Books published by Baker's Plays

The long-awaited follow-up to The Eight: Reindeer Monologues: This time it's Santa's turn and Christmas will never ever be the same. Scandal erupts at the North Pole when the most powerful man on Earth is sentenced to rehab for a minor traffic violation. But when he finds himself in a detox program run by the estranged Mrs. Claus Santa's desperate struggle to conceal the truth about his arrest uncovers yet another sordid secret that could mean the end of Christmas-as-we-know-it.

The Good King Wenceslas (a name everyone seems to have trouble pronouncing) sets out to give his gift to a peasant he has seen, but encounters unanticipated difficulties from some of his subjects who question the "political correctness" of his gift.

Sue and her committee get together to plan the church congregational dinner-meeting. While she tries to guide the discussion - often with the aid of a whistle to restore order - Amy prattles, Edith complains, Doris preaches, and Mary amiably agrees with just about everything.

Mrs. Ellis, the English lady who caters small weddings and funeral teas, says she usually serves boiled ham, "but seeing as 'ow this is my first cremation, I didn't think boiled 'am would be appropriate." As the ladies sip their tea, it becomes apparent that someone has misplaced the urn with dear Uncle Jacob's ashes.

Baker's Plays was an advocate for theatre in schools for over one hundred years. In the spirit of that commitment, they offered this playwriting competition for high school students. Plays could be about any subject and of any length. It was their hope that this competition would encourage aspiring high school authors to explore the creative possibilities of writing for the stage.

The young man seated on the bench reads his paper and chats with his wife about domestic matters and their daughter. As the conversation becomes more strained and personal, we realize the bench is in the courtyard of an institution where the young wife is an inmate, and the husband a visitor.

The plays contained in this collection are chosen from the award-winning Boston Theater Marathon.

A highly-theatrical but faithful adaptation of Edith Wharton's romantic and tragic short novel of rural Massachusetts life around the turn of the 20th century.

Beneath the Surface deals with a diverse and volatile group of teenagers and their innovative teacher who sets out to bridge differences and bring peace to the school. It addresses serious issues affecting today's teens, such as peer pressure, drug abuse, and self esteem.

Stella Wild, MBA; Rosemary Adams, JD/MBA; Linda Robertson, MD, PhD; and Beth Ziegler, MBA, have some things in common. Besides being educated, successful, professional women, they also share the same address. It isn't a swanky high rise apartment building or a beachfront condo - they reside at the Delaware Valley Federal Correctional Facility, a low-level security prison for white- and "pink-" collar criminals. With the warden in one pocket and their cell block guard in another, the "Divas" continue to indulge their lavish and luxurious lifestyles until Beth is prematurely released and a murderess moves into her place. Adding insult to injury, the Department of Corrections has announced its intention to close the Delval facility due to mismanagement and relocate inmates to the less-than-glamorous Black Rock Federal Prison. How do the Divas save Delval, solve a murder, and reunite on a Roman holiday? Who ever said that crime doesn't pay?

As the tiger enters the forest, the other animals are frightened and hide, leaving the tiger lonely and without friends. After all, he can't change his fierce appearance. Then the other animals devise a plan -- paint him calico! The plan works -- until it rains! To make matters worse a hunter enters the forest stalking the mighty tiger. Peace is restored when the animals realize that it is truly the nature of the creature that matters, not his appearance.

Famous detective novelist Miss Pauline Temple dictates her newest work to her transcriber and secretary, Miss Worthington, when she hears screams coming from outside her home. Then, a shadowy man in pajamas suddenly arrives at her door, and Miss Temple finds that she is not only writing a mystery novel - she's becoming part of one!

Various authorsHigh School, Community TheaterWinners of the Baker's Plays High School Playwriting CompetitionBaker's Plays has been an advocate for theater in schools for over one hundred years. In the spirit of that commitment, we offer this playwriting competition for High School students. Plays may be about any subject and of any length. It is our hope that this competition will encourage aspiring high school authors to explore the creative possibilities of writin

"I'm a drama teacher," Marge begins, which explains why she is now kept sedated and in a straitjacket. "All I had to do was be in charge of the whole shebang." Of course, she is referring to The One Act Play Festival - scheming rival students, demanding directors, irresponsible actors, missing props, stolen costumes, and all under forty minutes. What happened to the lady who ran it last year? She died under very suspicious circumstances. Adding to Marge's anxiety is the fact that two of the three competing schools are doing Hamlet and must rehearse on the same stage at the same time! Shakespearean skulls and battle axes fl y in this fast-paced farce. Will Marge get this contest done before it undoes her? This scathing piece of theatrical Americana comes from the author of Murder, You Must be Kidding!

This is a straightforward, faithful, and theatrically stunning adaptation of the Dickens story. It has proven enormously popular in repertory, regional, school, and community theaters.

