Books published by Samuel French Inc

Dramatic Comedy / 5m, 3f Approximate running time: 1 hour and 45 minutes, no intermission. Various settings, some real, some imaginary, in Pennsylvania When Gordon's wife vanishes, the only clue to her whereabouts is a bookmark in dog-eared copy of Traveling to Montpelier. With little help to be found at work, from his son, or from the police, Gordon takes off to a rural bookstore to find some answers. His journey brings him to the town of Cornersville, in the wilds of Pennsylvania. Through

Ron Blicq / Drama / 4m, 3f / Unit SetWinner of the Samuel French Canadian Playwrighting CompetitionDonald Barlow, who lives in Nottingham, England, decides to search for his father who, he has discovered, was a visiting Canadian serviceman during World War II. Following his mother's death, Donald engages a search agency to find his father (Gordon Devereaux) and establish contact. But when the agency does find Devereaux, the elderly man vehemently denies his involvement with Donald's mother a

4m, 3f / Comedy / Unit Set Fortune 500 business tycoon Roger Cabot has given up his power and possessions for a bohemian life in a loft in New York City to become the artist he always wanted to be. But not everyone is happy with Roger's new lifestyle. Richard Borman (Roger's business protégé) is convinced that Roger's surreal, erotic paintings, his frolics with female models, his cultivation of a Zen rock garden, and, worse, his development of a strange ability to see sounds amounts to evidence of insanity. Persuaded by Richard, Rebecca (Roger's only child and Richard's fiancée) agrees to a plan designed to return Roger to the man he once was. In the end, schemes and dreams are revealed, and everyone gets what they deserve in this farcical comedy that is fast and furious and great fun along the way. This play was a finalist in the McLaren Memorial Comedy Competition.

Thriller / 1m, 2f / Interior Fit to Kill is a thriller about strategy, deception, and betrayal. Adrian, a charming but self-indulgent chess master, enjoys a life of luxury thanks to his marriage to Janice, an older but still sexy and vibrant woman who has made her fortune as the CEO of an exercise empire. The arrival of Amy, a reporter with an agenda of her own, unleashes a whirlwind of deadly schemes that will keep audiences guessing until the final seconds. "Deliciously scary...an event wo

Comedy / 6m, 5f / Interior Across the street from the 'mad men' of Madison Avenue live the Ten Percenters of the National Talent Agency. It's the same time, 1962, a secretary is still a toy, boys will still be boys, but the times they are a changin'. Audiences will love to hear what's happening on The Whole Ninth Floor "First impression is that it is a string of jokes tied together rather loosely. A moment's concentration brings home however the basic fact that Seff weaves a story based on the young man's intense and insistent desire to do the right thing. The laughs come fast, and they are plentiful." - The Patterson Call "The comedy construction of The Whole Ninth Floor is made up of wall-to-wall witticisms. Seff has a good ear and facile pen for manufacturing witty dialog. Also he obviously knows, from first hand experience, Madison Avenue and the talent agency area of show business, for his prototypes and inside trade references are accurate and appropriate." - The Scotch Plain Times "A sparkling new comedy, a tremendously funny play." - The Herald News

3m, 1f / Comedy / Interiors The intersecting lives of four "Save-a-Bundle Discount Mart" employees are explored in Additional Particulars. In the first act, Glenda Balitski, an optimistic but lonely young woman who works in housewares, has recently moved into her tidy apartment after the death of her invalid mother. Assistant Manager Warren Grippo, a generous but awkward man of unflagging good manners, has unexpectedly dropped by Glenda's apartment after work. After the lonely couple disc

Comedy / 3m, 3f / InteriorSam Price, a wealthy entrepreneur, has just recently passed away and, at his request, has been laid out in his townhouse. With the corpse in the bedroom, his immediate family-sister, brother, nephew and niece-have gathered to discuss their inheritance, a meeting that descends into acrimony over the division of property. Much to their chagrin, they learn that Sam has left his entire estate to the church, a discovery that results in them reluctantly seeking the advice of

"A work about how we memorialize the dead and how that remembering changes us, this is the odyssey of a woman forced to confront her own assumptions about morality, redemption, and the need to connect in a technologically-obsessed world"--P. [4] of cover.

