Books published by Samuel French Inc

Full Length, Comic Drama / 6 m, 8 f, Doubling is possible. Based on the true story of a mysterious Hollywood death, The Cat's Meow offers a fascinating cross section of Jazz Era characters who intersect for one notorious weekend on board William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924. The play was adapted for film in 2002, with a screenplay by the author, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, and Edward Herrmann. Weekend guests include: Charlie Chaplin, who has been

Various m and f roles / Melodrama / Simple setThe laughs never stop with this collection of four Holiday themed Melodramas. No holds are barred as television favorites to some traditional Christmas classics get skewered in these light-hearted parodies. Each show has a diverse set of characters designed to put a modern spin on the spirit of the Melodrama. CHEER for the heroic, but frustrated Prairie Magician. BOO the villainous land baron with the hypnotic hairpiece, and OOH-AAH the four young single ladies adjusting to life in Manhattan (Kansas). These interactive Melodramas are simple to produce and appeal to all types of groups. Both cast and audience alike will have an uproariously good time!Santa and the City - 3f, 3m (some doubling)The Old Mid-West will never be the same when four young single ladies in Manhattan, KS try to open a shoe store. Little did they reckon a greedy land baron, whose hair has hypnotic powers, would try to take over the town just before Christmas.The Holiday Surprise - 3f, 3mIt's the day before Christmas and Santa is nowhere to be found. The residents of Goosebump, Alaska (the first town South of the North Pole) try to find a substitute. Only a Canadian Mountie can save the day!The Grouch Who Couldn't Steal Christmas - 3f, 3mThe Annual Holiday Pageant in the town of Whooterville goes awry when Phineas P. Grouch seeks revenge from a broken heart. But who is the real villain here?The Magical Christmas of Mistle Toe, Kansas - 3m, 3fThe town of Mistletoe is broke and the land rights are up for grabs. Mayor Georgette Bradley pins all their hopes and dreams on a one night only benefit performance by "The Amazing Ricky and His Magic Wand." You won't believe the magic that occurs when they discover the true meaning of the season.

Comedy / 1m, 2f / Unit SetHelen's life became complicated after her husband Murray's stroke and her sister Gladys's revelation, wanting to set the record straight in case Murray should die, that she and Murray had been having an affair. Helen suspected Murray was no angel when she married him. After all, as a stand-up comic he was always on the road and she knew comics could be loose cannons. Helen knew she was trading the risk Murray would bring to any relationship, let alone marriage, for the excitement of the gamble. While Helen might have been willing to adjust to Murray and his new stroke induced limits, the stakes were raised and the game was changed by Gladys's admission of the affair. So now Helen is left on the horns of dilemma: How can she be a nurturing caretaker for a man who has deceived her (with her own sister, yet) while knowing he is a snake with no visible conscience?

Comedy / 10 Death Affirming Plays, Sketches and Monologues DOG YEARS (2, gender neutral) If dogs years are seven to one of Man...arf. COMRADES (2m) What are comrades for if not to try to cheer each other up in a time of distress? Dostoevsky would appreciate the irony. THE SUITCASE (2m, 2f) Bereavement maybe painful, but be sure to have your credit card. THE STRUGGLE (1m) The sound of the beeeeeeeeep means dinner is off. LUCKY MAN (2m, 1f) Mr. Smith might have been cured had he survived the autopsy. REHEARSAL (1m, 1f) A long rehearsal for a one shot performance. PUMPS (1, gender neutral) There are many kinds of pumps, but only one really matters. THE FINE PRINT (2m, 1f) Everything is on loan and you have to pay up when you go. SILENCE (2m, 1f) Could there be something worse than surviving the Holocaust? POP GOES THE WEASEL (4, gender neutral) Life may be a game, but be sure to hold on to your chair. "The best of Program A includes author Henry Meyerson's Silence, a touching essay about two Russians who survived the Holocaust and meet shortly after immigrating to New York following World War II." - South Florida Sun-Sentinel "In Henry Meyerson's Silence, a deeply moving piece about elderly Holocaust survivors trying to make sense of the too-early death of their beloved only son. Fierce and heartbreaking." - Miami Herald "Pop Goes the Weasel...a sharp, very original piece uses musical chairs as a metaphor for the way we live now; it takes on a surprising added resonance in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack...a smart and interesting work." - NYTheatre.com.

