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Jon Klein

JON KLEIN

  
Nationality:    USA
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    Judy Boals, Inc  

Jon Klein is the author of over twenty produced plays, produced Off-Broadway and at many prestigious regional Theatres, including the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage in D.C., arden Theatre in Philadelphia, Center Stage in Baltimore, South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, alley Theatre in Houston, a Contemporary Theatre in Seattle, Seattle Children's Theatre, and many others. Produced plays include Suggestibility, Wishing Well, Dimly Perceived Threats To the System, Octopus, Betty the Yeti , Peoria, Southern Cross, T Bone N Weasel, the einstein Project (co-authored with Paul D'andrea), and Losing It. He has also written several adaptations, including the exclusive stage version of the popular children's book Bunnicula, premiering at Seattle Children's Theatre along with two adaptations of the Hardy Boys book series. Other plays for young people are currently in process for both Seattle Children's Theatre, and the Kennedy Center. Jon's stage version of Stendhal's classic novel the Red and the Black was produced at ACT Theatre in Seattle. Jon adapted T Bone N Weasel for a Turner Network film, starring Gregory Hines and Christopher Lloyd. awards for other screenplays include the UCLa Showcase, the Zaki Gordon Memorial award, and the George Burns and Gracie allen Comedy award. He has also received both the HBO Playwrights USA award and the Midwest author's award For T Bone N Weasel, a CBS New Play award for Losing It, and three National endowment of the Arts Fellowships. Dimly Perceived Threats To the System was a finalist for the American Critics Theatre award. Jon has been a Playwright-in-Residence at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, and the Alliance Theatre in AtlantA. He has taught playwriting and screenwriting at UCLa, the University of Texas, the University of Washington, Ohio University, and Hollins University. He is currently the head of the MFA Playwriting Program at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

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below is a list of Jon Klein's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Back Story         Betty the Yeti         Bluegrass         Bunnicula         Chance And Necessity         Dimly Perceived Threats To the System         Early Stages         Edgar         Einstein Project, The         Fault Line         Four Our Fathers         Halfway Home         Hardy Boys In The Mystery Of The Haunted House         Hardy Boys In The Secret Of Skull Bone Island         Life Class: the Last Lesson Of Thomas Eatkins         Losing It         Lucky Sorrow         Octopus         Peoria         Private Places         Red And the Black         Red Light         Silent Night         Something To Do With Bolivia         Southern Cross         Suggestibility         T Bone N Weasel         Toy Soldiers         Wishing Well         Young Robin Hood

Back Story

Synopsis:
When Ethan is born in the worst blizzard of the century, two-year-old sister ainsley nearly sacrifices a toe trying to clear a path for the baby's arrival. That initial gesture of devotion blossoms into a tale of sibling loyalty, rivalry and love that spans two decades. Inspired by Joan ackermann's narrative "Back Story," each of the eighteen playwrights in this collective creation puts a distinctive spin on ainsley's and Ethan?s amusing and poignant struggles with life, with each other, and with the phantom dad who abandoned them for the wilds of alaska

Notes:
by Joan Ackermann Courtney Baron Neena Beber Constance Congdon Jon Klein Shirley Lauro Craig Lucas eduardo Machado Donald Margulies Jane Martin Susan Miller John Olive Tanya Palmer David Rambo edwin Sanchez Adele edling Shank Mayo Simon Val Smith. Based

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatic Play Publishing   -

Music:
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Genre:
Dramatic anthology

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Betty the Yeti

Betty the Yeti
In this comic Call of the Wild, a disgruntled logger heads for the woods after losing his job and his wife. Hounded by environmentalists, treed by his family, and baited by the lumber industry, it takes a lonely yeti to finally touch this logger's heart. But what's a mister to do with his myth when everyone wants her--alive or dead? With an acid wit that could strip the bark from a yew tree, Jon Klein weaves this woolly new fable about the ferocious tug of war taking place in Northwest forests

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Humana Festival 1994: the Complete Plays, ed Marisa Smith, Smith & Kraus, 1994
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. NY   978-1880399569

Music:
-

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  1 Yeti

Further Reference:
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Bluegrass

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Minnesota One Act Festival    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Bunnicula

Synopsis:
Based on the beloved children's book, this hilariously funny musical tells the story of Harold and Chester, a dog and cat whose comfortable lives are turned upside down upon the arrival of the new family pet, an abandoned rabbit who just might be a juice-sucking vampire bunny! Mayhem ensues as Harold and Chester team up to solve the mystery and protect their unsuspecting humans.

Notes:
adapted by Jon Klein from the book by Deborah And James Howe. Lyrics by Jon Klein, Music by Chris Jeffries

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
http://www.playsforyoungaudiences.org, 2010   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Childrens Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Chance And Necessity

Synopsis:
Albert Camus and Jacques Monod fighting with the French Resistance still have time to test the relationship between science and coincidence

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Rehearsed Reading At The Old Parish House, College Park, Maryland    08 Oct 2010

Organisations:
Active Cultures Theatre

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dimly Perceived Threats To the System

Synopsis:
an end of the millennium comedy about a family on the verge of a nervous breakdown

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1998   -

Music:
-

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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Early Stages

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
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Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Edgar

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
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Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Einstein Project, The

