Hancock County • a play
Compared by some to “A Man For All Seasons” by Tim Slover (For production by Professional Groups, Community Groups, and College & University Groups) In 1844 the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob. The next year their accused assassins came to trial. Hancock County dramatizes that trial and the tensions between the Mormons, led by Brigham Young, and their enemies, who were trying to drive them from the state of Illinois. “Hancock County” is a very fine play; an intelligent, thrilling, tightly-drawn courtroom drama/tragedy that unfolds into a meditation on America, violence, and forgiveness. It bears comparison to Robert Bolt’s “A Man For All Seasons.” — R. W. Rasband of Association for Mormon Letters “Hancock County” moves swiftly from one scene to another, using and re-using minimal set pieces and props. It...
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Jimmy Higgins: Line By Byline — a one-man play
A Life In The Labor Movement by Harlan Baker (For professional, amateur or educational theatre production) Jimmy Higgins: Line By Byline is about an old radical who tells his story to a young man. Jimmy grows up in the first half of the 20th century in middle America. The play follows his involvement in various labor and socialist struggles from the campaign to free Tom Mooney, the presidential campaign of Eugene Debs, the May Day rallies of 1919, the campaign of Sen. Robert La Follette Sr. on the Progressive Party Ticket to his becoming a reporter on labor struggles in Alabama and Michigan. He witnesses the Battle of the Overpass and Henry Ford’s violent attempt to intimidate labor leader Walter Ruether. This is a tour-de-force production for a single actor. While many of the characters have a basis in...
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Mrs. Smith Goes To Washington — One Woman Play
An Evening with Senator Margaret Chase Smith by Linda Britt (Perfect for professional, amateur and educational production.) This wonderful show is all about Maine’s long-time Representative and Senator. A powerful, funny, timely take on politics in a polarized era. Senator Margaret Chase Smith, a woman of firsts, from her election to both houses of Congress, to speaking out against Joe McCarthy, to her nomination for President at a national convention, comes back when we need her most. PLAY DETAILS 1 simple setting — an office 1 semi-contemporary costume 70 minute ORDER #3043 PERUSAL MATERIALS: PERUSAL SCRIPT: The PDF of 1/2 of the script is available: MrsSmith Goes PERUSAL The KINDLE ebook is available below for perusal purposes REHEARSAL MATERIALS Any PDF purchased will be emailed to your email address — if you need to provide that to us...
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Billy Goes To War — a Play to End All Wars
a play by Harley Marshall (Perfect for Professional, College/University, Community and High School productions) FULL and ONE ACT versions available! ARE ALL WARS THIS WEIRD?! Billy Bunders is the luckiest or unluckiest boy who ever lived. From his birth, on the 4th of July 1900, in Kansas––the son of a German immigrant––Billy survives catastrophic event after catastrophic event: The War to End All Wars; World War II; even the presence of The Korean Conflict, horrifies him; as did the Spanish-American War that haunted his father and affected Billy second-hand. With pointed pathos and barbed politicism, “Billy Goes To War” becomes an intensely involving history lesson as seen through Billy’s eyes and lived through Billy’s actions and with his point of view: “War is …weird!” Dark humor permeates this unsettling play for these darkening times. A small cast makes this...
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SUFFRAGE — a play
a play by Jenifer Nii (For Professional, Educational and Amateur theaters.) SUFFRAGE is an exploration of late 1800s Utah, the second territory in the Union, by 1870, to grant women the right to vote. Wyoming had previously granted that right in 1869. That right was stripped 12 years later when suffrage became a whip for Washington politicians who wanted to end polygamy. The two issues became entwined in a strange, more-than-a-little-malicious way. During the two decades portrayed in the play, Utah women found themselves being called upon to stand strong on two equally threatening fronts. And they did. The story of Ruth and Frances, conveys a bit of what women—particularly polygamous women—faced. The attack was on their way of life, which in so many ways must have felt like an attack on their God and family. The overhanging threat...
