Papa Married A Mormon • The Play
by John D. Fitzgerald. Adapted for the stage by Rodger D. Sorensen. (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, LDS & Other Church Groups) Papa Married a Mormon is like a family patchwork quilt worn threadbare from use. It becomes more familiar and warm each time you pick it up and wrap yourself in it. Like a quilt, Sorensen’s theatrical adaptation brings us close to these characters — who are not threadbare at all — and wraps us in the kindness of their charitable lives. It asks questions about tolerance and brotherly love. The story is told from the viewpoint of JD Fitzgerald, who grew up in Price, Utah in a family with a Catholic papa and a Scandinavian Mormon mama. Can this house, often divided against itself, stand? Definitely! With Papa and Mama at...
Read More
Land of Oz — The Play
Adapted by J.D. Newman From L. Frank Baum’s classic novel (Perfect for Professional, College/University, Community, High School, Middle School, and other Youth Theatre Groups) The farmgirl Tip lives in the north of Oz with the scheming witch, Old Mombi. When the witch tries to turn her into a statue, Tip runs away with the help of the pumpkin-man and sawhorse she has brought to life. Tip helps the Scarecrow King escape from the Emerald City after it is conquered by the Army of Revolt. Can Tip find the lost Princess Ozma and bring peace to the Land of Oz? This 50-minute tour-de-force is an ideal school touring show for university and professional theatres. From the PREMIERE PLAY FILE PLAY DETAILS: 5 f, 3 m, 3 either gender, plus 2 puppets (can be doubled) TIP – short for “Tippetarius,” a...
Read More
A Christmas Carol — the play
by R. Rex Stephenson (For Community, College/University, High School and Junior High School, Youth Groups, Community and Church groups.) Undoubtedly Dickens’ most famous story, and most often adapted for the stage and screen with hundreds of adaptations available, both play and musical versions, this lively adaptation is quickly becoming a favorite due, in part, to the unique casting available of 8 women and only 6 men. The familiar story is there, but told in a way that allows for a female-heavy cast. The play takes place in a theatre in Rochester, England. Dickens has been called upon by the citizens of the community to write an adaptation of A Christmas Carol for the stage. To the surprise of everyone in town, Dickens not only intends to write the adaptation, but to star in it and direct it. On the...
Read More
Little Women — a musical
Book and Lyrics by R. Rex Stephenson Music by Emily Rose Tucker UNDER CONSTRUCTION PLAY DETAILS: Order#...
Read More
The Cricket On The Hearth — Staged Radio Play
Adapted from the Charles Dickens story by R. Rex Stephenson & Jody D. Brown (For performance by any amateur, educational or professional theatre group.) Dickens’ heartwarming Christmas tribute brings a genial spirit into the festivities as Mr. Tackleton, much like Ebeneezer Scrooge, is changed through the course of the story, into a better person. With great plot points of suspense, intrigue, and mistaken identity along the way, this brisk adaptation allows the audience/listener to wonder if it will turn out all right. Published in 1845, this story of love at Christmastime, the tale of John and Dot Peerybingle, Caleb and Bertha Plummer, May Fielding and––well, that would be spoiling it––has long been a popular ‘sequel’ to Dickens’ holiday favorite, “A Christmas Carol,” originally published in 1843. This show is a great alternative for those tired of seeing the endless...
Read More
Merry Gentlemen — a play inspired by “A Christmas Carol”
by Sheila Rinear Tired of the same old Christmas Carol? This may be exactly what you are looking for! (Perfect for Professional, Community, College/University and High School production.) Merry Gentlemen is a full-length play heavily inspired by Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Ben Dickens lost his wife, Isabelle, in a car crash on Christmas Eve. That was seven years ago. Since then Ben has focused only on his job, forcing his teenage son, Tim, to fend for himself. Isabelle appears to both her husband and son urging them to reach out to each other and mend their relationship…and it needs to happen by this soon-to-arrive Christmas when her Spirit must depart from their sphere for eternity. In this full-length play, Ben and Tim Dickens’ paths mystically cross those of various characters who lead Ben and Tim out of their bleak,...
