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Comedy
Full-length, 105-135 minutes
4 females, 8 males, 6 either
(12-25 actors possible: 4-12 females, 1-19 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
The hypochondriac Argan wants nothing more than to be sick, or at least to be thought of as sick, and tended to by Doctors and Family (notably his scheming wife). His desire for treatment outweighs his judgment, as he tries to set his daughter up to marry an idiot doctor-in-training. Only the brilliant collaboration of the maid, Toinette, with his brother, Beralde, can foil the wife, conquer the doctors, and satisfy Argan. This rhymed-verse adaptation of Moliere's classic comedy ends with a hilarious Latin-gibberish musical finale, which proclaims Argan as a doctor in his own right. (A short version of this play is also available.)
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| "A witty adaptation of the classic Moliere comedy about a hypochondriac and
his obsession with doctors -- in rhymed couplets, no less. ... Tim Mooney's
new translation is funny and easy to follow..." |
| --Cool Cleveland |
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Comedy
Full-length, 90-105 minutes
5 females, 5 males, 2 either
(12-15 actors possible: 4-7 females, 5-9 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
When the religious hypocrite Tartuffe ingratiates himself into the good graces of Orgon and his mother Mme. Pernelle, he is taken into their home and promised Orgon's daughter's hand in marriage (even as he secretly attempts to seduce Orgon's wife, Elmire). Everyone else in the family sees through Tartuffe's pose, and his machinations and hypocrisies are eventually exposed, but is it too late to save the family from eviction and to keep Orgon from being thrown in prison? Moliere's classic comedy satirizes religious hypocrisy, blind piety, and deceit, and this adaptation captures these themes in playful irreverent rhyme. (A short version of this play is also available.)
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| "Accomplished and funny... Moliere would doubtless have enjoyed all of the contemporary guffaws that Mooney's irreverent version of this timeless comedy provokes from a modern audience." |
| --Windy City Times |
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Comedy
Short, 40 minutes
5 females, 5 males, 2 either
(12-15 actors possible: 4-7 females, 5-9 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
When the religious hypocrite Tartuffe ingratiates himself into the good graces of Orgon and his mother Mme. Pernelle, he is taken into their home and promised Orgon's daughter's hand in marriage (even as he secretly attempts to seduce Orgon's wife, Elmire). Everyone else in the family sees through Tartuffe's pose, and his machinations and hypocrisies are eventually exposed, but is it too late to save the family from eviction and to keep Orgon from being thrown in prison? Moliere's classic comedy satirizes religious hypocrisy, blind piety, and deceit, and this adaptation captures these themes in playful irreverent rhyme. (A full-length version of this play is also available.)
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| "Accomplished and funny... Moliere would doubtless have enjoyed all of the contemporary guffaws that Mooney's irreverent version of this timeless comedy provokes from a modern audience." |
| --Chicago Tribune |
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Comedy
Short, 35-45 minutes
4 females, 8 males, 1 either
(11-18 actors possible: 4-10 females, 7-14 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
The hypochondriac Argan wants nothing more than to be sick, or at least to be thought of as sick, and tended to by Doctors and Family (notably his scheming wife). His desire for treatment outweighs his judgment, as he tries to set his daughter up to marry an idiot doctor-in-training. Only the brilliant collaboration of the maid, Toinette, with his brother, Beralde, can foil the wife, conquer the doctors, and satisfy Argan. This rhymed-verse adaptation of Moliere's classic comedy ends with a hilarious Latin-gibberish musical finale, which proclaims Argan as a doctor in his own right. (A full-length version of this play is also available.)