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Julius Caesar: A Confederate Conspiracy
by William Shakespeare Adapted by C. Michael Perry Shakespeare’s tragedy of political intrigue set in the South of the American Civil War. The lines of the Bard have been edited, not rewritten. Think of the parallels between the South of the Confederacy and the falling Roman Empire–the upper-class driven government, the overwhelming slave issue, the unpopular yet popular military effort, the plots and ploys concerning political power. For these reasons the play has been set during the Civil War. No dialog has been changed to accommodate this, but the play has been shortened and edited for archaic language. One song, SHENANDOAH, has been inserted as sung by Lucius in the tent, accompanied by his guitar. Perfect for High School and College Theatre Departments, and Youth Theatre Groups. PLAY DETAILS 32M 9F + extras Doubling possible Six settings Playing...
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The Plays of Thomas F. Rogers Volume 2: Personal Journeys
Thomas F. Rogers is a prominent Playwright, traveler and observer of Humanity. The seven plays in this volume, “Frére Lawrence,” “Gentle Barbarian,” “The Immortal,” “The Seagull,” “Siegfried Idyll,” “The Wager, and “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” gathered in one volume for the first time, deal with men and women and their relationships, treacheries, hopes, dreams, plots, plans, cruelties and sometimes kindnesses. Both historical and political these dramas expose the Human condition, in thoughtful and unforgettable stage adaptations. With this volume, they are available for study and perusal by Professors, Scholars, Students, Directors, Actors, Producers and others ready to settle down into a fine drama and experience life through someone else’s eyes. Book Details PRINT VERSION 8.5″ x 11″ (21.59 x 27.94 cm) Black & White on White paper 233 pages ISBN-13: 978-1539464013 ISBN-10: 1539464016 A BISAC: Drama...
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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...
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Counter Intelligence — One-Act
by Sheila Lynch Rinear (Perfect for College/University, Community, Church, High School and Professional Groups.) A Brooklyn diner’s business has fallen off in the days following 9/11. When a customer implies that the “Saudi Arabian-American student who works behind the counter might be the cause, the student counters with a very personal “pledge of allegiance.” Sheila was inspired and supported in writing the play because of the visually emotional effect that 9/11 had on the students of her school district; she calls it “a monstrous violation on the young people of the world. These young citizens seem to want to reclaim the world in the name of peace. I believe the character of Zan, (the Saudi-Arabian/American student), knows how to start the reclamation process.” This is a beautiful play about viewing the God of all the nations of the Earth...
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A Day Without Palestine — One-Act
by Shelia Lynch Rinear (Perfect for College/University, Community, and Professional theatres.) Eve graduates from an expensive University and immediately takes an idealistic, fact-finding tour of the Israeli-Palestinian territory and the Wall in her effort to help bring peace to the people there. She also wanted to follow her passion in the search for truth and peace in a land rich in history and hurt. Upon her return she meets with her parents, Lisa and Rick, and Grandmother Rachael. The seemingly diverse ideologies in the different generations make for a tense meeting until a common ground is found and the daughter realizes that she is very much like her father. But that common ground is broken over the never-ending debate between Economics and Politics, and neither side can be reconciled, as she discovers walls obstructing her own family’s peace. (The...
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Liberation — A Short Play
by J.D. Newman (Perfect for College/University, Community, High School, Middle School and TYA and other Youth Theatre Groups) Four French maidens, hiding from the occupying German army and concealing their identities from each other, capture the soldier who discovers them. One of the young women insists on showing the soldier the stories of misfortune that brought them to their current condition. They enact their stories in metaphor, drawing on a Greek myth, a Biblical story, and the legend of a local saint. When the German soldier reveals that the village has been liberated, he asks to be liberated by death rather than facing the shame of what his people have done to the French people. The four maidens each are seeking a liberation of their own. PLAY DETAILS: 4f 1m About 40 minutes 1 interior of a barn Order # 3122...
