This Wonderful Life by Steve Murray
conceived by Mark Setlock, adapted from the screenplay It's a Wonderful Life by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, and Jo Swerling |
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Comedy
Full-length, 75 minutes
1 male
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
One actor inhabits every role in this hilariously touching stage adaptation of the iconic holiday film It's a Wonderful Life. George Bailey, Clarence, Mr. Potter, and the gang come to life as a single actor creates a heartwarming story about the effect one hardworking man's life has on the people around him.
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| "It's engagingly funny and then unexpectedly affecting." |
| --Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle |
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Is He Dead? adapted by David Ives
based on the play by Mark Twain |
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Comedy
Full-length, 105-120 minutes
4 females, 7 males (11-16 actors possible: 4-6 females, 7-12 males)
$100.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
Jean-Francois Millet, a young painter of genius, is in love with Marie Leroux but in debt to a villainous picture-dealer, Bastien Andre. Andre forecloses on Millet, threatening debtor's prison unless Marie marries him. Millet realizes that the only way he can pay his debts and keep Marie from marrying Andre is to die, as it is only dead painters who achieve fame and fortune. Millet fakes his death and prospers, all while passing himself off as his own sister, the Widow Tillou. Now a rich "widow," he must find a way to get out of a dress, return to life, and marry Marie.
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| "A ripely enjoyable confection! An elaborate madcap comedy that registers high on the mirth meter and reaches especially giddy comic heights!" |
| --David Rooney, Variety |
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Comedy
Full-length, 90-120 minutes
1 female, 1 male (2-24 actors possible: 1-12 females, 1-12 males)
$75.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
NOTE: Each piece in this anthology can be licensed and performed separately.
Romantic Fools consists of 12 two-character comedies examining love, lust, dating, and romance -- from a date with a caveman (Find Me a Primitive Man) to the joys of dull sex (One Man's Secret Desire) to the surprise frustrations of having a perfect mate (The Stepford Guy). With influences of Monty Python, Saturday Night Live, Jules Feiffer, the Marx Brothers, and classic vaudeville comedy, these sketches vary in style but all celebrate the inherent comedy of male-female relationships.
To purchase this book of 12 plays, click "Order this play" above. To perform an individual play, click on its title below:
Find Me a Primitive Man
Nightmare with a Sexy Skirt
One Man's Secret Desire
At the Orgy
The Sheep (or Much Ado About Mutton)
The Stepford Guy
Nice Tie
Power Is the Greatest Aphrodisiac of Them All
Vegetarians in Lust
Spaghetti Overture
The Wedding Planner
Bride and Gloom
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| "A side-splitting new comedy. You'll ache from non-stop laughing." |
| --Show Business Weekly |
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Romantic Comedy
Full-length, 140-160 minutes
14 females, 10 males (23-26 actors possible: 13-14 females, 10-12 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Marriage is an inevitable fact of life for the five Bennet sisters -- Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. With the family estate entailed away to their closest male cousin, their only hope to advance in life is to find a rich and single man -- and one has just arrived in the form of the very handsome and very well-off Charles Bingley. The kindhearted and beautiful Jane seems poised to make a match, but must contend with her overly zealous mother, his snobbish sister, and a slippery social ladder. And when Bingley's taciturn friend Fitzwilliam Darcy shows an interest in the opinionated and spirited Elizabeth, the situation becomes more complicated than either of them expect. The fire and wit of Jane Austen's classic 1813 romance shines through in this vibrant new adaptation.
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| "This adaptation of Jane Austen's masterpiece honors the source material through a contemporary theatrical lens... Set within an elaborate social fabric, this adaptation may well be the best of many for stage or film that have emerged in recent years." |
| --The Durango Herald (Colorado) |
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Comedy/Holiday/Solo Play
Full-length, 70-90 minutes
1 female
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
After seeing her fiance kiss another woman at the televised Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mary's life falls apart -- just in time for the holidays. Over the next year, she stumbles back into the dating world, where "romance" ranges from weird and creepy to absurd and comical. It seems nothing can help Mary's growing cynicism, until the charm and innocence of a five-year-old boy unexpectedly brings a new outlook on life and love. This heartwarming one-woman play offers a hilarious and modern alternative to the old standards of the holiday season.