Characters: 5 femalesFrom the opening moments when Ivah cuts Violet's eye brows off, this story romps through the sibling antics and rivalry of a large family. The first act takes place as the young teenage girls are growing into lovely women.In a series of family stories, set in the 1920's, we enjoy the girls' hilarious pranks, antics, joys and humiliations. There is laughter in abundance. Tears, love, and sibling rivalry as these four delightful sisters grow up under the guidance of their matriarch, "Mama". A prestigious marriage, a female pro-basketball player, and a run away to Alaska, these young women couldn't be more diverse.Fast forward to the 1940's. In Act two, the sisters are adults, starting their own families and Pearl Harbor has just been attacked. This stage play is a rich tapestry of an American family. It has been likened to a cross between Little Women and I Remember Mama.

Brian Way 2m / 2f / 50 minutes / maximum audience, 200 With the help of costumes from a magic box, the cast become characters in the story of the clown who lost his laugh, his amazing adventures in recovering it, and the eventual return of laughter and gaiety to Grump Castle, which has been a miserable place ever since Mr. Grump also lost his laugh.

Emotional powerful moving and enlightening are all words used to describe this unusual drama. Centered around three students with disabilities the play uses a blend of humor and emotion to reveal that Angela Katie and Bruce have a lot more in common with their walking talking classmates than most people think. An almost bare stage and a variety of roles provide opportunities for a creative production that is sure to be meaningful to everyone involved.

"Seek that your sons and your daughters may dream dreams and see visions. Seek that they may see true visions and dream noble dreams!" George MacDonald's magical tale of young Princess Irene finding the strength to take on the world has proven to be one of the most enduring and influential of the great nineteenth century children's classics. Stuart Paterson's acclaimed stage version is packed with fun and adventure, while retaining the depth and visionary power of the original book. Guarded day and night, and made frightened of the sinister goblins who lurk under The Great Mountain, Princess Irene fears she may never be brave enough to live outside the high walls of her father's palace. Yet, guided by her mysterious old great-grandmother who lives in the attic, and protected by a fearless miner-boy and a fierce young dragon, she finds both freedom and romance. A rich and magical play for the whole family.

Characters: 1 male (Optional Ensemble up to 15Running time 50 minutes.Frontiersman, scout, James P. Beckwourth is credited with discovering the most accessible route into northern California in the 1800's, known today as the "Beckwourth Pass." Named a chief of the Crow Nation, Jim Beckwourth's many feats and accomplishments have gone largely unsung in American history. Who among us grew up reading about the "black Daniel Boone?" A wonderful immersion into the life and character of one of America's best, told with wit, honesty, and great story-telling style. By making obscure but important history come alive, this play is a good vehicle for school touring or a way to introduce history in a novel way to classes. By the co-author of the very popular Winning Monologues From The Beginnings Workshop as seen on the Bravo television network.

Six women, all members of the Red Feather Ladies Investment Club, discover they are all engaged to the same man. The gigolo was planning on feathering his nest with those Red Feather Ladies' investments. What to do? They will get their revenge. Each one, in her own unique and humorous way, comes up with a plan to teach the roving Romeo a lesson.

This story is as familiar as you remember. Mary Lennox, a sullen and spoiled young orphan, is sent to live with her brooding uncle at gloomy Misselthwaite Manor. Discovering a hidden, neglected garden, Mary plants the seeds of new life for all those drawn into her secret refuge. A wonderful story of transformation.

Genre: Murder Mystery, Comedy Characters: 4 male, 8 female Murder Inn is set in New England, at the Barnsley Inn, a dilapidated eighteenth century inn, which is supposedly haunted by Marco, a knife-throwing poltergeist. A group of tourists, on a tour-Ghosts and Ghouls of New England-is forced, by a storm, to make an unscheduled stop at the Barnsley. What looks to be an unpleasant and uncomfortable detour soon turns into a night of mayhem and madness as knives begin to pop up..

Edgar Allan Poe's life works are hauntingly dramatized in this play. The story is cleverly told through a series of dramatizations of the master's works: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, The Raven, Annabel Lee, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Premature Burial, and The Poetic Principle. These stories are threaded together with the events of Poe's life as he deliriously remembers them on an anonymous deathbed in a Baltimore hospital. McElvain fully recreates each story on stage, often makin

An average American family acquires historic old Canterville Chase - complete with ghost! Sir Simon, the sporting spirit, succeeds in making life miserable. Then the Americans strike back.

Three elderly women meet at a lunch table on their first day in a home for senior citizens. A candle placed there by the matron awakens different memories in each.

We're in Mineola County again, where the Community Theatre is producing Romeo and Juliet. Even though the cast members don't have their lines memorized, the set isn't finished, and a dog keeps barking offstage, they're gonna give it a go!

Alice plunges down the rabbit hole and becomes involved in that madcap and deliciously satiric series of adventures immortalized by Lewis Carroll. A kaleidoscope of action and madness, with the necessary elements of suspense and frustration to make it all work.