Books published by Samuel French Inc

Richard Schenkman / 6m, 3f / Drama / Unit Set After history professor John Oldman unexpectedly resigns from the University, his startled colleagues impulsively invite themselves to his home, pressing him for an explanation. But they're shocked to hear his reason for premature retirement: John claims he must move on because he is immortal, and cannot stay in one place for more than ten years without his secret being discovered. Tempers rise and emotions flow as John's fellow professors attem

Peter Colton, a bank official, unwittingly comes home with the loot from a bank robbery masterminded by Willy Nicholas, his superior at the bank. Willy, frantic to retrieve the money, enlists Peter's services to help him find it, with the help of Victoria Wickey, Peter's secretary. Meantime, Laurel Colton, Peter's daughter, has found the loot and erroneously supposes it is her father who has robbed the bank. So she enlists the aid of her boyfriend, Carlos Ortega, whose uncle is a retired forger of passports, to help her father flee the country. But the arrival of Sheila Mahoney, a travel agent who is helping Peter plan a surprise vacation to Rio for Laurel, complicates matters even further, since she thinks Victoria is married to Willy and planning a honeymoon in Rio for the two of them. By the time Victoria shows up with the passports for the surprise vacation, Willy shows up with his passport and Victoria's for a quick escape, and Carlos shows up with a pair of forged passports to help Laurel and Peter escape. Everybody is in an ungodly mess, the police may close in any minute, all concerned are fearfully mistaken about everyone else's motives and loyalties, and doom, shame, and prison stare them all in the face.

This most successful of Anouilh's works in the United States is an excellent lark loaded with humorous whims, romance, and masquerades. The scene is a palatial home where two attractive young girls reside. The home is invaded by three affectionate thieves, on the one hand, and by a country bumpkin on the other. A lovely romance blooms instantly between one of the girls and the youngest thief. Being a very honest fellow, he cannot in good conscience accept her love, and instead turns with vengean

The drunken sisters. Apollo challenges The Three Fates to a life-and-death battle of wits, but despite their taste for liquor, the sisters win the wager.

Comedy / 3m, 2f / Int. Newly revised! Recently produced in 2006 at the Atlantic Theatre Company in New York City, this witty and sophisticated satire by the author of One Shoe Off and other popular comedies, this play takes place during a child's fourth birthday party. The boy's parents have invited another couple, anthropologists renowned for their international studies of childhood behavior. The adults become so involved in debating various theories of child rearing and telling each other s

Two heartwarming one-act musicals based on the classic O. Henry stories capture the true spirit of giving: The Gift of the Magi and The Last Leaf. This holiday favorite is set in turn-of-the-century New York City.

Beth is preparing food for her father's wake - real sandwiches, which the audience are invited to partake of as they become the mourners visiting following the service. After nursing her father for years, Beth plans to sell the house and go back-packing, despite the disapproval of others.

FarceCharacters: 13 male, 7 female, plus extras. Multiple sets The lady has two lovers: a ne'er do well who is secretly affianced to a Baroness' daughter and a flamboyant Spanish general who challenges to a duel any man who comes near her. An amateur composer who hopes the lady will sing his song places his card in a bouquet sent anonymously and thereby seals his fate: the ne'er do well uses him to divert the general's flashing sword. Meanwhile, the ne'er do well is trapped

A female professor has been teaching a course on the literature of love with a younger male colleague.

This intense triangle of a clandestine affair between a middle-aged husband and father and his male lover becomes a scalding drama when the man's wife discovers and confronts both men in shock and outrage.

Play with music Characters: 8 males (5 black, 3 white) 2 black females Scenery: Unit set It's 1927 in a rundown studio in Chicago where Ma Rainey is recording new sides of old favorites. More goes down in the session than music in this riveting portrayal of rage, racism, the self hate and exploitation. "Searing ... funny, salty, carnal and lyrical.... Wilson has lighted a dramatic fuse that snakes and hisses through several anguished eras of American life. When the fuse reaches its e

David Mamet A collection of short dramatic pieces by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Glengarry Glen Ross, American Buffalo, A Life in the Theatre and other classics are exceptional scene and monologue pieces as well as entertaining reading. Two Conversations Conversations with the Spirit Film Crew World Four A.M. Pint's a Pound the World Food Around Deer Dogs The Power Outage Two Scenes

Drama / Characters: 9 male, 6 femaleScenery 2 Interiors / 1 ExteriorThis poignant story of three provincial sisters who long with all their hearts to go to Moscow is classic theatre which has featured many of the world's great actresses and actors in the roles of Olga, Masha, Irina and Vershinin.

Mystery / Characters: 7 male, 3 femaleScenery:InteriorThis Broadway success by the author of Sleuth takes audiences to Agatha Christie's England. Six strangers and a butler have gathered for a black tie dinner in a wealthy lawyer's mansion during a thunderstorm. The guests include an aged rear admiral, a bitchy aristocrat, a doddering old archeologist, a dashing young cad and other Christie types. One of the guests is an oily Levantine who tells the others (each in private) that he has the

J.M. BarrieComedyCharacters: 6 male, 9 femaleInterior Set Quality Street is a cup of exquisite comic delight. Set in England, about 1800, it is alive with elegant humor and wit. There are several maiden women in the action, some of them a bit sour and curiously officious. But the one named Phoebe, with the plain face, is a sparkling lass whose heart flutters for a bachelor by the name of Valentine, who is expected on a visit. Sadly we learn, Valentine, has come back not to propose to Miss Phoebe but to announce his enlistment in the Napoleonic wars. And Phoebe and her sister have met economic misfortune by teaching at a primary school. Rejuvenated by his return, Phoebe in a carefree moment discards her prim clothes and expression, and becomes a gay young girl, extravagant with her smiles, as well as with her dances at the military balls. The transformation is so complete that Phoebe is mistaken for a fictitious niece. The deception increases the merriment and produces many sudden changes of the plot. Valentine discovers his love for Phoebe, and then fortunately discovers the precarious plot in time to save it from the mischievous women. Surely this is one of the most endearing and enduring of all comedies.

