Melodramas

A CASE OF LOST GEMS
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
4M 4W. One Interior.
     The melodrama takes place in an old hotel in a small western town in the early 1900’s. Years earlier Hank,the grizzly old owner, befriended Garret Gracely who was hiding a terrible secret. The opening finds the hotel barely surviving, but soon it is full with weary travelers all searching for something. Pearl and Trudy are searching for Pearls mother, Frank and Dwight are searching for a fast way to California, and the villain, T.B. Meanman is searching for an easy dollar. The ending has an unusual twist, but you can be sure the villain is foiled and true love found. (45 minutes)
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 101


A SNITCH IN TIME or TIME FLIES BY WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN
by Denise Ruemping
8 men, 6 women, (or less if actors double up)
     Professor Prodigy, inventor, has created a time machine. While giving a presentation to his nephew, Roman, and some of Roman's friends, he accidentally brings back a few outrageous characters, including a young William Shakespeare. Meanwhile, the dastardly Silas Swindle, a wicked villain who has been stealing Prodigy's inventions and passing them off as his own, has caught wind of the professor's time machine and attempts to use time (and even more colorful characters) to gain control of this great invention and, eventually, win power over the scientific world of today of the present. Additional Notes: Set requires a time machine. Costumes include William Shakespeare, a caveman, a Viking, a cowgirl, a combat soldier, a woman of the future, and many others. (40 - 50 minutes)
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 201


AX ME NO QUESTIONS or PINES ARE NEVER BLUE BUT EVER GREEN
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
3M-4W. One Interior with a working sawmill.
     Setting is the lumber mill which Ashley Oaks and her aunt Violet have come to take over after her father mysteriously dies. Sliver Longjohn, is the lumber foreman and has been running the mill since the accident. He has been selling the lumber to Mrs. Windell for a substantial kickback. Betty Brown and Douglas Fir mistrust and have been trying to "get something" on Sliver and Mrs. Windell. The sheriff says that the only way he can do anything is if there is proof. Douglas and Ashley devised a plot to get that proof and save the mill, but before all this can happen, Ashley finds herself tied to the sawmill. Will Douglas Fir come in time to save her? Will the villains be brought to justice? Hey, this is a melodrama. Of course they will. (45 minutes)
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 107


THE BEST LITTLE OPRENHAUSEN IN THE MIDWEST
Or WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BOY MEETS GHURL
By Denise Catherine Ruemping
Cast: 4 men, 5 women, (or more if use more theater girls)
     Sir Slingerland has blown into town and is buying up property all over, and now he has his sights set on the local theater. The manager, Elsa Oprenhausen, is determined to keep Slingerland from turning it into a factory and forcing her girls to work at his sewing machines, but she has only one week to beat out his bid and save the theater. Music, dancing, treachery, and a little bit of romance are in the works for Elsa and her girls as they prepare to put on the show of their lives and win the hearts of the entire town. approximately 30 – 40 minutes
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 202


Double Trouble in Soda, South Dakota or The Two Sides of Sheriff Tom
By Denise Catherine Ruemping
Cast: 2 men, 2 women
Setting: The general store in Soda, South Dakota
Synopsis: A mysterious stranger has blown into town, demanding a “protection” fee, protection from his bullying ways that is, and just when the loyal sheriff has oddly disappeared. However, the crew at the local general store finds something very familiar about this strange intimidator. Can they figure out what’s going on before this dastardly villain comes to strong-arm his fee from their little shop?
Additional Notes: One actor will be playing two roles, sometimes simultaneously.
approximately 30-40 minutes
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 203


