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Comedy
Short, 25-35 minutes
7 females, 7 males (4-26 actors possible: 2-13 females, 2-13 males)
$45.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Dating can be hard. Especially when your date happens to be a raging kleptomaniac, or your grandmother's bridge partner, or a mime. Check Please follows a series of blind dinner dates that couldn't get any worse -- until they do. Could there possibly be a light at the end of the tunnel?
(See also Check Please: Take 2 and Check Please: Take 3.)
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| "Simply wonderful! One of the best one acts I've judged in several years." |
| --Iowa High School Speech Association |
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Comedy
Full-length, 60-75 minutes
4 females, 6 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Miss Nelson can't control her crazy classroom because she's just too nice. But when she disappears, her replacement is the hard-as-nails, detention-loving, recess-canceling, homework-overloading substitute teacher Viola Swamp! With the Big Test approaching, the kids suddenly realize how much they miss Miss Nelson and they'll do anything -- including hiring a private eye -- to solve the mystery of her disappearance and bring her back.
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Comedy
Short, 30-40 minutes
4 females, 7 males, 13 either
(10-24 actors possible: 5-18 females, 5-20 males)
$45.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
A whimsical reinvention of Dickens' most beloved Christmas story in wacky rhymed couplets. With zoot fruited juices and binka bird geese, from Bed-Headed Fred to Timmy Loo Hoo, this tale of glorious holiday cheer is similar to something Dr. Seuss might have come up with -- if he ever had his way with the story... (A full-length version of this play is also available.)
"A Seussified Christmas Carol" is not affiliated, endorsed, or sponsored by Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
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Comedy
Short, 25-30 minutes
1 female, 1 male (2-4 actors possible: 0-4 females, 0-4 males)
$40.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Follow Sam and Katie as they go through the trials and tribulations of love at the tender age of five in this hilarious and sweet take on young romance. From the decision to check the "yes" box on their boyfriend/girlfriend contracts to more serious conversations about past nap partners, Sam and Katie find themselves entering into a genuine relationship, all in the midst of worrying about the spelling bee, selling Girl Scout cookies, and figuring out what they want to be when they grow up.
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| "A non-stop 30-minute laughfest!!!" |
| --The Los Angeles Times |
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Comedy
Short, 45-55 minutes
3 females, 4 males, 17 either
(12-24 actors possible: 3-22 females, 2-21 males)
$45.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Goldilocks is on trial for breaking and entering. Will she be found guilty and sent to prison, or will the truth come out? It's up to Judge Wallabee and some very silly jurors to decide, after hearing testimony from Goldee, the bickering Three Bears, and surprise witness Merwin the Big Bad Wolf, among others...
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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/Adventure
Full-length, 75-90 minutes
7 females, 6 males, 13 either
(16-40 actors possible: 2-20 females, 3-20 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Rediscover the loopy fun and the darker corners of J.M. Barrie's original novel with this faithful, fast-moving, and easy-to-stage adaptation. When the carefree and careless Peter Pan flies into the nursery of the Darling home, Wendy follows her instincts for maternity and adventure, bringing her little brothers along to the magical Neverland to take care of the motherless Lost Boys. Soon the Darling children are swept into Peter's deadly battle with Captain Hook and his mostly-fearsome pirate crew. With so much excitement, why ever go home again...?
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| "...not only a beautiful and stirring piece of theater, but also an homage to the homespun, human-scaled magic that makes theater unique." |
| --Mike Fischer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
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Comedy/Murder mystery
Short, 30-40 minutes
8 females, 1 male, 10 either
(14-19 actors possible: 8-11 females, 6-8 males)
$45.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Something is rotten at the Burgatorium, a low-end fast food restaurant...and it's not just the burgers. Hit with a surprise health inspection, employees hilariously rush around to clean up their messes, hide the rats and find real meat for the burgers. But luck is not on their side when their manager turns up dead in a freezer. This super-sized murder mystery comes with a side of funny and a healthy dose of ridiculous as the health inspector and his gangsta intern investigate a lineup of crazy characters that includes a singing tapeworm.