Read More
PINOCCHIO — A FAMILY MUSICAL
A Family Musical Book and Lyrics by Max C. Golightly Music by Neil K. Newell (Suitable for performance by large cast Community, University/College, High School and Youth Theatre) Inside each of us is a child–a little frightened, a bit unsure, wanting very much to find somewhere, someone to love. This is the story of a bond between a lonely woodcarver and a little wooden marionette who wanted so much to be a real boy. Through this story we learn that dreams are necessary–that love and belief are keys that open the doors to happiness. A new and delightful adaptation of Collodi’s classic. “A Broadway Quality Musical!” A wonderful feature of this script is that it has two endings for TWO different times of the year. There is a Christmas Ending (the original ending), but there is also an...
Read More
Toad! — A “Wind In The Willows” Musical
by Beverly Warner, Mimi Bean & Wes Wright (Perfect for Colleges/Universities, Community Groups, Children’s and Youth Theatres, High Schools, and Professional Theatres that can handle 15 characters + chorus) A lively and sprightly version of Kenneth Grahame’s “The Wind In The Willows”. This adaptation is packed with fast-paced, non-stop action from lights up to lights down. All of the wonderful characters are waiting for you in this Broadway style adaptation: Mr. Toad, Ratty, Moley, Badger and a delightful story of reckless abandon. The dialogue is witty and the script is cleverly devised to portray the foolishness of the self-centered, egotistical Mr. Toad and his warmhearted, well-meaning friends. Great opportunity for the use of creative animal makeup and costumes! Plenty of chances for good, exciting choreography. PLUS a well hidden yet, discernible moral is entertainingly presented. A first class score!...
Read More
The Wind in the Willows — Short Musical
Book, Music and Lyrics by Meg Phillips Crespy Suitable for Professional, Amateur and Educational theatres for Children and Youth, TYA Written in melodrama style — in keeping with may of the theatricals of the period in which the original novel was written and the story set — the script encourages audience participation. It chronicles the adventures of Toad and his friends with a fast-moving storyline, lots of humor, and a nod to Kenneth Grahame’s beautiful prose. Although the primary audience is children, the script also contains references for adults, in the vein of the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons. PLAY DETAILS 1M, 4 actors of either gender. Several fluid settings. Running Time: 40 mins Order # 3195 Available! REVIEWS and COMMENTS: SOON PERUSAL MATERIALS Perusal Pages File available WITW PERUSAL (The PDF file contains the first half of...
Read More
The Plays of Thomas F. Rogers Volume 1: Perestroika and Glasnost
Thomas F. Rogers is a prominent Playwright and former Professor of the Russian language, now retired. Having lived in the U.S. and in Russia, his plays have made the mystery and controversy of “The Red East” singularly accessible His plays, “Charades,” “Crime and Punishment,” “God’s Fools,” “The Idiot,” and “The Second Priest,” gathered in one volume for the first time, deal with Russia, Russians, and The U.S.S.R, their relations with other countries as well as internally, and focus on the transition into and out of Communism. Taut, political and ideological dramas, all, they enlighten the Human condition, in thoughtful and lively stage adaptations. Now arranged in this one volume, they are available for study and perusal by Professors, Scholars, and Students, Producers, Directors and Actors, who will grow to appreciate the keen mind, probing satire, and wit of Thomas...
Read More
Crime and Punishment — A New Play
Adapted and Translated by Thomas F. Rogers (Can be produced by Professional, College/University, Community and High School groups.) CRIME AND PUNISHMENT focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in St. Petersburg who formulates and executes a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her cash. He argues that with the pawnbroker’s money he can perform good deeds to counterbalance the crime while ridding the world of a worthless vermin. He also commits the murder to test his own hypothesis that some people are naturally capable of such things and even have the right to so behave. Several times throughout the novel, Raskolnikov justifies his actions by comparing himself with Napoleon Bonaparte, believing that murder is permissible in pursuit of a higher purpose. Although not a playwright, Dostoevsky has been cited as having...
Read More
The Idiot — An Adaptation
by Thomas F. Rogers Translated and adapted from the Dostoyevsky novel. (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups) How would the world react if the Savior of the World again suddenly appeared in the guise of just another mortal? The profound Russian writer Dostoevsky inserts such a character in each of his four major novels—in CRIME AND PUNISHMENT the prostitute Sonya Marmeladovama, in THE POSSESSED (or THE DEVILS the false Messiah Stavroginm and in THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV the maligned but holy abbot Zosima and his righteous disciple Alesha. In all literature there are in fact very few memorable ‘Christ figures.’ Don Quixote may be one as well as another Russian author’s protagonist, Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago. In the opinion of this stage version’s adaptor, the hero of THE IDIOT, Myshkin, is the most complete and impressive of...