1m, 8f, plus / Int. Based on the original play Wild Dust, this engaging Wild West story has been delighting audiences for years. And now, the original playwright, Flip Kobler, has joined forces with veteran composer Dennis Poore to turn Wild Dust the play into Wild Dust: The Musical. It's 1887 and a dust storm is about to hit the town of Willow Creek. The west was still wild, but the wind was wilder. Wild Dust the Musical, takes place at a time when the "west was wild, the women were soft and the men were brave." The worst dust storm in a decade was about to hit the town, and all the men had gone to drive the horses and cattle to safer shelter to ride out the storm. That left the women of town to fend for themselves in the only building strong enough to withstand the pounding sand - the town brothel. So four "fallen ladies" and three "ladies of the town" are thrown together for the next 72 hours, along with a mysterious cowboy and a dancing corpse! For three days they confront the elements, each other, and hardest of all - themselves. It's a comic romp with lots of slamming doors, mistaken identities, and one very dead body. No one is exactly what they seem, and everyone's got a secret hidden up their sleeve. Wild Dust: The Musical is a comic romp that's not to be missed.

Drama / 2h, 2m / Interior/ExteriorEn Barrio Hollywood, un tenso drama familiar, un joven boxeador México-americano sueña con pelear para encontrar una salida a la difícil situación económica de su familia en el barrio. Su hermana, una apasionada bailarina de ballet folklórico y dedicada artista cultural, sueña con ser dueña de su propio estudio de baile para pasar sus tradiciones mexicanas a las próximas generaciones. Su excéntrica madre sueña con tomar sus ganancias del póker y tomar unas largas vacaciones en las Islas Canarias. Los sueños familiares se detienen cuando el joven boxeador sufre una lesión brutal en la cabeza en el ring de boxeo. Mientras la condición de su hermano empeora y su amor por el doctor americano crece inesperadamente, la bailarina y su familia aprenden que tan lejos pueden ir en el nombre del amor.

Comedy / 3m, 2f, flexible casting, Actors will each play 18 to 32 charactersOn a simple stage, with the clock ticking in front of everyone¿s eyes, the cast speeds through all of Greek Mythology. Its funny, updated and made easy to understand.The Gods walk the Red Carpet. The Creation of Mankind is a botched subcontractors job. Man and Pandora try settling down despite an ominous wedding gift. Love stories are a dating show and the Greek Tragedies are sports highlights! And don¿t forget t

2m, 4f / Farce Mrs. Stancliffe's Rose Cottage Bed & Breakfast has been successful for many years. Her Guests (nearly all women) return year after year. Her next door neighbor, the elderly, silver-tongued, Bud "Bud the Stud" Davis believes they come to spend time with him in romantic liaisons. The prim and proper Mrs. Stancliffe steadfastly denies this, but really doesn't do anything to prevent it. She reluctantly accepts the fact that "Bud the Stud" is, in fact, good for business. Her other nei

Dramatic Comedy / 3fFourteen year old Laney arrives in Oxford, Mississippi with a twisted back, a mother in crisis and a burning desire to be writer. When she befriends Maribel Purdy, a fervent believer in the power of Jesus Christ to save her from the humiliations of high school, Laney embarks on a hilarious spiritual and sexual journey that challenges her mother's secular worldview and threatens to tear their fragile relationship apart."The work of a big accomplished writer's voice...a gem

5m, 4f / Comedy / Unit set Join the exploits of a band of mismatched cartoon stereotypes on a wild ride through this animated world, Presented in the style of a Commedia dell'Arte scenario gone berserk, Cartoon is a devilishly violent social commentary that explores the rapid coalescence of media, politics and consumer giants. A young, idealistic upstart named Trouble steals the giant hammer that Esther, the bratty dictator, uses to maintain a monotonous but peaceful order. Chaos ensues. Bombs

2m, 2f / Comedy / Simple Set"I remember my first sexual experience. I was alone at the time!" (Story #6509) "I still have the Metallica shirt he wore that night." (Story #23960)"File mine under clumsy and awkward!" (Story #4294)My First Time features four actors in hysterical and heartbreaking stories about first sexual experiences written by real people. In 1998, a decade before blogging began, a website was created that allowed people to anonymously share their own true stories about t