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| "A witty adaptation of the classic Moliere comedy about a hypochondriac and
his obsession with doctors -- in rhymed couplets, no less. ... Tim Mooney's
new translation is funny and easy to follow..." |
| --Cool Cleveland |
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Moliere Impromptu
translated and adapted by Rinne Groff
conceived by Christopher Bayes |
 
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Comedy
Full-length, 95-120 minutes
5 females, 7 males (12-13 actors possible: exactly 5 females, 7-8 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
In 1665 Versailles, the members of Moliere's Illustre Theatre have gathered to rehearse a new play commissioned by the King for a performance this very night. Everything is fine, except that the script is in horrible shape, the straight man wants to leave the troupe, marital spats are ripping the company apart, the intern is lobbying for a bigger part, and Mademoiselle Du Croisy can never remember her lines. A wickedly funny look at the magic of theater, translated and adapted from three short plays by Moliere.
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| "[Moliere Impromptu] satirizes as it sashays, slyly infusing pop-culture references even as it honors Moliere's 17th-century playwriting achievements...it crackles with entertainment and energy..." |
| --Gina Perille, Boston Globe |
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Comedy
Full-length, 60-75 minutes
3 females, 6 males, 2 either
(9-11 actors possible: 3-6 females, 5-8 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
When the peasant woodcutter, Sganarelle, is mistaken as a doctor, he is surprised to find himself winning the respect of everyone in town. However, when he discovers that the source of a patient's inability to speak is the dread of her arranged marriage, Sganarelle helps her run off with her boyfriend, which leaves him, the "doctor," at the mercy of the girl's vengeful father. This rhymed-verse adaptation of Moliere's play uses wit and rhyme to tell the story of an ignorant peasant who is elevated to a position of authority, and the hilarity that ensues when no one can tell the difference. (A short version of this play is also available.)
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| "The wit of his quill brings quite a thrill... Audience members of all ages are in for a delightful hour of mishaps and misunderstandings." |
| --Johnnie-Margaret McConnell, The Norman Transcript |
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Comedy
Short, 35-50 minutes
5 females, 8 males (11-13 actors possible: 5-10 females, 3-8 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Philaminte is an educated woman who uses wit to rule her family with an iron fist. But she endangers the future of her daughter, Henriette, when she decides to marry her off to an insufferable poet, leaving Henriette's true love out in the cold. Chrysale, Philaminte's husband, is the only one with the ability to save his daughter. Will he have the courage to stand up to his wife or will he shrink from his right and responsibility to command the household?
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Comedy
Short, 15-30 minutes
5 females, 3 males, 8 either
(8-20 actors possible: 5-20 females, 3-20 males)
$30.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
NOTE: This play is part of an anthology called Great Short Plays: Volume 8.
An incompetent group of theatre "experts" presents a brief, annotated version of Moliere's Imaginary Invalid, complete with a biographical introduction and exploration of the roots of French Neoclassicism. But as the clock starts ticking down, an attempt to educate the audience becomes a bumbling presentation, leaving everyone wondering if there will be any time left to get to the actual play.
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Comedy
Full-length, 90-110 minutes
3 females, 6 males, 2 either
(8-11 actors possible: 3-6 females, 5-8 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Alceste hates mankind. No one gives him the respect and honor he deserves. Although most people acknowledge his intelligence and wit, Alceste's flaw is his insistence on using those gifts against his fellow man as a demonstration of his own superiority. Even worse, Alceste has fallen helplessly in love with society's biggest coquette, the one woman whose outside affairs are destined to undermine his self-esteem, even as he is caught up amid the flurry of simultaneous court proceedings. Moliere captures human desires in all of their complexity in a psychological study that (in this adaptation) sparkles with wit in occasionally irreverent rhymed iambic pentameter. (A short version of this play is also available.)
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| "Hilariously entertaining. ...Like the original, [Mooney] has penned Misanthrope entirely in rhymed couplets, obviously indulging himself in great fun in the process." |
| --Chicago Tribune |
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Comedy
Full-length, 90-115 minutes
4 females, 10 males (11-14 actors possible: 3-8 females, 5-10 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Harpagon loves nothing so much as his money, not even his own children. So, even though both his son and daughter have fallen in love with young, vital partners, Harpagon attempts to engage them to a rich widow and widower in their declining years. Making matters worse, Harpagon wants to marry his son's lover himself, his only regret being she has very little money as a dowry. This rhymed-verse adaptation of Moliere's classic comedy explores the fine line between money and love and the consequences of valuing the former over the latter. (A short version of this play is also available.)