Read More
The Seagull — An Adaptation
Adapted and Translated by Thomas F. Rogers from the Chekhov original. (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools) The first of Anton Chekhov’s four major plays,* THE SEAGULL depicts the conflicting aspirations of writers and artists, old and young—the budding playwright Konstantin; his actress mother Irina; her philandering lover, the famous author Trigorin; and Konstantin’s soulmate Nina, who yearns to be an actress like his mother but is callously dallied with by Trigorin. A seagull he happens to shoot symbolizes both Nina’s failure and Konstantin’s actual fate when, in despair, he takes his own life. THE SEAGULL is a slice-of-life drama set in the Russian countryside at the end of the 19th century. Its cast of characters are dissatisfied with their lives. Some desire love. Some desire success. Some hope to realize artistic genius. Some critics...
Read More
A Southern Christmas Carol — A New Musical
Book, Music and Lyrics by Rob. Lauer Musical Arrangements by Jeff Joyner (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Church Groups, Youth Theatres) “Think Charles Dickens meets Horton Foote.” Looking for a funny, deeply moving, musical Christmas show that will entertain audiences of all ages and backgrounds?…A critically acclaimed musical that can be produced with as few as 10 actors or with as many as 30? Then look no further! When “A Southern Christmas Carol” premiered in 2003, critics called it “good fun…a hoot that warms the heart”… “Lovely, there’s no other single word to describe it…Charles Dickens himself couldn’t have written a better account of the spirit of Christmas. At least not Christmas in 1933 Depression-ridden Southwest Georgia.” In “A Southern Christmas Carol,” award-winning playwright Rob. Lauer moves the classic tale of Scrooge from ...
Read More
Fauntleroy! The Musical
An Exciting New Musical Book & Lyrics by Max Golightly. Music & Lyrics by C. Michael Perry. (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Junior High Schools, Church Groups, Youth Theatres) The charming adaptation of the timeless classic, LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY. The original story that helped inspire “Little Orphan Annie.” The tale of a wonderful, well-bred American boy, Cedric Erroll, who suddenly finds himself a member of the British aristocracy through his deceased father’s inheritance. He leaves his life and friends behind him in New York City to travel to England where he will be trained by and live with a man he has never met, his grandfather, Lord Of Dorincourt. Troubles and set backs plague him but in the end he emerges — “Fauntleroy!” PLAY DETAILS: 11M 8W 6B 1G + chorus Wing and...
Read More
The Odyssey • A Play
by Homer Adapted by Rodger D. Sorensen (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Middle Schools/Junior High Schools, Church Groups, Children’s Theatres/Youth Theatres) Most people figure he’s dead. But — NO! Odysseus has merely been held captive by the Nymph Kalypso for seven years; the Sea God Poseidon is furious with him for killing his son, Polyphemos; Zeus is mad because he helped win the Trojan War; his ship is driven to the island of Circe, which drives the crew mad as she turns them into pigs; and then the crew also ate the sacred cattle of Helios, the Sun God. No one important is seeking vengeance. It makes you wonder if any of them will arrive, safely or otherwise, back in Ithaka; where his wife is waiting for Odysseus, along with dozens of suitors...
Read More
A Christmas Carol • A Play
Adapted from the Dickens classic by Rodger Sorensen (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Junior High Schools, Church Groups, Youth Theatres) The traditional story told in the most un-traditional way! In Rodger’s uniquely and dramatically narrative voice the characters will jump to life for your audiences; and the meaning of the play, with such importance for today’s audiences, will not be missed or forgotten. Dickens’ characters were never so jolly, or important as they are in this special adaptation. PLAY DETAILS: Company of 10 M 11W 3B 2G Simple Settings with props About 100 minutes Order # 3051 Available for ALL producing groups. PERUSAL MATERIALS The Perusal Pages File (in PDF format) can be read by clicking ChristmasCarolPERUSAL It contains the first half of the script. PURCHASE REHEARSAL MATERIALS: (Any PDF purchased will be emailed...
