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Case of the Crushed Petunias, The

Miss Dorothy Simple, proprietor of the Simple Notions Shop in Primanproper, Mass., has barricaded her house and heart behind a double row of petunias.

  • Short Play
  • Comedy
  • 30 minutes

  • Target Audience: Adult

  • Performance Group:
  • College Theatre / Student, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, Professional Theatre
Miss Dorothy Simple, proprietor of the Simple Notions Shop in Primanproper, Mass., has barricaded her house and heart behind a double row of petunias. Today, however, she has woken up to find every single petunia crushed by the footprints of a size-eleven-D shoe.

When the perpetrator, a Young Man, arrives to confess his crime, he comes on a mission to alert Miss Dorothy to the "miraculous accident of being alive." Armed with poetry, seeds for wild roses, and a business card from "LIFE, INCORPORATED," the Young Man endeavors to convince Miss Dorothy of the tremendous inspiration that lies beyond what one can buy or sell in a shop with four walls.

A part of the collection The Magic Tower and Other One-Act Plays.

Premiere Production: The Case of the Crushed Petunias premiered at the Karamu Theatre in Cleveland, OH in February 1957 under the direction of Reuben Silver.
  • Casting: 2M, 2F

  • DOROTHY SIMPLE
    POLICE OFFICER
    YOUNG MAN
    MRS. DULL
  • Name Price
    Case of the Crushed Petunias, The Script Order Now

    Miss Dorothy Simple, proprietor of the Simple Notions Shop in Primanproper, Mass., has barricaded her house and heart behind a double row of petunias. Today, however, she has woken up to find every single petunia crushed by the footprints of a size-eleven-D shoe.

    When the perpetrator, a Young Man, arrives to confess his crime, he comes on a mission to alert Miss Dorothy to the "miraculous accident of being alive." Armed with poetry, seeds for wild roses, and a business card from "LIFE, INCORPORATED," the Young Man endeavors to convince Miss Dorothy of the tremendous inspiration that lies beyond what one can buy or sell in a shop with four walls.

    A part of the collection The Magic Tower and Other One-Act Plays.

    $24.95