Books published by Samuel French Inc

Full Length / Characters: 5 male, 2 female, 3 children Scenery: Composite setThis fresh approach to the classic tale faithfully conveys the magic of Dickens. On Christmas Eve in 1843 friends and family gathered at Dickens' home ask him to tell a story, but he refuses to work on Christmas Eve. If there is going to be a story, each must take a part in its telling. And so the story unfolds with the cast of 10 playing over 40 parts. "Done with respect and ingenuity. Deserves to be seen." Cleve

Drama / 9m, 1f / Int.A splendidly raffish gallery of rogues inhabit Newgate Prison in the London of 1725. Besides the conniving jailkeeper, there are his daughter, who favors the prisoners according to their money, a titled scoundrel, a poet, a whining condemned man, and a family prisoner dressed in exquisite lace. There is savage humor in their strategems, and the whole makes a shocking picture of historical justice. "A distinguished and beautifully written play ... Rare qualities of style, grace, wit and sardonic humor." - N. Y. Post

Mystery Comedy / Characters: 7 male, 3 femaleScenery: 2 InteriorsIn this popular American mystery play, incident is piled on incident with skill and plausibility, and it is impossible to know who the real criminal is until the final curtain. This thriller revolves around Cornelia Van Gorder, a maiden lady of sixty, who rents the summer home of a banker reported killed in Colorado. She is warned that mysterious things are happening but she refuses to move. Then it is discovered that a large

Comic drama / 2m, 6f / Int.At a funeral in an Italian sector of Brooklyn, mourners come to pay tribute to a police officer of questionable character, killed while allegedly defending the life of the Pope. Though each of the attendees has a colorful relationship with the victim, it is the policeman's pregnant mistress who causes a sensation. Will she and her unborn baby be permitted to stay? Was the deceased a hero or just a poor slob in the wrong place at the wrong time? Insults and furies fly as the women, Italian to the core, debate the legacy of this fallen man. "The characters...are Brooklyn Italians...Their ethnicity runs a distant second to their universality; their appeal is their humanity. Sometimes, they are very funny, too." - The New York Times"Human behavior in the face of tragedy is the essence of Amidst the Gladiolas, an engrossing drama with occasional lightweight comedy relief by Vito Gentile...The playwright has endowed his characters with such believable and undeniable recognizable human qualities at such an occasion, that they become automatically interesting, and instantly snare audience involvement." - Variety"The drama has some of the harrowing quality of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - another drama that moves in real time - and while the baiting and abuse never get quite so horrid in Amidst the Gladiolas, it can be unpleasant to witness, as if one were truly overhearing a bitter family quarrel." - The Bergen Record

Play with Music / Music by Mel Marvin / 4m, 6f (34 characters) / Various sets.Similar in structure to Spoon River Anthology and Our Town, It's life - and in this case, violent death - in a small town, with music, tied together by a running commentary by the town's sole physician of many years. The author has a savvy sense of black comedy, all utilized in weaving a series of sordid tales of backwoods murder, and adultery. And each vignette is either compelling or caustically comic. It is a stra

Adapted from Lewis Carroll Fantasy / More than 50 characters plus extras (doubling possible) / Ints./exts. Produced and revived on Broadway, this is the most successful dramatic version of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass: a journey into a world of complete illusion.

Comedy / 7m, 4f / 1 Set Confined in is villa at Yalta by illness in April of 1900, Chekhov receives a delightful visit by the Moscow Art Theatre. They have embarked on a provincial tour with the express purpose of persuading Chekhov to give them his latest play. Noteworthy characters include Stanislavski, Valdmir Nemirovich Danchenko, Gorky, Ivan Bunin and actress Olga Knipper who Chekhov, a confirmed bachelor, contemplates marrying even as he acknowledges his advancing consumption. The play is criss crossed with amorous triangles, battles of ego, high spirits and melancholic languor reminiscent of Chekhov's work. Winner of several prestigious awards including a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Distinguished Playwrighting and an American Theatre Critics Citation. "A truly Chekhovian comedy filled with wit, style, and passion." - L.A. Star News

Walton Jones, David Wohl and Faye GreenbergMusical Comedy8m, 4fThe long-awaited sequel to the popular The 1940's Radio Hour. It's Christmas Eve, 1943, and the Feddington Players are now broadcasting from a hole-in-the-wall studio in Newark, NJ, and set to present their contemporary "take" on Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Whether it's the noisy plumbing, missed cues, electrical blackouts, or the over-the-top theatrics of veteran actor, but radio novice, Wil

