New Plays to Explore
8 May
Exciting New Plays Now Available on Our Website!
A New Sherlock Holmes Adventure
by Ken Ludwig
Full Length Play, Adaptations (Literature), Comedy, Mystery/Thriller, Victorian (British and American)
Cast: 3M, 2F
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are back on the case! An investigation into the Bohemian king's stolen letters cascades into an international mystery filled with spies, blackmail and intrigue. With world peace at stake, Holmes and Watson join forces with American actress Irene Adler to take down cunning criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty and his network of devious henchmen. Five actors play over 40 roles in this adventure that has danger - and laughter! - around every corner.
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Full Length Play, Adaptations (Literature), Comedy, Mystery/Thriller, Victorian (British and American)
Cast: 3M, 2F
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are back on the case! An investigation into the Bohemian king's stolen letters cascades into an international mystery filled with spies, blackmail and intrigue. With world peace at stake, Holmes and Watson join forces with American actress Irene Adler to take down cunning criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty and his network of devious henchmen. Five actors play over 40 roles in this adventure that has danger - and laughter! - around every corner.
More details
THE BACHELORETTE PARTY
Girls' Weekend 2
by Karen Schaeffer
Full Length Play, Comedy, Present Day, Contemporary
Cast: 5M, 5F
Dot, Meg, Carol and Ellie are back in Dot's Northwoods cabin for Meg's bachelorette party, but Meg and Sheriff Tom Lane have other ideas--a secret plan to elope at the cabin that night while everyone else is still out for the party. Carol and Ellie make similar secret plans to rendezvous with their respective men, Rick and Bubba, making the cabin a bit more crowded than Meg and Tom had anticipated. Throw in Dot's stash of "special" cookies, an ex-lover and a B and E, and you have a full-blown night of hilarious chaos. Thank goodness for the wine!
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See also Girls' Weekend
Girls' Weekend 2
by Karen Schaeffer
Full Length Play, Comedy, Present Day, Contemporary
Cast: 5M, 5F
Dot, Meg, Carol and Ellie are back in Dot's Northwoods cabin for Meg's bachelorette party, but Meg and Sheriff Tom Lane have other ideas--a secret plan to elope at the cabin that night while everyone else is still out for the party. Carol and Ellie make similar secret plans to rendezvous with their respective men, Rick and Bubba, making the cabin a bit more crowded than Meg and Tom had anticipated. Throw in Dot's stash of "special" cookies, an ex-lover and a B and E, and you have a full-blown night of hilarious chaos. Thank goodness for the wine!
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See also Girls' Weekend
By Eliza Clark Adapted by Gillian Greer
Full Length Play, Drama, Present Day, Contemporary
Cast: 1F
Irina takes erotic photos of average-looking men. Always behind the lens, she watches, she moulds, and she stalks. These boys are putty in her hands, just the way she likes it.
When the opportunity to show her photographs in a fashionable London gallery coincides with a new boy to obsess over, cracks begin to appear. How far can she push her new prey for the perfect shot, or has she already gone too far?
Based on the critically acclaimed debut novel by Eliza Clark, which was a finalist for the Women's Prize Futures Award, Boy Parts is a pitch-black psychological thriller that subverts the erotic gaze and asks what happens when our need for connection gets twisted.
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HOPE SPRINGS
by Richard Conlon
Full Length Play, Drama, Present Day
Cast: 13 any gender
When all communications are lost with an offshore privately run youth correction facility, two educational inspectors head off to work out what has happened. They get more than they bargained for in this tale which explores big issues for young people.
Sent to the island for "behaviour modification", some of the pupils have staged a rebellion sparked by a singular dramatic event, while others simply wanted to keep their heads down and leave after they have gone through "the programme".
This text will spark not only strong performances from teenagers, but also debates about the rights and wrongs in the script ? it will see readers and performers asking the question "what would I have done"?
Full Length Play, Drama, Present Day, Contemporary
Cast: 1F
Irina takes erotic photos of average-looking men. Always behind the lens, she watches, she moulds, and she stalks. These boys are putty in her hands, just the way she likes it.
When the opportunity to show her photographs in a fashionable London gallery coincides with a new boy to obsess over, cracks begin to appear. How far can she push her new prey for the perfect shot, or has she already gone too far?
Based on the critically acclaimed debut novel by Eliza Clark, which was a finalist for the Women's Prize Futures Award, Boy Parts is a pitch-black psychological thriller that subverts the erotic gaze and asks what happens when our need for connection gets twisted.
More details
HOPE SPRINGS
by Richard Conlon
Full Length Play, Drama, Present Day
Cast: 13 any gender
When all communications are lost with an offshore privately run youth correction facility, two educational inspectors head off to work out what has happened. They get more than they bargained for in this tale which explores big issues for young people.
Sent to the island for "behaviour modification", some of the pupils have staged a rebellion sparked by a singular dramatic event, while others simply wanted to keep their heads down and leave after they have gone through "the programme".
This text will spark not only strong performances from teenagers, but also debates about the rights and wrongs in the script ? it will see readers and performers asking the question "what would I have done"?
See also Hope Springs Youth Edition
THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE
by Kurt Shineman
Full Length Play, Drama, Mystery/Thriller, 1970s
Cast: 1M, 3F
It is December 1975, after Christmas, and Agatha Christie must finish her autobiography and the final novel before the new year. Yet, Agatha is fixated on an event in her past when Nancy Neele stole her husband. With Mary Westmacott's help, they contemplate what it would be like to kill Nancy. Even though Agatha considered murdering Nancy, did she really do it, or is her reality disappearing?