11m, 8f / Comedy, Audience Participation/Interactive / Unit SetThe Awesome 80s Prom is a brand new blast-from-the-past party in the style of Tony 'n Tina's Wedding and The Donkey Show set at Wanaget High's Senior Prom... in 1989! All your favorite characters from your favorite '80s movies are at THE PROM, from the Captain of the Football Team to the Asian Exchange Student, from the Geek to the hottie Head Cheerleader, and they're all competing for Prom King and Queen. And just like on "America

5m / Dark Comedy / Unit set After young couple Kevin and Blake engage in an adventurous and hastily planned night of group sex with the older, more "experienced" Max and Andy, they are left trying to salvage their relationship from a pummeling mix of jealousy, betrayal, telegrams from a soaking wet delivery boy and a ravenous sea monster from the ocean floor. This universal love story rendered through a post-modern gay lens slips from domestic comedy into a darkly fantastic fable examining t

Mystery Drama / Stuart Kaminsky / 7m (one teen), 2f / Unit Set Winner of the 2008 Angie Award for Playwrighting! The Edgar Prize-winning author Kaminsky tells the tale of one of literature's most famous detectives: Sherlock Holmes. In a witty, imaginative story filled with twists and unexpected surprises, Detective Holmes unravels a murder only to find himself the unwilling target of the killer-at-large. Along with the aid of his loyal and inquisitive companion, Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes uses his masterful power of deduction to make a nebulous situation seem "simply elementary." The Final Toast is an exciting new take on the classic characters of fiction we know and love, and its ending will please even the most savvy mystery connoisseurs. The Final Toast had its world premier at the 2008 International Mystery Writer's Festival.

2m, 2f / ComedyConnie and Jonas are a successful industry couple. Their friends Suzanne, a struggling painter, and Matt, a struggling musician, can't afford to fix the roof. But stay tuned because in this funny, poignant and always truthful new play, lives can change in a heartbeat, and things aren't necessarily what they seem.

Full Length, Comedy / 1m, 5f (to play several roles) / AreasIn this breezy "NASComedy" the fast lane is stalled to a screeching halt by the arrival of a woman driver on the NASCAR scene, and egos get bruised as Holly "Legs" Nelson starts stealing the show, driving so fast some think she's cheating. Her rival, Hotshot, wants to sabotage her success, which results in a fast-paced story of NASCAR drivers and their kooky fans, all in pursuit of high-octane glory. And for the sexism of these chauvi

3m, 3f / Dramatic Comedy / Unit Set Up invites us into the life of Walter Griffin, a failed inventor obsessed with Philippe Petit's famed 1974 wire-walk between the twin World Trade Center towers. Walter's greatest moment of glory - a flight on a lawn chair festooned with helium balloons - is now long behind him, though Walter dreams of inventing something wonderful once more. His wife, Helen, has become disillusioned and frustrated at being the family's only breadwinner. Their teenage son, Mik

1m, 3f / Dramatic ComedyWilli is the trailer trash housewife of the title, not necessarily of her own volition. Her abusive husband won't let her get a job, one of her children is dead, and the other is verboten by her husband because he's gay. Her best and only friend, a large black woman who lives next door, worries about her constantly, always concerned that Willi's husband will end up killing her. A new woman comes to live in the trailer park and ends up having an affair with Willi's husba

A boy named Samuel is tired of his life and following the rules, so when he meets the Tooth Fair and she's as bored as he is they arrange a swap. Samuel becomes the new Tooth Fairy, and the Tooth Fairy heads off to make her way in New York City. Soon Samuel is zipping around the night sky, revolutionizing the tooth biz, while the Fairy joyfully takes in the glories of the Upper West Side, and everyone is happy... for a little while. Soon Samuel, tempted by a scheming Local Newscaster, starts ignoring the rules of the Tooth Fairy game, and decides he's too much of a big shot for his very best friend Allison. Meanwhile, after a few brushes with the hard realities fo city living, the Tooth Fairy is ready to switch back, too.