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Dracula adapted by William McNulty
originally dramatized by John L. Balderston and Hamilton Deane from Bram Stoker's world-famous novel, Dracula |
 
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Horror
Full-length, 100-110 minutes
7 females, 7 males (12-14 actors possible: 5-7 females, exactly 7 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Professor Van Helsing and his brave comrades must hunt down and destroy the profoundly evil Count Dracula. But the Count is exceedingly resourceful, employing superhuman strength, psychic powers, and shape-changing to confound and frustrate his antagonists. Culminating in a wild and shocking confrontation between the King of Vampires and those who would rid the world of him, this adaptation is an action-packed, blood-soaked retelling of Bram Stoker's classic tale of horror.
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| "The universality and palatability are the play's strength...undeniably entertaining and exhilarating." |
| --Nathan Thatcher, Louisville Eccentric Observer |
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Comedy
Short, 50-60 minutes
8 females, 5 males, 3 either (16 actors possible: 5-15 females, 1-11 males)
$40.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Five middle schoolers take on overzealous parents, crazy coaches, and
nostalgic relatives as they prepare for the annual spelling bee in this insightful comedy for young actors. With contestants that range from an unflappable cheerleader who cheers all her words to the anxiety-prone daughter of a movie star, spelling the words correctly may be the least of these kids' worries. This play wonderfully illustrates the pressure that kids feel to compete, and the family support that makes it all bearable.
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Drama
Full-length, 100-110 minutes
7 females, 4 males (11-24 actors possible: 7-12 females, 4-12 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Under the guidance of their beloved mother, the four young March sisters -- tempestuous Jo, motherly Meg, shy Beth, and spoiled baby Amy -- struggle to keep their family going while Father's away in the Civil War. In this beautifully dramatized adaptation of the classic novel, even as privation, illness, and sibling rivalry cast their shadows, each girl strives to find her true self. (A one-act version of this play is also available.)
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| "The story, as revealed in Chamberlain's deft adaptation, is a warm tale of love, family, and individuality during the American Civil War." |
| --Peter Vaughan, Minneapolis Star and Tribune |
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Comedy
Short, 32-35 minutes
4 females, 4 males, 3 either
(10-11 actors possible: 4-7 females, 4-7 males)
$40.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Nick is going off to college for the first time. The only problem is, his family is taking him -- his mother worries he will starve to death, his father forgot his tuition check, his teenage sister doesn't see why she has to go, his younger sister just wants to go to her ballet recital, and his grandmother "don't hear so good no more." It's going to be a fun day.
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Comedy
Short, 45-50 minutes
10 females, 9 males, 4 either
(9-31 actors possible: 5-21 females, 4-21 males)
$40.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Rose Red has just turned thirteen, and the pressure is on -- what will she do to get famous like her sister, Snow White? Everyone in the kingdom, from her parents to her close friend Miss Muffet, is pressuring her to get discovered. But Rose Red doesn't want to constantly be on the front page of the Grimm Times, even if Bo Peep, Cinderella, and Goldilocks eat up the attention. In her struggle to choose between doing what everyone else wants and forging her own path, Rose Red can't help wondering if a girl who wants to be "just normal" can live happily ever after.
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Drama
Full-length, 90-100 minutes
4 females, 4 males (8-30 actors possible: 4-15 females, 4-15 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
This is the heroic and true story of children coming of age in Terezin, the "Jewish city" established by the Nazis near Prague as a way station before the death camps. In the face of unspeakable horror, these children use their determination and creativity to build lives filled with hope and beauty -- playing, studying, making art, and writing an underground newspaper -- all at the peril of being executed. Their actual poems and stories are woven into a fast-paced drama, evoking the universality of children caught in the insanity of war.