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| "The ingeniously constructed, teasing rhymes add a rich overlay of stylistic repartee to what is otherwise merely an outrageous situation... this Miser really does seem to jump off the page with new energy." |
| --H. Lee Murphy, Chicago Tribune |
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Comedy
Full-length, 110-120 minutes
4 females, 10 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Careers and love lives alike are on the line when Moliere's theater company bombs their debut performance in Paris. Desperate to impress King Louis XIV, the company stages a spontaneous production of Moliere's farce The Love Doctor. The show is a smash hit, but when Moliere announces his betrothal to the younger sister of his former mistress, Madeliene Bejart, turmoil ensues. The next night, onstage high jinks merge with backstage drama when the troupe performs The Forced Marriage, and Moliere must deal with the demands of the King as he realizes that his fiancee may not be quite what she seems.
(The Love Doctor and The Forced Marriage can also be performed separately.)
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Comedy
Short, 40-50 minutes
3 females, 6 males, 2 either
(9-11 actors possible: 3-5 females, 5-8 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
When the peasant woodcutter, Sganarelle, is mistaken as a doctor, he is surprised to find himself winning the respect of everyone in town. However, when he discovers that the source of a patient's inability to speak is the dread of her arranged marriage, Sganarelle helps her run off with her boyfriend, which leaves him, the "doctor," at the mercy of the girl's vengeful father. This rhymed-verse adaptation of Moliere's play uses wit and rhyme to tell the story of an ignorant peasant who is elevated to a position of authority, and the hilarity that ensues when no one can tell the difference. (A full-length version of this play is also available.)
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| "Spoof, satire delight audience... nearly irresistible." |
| --John Brandenburg, The Oklahoman |
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Comedy
Short, 38-45 minutes
4 females, 10 males (11-14 actors possible: 3-8 females, 5-10 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Harpagon loves nothing so much as his money, not even his own children. So, even though both his son and daughter have fallen in love with young, vital partners, Harpagon attempts to engage them to a rich widow and widower in their declining years. Making matters worse, Harpagon wants to marry his son's lover himself, his only regret being she has very little money as a dowry. This rhymed-verse adaptation of Moliere's classic comedy explores the fine line between money and love and the consequences of valuing the former over the latter. (A full-length version of this play is also available.)
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| "Mooney's iambic pentameter enlivens the story and puts some extra punch in its punchlines... Thanks to Mooney's nimble pen and cast, The Miser makes for a generous evening of theater." |
| --Rick Moser, Pioneer Press |
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Comedy
Short, 37-45 minutes
3 females, 7 males, 2 either
(9-12 actors possible: 2-5 females, 5-9 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
The brazenly-conniving servant Scapin is the most devious and audacious character you'll ever encounter. Two young men, Octave and Leandre, enlist his help to save them after they pledge marriage to women their fathers wouldn't approve of. Improvising his way through treacherous turns and outrageous misbehavior, Scapin manages to help the two men and their brides, even managing to exact a personal revenge in the process. But when Scapin is caught in the middle of a trick and abandoned by his cohorts, will his scheming be enough to get him out of trouble unscathed? (A full-length version of this play is also available.)
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| "...makes the most of Moliere... The material is entertaining, Mooney's adaptation clever, and the production, a pleasure." |
| --Rick Moser, Pioneer Press (Illinois) |
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Comedy
Short, 35-50 minutes
3 females, 7 males, 1 either
(9-11 actors possible: 3-5 females, 5-8 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Alceste hates mankind. No one gives him the respect and honor he deserves. Although most people acknowledge his intelligence and wit, Alceste's flaw is his insistence on using those gifts against his fellow man as a demonstration of his own superiority. Even worse, Alceste has fallen helplessly in love with society's biggest coquette, the one woman whose outside affairs are destined to undermine his self-esteem, even as he is caught up amid the flurry of simultaneous court proceedings. Moliere captures human desires in all of their complexity in a psychological study that (in this adaptation) sparkles with wit in occasionally irreverent rhymed iambic pentameter. (A full-length version of this play is also available.)
