based on the novel by Phillip Flammer
(For production by Professionals, College/Universities, Community Groups)
The Wager is a tense dramatic adaptation of a novel-length manuscript by Air Force pilot and Professor of History, Philip Flammer. The play is set in 1945, at the end of World War II. Eight Nazi soldiers, two of them severely wounded, find themselves caught in a shack in a wood surrounded by Soviet troops. Their urgent goal is, somehow, to escape the Russian soldiers and make their way through the forest back to their own lines, but as the most experienced soldier among them, Sergeant Reinberger, explains after returning from a solo reconnaissance mission, the Russians are so thick in the woods that, particularly with wounded men, escape is impossible and death inevitable. The dramatic question is then, how might it be possible to escape? Several schemes are put forward, including killing one or both of the wounded men, and the various plans reveal the true characters of the stranded German soldiers. Even with their wounded and in spite of their fighting, we think they just might make it. Until there is a stupid bet between two of the soldiers. With fateful consequences, the most reasonable and well intended among them, a former professor, approaches and speaks to the approaching Russians.
PLAY DETAILS
- 1 setting (Interior/Exterior)
- 14M
- WWII uniforms for Germany and Russia
- About 120 mins
- Order #3099
Available for immediate production!
COMMENT
“…among the tautest of Rogers’s plays.” —Tim Slover, Professor of Theatre at the University Of Utah
PERUSAL COPIES
- The PERUSAL PAGES file for The Wager are available by clicking WagerPERUSAL. The PDF file is the first act of the play and all other pertinent information about the play.
- This and other plays by Thomas F. Rogers may be read in the new publication: The Plays of Thomas F. Rogers Volume 2 : Personal Journeys, is available containing SEVEN titles: Frére Lawrence, Gentle Barbarian, The Immortal, The Seagull, Siegfried Idyll, The Wager, and A Good Man Is Hard To Find (a short play), all dealing with personal struggles, choice, accountability and consequences. The entire Volume 2 is available HERE for $16.00 (saving $3.99 off the list price).
- Volume 2 of The Plays of Thomas F. Rogers : Perestroika and Glasnost (the FIVE plays included are: Charades, Crime and Punishment, God’s Fools, The Idiot, and The Second Priest. You can purchase the FIVE play volume HERE and get to read Tom Rogers’ plays about Russia before, during and after Communism.
- EMAIL us for rights and information. Be sure to give us anticipated performance dates and the address of your group and, if different, your theatre. Please also include a contact name and phone number.
PURCHASE REHEARSAL MATERIALS:
(Any PDF purchased will be emailed to your email address — if you need to provide that to us (not the one on your PayPal account?), email us. CDs will be mailed to a snail mail address. Do not purchase rehearsal materials or pay for royalties until you have performance clearance.)
- Script in PDF format — Order #3099a : $20.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)
- First Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #3099d : $75
- Second Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #3099e : $60
- Professional Royalties will be quoted upon application
PRODUCTIONS
- Coming Soon
BILLING CREDITS
The following is how the credits should read in all programs, posters, fliers, handbills and other promotional advertising for the show:
The Wager
a play by
Thomas F. Rogers
(based on the novel by Phillip Flammer)
NOTE: The names of the Playwright(s), Composer, Lyricist, and Bookwriter shall be equal in size, type, coloring, boldness, and prominence. No billing shall appear in type larger or more prominent than the billing to the Authors except for the title of the play. (In a press release all type, will of course, be the same size.)
ALSO:
THIS NOTICE MUST APPEAR IN ALL PROGRAMS, ON ALL POSTERS AND PUBLICITY MATERIALS AND INTERNET ADVERTISING/WEBPAGES FOR THE PLAY:
“The Wager is presented through special arrangement with Premiére Theatrical Licensing on behalf of Leicester Bay Theatricals. All authorized materials are also supplied by LBT, www.leicesterbaytheatricals.com”
From the Catalog of