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| "[And a Child Shall Lead] not only sheds light on this dark camp, it's also relevant to modern conflicts around the world." |
| --Christopher Stollar, Bend Bulletin (Oregon) |
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It's a Wonderful Life adapted by Doug Rand
from the screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, and Jo Swerling |
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Comedy/Drama
Full-length, 90-110 minutes
18 females, 18 males, 15 either
(20-70 actors possible: 6-35 females, 5-35 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
This faithful, fast-moving stage adaptation of the classic film features fluid scene changes, reasonable set requirements, and scores of beefy roles, particularly for women. It's not only a joyful Christmas tale -- it's the gorgeous love story of George and Mary Bailey, a vivid portrait of the Greatest Generation, a descent into the darkest hour of a man trapped by circumstance, and a powerful meditation on what makes a meaningful life.
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Comedy
Full-length, 75-90 minutes
10 females, 10 males, 10 either
(10-80 actors possible: 3-40 females, 3-40 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Travel around the world and explore forgotten myths and unusual legends in eight fast-paced and hilarious tales! Guided by a band of roaming gypsies, the audience is transported from the ancient Far East, where a hero must kill a giant centipede to save a dragon king, to the Russian countryside, where a poor orphan must defeat three witches who stole his grandfather's eyes. Always quirky, and sometimes bizarre, these eight tales are filled with magic, mystery, and morals.
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The Jungle Book adapted by Monica Flory
based on the stories by Rudyard Kipling |
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Adventure comedy/drama
Full-length, 60-75 minutes
5 females, 4 males, 10 either
(12-22 actors possible: 0-22 females, 0-22 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
In this action-packed adaptation of the classic adventure story, precocious Mowgli grows up believing he's as fierce a wolf as any of the members of his pack. When he learns he is actually a human, he must discover how to reconcile these very different identities, and decide whether to remain with the pack, or return to the human world from which he was born. What will he choose? And will he be trained in the Law of the Jungle in time to defeat Shere Khan, the most feared animal of all?
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| "Monica Flory's script is both scrupulously faithful to Rudyard Kipling and completely original in its approach. While Kipling's story is basically a grand adventure, this version takes its subtext -- a boy's quest for identity -- and makes it the heart of the piece. It includes all the book's action and even some of its dialogue, but increases the emotional resonance." |
| --Laurel Graeber, The New York Times |
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Parody
Full-length, 65-80 minutes
4 females, 4 males, 15 either
(14-60 actors possible: 4-30 females, 4-30 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
When Sally falls asleep while reading books about a certain juvenile wizard, she dreams that she is a student at Frogbull Academy of Sorcery. There she meets Headmaster Albatross Underdrawers, Gamekeeper Ruebenon Ryebread, and Professor Shiftia Shape. But danger is lurking, and it's up to Sally and her new friends Dave and Harmonica to defeat the schemes of the evil Lord Murderdeath. Will she become the hero like the one in her favorite series? And who is the mysterious Censor who keeps rewriting the story as it goes along? This loving parody will thrill fans and newcomers alike. (This play has a sequel called Sally Cotter and the Prisoner of Ala Katraz.)
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Comedy for young audiences
Short, 40-50 minutes
2 females, 2 males (4-8 actors possible: 2-6 females, 2-4 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Ten-year-old Violet is determined to show the world, not to mention the cool kids at school, just how special she is. With the help of her assistant Freddy, she sets out to break a world record, but becomes accidentally extraordinary when she's struck by lightning -- twice -- and gains control over all things electric. Under the name Miss Electricity, Violet zaps her way through circuits, bullies, and tests, but could lose everything when the power goes to her head.
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| "Miss Electricity was colorful and fast-paced, with lots of action. The audience -- young and old -- ate it up." |
| --San Diego News Network |
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Comedy
Short, 25-35 minutes
3 females, 3 males, 14 either
(8-20 actors possible: 3-17 females, 2-18 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Zoe thinks a quiet, romantic camping trip in the middle of nowhere should be the perfect opportunity for her easily-distracted boyfriend Perry to finally pop the question. But this idea seems nearly impossible when a steady stream of unexpected guests -- from Robin Hood to The Safety Squirrels -- shows up! With a new forest-dweller disaster happening every time her boyfriend turns his back, will Zoe ever find a moment for a perfect proposal?
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