Read More
Tom Brown’s Schooldays — The Musical
First performed in London at the Cambridge Theatre in the early 1970s, this title is available nowhere else. It was then brought to the States in the mid-1980s by Bruce Hertford in a stunning production mounted at BYU. This is the story of Rugby School and Young Tom Brown as he faces the bully Flashman, befriends Ned East and learns the ways of manhood from Dr. Thomas Arnold — headmaster. A terrific score with witty lyrics combine with a literate script to bring these vivid and time tested characters to life! The original novel was the first of all the “British Public School” novels; all that followed, as good as they were, owe their inspiration to this seminal book. (Including “Goodbye, Mr. Chips: and the “Harry Potter” series.) PLAY DETAILS: Order #3011 PROMOTIONAL VIDEO This is a compilation about...
Read More
The Jungle Book — A Play
Adapted by R. Rex Stephenson (TYA) (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Middle Schools/Junior High Schools, Elementary Schools, Church Groups, Children’s Theatres/Youth Theatres) The play is a masterly example of drama to entertain the whole family, while getting the audience hooked on the pleasures of digging into a classic book and participating in the storytelling process. Like Kipling’s original two volumes of The Jungle Books, the play contains a collection of short stories and poems. The many generations of readers who have ranked Kipling’s books among their favorite stories will appreciate Stephenson’s fidelity to the original text. Scenes from the Mowgli stories are arranged in episodes that form a coherent account of Mowgli’s young life. The fantasy of talking animals raising an abandoned man-cub makes this play particularly appealing to young children, while both...
Read More
Cricket On The Hearth — A New Dickens Christmas Musical
Book Music and Lyrics by C. Michael Perry (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Church Groups, Youth Theatres) This is Dickens’ other Christmas carol. The magic of life is evident in the Peerybingle household with a happy marriage and a newborn son. Two houses are blessed by the lucky Crickets: The Peerybingles, the Plummers with Mr. Tackleton’s awaiting the blessing of life and love.. Everyone’s paths are soon to cross with Tackleton, a disgruntled toymaker, who hates all humanity except May Fielding. He lives to make people miserable — especially children — as his toys are gruesome and scary. His employees, Caleb and Bertha, (who is blind) are simple, poor people who slave to make quality toys that the children will play with. Tackleton berates them, but their toys are purchased over his and...
Read More
Frank’N Styne — The New Halloween Musical
BOOK and LYRICS by Larry Hillhouse MUSIC by C. Michael Perry (TYA) (For production by College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Middle Schools/Junior High Schools, Church Groups, Youth Theatres) A hilarious send-up of the Frankenstein story as the great grandson of the original comes to Castle Styne as heir to the mysteries of his predecessors. The score contains gems like the maids singing “Castles Are So Hard To Dust”, the new monster sings “It’s Alive” as he imitates Elvis, Egor sings about “Goin’ Choppin’” as he prepares to shop for body parts, and the list goes on. It’s perfect for Halloween. Franklin Kenneth Styne inherits an old castle from a distant relative (Frankie N. Styne). Upon arriving, he finds that he also inherited a Styne Castle staff, consisting of a hunchback experimenter who converses with a portrait, a cook,...
Read More
Heidi — A New Musical
Book and Lyrics by Gayanne Ramsden Music and Lyrics by C. Michael Perry (TYA) (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Middle Schools/Junior High Schools, Church Groups, Youth Theatres) A faithful telling of the classic story of the little girl and her Grandfather on the Alm. The focus of the musical is on how Heidi’s life and ebullient spirit touches and changes each life she comes in contact with as she grows up and learns about God. Peter, Alm Uncle, The Grandmother, Klara Sesseman, Herr Sesseman, Grandmother Sesseman, the Servants — all are changed by their contact with Heidi. Even Miss Rottenmeier and the Professor are touched by her magic, but choose not to change. Heidi does not remain unchanged by her contact with those around her; she soaks up life and learns painful and...
Read More
Great Expectations — A New Musical
Book, Music and Lyrics by Neil K. Newell & C. Michael Perry (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Church Groups, Youth Theatres) On a wet and dreary day in 1858, Charles Dickens finds shelter from a storm in the home of one Phillip Pirrip. Intrigued by the unusual artifacts that decorate his home he entreats Phillip to tell him the story behind them. The 65 year-old Phillip begins telling the story of his childhood, when he was known as Pip, in what is soon to become Dickens’ newest novel, “GREAT EXPECTATIONS.” Considered one of Dickens’ finest works, “GREAT EXPECTATIONS” is the coming of age story of the orphan Pip who falls in love with the unreachable Estella. In order to win her he desires to raise himself from a blacksmith’s apprentice to a gentleman....
