We are a new company so I would like to do at least one or two well known show as well as one or two good, semi known ones.  We have a local play written by someone regionally that we will kick our season off with this year. 

 

Any suggestions would be wonderful!

 

Also, I am looking for a small cast 45 minute show for our local high school to use in it's competition.  It would seem that the school that "wins every year" does a small cast show dealing with some type of social or emotional issue....maybe I can fight fire with fire??!!

 

THE STORY: In the Baptist backwoods of the Bible Belt, the beleaguered Turpin family proves that living and dying in the South are seldom tidy and always hilarious. Despite their earnest efforts to pull themselves together for their father's funeral, the Turpin's other problems keep overshadowing the solemn occasion: Firstborn Ray-Bud drinks himself silly as the funeral bills mount; Junior, the younger son, is juggling financial ruin, a pack of no-neck monster kids, and a wife who suspects him of infidelity in the family car; their spinster sister, Delightful, copes with death as she does life, by devouring junk food; and all the neighbors add more than two cents. As the situation becomes fraught with mishap, Ray-Bud says to his long-suffering wife, "When I die, don't tell nobody. Just bury me in the backyard and tell everybody I left you." Amidst the chaos, the Turpins turn for comfort to their friends and neighbors, an eccentric community of misfits who just manage to pull together and help each other through their hours of need, and finally, the funeral.

Whoopie Goldberg did a mediocre movie of this named Kingdom Come with an all star cast.  The play is much better.

The Bells of Charlemont - (2 females, 6 males, bunch o' extras) 2009 North Dakota State Champion. Has advanced to the state finals in nearly every one-act competition it's been in. Here's the blurb:

 

"On Christmas Eve, 1944, a small group of American soldiers are occupying a burned-out village in northern France. The town mayor's widow makes an extraordinary request, asking if they will help revive the town from the crippling malaise of Nazi occupation by restoring a lost Christmas tradition. But before the men can complete their task, they are given orders to join what will become known as the Battle of the Bulge. Will they desert the army to help the people they have come to love? Based on a true story, The Bells of Charlemont beautifully evokes the power of the human spirit in the midst of war."

 

read it online here for free:

 

http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=1160 - http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=1160

 

The Audition (2009 winner of the Kotler Memorial One Act Play competition in Georgia, no less)

 

"A new theater teacher is bringing a production of A Chorus Line to the high school. Though the hopefuls range from shy to outrageous, and from diva-like to determined, everyone has a chance to step into the spotlight. A hilarious and heartbreaking look at the madness of auditioning and the actors who brave the process for that perfect part."

 

Read it here:

 

http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=1427 - http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=1427

 

And probably not what you're looking for, but this play has won two state competitions before, so you never know...

 

The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon (cast of 5 - expandable, comedy, but it was 2008 State Champion in Virginia and 2008 State Champion in Missouri, so it might do well in competition)

 

"Two narrators attempt to recreate all 209 of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm in a wild, fast-paced extravaganza. To make it more difficult, they attempt to combine them into one gigantic fable using Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and other more obscure stories like Lean Lisa and The Devil's Grandmother."

 

read it here:

 

http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=1163 - http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=1163

 

Hope that helps!

I have several plays that you might find suitable, especially one called I AM THE GUMBO (a comedy with food!)

You can visit my website

http://webspace.webring.com/people/er/raleighmarcell - http://webspace.webring.com/people/er/raleighmarcell

 

or contact me directly

mailto:raleighmarcell@gmail.com - raleighmarcell@gmail.com

 

If you do one of my plays, and my schedule permits, I would love to be present at the production.

 

Thanks,

Raleigh Marcell

 I have to say it was one of my favorite shows. Cast is 5 women who age from 40's to late 70's through the show.

http://www.tazentertainment.com.au/specialevents.htm#secondsamuel - http://www.tazentertainment.com.au/specialevents.htm#secondsamuel

I can put you in touch with the playwright realy fast.

I can put you in touch with the playwright really easy.

 

That's good to know

 

I've been trying to recommend "Second Samuel"

for this thread myself but have not been able

to find a publisher or contact info for it.

All I could get were fantastic reviews.

 

So, "Second Samuel" is seconded

and welcome to the boards, ozzie!

 

Looking forward to your input.

 

Thanks!!!

Here is a review and info on the Australian production.

 

http://www.theatre.asn.au/blog/ozzieparker/scond_samuel_the_wetumpka_depot_players_wetumpka_alabama - http://www.theatre.asn.au/blog/ozzieparker/scond_samuel_the_wetumpka_depot_players_wetumpka_alabama

 

http://www.secondsamuelgeorgia.com/ - http://www.secondsamuelgeorgia.com/

 

for the email mailto:pamelaparker@secondsamuelgeorgia.com - pamelaparker@secondsamuelgeorgia.com