DUAL IDENTITY or BETRAYED BY HER SECRET PAST
by Cheryl A. Frarck
3 women, 3 men. One Interior.
     Wallace Diehard has been found dead, seated in his favorite chair in his library, the door locked. His widow, Mrs. Alicia Diehard, has been left destitute because her husband, before his death, mysteriously withdrew all his money from the bank and hid it somewhere in the Diehard mansion. Grief-stricken and facing penury, Mrs. Alicia is forced to deal with a new butler, an irascible gardener, a clumsy maid who is always complaining that the mansion is haunted, and a too-attentive lawyer, Algernon Wily-Smythe, as well as hire herself a companion. Our heroine, Felicity Longlife, arrives to interview as a companion, but she too seems to be hiding some secrets. Every visitor to the Diehard Mansion is not as they appear; they may all be wearing more than one mask.
Running Time: 45 minutes.
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 302


FOR LOVE OF MONEY or A PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
3M 3W. One Interior.
     In the mansion of the deceased Pappy Pepper, who was the salt of the earth, we find his two trusted servants and his granddaughter, Penny. Penny has lost her sight due to the terrible shock of seeing her mother drown. Pappy’s will, under the control of an evil attorney Grizzly Griswold, seems to have left Penny penniless. Everyone knows Pappy would never do that to his precious Penny, so there must be another will. The search begins. Throw in a stalwart doctor and a simple minded henchman, and you have a fun melodrama which includes a chase and fight in the form of a Conga line. It is not blind luck that in the end the villain gets what he deserves. (50 minutes)
Royalties $35 -$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 105


JEMMA'S DILEMMA or WHO STOLE THE LUTEFISK?
by Cheryl A. Frarck
4 women, 3 men. One Interior.
     Only one week before Christmas, and the owner of the Globin Country Store, Olaf Globin, has been found dead, drowned in the Christmas vat of lutefisk. How will the residents in this all-Norwegian community survive? Ovidia, Olaf Globin's widow, takes over running the store, and her daughter, Hjemma Globin, returns home from nursing school, to help her mother meet Holiday demands. A storekeeper from another village, Abe Noxious, arrives offering to buy the store from Ovidia, promising that he has enough lutefisk to keep the customers supplied through the month. Noxious, upon seeing Hjemma, is smitten by her Nordic beauty and offers the lutefisk to Ovidia in return for Hjemma's hand in marriage. When Hjemma resoundingly rejects Noxious's offer, he vows to destroy the store and gain Hjemma as his wife. Needless to say, Abe Noxious's plans are thwarted due to good old Norwegian ingenuity and common sense.
Running Time: 45 minutes.
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 303


HOW NOW BROWN COW or DON'T BULLY ME
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
3M-4W. One Interior.
     The heroWillie and his sister Juilet, have been orphaned and are being cared for by their mean step uncle, Silas Sinwell. All they have left of their mother and father's fortune is a bull, Brutus. The uncle has taken everything. Silas is courting Widow Hazel Folley who owns a large herd of cows. She has a daughter, Rosie, who has a prize cow, Cleopatra. Willie loves Rosie and wants to marry her and with her cow and his bull start a champion dairy farm. Silas wants to have Brutus, Cleopatra and all the other cows butchered and sold for sirloin. In true melodrama form, the villain is foiled and love triumphs. This particular play has hidden within its dialogue many of the titles of Shakespeare’s works....as extra fun you can have the audience guess how many they can spot.(50 minutes)
Royalties ($35-$25)
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 106


NO GHOST OF A CHANCE or THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE BLACKOUT
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
3M 4W One Interior, but a stage within a stage
     Lizzy Swan has inherited her fathers theater and with it a ghost. The ghost is scaring away members of the acting troop so that only a few remain, Lizzy’s trusted friend Helena, the old stagehand, Rufus, and her leading man. With a performance only a few hours away, she must find a villain for her play or forfeit the theater. She is forced to take the first person who walks into the theater. The melodrama has lots of twists and turns. We find that the man in white is really the villain and the man in black is really the hero. But the biggest question seems to be, who really is the ghost? (50 minutes)
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 104