Read More
Little Princess — A New Musical
Book, Music and Lyrics by C. Michael Perry (TYA) (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Middle Schools/Junior High Schools, Church Groups, Children’s Theatres/Youth Theatres) A beloved children’s classic now available in a new musical treatment. Sara Crewe is a gifted and well-mannered child, and Captain Crewe, her father, is an extraordinarily wealthy man. So, Miss Minchin, mistress of Sara’s boarding school, has no choice but to treat Sara as her star pupil — a little princess. One day the message comes through that Sara’s father has died penniless in India. Miss Minchin reduces Sara to a beggar and a drudge and the other girls laugh and make fun. All except for Lottie and Ermengarde and the little scullery maid, Becky. They keep Sara going and she enthuses them. Sara is strong-willed and courageous and...
Read More
Scarlet Pimpernel — A New Musical
Book and Lyrics by Will Huddleston Music and Lyrics by C. Michael Perry Original Concept and Lyrics by Barry Collyer Orchestrations by C. Michael Perry, Sean Jackson, Trent Oliphant, and Jason Porter. Vocal Arrangements by C. Michael Perry & Trisha Garrett (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Church Groups, Youth Theatres) Sir Percy Blakeney, The Scarlet Pimpernel, is the 17th Century equivalent of a modern “super hero”. This Englishman has rescued countless victims from the jaws of Madame Guillotine during the French Revolution. He has eluded the French authorities by his wits and clever disguises. A member of the French Committee for Public Safety named Chauvelin, is on his trail. He has married the most beautiful and popular woman in all France, Marguerite St. Just. But the marriage has turned sour due to unspoken...
Read More
The Adventures of Huck Finn — A Musical
by Mark Twain Adapted by R. Rex Stephenson Music by Jon Cohn and C. Michael Perry Lyrics by R. Rex Stephenson, Jon Cohn and C. Michael Perry (TCY & YT) (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Middle Schools/Junior High Schools, Church Groups, Children’s Theatres/Youth Theatres) This adaptation of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows Mark Twain’s novel from Huck running away from The Widow Douglas to join Jim for their adventures down the Mississippi River. They encounter the King and the Duke; get involved in a Shakespearian production of “Romeo and Juliet,” are joined by Tom Sawyer and end up at Aunt Sally’s, where Jim is freed and Huck takes off for “Injun Territory.” The songs are sprightly and evocative and some are just plain beautiful like Jim’s song about Freedom. This show has so...
Read More
Enchanted April: a musical
A Month In Italy…In A Castle… https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.138/5ba.d01.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/EA-Trailer-1-The-Bows.mp4 Book and Lyrics by Elizabeth Hansen Music, Lyrics and arrangements by C. Michael Perry based on the novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim Appearing here under license from Hansen-Perry Productions. (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups. RIGHTS CURRENTLY RESTRICTED slightly — please inquire if you are interested in this show. Leicester Bay Theatricals is acting as AGENT for this musical. It is not considered a PUBLISHED musical, but one that is “in-process”.) London, 1922. It’s a rainy, miserable, dreary day in London and LOTTY WILKINS, a dowdy woman of about 30, is miserable and dreary in it. Longing for a respite from the rain, Lotty finds refuge in her women’s club where she happens upon an ad in the “Agony Column” of the London Times that reads: “To Those who...
Read More
Tom Sawyer — A Musical
Book, Music & Lyrics by C. Michael Perry (TYA) (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, Middle Schools/Junior High Schools, Church Groups, Children’s Theatres/Youth Theatres) Adapted from the Mark Twain novel, this TOM SAWYER tells the story of Tom & Huck and Tom & Becky as teenagers, not young children, theirs is a story of adolescent awakening — the plot is woven together by the ominous thread of Injun Joe who wants revenge on Tom. The story is intact and most of the familiar scenes are there, but, many of the wonderful scenes skipped over by other dramatists are included to heighten the subplot and conflict of the Injun Joe side of the story. The musical has heart and doesn’t whitewash the characters or the events. Yet, it still remains a musical that the entire...
Read More