This new, fully faithful stage version of Mary Shelley’s horror classic proves that the novel wasn’t merely ahead of its time, but that it’s as relevant as ever in the 21st century. Opening and closing in the arctic and telling the full story, not only of Victor Frankenstein, Elizabeth, Henry, and his family, but that of The Creature as well, including the exiled Parisian family and their savior, Safie. As the epic story unfolds and Victor and his Creature go to battle, Shelley’s themes — the responsibility of creation, obsession and revenge, love and hate, and, ultimately, devotion and abandonment — emerge, and as The Creature, bit by bit, destroys Victor’s life, we see that the monster knew more about being human, from the beginning to the tragic conclusion, than its human creator ever did.
Cast Size: 10+
Emma
Emma Woodhouse is clever, educated, and energetic… and in imminent danger of going mad with idleness. In a time when respectable ladies are expected to sit quietly at home, she desperately needs projects—and prides herself on matchmaking, much to the chagrin of her friend Mr. Knightley. But where Emma’s considerable energies focus, screwball comedy follows… A fresh feminist take on a treasured classic, this Emma breaks down convention, expectation, and even the fourth wall with vibrant comic flair—leading audiences “forward, onward, and upward!”
A Christmas Carol (Melrose)
Faithful to the language of Charles Dickens’s novella and suffused with Christmas songs, A CHRISTMAS CAROL tells the story of the curmudgeonly miser, Ebeneezer Scrooge, and his miraculous transformation. The night before Christmas he is visited by four ghosts, who show him how his choices have affected those around him as well as himself and remind him of what is important in this world. Waking, after the visitations, in time for Christmas, Scrooge sets out to make things right and change not only his life, but those around him.
Cinderella: The Real Story
This new take on an old classic tells the forgotten stories hidden in the fairy tale we all know so well. Hilarious, imaginative, and powerful, this play is specifically designed to be performed by young performers and may be adapted to a virtual or in-person performance venue.
The Christmas Carol Farce
Charles Dickens’s ghost arranges for a high school production of A Christmas Carol to be broadcast on TV. The cast is ecstatic, until they learn their performance must be cut to one hour. At the TV studio, they discover it must be cut to 40 minutes for commercials. Just before they go on-air, an overtime football game forces them to cut again. When all that’s left is 5 minutes, they perform a hilariously fast holiday classic.
Distance Learning
A group of high school seniors face their final year learning online with a beloved teacher as a pandemic rages outside. Together they will face social isolation, missed milestones, the potential loss of friends and family, their places in the world and what the birth of a new social justice movement means for them.
The Cherry Orchard
Liúbov Ranyévskaya returns to her Russian estate after five years in Paris, following her son’s death. But her family is ridden with debt, and their home and beautiful cherry orchard will be auctioned off at the end of the summer. Lopákhin grew up on the estate, the child of former serfs, and has become a wealthy merchant. He suggests they build vacation homes where the orchard sits. The income would save them, but Liúbov and her brother won’t even consider it. They—like the cherry orchard—are a relic from another time: beautiful, but now fruitless. Summer comes to a close, and the Ranyévskayas must leave—with the sound of axes coming from the orchard.
Buddy Bro Bubba Dude
Men in twisted shorts! This roller-coaster ride of hilarious short plays is all about, and starring only, men! In these absurdly funny tales, you’ll meet men who are confident, men who are brave, and men who are as useless as the “g” in “lasagna.” There’s Wade, who, after badgering his widowed father to start dating again, scrambles to stop his dad from a rendezvous with the last woman he should ever romance. Bubba is a radio show personality who spills a small town’s juiciest secrets during an on-air meltdown. And then, you’ll meet two good ol’ Texas boys struggling to achieve the impossible—an honest conversation about the meaning of life…and sports. And these are just a few of the colorful eccentrics in these rowdy and rollicking short plays.
Bina’s Six Apples
Bina’s family grows the finest apples in all of Korea. But when war forces her to flee her home, Bina is alone in the world with just six precious apples to her name. Can these meager possessions help her find her family? Join Bina on her spirited journey that ranges from the heartbreaking to the humorous. Encountering new challenges at every turn, Bina is forced to rely upon her apples and their important legacy as she begins to discover the power of her own resilience. Often mesmerizing, always heartwarming, Bina will discover that she’s not the only one on a difficult quest for a place to call home.
That Summer in Sumner
THAT SUMMER IN SUMNER is the middle drama in The Till Trilogy, a three-play cycle exploring the epic saga of Emmett Till. While the first play, The Ballad of Emmett Till, is the story of the boy, That Summer in Sumner explores the 1955 trial of his killers. While drawing upon trial transcripts, contemporaneous news accounts, and the abundant photographic and media imaging, the play is not a docudrama, but my imagined interpretation of behind the scenes events from the perspective of three African American journalists covering the trial and from Emmett, himself, his ghost, his cipher, his Kah, coming to grips with what has happened to him.
This is the second play in The Till Trilogy, a three-play cycle which includes BENEVOLENCE and THE BALLAD OF EMMETT TILL, exploring the epic saga of Emmett Till and the birth of the modern Civil Rights Movement.