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| "Hoben has created a woman's show to join the annual, male-dominated Christmas lineup, but like Santaland Diaries, it is a tale of real life and holiday hope touching us all." |
| --Eric Minton, Shakespeareances.com |
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Revenge Comedy
Full-length, 75-80 minutes
2 females, 2 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Nan has decided to teach her abusive husband Kyle a lesson. With the help of her friend Simon (acting as her emotional -- and actual -- cheerleader) and a stripper named Sweetheart, she tapes Kyle to a chair and forces him to watch as they reenacts scenes from their painful past. In the piece de resistance, they plan to cover the room in meat and honey so Kyle will be mauled by a bear. Through this night of emotional trials and ridiculous theatrics, Nan and Kyle are both freed from their past in this smart, dark revenge comedy.
website: sites.google.com/site/exitbearplayresearch
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| "If the Coen Brothers decided to set a feminist revenge tale in Atlanta and sprinkle it with Dixie Chicks pixie dust, it might look something like Exit, Pursued by a Bear, a raucous comedy of friendship, domestic abuse, and performance-as-catharsis." |
| --ArtsCritic Atlanta |
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Comedy/Drama
Full-length, 150 minutes
3 females, 4 males
$100.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
In that most idealized period of 20th-century America, the Eisenhower years of the 1950s, the Pazinski family has a lot going on in their cramped Buffalo apartment. The youngest of the bunch, 12-year-old Rudy, is a smart, wise-cracking kid who's starting to question family values and the Roman Catholic Church. When Rudy goes up against the ruler-wielding Sister Clarissa and announces that instead of being confirmed he'd rather shop around for a more "fun" religion, all hell breaks loose. A warm and hilarious look at family, growing up, and God.
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| "A hilarious and touching depiction of 1959 Americana. Absolutely enchanting...a little bit of heaven!" |
| --Richard Christiansen, Chicago Tribune |
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Comedy
Full-length, 60-75 minutes
5 either (5 actors possible: 0-5 females, 0-5 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Emory is an effeminate 11-year-old boy who lives on a farm with his chain smoking Nanna and his only friend, a depressed chicken about to be processed. Nanna wishes Emory would get his head out of the clouds, stop choreographing ribbon stick dance numbers, and be more like Elliot, the boy down the road with a penchant for burning things. But Emory and Elliot have a relationship -- just not one Nanna would expect or approve of. With absurd, poignant dialog and brutal characterizations, MilkMilkLemonade is a bitterly funny exploration of gender, sexuality, life, death, and the human body.
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| "Clearly the show is on to something. And that something is old-fashioned stuff like, you know, a funny and poignant play, inventive direction and ace acting. In the end theater isn't much more than this, and it shouldn't be any less." |
| --New York Post |
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Romance
Full-length, 90-100 minutes
8 females, 8 males (13-16 actors possible: 7-8 females, 6-8 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Sisters Elinor and Marianne find themselves captivated by two very different men in this lively and dynamic adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel. Sensible Elinor is charmed by the quiet, bumbling goodness of Edward, while passionate Marianne is swept off of her feet by the dashing and mysterious Willoughby. But when Willoughby's scandalous past and Edward's secret fiancee come to light, the sisters are forced to rely upon themselves and one another to weather their heartache -- and learn that when sense and sensibility meet, love can't be far behind.
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| "[Has] a freshness, speed and immediacy that, while always in sync with the humor, sentiments and manners of Austen's late 18th century English country-and-city society, gives the storytelling a contemporary energy that is downright irresistible. ...Flows like an effortlessly danced gavotte, finding just the right balance between formality, playfulness and the real pain that invariably accompanies love and hope." |
| --Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times |
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| ReEntry by Emily Ackerman and KJ Sanchez |
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Drama
Full-length, 75-90 minutes
2 females, 3 males (5-11 actors possible: 2-6 females, 3-5 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
An unflinching look at the lives of Marines getting ready for and returning from combat, ReEntry is a docudrama exploration of the relationships between Marines and the civilians they fight for overseas and must contend with when they return home. Honest, moving, and surprisingly funny, this play is based entirely on interviews with Marines and their families.