4m, 1f / Running Time: 90 minutes plus intermissionPeriod costumes and set pieces, mid to late 19th centuryAct I, The Loves of Alonzo Fitz Clarence and Rosannah Ethelton, is from Mark Twain's story of two people falling in love at a great distance with the aid of that brand-new invention, the telephone. Alonzo in Maine and Rosannah in California meet by the accident of crossed wires and each falls in love with an imagined ideal of the other. So complete is their self-deception that even when

5f / Comedy / ExteriorFour garden-club ladies meet a young girl who has come to their little Texas town to marry an infantryman before he ships off for World War II. The women impulsively decide to throw the girl an elaborate wedding, and their lives and friendships are thrown into turmoil as they race to accomplish the nuptials in one frenzied afternoon."Delightful! ... Funny and folksy ... The ladies light up the stage!" - Dallas Morning News

Comedy / Characters: 4m, 3fGet ready for 2 hours of non-stop laughter! Jewtopia, the Longest running comedy in both Off-Broadway and Los Angeles history is finally available to license!Jewtopia tells the story of two 30 year old single men, Chris O¿Connell and Adam Lipschitz. Chris, a gentile, wants to marry a Jewish girl so he¿ll never have to make another decision. Adam Lipschitz, a Jew, wants to marry a Jewish girl to please his family, but can¿t get a date to save his life. Aft

Dramatic Comedy / Character: 1fFirst there was Mary and Rhoda, then Thelma and Louise, and now Adriana and Rhonda, two loveable and unforgettable friends. One, searching for the goddess and her shamanic roots, the other, planning her epic "Godfather meets the Mists of Avalon" wedding, until 9/11 changes everything, leaving one in a hospital bed and the other intent on doing whatever it takes to save her friend. In this award winning play, "Sevan joins the ranks of the best," (SD Union Tribune)

Dramatic Comedy / 3m, 3f / Unit SetWoodie Guthrie had it. Arlo may have it. It's usually hereditary, but not always passed on to every offspring. The symptoms do not normally appear until a person reaches their mid-forties. Referred to as "The Dance of Death," Huntington's Disease is a complete degeneration of the nervous system. Recently, medical researchers developed a blood test to determine if the disease is present in young people. The question is: Should we know? There are over 100,000 p

Comedy / Casting: 3 male, 2 female When low morale threatens the Toronto branch of Chime Communications Canada, five ordinary office workers must mount a team-building talent show to savetheir jobs. Meet Stuart, the lovable yet inappropriate office manager, Marcus, the smooth talking sales rep, Diane, the tough as nails marketing manager, Brie, the perky and scheming receptionist, and Jack, the awkward guitar-playing intern. Together, they must use their hidden talents to sing, dance and manipulate their way through the talent show, which ultimately degenerates into a every-man-for-themselves battle of office skills, where only one will walk away without a pink slip. Featuring a sales versus marketing salsa, a fowl-mouthed printer puppet, and more office backstabbing than HR can handle, the team must learn to keep it together without tearing each other apart.This fast-paced, comedic romp through office culture features a catchy, original pop-musical score, and five unforgettable characters that you're bound to recognize from around the water cooler. An exciting and fun new musical, Funny Business is the perfect production for cubicle dwellers and blue collars alike. "A Runaway hit" - Classical 96FM (Toronto)Fresh, tuneful, and full of talent...a guaranteed good time!" -Toronto Star

Comedy This three part "slice of life" takes place in three different condos and has audiences laughing at the truth they see in what might be their own neighbors - only zanier. Flamingo Court has ten characters. In the New York production, five actors played all the roles. Producers may want to follow the above pattern, or cast up to ten actors. In any case, audiences respond to this trilogy with uproarious laughter and leave feeling they have experienced great entertainment. ANGELINA, in 104,

Dramatic Comedy / Flexible casting: 2-5m, 2-5f This brilliant collection of Horovitz's newest one-act plays can be mixed and matched to form several "theme" evenings. For example, nine of these plays formed the highly-successful off-Broadway show "Israel Horovitz's New Shorts" The Bridal Dance, Affection In Time (The Prologue), The Fat Guy Gets The Girl, Beirut Rocks, The Audition Play, The Hotel Play, Cat-Lady, Inconsolable and The Race Play . Additionally, six of these plays were joined to c