Ray LawlerCharacters:3 male, 4 female Interior Set This compelling Australian play was a success in London and was hailed by critics in New York for its vigor, integrity, and realistic portrayal of two itinerant cane cutters: Barney, a swaggering little scrapper, and Roo, a big roughneck. They have spent the past sixteen summers off with two ladies in a Southern Australian city. Every year Roo has brought a tinsel doll to Olive, his girl, as a gift to symbolize their relatio

The dramatic Easter story translated into a modern setting in a small-town American courtroom. The action occurs between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. A man known as The Gardener is on trial, charged with having moved Christ's body from the tomb after the crucifixion. The characters involved in the great drama are called to the stand. Each tells, in everyday language, what he saw and the way he reacted. As each contributes evidence for the defense or the prosecution, the familiar story achieves stirring suspense. In an electrifying scene, Mary Magdalene steps down from the stand and reenacts her meeting with Jesus in the garden.

Drama Charcters: 2 male, 2 female w/doubling Bare stage with set pieces Anne and Colin are a thirty-ish British couple who desperately want a child. With stark realism, harrowing insight, and dark humor, their efforts to achieve this blessing are portrayed as the embers of their hope become the ashes of their dreams and with bitter experience they summon the strength and love to go on."Probably the most important play of the season...It is entertaining, it is funny, it is bitter, and it is handsomely poetic."-The New York Times "Astonishing!"-The Village Voice

Monologues / Characters: 2 male (optional), 6 fScenery: Bare stageThe author of Talking With and other hits has never been funnier or more compelling than in this suite of theatrical miniatures over thirty two minute monologues. The two men in the cast are optional foils for the six compelling women who perform a collage about contemporary woman in all her warmth and majesty, her fear and frustration, her joy and sadness. Vital Signs wowed audiences at the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre

Arthur Schnitzler, Translated by Eric Bentley Full Length, ComedyCharacters: 5 male, 5 femaleBy the author of the classic romantic romp The Loves of Anatol, Schnitzler's popular roundelay of love in old Vienna is told in ten interwoven scenes: two characters appear in each and one of these moves into the next. The soldier of the first scene leaves a prostitute to appear in the next scene with a parlor maid. The maid then departs to be with her wealthy employer. He, in turn

Cast in the style of a vaudeville Wild West Show, this highly theatrical play explores the theme of Americas mistreatment of the indigenious tribes was a celebrated hit on Broadway starring Stacy Keach. The hero is Buffalo Bill, whose life is defined and destroyed by an unfulfilled vision. Like all tragic heroes he has a fatal character flaw: he knows and loves the Native Americans, but craves money and fame. He helps destroy the buffalo herds, reducing the Native Americans to starvation. Ultimately, ambition leads him to even greater cruelty, destroying both the tribes and himself.

Dramatic Comedy / Characters: 10 male, 7 femaleScenery: 2 interiors This highly praised version is a sparkling contemporary commedia dell'arte about a feuding Neapolitan family. Peppino suspects his wife Rosa of infidelity and she is brooding because he spurned her cooking and praised a meal prepared by his daughter in law. The character rich cast also includes a crusty grandfather, a formidable widowed aunt on the make for the family doctor, her mama's boy son and a "liberated" daughter i

Rock Musical Characters: 7 males, 3 females Scenery: InteriorThat sweet transvestite and his motley crew did the time warp on Broadway in a 25th anniversary revival. Complete with sass from the audience, cascading toilet paper and an array of other audience participation props, this deliberately kitschy rock 'n' roll sci fi gothic is more fun than ever. "A socko wacko weirdo rock concert."-WNBC TV. "A musical that deals with mutating identity and time warps becomes one of the most mutated, time warped phenomena in show business."-N.Y. Times. "Campy trash."-Time.

"Moses and Kitch stand around on the corner - talking shit, passing the time, and hoping that maybe today will be different. As they dream of their promised land, a stranger wanders into their space with his own agenda and derails their plans. Emotional and lyrical, Pass Over crafts everyday profanities into poetic and humorous riffs, exposing the unquestionable human spirit of young men stuck in a cycle just looking for a way out."--Publisher's description.

Here is a richly textured musical adventure about the charismatic author of Treasure Island. Young Robert Louis Stevenson defies chronic ill health and Victorian family traditions by going places and taking risks. His high spirits and sparkling talent dazzle London's literati until a turbulent romance sends him on a reckless odyssey to California. A stranger in colorful old Monterey, he finds that winning at love becomes a life and death struggle to salvage his writing career and save himself. Launched with simultaneous premieres in Scotland and California, Teller of Tales has a powerful script, witty lyrics and a memorable musical score ranging from reel to ragtime.