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Lightning Rod — A Play
a play by Tim Slover (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups) What is the price of Liberty? For Benjamin Franklin, it was flesh and blood. Widely lauded for his role in giving birth to a new nation, Franklin’s role as a father to his own children remains largely a mystery. This work commissioned by the Fulton Opera House & Franklin and Marshall College, as part of the international celebration of Franklin’s 300 Birthday, in 2006, examines the origins of Franklin’s character and how nothing could divide him from his beloved son, William, except a revolution. This play discusses mature themes. PLAY DETAILS: 2M 3W 2older teenMales (can be doubled) About 120 mins Fluid open setting Period Costumes Order #3117 Available for ALL producing groups. PERUSAL MATERIALS Perusal Pages File Available here: LightningRodPERUSAL (The PDF file contains one...
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Treasure — A Play
by Tim Slover (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups) Ambition. Greed. Lust. Recklessness. Righteousness. Honor. Betrayal. Potential. All make for a chilling political drama. In this glimpse into the life of founding father, Alexander Hamilton, we delve a little bit deeper into early American history. Fifth grade social studies class taught many that Hamilton was a Revolutionary War veteran and a close friend of General and later President Washington’s, who appointed him as Secretary of the Treasury in his new government, but one might wonder what else there is to know about Hamilton. The play examines Hamilton’s conflicts between fidelity, desire, aspiration and honor. Hamilton’s personal indiscretions resulted in blackmail and corruption, as the husband of the woman he was dallying with tried to make a buck off the new Secretary of the Treasury. Speculation, stealing...
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The Political Tinker • The Holberg Acting Edition
by Ludvig Holberg Adapted and Translated by Jerry Argetsinger and Sven Rossel (For production by Professional, Amateur and Educational theatre groups.) The city council in Hamburg, Germany has been at odds with many of its citizens over several important issues. Herman von Bremen, a master pewterer, has established his own “political college” and is an outspoken voice against the local government. Two of the elected city officials discuss the ridiculousness of Bremen and his naive political notions and agree to play a joke on him. They convince him that the City Council has chosen him Mayor due to the ideas advocated by his notorious group. A series of comic situations demonstrate Bremen’s inability to conduct himself appropriately either politically or socially as mayor. His frustration is increased by the mounting attention he must also give his daughter with her...
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Equality of Rights • The First Women’s Rights Convention
by Jerry Argetsinger (For production by Educational, Amateur and Professional groups.) This play was commissioned by Celebrate ‘98 and premiered at the Sesquicentennial of the first Women’s Rights Convention (1998) in the Wesleyan Chapel, Women’s Rights National Historical Park, Seneca Falls, NY, where it is regularly performed. “Equality of Rights” is a dramatic representation of the events leading up to and a reenactment of highlights of the First Women’s Rights Convention at the Wesleyan Chapel, Seneca Falls, NY in 1848. It begins at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, England where the American delegation was made up primarily of Quakers. Upon their arrival, the World Convention leaders caused an uproar by refusing to seat the American women delegates. As they observed and discussed the convention Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott became fast friends and vowed to convene...
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The Immortal — A Play
by Thomas F. Rogers (For performance by Professional, College/University, Amateur and Community groups.) This play imaginatively derives from real incidents that occurred when the Shah of Iran was deposed in 1941 by the theocratically dominated factions that now govern that country’s people. But he did not leave the country until 1953. What the play imaginatively treats are the Shah’s actual thoughts and his possible reaction while dying and in exile. Parables from the Middle East and India are extensively employed in the script as commentary on his circumstances and, more broadly, on the world’s realpolitik, which never seems to change. The issues of this hard-hitting play are just as timely and at home on the stage today as they were in the 1950s. Totalitarian regimes rise and fall and rise again. NOTE: The artwork at the left is a...
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The Second Priest — A Play
by Thomas F. Rogers. (For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups) This play poses the pacifist dilemma. Set in an unspecified locale, now, or sometime in the future, it’s idealistic hero, Agen, refuses to take the lives of his political enemies. In consequence, his wife dies and he loses his memory. As, years later, he recovers from his amnesia, he proves the perfect candidate for his nation’s highest office. Manipulated by his minister and boyhood friend, Cantri, while negotiating a binding peace with a foreign power, Agen unintentionally abets the death of his only child. In an effort to enforce the treaty he’s already paid such a high price for, he finally attempts, in a public address, to dissuade his nation from developing any more deadly weapons. In order to stop him, Cantri orders Agen’s assassination. Ironically,...
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