1m, 2f / DramaSheila Gold, 55, a successful Jewish businesswoman suffering from terminal cancer, is spending the end of her life in a comfortable hospice where her only companion is her 30 year old daughter, Rachel. The two have a tense relationship as Rachel has spent most of her adult life working at Planned Parenthood and is generally a disappointment to her entrepreneurial mother.While in the hospice Sheila has become fascinated by a late night televangelist, Dr. Julian Strong, a black man in his 50's. She finds his message inspiring and comforting and she writes Strong, offering to make a sizable donation to his ministry. Much to her surprise, Strong flies out to visit Sheila, presumably to see her sign the check in person. His physical presence is even greater than his TV persona and the two fall head over heels in love. Sheila begins to toy with the idea of converting to Christianity and spending her final days with Strong's church in California. This revelation upsets her daughter to no end as Rachel is certain that Strong is a crook, promising hope and salvation, when all he really wants is to come between her and her inheritance.Is Strong truly in love with Sheila or is he only out for her money? Sheila must choose between her daughter and a new love and lifestyle, in what will certainly be her final days."When Sheila Gold announces to her grown daughter, Rachel, that she is thinking of trading in her barely used Judaism for late-model, born-again Christianity, it looks as if we're being set up for a play about religious faith. But Gino DiIorio has something else up his sleeve in Apostasy, the absorbing new drama running through Aug. 13 at the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch. Sheila's flirtation with Jesus is going to turn into a flirtation of an entirely different kind. And abortion politics will intrude messily on the play's relationships. " - The New York Times

Murder Mystery Farce / 6m, 3f InteriorThe police are baffled after Wilbur Smith, "The Sausage King," is strangled with a roll of his own sausage. After several months, the authorities, unable to unscramble the dilemma, call in the services of Farlow Cranston, ace private investigator and renowned solver or arcane cases. Cranston, with unflappable grandiloquence and fractured logic, unravels the mystery via a farcical route that leads to its conclusion. Expect the unexpected in this delightful melange.

Drama / 2m, 4fBased on police case-files, Beachwood Drive is a smart, character-driven drama that tells the story of Nadya, a Ukrainian prostitute and single mother smuggled into Los Angeles. Nadya attempts to free herself from the snares of both the Russian Mafia and the Los Angeles Police Department after she's arrested in a sting operation. The mystery of Nadya's disappearance unfolds Rashomon-style, as the story is retold from four different perspectives: first, that of Hansonia, Nadya's A

5m, 5f (with doubling) / Ints. This girl loves ghoul rock and roll Off Broadway musical is set in the atomic 1950s at Enrico Fermi High, where the law is laid down by a zany, tyrannical principal. Pretty senior Toffee has fallen for the class bad boy. Family pressure forces her to end the romance, and he charges off on his motorcycle to the nuclear waste dump. He returns glowing and determined to reclaim Toffee's heart. He still wants to graduate, but most of all he wants to take Toffee to the

Full Length, Comedy / 2m, 2f / 2 ints. This laugh filled comedy by the author of Same Time, Next Year explores differences in British and American attitudes and manners that surface during an unlikely romantic liaison. Libby Daniels, a New York film producer, hopes to revive her fading career by acquiring the movie rights to Giles St. James's popular British mysteries. She tracks down the reclusive, eccentric writer, only to discover that he loathes Americans as much as she dislikes the Britis

Comedy / 1m, 1f / Int.A memorable evening with two of the world's favorite characters, this sequel to Same Time, Next Year continues the saga of an extramarital affair conducted one weekend a year into the last quarter of the twentieth century. Maturing into their late sixties, Doris and George share the inevitabilities of aging and the convolutions of parenting and grandparenting as they redefine love outside of their annual tryst and romance within it. Hilarity and tenderness are perfectly b

"Adapted from Willa Cather's novel My Antonia."

Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson BurnettFull Length, Musical / 12m, 10f, 1 girl (doubling possible) / Ints., exts. This enchanting classic of children's literature is reimagined in brilliant musical style by composer Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of 'Night Mother. Orphaned in India, 11 year-old Mary Lennox returns to Yorkshire to live with her embittered, reclusive uncle Archibald and his invalid son Colin. The estate's many wonders include a magic g

Comedy / 3f, 3m Here is an hilarious romantic comedy bursting with witty dialogue about a couple who take their two daughters and their husbands on a cruise from Copenhagen to St. Petersburg. Before the boat docks, the course of all three marriages changes drastically and unpredictably in a laugh filled, comedy that enjoys record breaking runs in theatre after theatre. "Delightful." - Variety "Sails on a sea of comedy." - L.A. Times"Ironic and wise. Clever and perceptive. Superb." - Holl

Drama / Characters: 4 male, 4 femaleScenery: Unit setA finalist for the National Play Award, this funny drama takes place in Vienna, 1900. A beautiful and brilliant young girl enters the office of Sigmund Freud to begin the most famous and controversial encounter in psychoanalysis. Dora is funny, suspicious, sarcastic and elusive. Freud becomes obsessed by her and he moves like a detective through the mystery of her mind, finding a lecherous father, an obsessed mother, an irritating brothe