Einstein Project, The
a highly theatrical journey into one of the most fascinating minds of the modern age. It rejects iconic cliches about albert einstein in order to reveal the true man-a dynamic, Shakespearean personality, driven by passion, fear and anger. theatrical techniques involving movement, music and visual images-a Japanese tea ceremony, a picnic with physicist ghosts-convey his mental and emotional struggles. Humorous newsreels flicker to show the growing celebrity and absurdity of the einstein phenomenon. In the happy early days einstein creates physics on the spot with members of the Uranium Club and spends his free time sailing with his emotionally disturbed son, Edward. But he increasingly finds himself at odds with the new nationalism of Hitler's Nazi Party-especially when embodied by his chief competition, the brash young genius Werner Heisenberg. einstein's fear and fury result in the abandonment of Edward-and an escape to America. In the second act, at the height of World War II, einstein wonders if his old friends are developing atomic weapons for Hitler. Ironically, it is possible that Heisenberg and the other German scientists have successfully resisted such weapons research and trust that einstein will do the same. But the U.S. Government and ominous rumors from europe feed einstein's fear until he breaks down and urges President Franklin Roosevelt to develop atomic weapons for use against Germany. as a result, one of the most famous pacifists of all time is forced to go counter to his own beliefs. and to einstein's horror, atomic bombs are dropped on a country he didn't even consider-Japan. the climax of the play finds einstein reunited with his mad son, Edward, trying to sail in the atomic storm that he helped unleash. His discovered love for Edward gives him hope that we can stop the storm.

Notes:
written by Paul D'andrea And Jon Klein

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    978-0822220251

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  1            Other:  flexible

Further Reference:
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Fault Line

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Alexander Street Press 2008   -

Music:
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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Four Our Fathers

Four Our Fathers
Christopher Steiner takes a year off teaching to pursue a career in singing. At his first gig he freezes and flashes back to hid Catholic childhood in Kentucky

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1991   978-0573692918

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Halfway Home

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Music by Norman Sachs; lyrics by Mel Mandel; book by Jon Klein

1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Hardy Boys In The Mystery Of The Haunted House

Synopsis:
There is an eerie mansion on the edge of Barmet Bay and it is being used by smugglers

Notes:
Based on the book "The House On The Cliff" by Franklin W Dixon

1st Produced:
Seattle Childrens Theatre    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Youth play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Hardy Boys In The Secret Of Skull Bone Island

Synopsis:
Skullbone Island is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of the pirate Redbeard. A cargo ship carrying a solid gold head of a Pharaoh sinks. Captain Redbeard appears and starts reeking havoc on Barmet Bay

Notes:
Based on the book: "The Secret Warning" by James Lawrence

1st Produced:
Seattle Childrens Theatre    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Life Class: the Last Lesson Of Thomas Eatkins

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Losing It

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lucky Sorrow

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Written by Jon Klein And John Paulsen

1st Produced:
Bakers Dozen Play Festival, Seattle    27 Apr 1998

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Octopus

Synopsis:
An investigative reporter is found dead

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Contemporary American Theatre Festival    1996

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Peoria

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Private Places

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Red And the Black

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
stage version of Stendhal's classic novel

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Rain City Projects 1993   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Red Light

Synopsis:
Sex industry in New York

Notes:
Based on the book "Red Light" by James Ridgeway

1st Produced:
American Repertory Theatre    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Silent Night

Silent Night
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Notes:
"Back Story" is a two character nineteen scene comedy. Each scene is written by a different playwright.

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in: "Back Story" published by Dramatic Publishing Company 2001   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Short play

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Something To Do With Bolivia

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Southern Cross

Synopsis:
an epic play that navigates the "river of history" in the Southern United States, uncovering cycles of retribution and deliverance. the paths of many historical figures cross, from the Civil War to the era of Civil Rights. the more familiar stories include General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea, Huey Long's rise and fall, Martin Luther King's struggles in Selma, and the exploitation of Elvis Presley. Lesser known figures also share the stage: defiant landowners, runaway slaves and brave martyrs to the cause of freedom. and a steam boat captain is on hand to contribute a little typical folklore. Historical moments are juxtaposed to show the echoes and resonances of history. For example, the humorous, joyful adventure of a slave who ferried hundreds of people to freedom across the Ohio River, is followed by tear gas and clubs as a freedom marcher attempts to cross the edmund Pettis Bridge. Finally, all the different stories of the play come together in a chilling finale.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  3            Other:  (8-17 men, 3-4 women): 11 total

Further Reference:
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Suggestibility

Suggestibility
In Jon Klein's dark comedy, three young stockbrokers play out a lethally competitive erotic triangle. Chad seems at first to be merely a boorish seducer but soon emerges as a manipulator extraordinaire, part Iago and part Sammy Glick. He resents co-worker Kenneth, who out-performs him as a salesman, despite Kenneth's pathologically timid, introverted nature. Kenneth's remoteness and his obsession with a woman he has met only on the internet present an irresistible romantic challenge to Shawn, who artfully penetrates his defenses and becomes his lover. Chad wants both Shawn and Kenneth's job, and uses all his wiles to undermine them and their relationship via suggestion and disinformation. It's a slickly written tale of psychic skullduggery ~ Neal Weaver, L a Weekly

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Broadway Play Publishing, 2007   978-0881453409

Music:
-

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Genre:
dark comedy Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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T Bone N Weasel

Synopsis:
In this comic adventure of life on the lam, T Bone and Weasel, inept partners in petty crime, careen down the back roads of South Carolina until one of them ends up in jail and the other vows to mend his ways

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc., and by TCG in Plays in Process and New Plays USA 4,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Two acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Toy Soldiers

Synopsis:
Tad Lincoln learns a valuable lesson during the last days of the American Civil War.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Wishing Well

Wishing Well
Mother-Daughter revelations over one stormy weekend

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Broadway Play publishing, 2003   978-0881453065

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Young Robin Hood

Synopsis:
Teenage Robin Hood must rescue his Father when he is falsely accused and imprisoned by the nasty Sheriff of Nottingham

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Roundhouse, Bethseda, Md    28 Nov 2012

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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