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| "Provocative and Powerful!" |
| --New York Times |
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Romantic comedy
Full-length, 120-130 minutes
8 females, 6 males (13-40 actors possible: 8-20 females, 5-20 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
All of the wit and romance of Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel come to life in this refreshingly fast-paced and engaging new adaptation. Finding a husband is hardly Elizabeth Bennet's most urgent priority. But with four sisters, an overzealous match-making mother, and a string of unsuitable suitors, it's difficult to escape the subject. When the independent-minded Elizabeth meets the handsome but enigmatic Mr. Darcy, she is determined not to let her feelings triumph over her own good sense -- but the truth turns out to be slipperier than it seems. In a society where subtle snubs and deceit proliferate, is it possible for Elizabeth and Darcy to look beyond his pride and her prejudice, and to make the best match of all? (A one-act version of this play, Darcy and Elizabeth, is also available.)
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| "Jory, the former longtime producing director at Actors Theatre of Louisville and founder of its famed Humana Festival of New American Plays, has crafted an exceptionally clear, funny and moving version." |
| --San Francisco Chronicle |
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Farce
Full-length, 80-90 minutes
5 females, 4 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
It's 1942, and two of Hollywood's biggest divas have descended upon the luxurious Palm Beach Royale Hotel -- assistants, luggage, and legendary feud with one another in tow. Everything seems to be in order for their wartime performance...that is, until they are somehow assigned to the same suite. Mistaken identities, overblown egos, double entendres, and a lap dog named Mr. Boodles round out this hilarious riot of a love note to the classic farces of the 30s and 40s.
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| "A rib-tickling good time." |
| --Hap Erstein, Palm Beach Post |
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Comedy
Full-length, 80-95 minutes
1 female, 1 male
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Hate Mail is an epistolary play something like Love Letters, with two actors reading letters and other correspondence, but it's a little wilder and more hysterically funny. It tells the story of Preston, a spoiled rich kid who meets his match in Dahlia, an angst-filled artist. Their worlds collide when Preston sends a complaint letter that gets Dahlia fired from her job, and then there's no turning back. The play stays with their increasingly crazed correspondence as they move from hate to love, and then right back again.
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| "Corbett and Obolensky drip sardonic, hilarious acid from their pens, picking apart their characters with enviously articulate and explosively funny letter-grenades." |
| --Twin Cities Reader |
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Drama
Full-length, 115-125 minutes
3 females, 3 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Soon after African-American businessman Sterling North becomes the new director of the Morris Foundation, he discovers that this world-famous art collection includes several significant African sculptures tucked away in storage. His proposal to add them to the public galleries is opposed by the foundation's long-time education director, who is loyal to the idiosyncratic wishes of the late Dr. Morris. Spurred on by a zealous local journalist, this clash quickly escalates to public accusations of racism and a bitter struggle for control of the collection. Permanent Collection is a searing examination of racial politics that ultimately asks how much space -- literally and figuratively -- the white world gives to African-Americans. What is the cost of failing to view the world through another's eyes?
(This is the second part of a trilogy. See also Bee-luther-hatchee and A House With No Walls.)
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| "Gibbons' intellectually charged drama is a beautifully balanced dialectic that treats a complicated and emotional issue without cheap conclusions... Sophisticated and deft, it is a provocative treatment of the unanswerable." |
| --F. Kathleen Foley, Los Angeles Times |
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Comedy/Drama
Full-length, 80-90 minutes
2 females
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
One winter night a woman bakes a pie as a girl tries to finish her college essay. As the deadline looms, unexamined issues of the girl's adoption from Russia, the rupture of her parents divorce, and the fear of leaving home break through the surface as the mother cajoles, deflects, and maneuvers around her own feelings of sadness and loss. Unfolding in real time, Memory House is about a young and an older woman who are forced to grapple with the past as they face an uncertain future. A funny and moving story about the complexity of living in the world today.
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| "A captivating emotional ballet that is also a moving demonstration of the strenuous work that goes into good mothering." |
| --The New York Times |
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