Comedy / 4 m., 3 f. / Int. Before Daddy's Dyin' Who's Got the Will? there was this award winning comedy set in the west Texas watering hole of Lowake. Gossip, the town's major pastime, ignites a blaze of infidelity that engulfs three couples with the zany precision of a Feydeau farce. The clan includes Bo Bob, the dimwitted mailman, and Clarence, local stud and mechanic who's been messin' with Ovella since high school. His faithful girl is Sara Lee Turnover, the beautician. Teddy Joe, Ovella's

Mystery / 1m, 5f / Simple unit setThis psychological drama is a thinking person's Gothic thriller, a dark comedy that is both funny and frightening. On a snowy night, Inspector Ruffing is called to a remote house to investigate the headlong plunge of Patrick Roarke down the main staircase. He becomes involved in the lives of five alluring and dangerous women: Marcy, the beautiful Viennese governess with a past; Mrs. Ravenscroft, the flirtatious lady of the manor; Gillian, her charming but po

Adaptation from the Italian by Mario FrattiMusical / 1m, 22f, 4 boys (or 10 m, 13 f, 4 boys) / Unit setThis spectacular winner of the 1982 Tony Award for Best Musical delighted Broadway theatergoers in a hit revival in 2003 starring Antonio Banderas. Based on Fellini's classic film 8 1/2, Nine is the story of a celebrated film director Guido Contini and his attempts to come up with a plot for his next film as he is pursued by hordes of beautiful women, all clamoring to be loved by him and hi

One act review / 6 to 30 children (10 to 15 is ideal), ages 5 to 15Area staging; unit set.This musical romp through the joys and sorrows of being a child is hilarious. Children give 23 lessons in such subjects as how to beg for a dog, how to torture your sister, how to act after being sent to your room and how to laugh hysterically. The pace is fast, the tone subversive and the recognition instant. "Applause, applause, applause!"-- Steve Allen "Delightfully clever."-- Hollywood R

Drama / 2f, 1m It is 1994 and Naomi Goldman, recently widowed, is living in an apartment in upper Manhattan. Her son Tony, separated from his wife, lives with her. When Tony's old college girlfriend Aviva contacts him with the ulterior motive of interviewing and videotaping his mother for a Holocaust memorial project, Tony is appalled. Naomi, reluctant at first, eventually agrees to the interview. Though appearing to be forthright in her story Naomi clearly is hiding a devastating secret. When Aviva pushes her to admit the truth the consequences are life-changing. The Goldman Project is a play about family relations, the lingering legacy of the Holocaust and the catharsis of self-renewal. "Introducing Naomi, a Romanian-born widow, as a lovably comic, more than a little stereotypical character...a smart decision on the part of Staci Swedeen" - Anita Gates, The New York Times "Swedeen has an ear for dialogue, even the passages in Yiddish fit the moment nicely. (Don't worry: The Yiddish is instantly translated in the course of the conversation.)" - Peter D. Kramer, The Journal News "This fine play is less about the past than about living with honesty in the present." - James F.Cotter, Times Herald-Record

Comedy/Murder Mystery / 4m, 2f / Unit SetIt's New Year's Eve at the Perry mansion, and Julia and Matthew Perry seem to have it all. But Matthew wants something more -- to be rid of his wife Julia so he can have some real fun! He resolves to murder Julia by the new year's end, and tells her so. She vows to stay alive, and tells him so. And so the game begins -- a hilarious year-long match of wits and the witless. While Julia cleverly dodges Matthew's devious murder attempts, the Perry friends a

One of Manhattan's most established play festivals, the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival fosters the work of young writers, giving them the exposure of publication and representation.The festival resulting in this collection was held July 15th-20th, 2008 at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre on 42nd Street in New York City.From the initial submission pool, approximately 50 plays were chosen to be performed over a period of one week. A panel of judges comprised of New York area the

Dramatic Comedy / 2m, 2f, 2 either m or fA dark comedy about a clown from the "unhappiest country in the world", Moldova, who pins her hopes on a US work visa. Chased by Homeland Security, a deportation letter deflates Nadia's enthusiasm and a pair of spike heels might be all it takes to burst her American Dream (or turn it into a nightmare...). New York City, with its special energy, seems like the perfect solution for her problems, but is it really? Luckily, Nadia is not alone in her journey