Collection of short playsComedyWinner! 2009 NJACT Perry Award for Outstanding Production of an Original PlaySeven of The Porch Room's best short plays collected together into an evening of comedy that proves that no matter what you plan for - accidents happen.Shorts include:Accidents Happen - Please beware of all safety procedures and take note of the emergency exits.Nine Point Eight Meters Per Second Per Second - Ba

Dramatic ComedyCharacters: 2 males, 2 femalesTwo college buddies whose annual outing of male-bonding and debauchery veers precipitously off course when unmet expectations spiral into a volatile showdown. A darkly funny drama exploring the evolution of friendships - and the lengths to which we go to save them from falling into extinction. "Extinction is intimate theatre at its edgy best!" -Examiner.com"Gabe McKinley's Extinction is the creative meat of a tr

Characters: 4 male, 3 female, extras, double casting and cross casting possible. Various settings A Ridiculous retelling of the children's classic. All the familiar elements are there, including Jack, his mother, their cow, the magic beans, the beanstalk, the giant, the giantess, the goose that lays the golden eggs, and the harp that talks, but Ludlam adds his usual mix of wordplay and sight gags - and a very light touch of vegetarian and proletarian rabble-rousing - to crea

Marcia Kash and Doug Hughes FarceCharacters: 5 male, 2 femaleInterior Set Jane and Sybil are on the verge of the deal of their lives. They have rented a hotel suite for a very private showing of their "Passion Fashion Wear" lingerie. Only famous Italian designer Bruno Fruferelli is to attend. The models are booked, the champagne is on ice and the sexy samples are on display. They have anticipated every contingency, expect the arrival of their jealous husbands who

Category: Musical Comedy Characters: 3 males, 2 females Scenery: Interior The story takes place in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota, in a little bar called "The Bunyan," owned by Clara and Gunner Johnson. Clara is 8¿ months pregnant with their first child, and today she's looking forward to her baby shower, getting lots of presents, and taking a break from her raging hormones. Suddenly, a freak snow storm, a "tsnownami," hits Bunyan Bay and they find themselves snowed in. All ro

Category: Drama Characters: 4 males and 4 females (with doubling) Scenery: Multiple Sets Paula and Andrew, two twenty-something Americans, arrive in China right after the Cultural Revolution, when the country is just starting to open up to foreigners. Paula has come to teach English and Andrew has come to spend a semester close to Paula. Their naiveté is astounding as they blunder into the heavily socialist and guarded community of the school. They are spied on by everyone, obliquely threatened, mystified by local customs, and general fish out of water. Ultimately, Andrew returns to the States, but Paula decides to stay, despite her seeming distaste for their surroundings. " No Foreigners Beyond This Point ...makes the most of its possibilities both as a romantic exploit and as a perceptive vision of people who are as reluctant to express their true feelings, even as they are curious about those who do." - CurtainUp Review

Characters: 3 female, 1 maleIf you had the power to revise your past, what would you change? Who would you be? Trust fund darling Emma imagines what her life would have been like had she come from a less privileged background. Trouble is, she chronicles her alternate life in a new tell-all "memoir" that was sold for a hefty advance. When Emma is exposed, will her sister, Tess, stand by her? Or will Emma's deceit destroy their already fractured relationship? This dark comedy brings up qu

Comedy Woody Allen Characters: 18 male, 2 female (doubling possible). Bare stage, simple props. A maniacal killer is at large and Kleinman is caught between conflicting factions with plans on how to catch him. Kleinman, a logical man in a mad world, is indecisive and insecure; he doesn't want to get involved but everyone is after him to make a choice. He is even accused of being the culprit. When Kleinman confronts the maniac (who looks no different from anyone els

Mystery Comedy George M. Cohan Characters: 10 male, 4 female Interior Set One of the most famous of Cohan's plays happens in a lonely tavern on a wild stormy night where a mysterious vagabond, a woman and the State Governor and his family who have been held up a short distance away gather. Several persons are suspected of the crime and the mysterious vagabond takes infinite delight in observing developments as they take place about him. When suspense reaches an al

DramaCharacters: 4 male, 3 femaleInterior Set An exceptional drama by an award winning Canadian playwright.The Mercer family's cohesiveness is being torn asunder. The subtle threads of mutual understanding, confidence and trust have come unraveled. The key character is the patriarch, Jacob, a man obsessed with making his two sons reflections of himself. A complex man, sometimes compassionate, and often contradictory, who inspires rebellion in his sons, Billy, and Ben.

