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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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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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Comedy
Short, 45-55 minutes
3 females, 3 males, 6 either
(8-35 actors possible: 1-35 females, 1-35 males)
$45.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Two battling narrators attempt to cover the entirety of Greek mythology using audience participation, cross-dressing, and general theatrical insanity. Creation myths such as Pandora's Box and Cronos and the Titans jostle for space with other famous myths like Jason and the Argonauts (the original Super Friends). Culminating in a heart-pounding, five-minute, two-actor version of The Iliad, this fast-paced, free-wheeling play is wild, silly, and a complete blast for all ages. (A full-length version and an Iliad! only version of this play are also available.)
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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, 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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| Oz by Don Zolidis |
 
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Comedy/Drama
Short, 40-50 minutes
4 females, 4 males, 4 either
(8-16 actors possible: 4-8 females, 4-8 males)
$45.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Reeling from her sister's death, Beth suddenly finds herself journeying through a world suspiciously resembling the film The Wizard of Oz. But with the yellow brick road sold to foreign investors after a financial meltdown, the Scarecrow reveling in his ignorant bliss, the Cowardly Lion acting like a paranoid sociopath, and the Tin Man embracing his emotional numbness, Beth wonders what role she plays in this classic story gone awry. A hilarious and heart-wrenching exploration of grief and perseverance on the road to acceptance.
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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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Dramedy
Short, 30-45 minutes
5 either (5-32 actors possible: 0-32 females, 0-32 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Being a teenager is hard, and nobody wants to talk about it. Confronting the daily challenges of growing up, this series of monologues and scenes offers a look at a multitude of issues -- including dealing with parents who just don't get it, rumors, bullying, and suicide. By turns funny and tragic, the gritty details of adolescence surface -- exposing the things teenagers can't, won't, and don't want to talk about.
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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, 90-120 minutes
8 females, 8 males, 5 either
(13-40 actors possible: 7-20 females, 5-20 males)
$85.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Forget all your dusty misconceptions about the traditions of commedia dell'arte as The Love of Three Oranges, based on a scenario by Carlo Gozzi, provides a wild, raucous slapstick comedy that is completely retooled and revised for today's audiences. Prince Tartaglia's life is filled with misery until an evil witch and her equally evil henchmen curse him to search for three giant oranges. But this quest proves more fruitful than anyone could have imagined as a once-lonely prince discovers love, friendship, and laughter when he encounters wizards, monarchs, and a wild narrator who isn't sure how far removed from the story he really is.
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| "...the cast members appear to be having so much fun on stage that it's hard not to get caught up in their playful spirit." |
| --Lisa Millegan, Modesto Bee (California) |
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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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Drama
Full-length, 80-90 minutes
20 either (5-76 actors possible: 0-76 females, 0-76 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
If you could say anything you wanted, without any consequences or judgment, just what would you say? Based on student responses from around the country, What I Want to Say But Never Will explores this simple but intimate question, offering a glimpse into teenagers' most private thoughts. Told through monologues and anecdotes from the playwright himself, these confessions range from a hilarious rant on an art teacher's bad breath to a touching piece of advice from a brother leaving for the Navy.
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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
Short, 20-30 minutes
2 females, 2 males, 15 either
(4-19 actors possible: 2-15 females, 2-15 males)
$40.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Living with parents can be rough -- especially when Mom and Dad are nothing but ordinary. So when Julie and her mother get into a battle over curfew, Julie convinces her brother Johnnie to hold interviews for new and improved parents. Not to be outdone, Mom and Dad conduct their own interviews for new children. Faced with interviewees from a militant father to a get-rich-quick-scheming child, "ordinary" doesn't look so bad anymore.
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Comedy
Short, 20-25 minutes
2 females, 3 males, 3 either (7-8 actors possible: 2-5 females, 3-6 males)
$45.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
At first glance, this is a typical family comedy: teenage James and girlfriend Karen try to make out one afternoon, only to face repeated interruptions by other members of James' family. But the ultimate interruption comes when a cell phone goes off in the audience, breaking the "fourth wall" so that James can see the spectators. As James tries to convince his increasingly worried family that a wall is missing from their house, and that people are watching them, the play takes more left turns than Bugs Bunny should have taken at Albuquerque -- until it reaches a happy (if twisted) ending.
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Comedy
Short, 35-45 minutes
4 females, 9 males, 7 either (20 actors possible: 4-11 females, 9-16 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
The Bard's most beloved comedy gets the full Seuss treatment in this playful adaptation. Two madcap Narrators chronicle the tale of the mixed-up lovers as they wander through a forest full of whoosh bush tush beasts and fairies dueling with bumballoon swords. Told in rhyming couplets, this reimagining is how Shakespeare's magical tale might have played if Dr. Seuss had gotten his hands on it... (A full-length version of this play is also available.)
"The Seussification of A Midsummer Night's Dream" is not affiliated, endorsed, or sponsored by Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
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Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka
based on Homer's The Odyssey |
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Drama
Full-length, 90 minutes
6 females, 5 males (11-35 actors possible: 6-20 females, 5-15 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Separated from his mother, a young refugee called Anon journeys through the United States, encountering a wide variety of people -- some kind, some dangerous and cruel -- as he searches for his family. From a sinister one-eyed butcher to beguiling barflies to a sweatshop, Anon must navigate through a chaotic, ever-changing landscape in this entrancing adaptation of Homer's Odyssey.
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| "Anon(ymous) is [a] stunning retelling of an epic quest." |
| --Dominic P. Papatola, St. Paul Pioneer Press |
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Comedy
Full-length, 75-85 minutes
4 females, 6 males, 15 either
(10-47 actors possible: 4-30 females, 6-39 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
To sell out or not to sell out? Not really much of a question. After their budget is slashed, the drama club turns to Shakespeare's greatest tragedy to raise cash, but it's not tickets that are going to fund this year's show: It's sweet, sweet corporate sponsorship and mid-play commercial advertising. The sponsors demand changes in the stodgy old script, but who cares if Shakespeare never wrote musical numbers with back-up dancers or post-apocalyptic zombie battles? He's dead and he can't complain. Or sue. A lightning-quick, hilarious perversion of the greatest play in the English language. (A one-act version of this play is also available.)
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Comedy
Short, 35-45 minutes
7 females, 7 males, 15 either
(14-47 actors possible: 7-21 females, 7-26 males)
$40.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
To sell out or not to sell out? Not really much of a question. After their budget is slashed, the drama club turns to Shakespeare's greatest tragedy to raise cash, but it's not tickets that are going to fund this year's show: It's sweet, sweet corporate sponsorship and mid-play commercial advertising. The sponsors demand changes in the stodgy old script, but who cares if Shakespeare never wrote musical numbers with back-up dancers or post-apocalyptic zombie battles? He's dead and he can't complain. Or sue. A lightning-quick, hilarious perversion of the greatest play in the English language.
(A full-length version of this play is also available.)
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Comedy
Short, 32-34 minutes
10 females, 9 males, 15 either
(21-34 actors possible: 8-28 females, 6-28 males)
$40.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Welcome to the Advanced Placement Theatre examination. To demonstrate your knowledge of theater history, you will adapt three classic styles (Bunruku, Greek Theater, and Theater of the Absurd) into short plays dealing with the problems of the modern adolescent. You have thirty minutes to finish. Your time begins...now.
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