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| "An ambitious undertaking, Mooney's adaptation employs clear, accessible language without compromising the meaning or too much of the play's 17th century decorum." |
| --Chicago Reader |
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The Misanthrope
Or The Cantankerous Lover
adapted by Peter DeLaurier
from the play by Moliere |
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Comedy
Full-length, 120-135 minutes
3 females, 7 males (8-11 actors possible: exactly 3 females, 5-8 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
All hell breaks loose in the form of iambic pentameter in this modern American retelling of Moliere's classic set against the backdrop of Washington D.C. Alceste hates the falseness of human behavior. Celemine is a consummate flirt. He's a poet and columnist; she's a lobbyist -- but somehow, this unlikely couple is in love. And, as though their differing outlooks on life don't make things difficult enough, their relationship is complicated by multiple love triangles in the epicenter of political pretense and double-dealings.
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The Love Doctor
translated and adapted by Nagle Jackson
from the play by Moliere |
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Comedy
Short, 40-50 minutes
2 females, 8 males
$40.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
NOTE: This play is part of a book called Moliere Plays Paris.
When Moliere's theater company bombs their debut performance in Paris, the company stages a spontaneous production of Moliere's farce The Love Doctor to try to please King Louis XIV, who is in attendance. The show is a smash hit, but it's the backstage drama that really takes off when Moliere announces his betrothal to the younger sister of his former mistress, Madeliene Bejart.
(This play can also be performed as part of the full-length play Moliere Plays Paris.)
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Don Juan
or, The Stone Guest
adapted by Timothy Mooney
from the play by Moliere |
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Comedy
Short, 35-50 minutes
4 females, 13 males, 6 either (8-25 actors possible: 3-9 females, 5-19 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Hypocrite and reckless libertine Don Juan moves from one intimate conquest to the next, abandoning multiple wives and deceiving countless others. One of his latest victims, the chaste Elvire, has even left the convent for him. As Don Juan's wild ways begin to catch up to him, he is threatened by Elvire's brothers, rebuked by his own father, and repeatedly warned by his sanctimonious servant, but he refuses to believe that he will ever face the consequences of his actions. Scorning naysayers to the point of staging a phony religious conversion, Don Juan ignores the signs, even a statue of a dead man that comes to life, warning him of Heaven's pending retribution.
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Comedy
Short, 35-50 minutes
3 females, 6 males (9 actors possible: 3-5 females, 4-6 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Brothers Sganarelle and Ariste are entrusted with the upbringing of two orphaned sisters in this fast and funny Moliere adaptation. While Ariste lets his ward, Leonor, have total freedom, Sganarelle keeps his Isabelle locked up in preparation for the marriage he is planning. Still, Isabelle falls in love with Valere, a man she sees passing below her balcony. Through intrepid plotting, Isabelle passes messages to her intended through the unwitting Sganarelle, even dressing up as her loose-behaving sister to trick Sganarelle into supporting her marriage to Valere.
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Comedy
Full-length, 75-95 minutes
3 females, 7 males, 2 either
(9-12 actors possible: 2-5 females, 5-9 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
The brazenly-conniving servant Scapin is the most devious and audacious character you'll ever encounter. Two young men, Octave and Leandre, enlist his help to save them after they pledge marriage to women their fathers wouldn't approve of. Improvising his way through treacherous turns and outrageous misbehavior, Scapin manages to help the two men and their brides, even managing to exact a personal revenge in the process. But when Scapin is caught in the middle of a trick and abandoned by his cohorts, will his scheming be enough to get him out of trouble unscathed? (A short version of this play is also available.)
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| "Schemings is well-done, unique...excellent entertainment... Mooney's adaptation, combined with actors having genuine fun with their parts, makes for a tremendously humorous show." |
| --Jeffrey P. Brown, Great Lakes Bulletin |
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