Category: Comedy with Music Characters: 1 male, 5 females Scenery: Interior In its heyday, "Old Smokey" was more than a mountain-top country store...its porch was the scene of Saturday night musical jamborees that rivaled the Grand Ole Opry. As Emma prepares to reopen Old Smokey for her son Teddy - injured in Afghanistan and almost home - the store has fallen into disrepair. There to help are Jinks, a playful friend and a Yankee wannabe; Olive, a sassy defender of all

Genre: Mystery, Thriller Characters: 5 males, 2 females Scenery: Simple Set In Dreams , two very unlike individuals become aware of each other and eventually come to fear each other by means of their very real nightmares and daydreams. A young lawyer awakens in terror and dread. He had been in an abandoned building; a sadistic policeman was beating him, demanding to know where he had hidden the stolen drugs. The woman at his side, who says she is his wife, the mother

Characters: 1 male, 5 femaleMultiple Sets Up-and-coming cartoonist Stuart fights to keep the lid on his mother's and aunts' simmering angst. But the family's secrets channel themselves into a bizarre shapeshifter that guzzles soda, communicates by fax, and spouts old German verse. Friedrich Schiller's classic tale of warring queens inspires this gothic romp through the weirder side of suburban America. "Grote has made a name for himself in recent years with scripts that explode the

Theresa RebeckDrama Characters: 2 male, 2 femaleA young social climber leads an actor into an extra-marital affair, from which he then creates a full-on downward spiral into alcoholism and bummery. His wife runs off with his best friend, his girlfriend leaves, and he's left with ... nothing. "Ms. Rebeck's dark-hued morality tale contains enough fresh insights into the cultural landscape to freshen what is essentially a classic boy-meets-bad-girl story...Ms. Rebeck is an estab

It's Annie Desmond's sixteenth birthday, and her friends have decided to help her celebrate in style, complete with a brand new tattoo. Before her special night is over, however, Annie and her friends enter into a life-altering pact. When Annie tries to make good on her promise to her friends, she's forced to take a good look at the world that surrounds her.

This sequel to the best-selling anthology contains contemporary plays by some of the world's most important writers. All are perfect for classes and showcases. Contents: > American Welcome. Brian Friel. 1m [3702] Arizona Anniversaries. John Bishop. 1m, 2f [3705] Bed and Breakfast. Richard Dresser. 2m, 3f [3949] Confession. Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth Fuller. 2m, 1f. [ 5810] Eu

CharacterS: 3 male, 3 female Six lives. One night. Asymmetry chronicles the halting first steps of three fledgling relationships, as six damaged people fumble for intimacy and balance. Sandy & Miguel struggle to recover what, long ago, might have become something beautiful; Julius & Priscilla reach out to each other, frantically seeking a way through the protective walls they've built around themselves; Maggie & Cody share an affliction, but fight against their very different views of life. Each of these broken relationships comes to a head in one night, in the same physical space, each couple unaware of the others even as their stories intertwine. "...Robinson creates a perfectly balanced play about the imbalance that seems so painfully inherent in every relationship."-Backstage West

Characters: 2 male, 4 female Unit Set. Dramatic Comedy Little Theatre/Advanced Groups Ty Greene is a normal guy with three very big problems. In an unprecedented (for him) run of promiscuity, Ty has managed to impregnate three women in the span of one week: His ex-girlfriend, his 40-something married next-door neighbor, and his 18 year-old student. In this edgy comedy by playwright Rajiv Joseph, Ty's problems illuminate every triumph and failure of his life, and as the women

Short Plays, ComedyCharatcers: 2 male, 2 female3 interior sets Consists of The Way of All Fish, Virtual Reality and In and Out of the Light, three short plays about the collision of wills that were an Off Broadway comedy sensation starring the authors. "Classic comedies ... with subversive details that keep catching you off guard.... The evening ... percolates with actorly inventiveness and a willingness to pursue a warped logic step by ste