NO PRICE ON LOVE or BOUGHT AND SOLD FOR TAINTED GOLD
by Sandra Hennings Miller
3M 6W One Interior.
     The play takes place at the Mahoney Home for Wayward Girls. Mama Mahoney, the proprietor, firmly believes there is no such thing as a bad girl, only one that has lost her way. In order to financially make the home work Mama has hired Felicia Felony. To Mama’s surprise, Felicia seems to be increasing the number of girls helped but not the profits. Little does Mama suspect that Felicias means are not honest ones. Felicia is selling the girls to miners out west for a tidy profit and pocketing all the money. Lily is a wayward girl who arrives at the home and soon Felicia finds that her evil scheme is in danger of being discovered. As all true melodramas the villainess is thwarted and the heroine and hero live happily after ever.(45 minutes)
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 103


ONE BAD APPLE or ROTTEN TO THE CORE
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
4M-3W. One Interior.
     The curtain opens to find the parlor of the Blossom Apple Farm with Cherry Blossom busily getting ready for royalty. It seems a Baron Von Fritter, from Germany, is coming to inspect their apples to see if they are good enough for his famous strudel. The Baron arrives with his personal secretary Herr Schnitzel and the fun begins. John, Cherry’s boyfriend, mistrusts the Barons motives and since he is going to the Sherlock Holmes Detective School, he starts an investigation. As you guessed the Baron is a phony and soon real royalty arrives to disclaim him. Love blossoms between Herr Schnitzel and Prudy Newit an old maid neighbor, giving this play a double love story and double fun. (50 minutes)
Royalties ($35- $25)
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 102


"SHE ASPIRED TO GREATER THINGS"
or "UP THE RIVER WITHOUT A PADDLE [BOAT]"
by Cheryl A. Frarck
4 women, 4 men. One Interior.
     The time is late 1800's when the Mississippi River was King and all life that existed, lived on the majestic riverboats. One of those riverboats, the Fading River Queen, is captained by the aging and very nearsighted Captain Willoughby Sternwheeler. At one riverboat stop, the Queen takes on two passengers, the suave, handsome Beauregard Snidely and his lady friend, Rose Gone Astray. The Captain's foster child, Milicent Lovely, is immediately attracted to this handsome stranger and falls too readily into his promises of marriage, riches, and travel to exotic locales. The handsome first mate, Stalwart Shoulder, sees the snake behind the handsome façade and tries to warn Milicent of her danger. Will the Captain encourage Milicent to marry Beauregard? Or will true love win over the promise of diamonds and riches? Will the Captain ever see well enough to recognize Milicent's identity? Will Beauregard Snidely ever find himself up the river without a paddleboat?
Running Time: 45 minutes.
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 301


“THE SMOKING GUN” or “THE REVENGE OF A FATHER'S SON”
by Sandra Hennings Miller
11 women, 12 men. One Interior.
     Setting is the Short Twig Saloon on a Friday afternoon. Old Man Wellman was found dead last week with no apparent cause. He had just lost his ranch to Sierra Sly in a card game. Marshall Willon has come up with nothing to prove Sierra Sly did it although the whole town suspects him. Miss Catty and the Marshall have called in Doc Vacation to play cards with Sierra to see if he can catch him cheating. Ethan Wellman has also called in a private detective from St. Louis to prove that Sierra Sly is responsible. The townsfolk consists of a temperance group that has gotten the town dry by banning all alcohol and making the bar serve only root beer and sarsaparilla. Corrie Nation and her ladies come in periodically to check that Miss Catty is following the rules. Burp and Slurp, two townspersons who do not like the rule, make some hilarious trouble for all concerned. Through the songs of the new entertainer The Missouri Songbird and her girls, the confusion caused by the townsfolks, the trouble caused by Sierra Sly, the love story of Miss Catty and the Marshall, the mystery finally gets solved and all live happily ever after.
Running Time: 45 minutes.
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 114


THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE CHEESE BUSINESS
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
3M-2W. One Interior.
     Mom and Pop Sharp own the Sharp Cheese Factory. Pop has been working on a formula to make a cheese you can spread on bread. The mortgage on his factory has been taken over by Mr. Big CheeseBiz who wants all the cheese factorys for himself (the big rat). Pop has to race against time to save his factory. With the help of his neighbor, Ollie Bluenbacker, and his daughter, Velvetta, the small business man triumphs over evil.(25 minutes)
Royalties $30-$20
Scripts $3.75
Catalog Number 110


UNDER THE SPELL OF LOVE
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
4M 3W extras. One Exterior.
     The show opens to the sweet violin music of Horace, the entertainment for a travelling medicine show. We see a group of villagers waiting to be dazzled by the best snake oil salesman ever, Dr. Ulysses S. Viper. He is selling his magical elixir which we soon find out is 100 proof. At this particular stop, Horace and Dr Viper encounter the lovely Angela who sings like an angel. The Dr. plans to hypnosize her into do his bidding. Of course our Hero Horace cannot let that happen. With the help of two sweet old maid sisters, who are hooked and have been following the wagon from town to town, the day and sweet Angela are saved. A surprise ending has the audience grasping their sides from laughter. (50 minutes)
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 108


WILLOW WEEP NO MORE or A NEW BROOM SWEEPS CLEANER
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
4M-4W. One Interior.
     Poor Pricilla Willow has been left alone with two young daughters , Sissy and Missy, plus a Broom Factory that is in the dust bin. Try as he may the trusted accountant, Elwood, just can’t make the books balance. We soon find out that is in part to the villain Cedwick Brash, who has been secretly selling off the inventory and doctoring the books. Fearing that Elwood and the janitor Dusty, are getting close to the truth, Cedwick decides to burn the factory down. A very tense (and fun) scene involves the girls tied to a chair while the factory burns. Like all good melodramas the out come is a happy one and the villain is foiled again. (45 minutes)
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 109


Zartan, the Mysterious White Jungle Cat or Beware of Hairless Monkeys Bearing Wits
By Denise Catherine Ruemping
Cast: 4 men, 3 women
Setting: The remote jungles of Africa
Synopsis: While on an archeological expedition in the jungles of Africa, the Goodwicks encounter a mysterious jungle girl who appears to have grown up in the wild. While their crazy adventure ensues, they are soon to discover that their guide has a past he is running from and the hunter they have hired to protect them has a few secrets of his own. Additional Notes: The role of Zartan requires a lot of physicality.
approximately 40-60 minutes
Royalties $35-$25
Scripts $4.75
Catalog Number 204


GHOST SWEET GHOST
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
Children’s Theater.
4M-4W One Interior.
     Geeim Sweet is devastated by the lost of her husband Arentwe. Arentwe returns from the dead to warn his wife that Willie Getter is not to be trusted and he is responsible for his death. The problem is that only Geeim sees him and the servants and the doctor thinks she is losing her mind. They think this even more when Willlie exchanges Goodie the maid with her evil twin sister. Lots of action to keep young people enjoying this melodrama. (15 minutes)
Royalties $15-$10
Scripts $2.75
Catalog Number 111


HOUSE OF THREE ANNS
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
Children’s Theater.
2M-3W. One Interior.
     Three sisters, all named Ann are trying to hold on to the home place since their father was killed. They are also trying to find out who killed their father and bring him to justice. With money tight and the villain at the door asking for the oldest hand in marriage things look pretty dark. But as in any melodrama the hero comes to save the day and justice is served. (15 minutes)
Royalties $15-$10
Scripts $2.75
Catalog Number 113


THE GOLDLEAF MONEY MYSTERY
by Sandra Hennings Miller.
Children’s Theater.
3M-5W. One Interior.
     The Goldleaf mansion is in big trouble. The villain is going to foreclose on their beautiful home if they cannot come up with the entire money. Grandma is really upset because she knows there is a fortune hidden in the mansion someplace but she has forgotten where. Short dialogue and fast action to keep young actors happy. (15 minutes)
Royalties $15-$10
Scripts $2.75
Catalog Number 112



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