Southern Gothic Drama / 3m, 3f / ExteriorThe Bean family in Sugar Bean, Florida live under an ancient family curse. The surviving members of the town's founding family have reached the end of their rope. Just when things can't possibly get any worse, tragedy strikes as a mysterious and brutal murder takes place in the Bean family home. The crime places "Moses" and "Sisser" in grave danger as "Annabelle", the last in a long-line of so-called "Sugar Witches", attempts to end the curse placed on t

Based on The Tale of Custard the Dragon and Custard the Dragon and the Wicked night by Ogden Nash.Characters: 4m, 2f with doubling / Family Musical / Unit Set Join Custard the Dragon and his friends as they embark on a musical journey in which a most unlikely hero finds true courage. Based on the whimsical stories by Ogden Nash, this musical tale follows the exploits of young Belinda and her three boastfully brave pets, Mustard the Dog, Ink the Cat, and Blink the Mouse, and one not-so-brave dragon, Custard. Yet when Belinda is confronted first by a fearsome pirate and then a wicked knight, it's Cowardly Custard who comes to the rescue. Audiences will treasure Custard's discovery that you can be brave, even when you are afraid -- Real courage comes from love. Audiences ages 5 and above will delight in this family musical commissioned and originally produced by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC." A masterful musical adaptation of Nash's classic that will delight both the young and the young at heart!" - Derek Gordon, Vice-President for Education (92 - 04), Kennedy Center

2m 1f / Musical Comedy / Unit setUnfolding in real-time, Oedipus for Kids! turns the audience into attendees of the latest performance of the Fuzzy Duck Theatre Company, a three-person troupe dedicated to performing the classics for children. Having had success with previous offerings such as Uncle Tommy's Cabin, company founder Alistair has decided that the next logical step is tackling Sophocles' Oedipus Rex with songs such as "What's It Like When Ya Get The Plague?" and "A Little Complex."

Drama / 3m.An explosive Israeli play about three Palestinian brothers. Set during the Intifada with the Israeli-Arab struggle as its backdrop, Masked depicts the tragedy of one family torn between duty, kinship, principles and survival."Powerful! Remarkably of the moment..." -The New York Times"Provocative drama. An articulate calculus of loyalty and betrayal." -The New Yorker"A contemporary emotionally charged family drama." -Time Out New York"Passionate. Fascinating. A heartbreaker. H

Musical / Steven Cagan / 3m, 3f / Simple Sets Love Songs is a truly extraordinary musical theatre experience, the return of romance to the stage! Believe in the healing power of love and romance once again. Steven Cagan's glorious work expresses the truth, beauty and hopefulness that we all strive for in this journey called life through the story of three couples. Jeremy is stuck out of town on a business trip for Roy's ad agency, trying frantically to get back in time for his nuptials. His betrothed, Gaby, is anxious for him to return. Sarah, who has been engaged to Ben for six years, is weary of his failure to commit to her. Ben has been idealizing a kind of love that does not really exist. Roy and Rose, lovers for many years, just enjoy themselves. How will their stories work out? Love Songs is timeless in its appeal. Let there be harmony evermore! "How wonderful...it really is terrific!" - Marvin Hamlisch "Truly, the harmonic color and lyrical poetry make this an extraordinary achievement."- Michael Feinstein "Love Songs - A Musical embraces essential contemporary relationships with humor and compassion. The songs are memorable, the stories are timeless." - Lynne Taylor-Corbett (Director/Choreographer & Tony Award nominee for Swing!)

Comedy / 3m, 3f / Areas La Gringa es la búsqueda de identidad de una joven de origen puertorriqueño nacida en los Estados Unidos. María Elena decide visitar a su familia borinqueña durante las navidades y llega a Puerto Rico con gran ilusión de conectarse con ellos y con la madre patria. Aunque es su primer viaje a Puerto Rico, ella siempre ha tenido un gran amor por la isla y hasta ha estudiado la historia del país en la Universidad. Sin embargo a su llegada se da cuenta de que la isla

2f per play / Drama / Unit set Award-winning new playwright Jane Shepard comes to print with four powerful short plays for women. Edgy, original, and with a darkly funny humanity, here are four pieces that give new muscle to actresses, providing roles of exceptional range. All successfully produced on the New York stage, each play features two-woman casts, with age-open roles, in work that explores our tender, brave, and sometimes brutal search for meaning. Includes both comedy and drama, with