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I'M GONNA MARRY YOU TOBEY MAGUIRE
by Samantha Hurley
Full Length Play, Dark Comedy, New Millennium/21st Century
Cast: 1M, 1F, 1M or F
To cope with the absence of her father, neglect from her mother, and ridicule by her classmates, eighth grader Shelby Hinkley has put all of her time and energy into the only thing that matters in 2004: Spiderman. When leading a devout online fan club proves insufficient to her needs, Shelby decides to risk it all for love, kidnap famous actor Tobey Maguire, and marry him in her basement. Her fantasies of happily ever after start to crumble as she realizes Tobey may not be the charismatic heartthrob she thinks she knows. A Y2K farce, I?m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire is a full-throttle explosion of our para-social relationships and the obsessions that detonate them.
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by Kurt Shineman
Full Length Play, Drama, Mystery/Thriller, 1970s
Cast: 1M, 3F
It is December 1975, after Christmas, and Agatha Christie must finish her autobiography and the final novel before the new year. Yet, Agatha is fixated on an event in her past when Nancy Neele stole her husband. With Mary Westmacott's help, they contemplate what it would be like to kill Nancy. Even though Agatha considered murdering Nancy, did she really do it, or is her reality disappearing?
More details
I'M GONNA MARRY YOU TOBEY MAGUIRE
by Samantha Hurley
Full Length Play, Dark Comedy, New Millennium/21st Century
Cast: 1M, 1F, 1M or F
To cope with the absence of her father, neglect from her mother, and ridicule by her classmates, eighth grader Shelby Hinkley has put all of her time and energy into the only thing that matters in 2004: Spiderman. When leading a devout online fan club proves insufficient to her needs, Shelby decides to risk it all for love, kidnap famous actor Tobey Maguire, and marry him in her basement. Her fantasies of happily ever after start to crumble as she realizes Tobey may not be the charismatic heartthrob she thinks she knows. A Y2K farce, I?m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire is a full-throttle explosion of our para-social relationships and the obsessions that detonate them.
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by Arlene Hutton
Full Length Play, Drama, 19th Century
Cast: 6M, 3F
Set against the bleak and windy Yorkshire moors in the 1800s, Three Sisters Brontë follows the lives of the Brontë sisters as they struggle to find creative prosperity while navigating the harsh realities of male society.
Faced with limited opportunities for scholarly women, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne live in the rich worlds of their imaginations, dreaming of life in London, until they are forced to face the truth that nothing is certain, and their destinies are best served when held firmly in their own hands. As their brother Branwell descends into madness and their father grows blind, the three sisters must find a way to make their own living in an era when men of means asked ?the woman question?: what does society do with educated unmarried women?
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A DOLL'S HOUSE
By Amy Herzog Adapted from the play by Henrik Ibsen
Full Length Play, Drama, 19th Century
Cast: 2M, 3F
Ibsen's celebrated play thrust drama firmly into the modern age when it premiered in 1879. Now, nearly 150 years later, acclaimed playwright Amy Herzog makes freshly relevant a story that shocked audiences and brought forth a new era of theatre. Herzog's thrilling, compact and devastatingly contemporary adaptation runs a mere 110 minutes.
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It's a Wonderful Life (stage version)
Adapted by Mary Elliott Nelson
Full Length Play, Dramatic Comedy, Christmas/Holiday, 1940s / WWII
Cast: 4M or F
"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings."
Christmas Eve, 1946, Bedford Falls. Down-on-his-luck banker George Bailey feels life has passed him by, and he's at the end of his rope. But when George's guardian angel pays him a visit, he's amazed to discover what life in his beloved town would be like without him. Maybe it's a wonderful life, after all?
Based on the critically acclaimed Frank Capra movie, Mary Elliott Nelson's reimagining is a joyful story of love, hope and community.
Full Length Play, Drama, 19th Century
Cast: 6M, 3F
Set against the bleak and windy Yorkshire moors in the 1800s, Three Sisters Brontë follows the lives of the Brontë sisters as they struggle to find creative prosperity while navigating the harsh realities of male society.
Faced with limited opportunities for scholarly women, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne live in the rich worlds of their imaginations, dreaming of life in London, until they are forced to face the truth that nothing is certain, and their destinies are best served when held firmly in their own hands. As their brother Branwell descends into madness and their father grows blind, the three sisters must find a way to make their own living in an era when men of means asked ?the woman question?: what does society do with educated unmarried women?
More details
A DOLL'S HOUSE
By Amy Herzog Adapted from the play by Henrik Ibsen
Full Length Play, Drama, 19th Century
Cast: 2M, 3F
Ibsen's celebrated play thrust drama firmly into the modern age when it premiered in 1879. Now, nearly 150 years later, acclaimed playwright Amy Herzog makes freshly relevant a story that shocked audiences and brought forth a new era of theatre. Herzog's thrilling, compact and devastatingly contemporary adaptation runs a mere 110 minutes.
More details
It's a Wonderful Life (stage version)
Adapted by Mary Elliott Nelson
Full Length Play, Dramatic Comedy, Christmas/Holiday, 1940s / WWII
Cast: 4M or F
"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings."
Christmas Eve, 1946, Bedford Falls. Down-on-his-luck banker George Bailey feels life has passed him by, and he's at the end of his rope. But when George's guardian angel pays him a visit, he's amazed to discover what life in his beloved town would be like without him. Maybe it's a wonderful life, after all?
Based on the critically acclaimed Frank Capra movie, Mary Elliott Nelson's reimagining is a joyful story of love, hope and community.