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Christopher Durang

CHRISTOPHER DURANG

  (1949 - )

Nationality:    USA
facebook     email:    n/a     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    ICM Partners  

Christopher Durang has had plays On and Off-Broadway including a History of the American Film (Tony nomination); Sister Mary Ignatius explains It all For You(Obie award); Beyond therapy; Baby with the Bathwater; the Marriage of Bette and Boo (Obie award, Hull Warriner award);Laughing Wild; Betty's Summer Vacation(Obie award); Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge; and Miss Witherspoon,which had a double premiere at McCarter Theatre and at Playwrights Horizons. His musical, adrift in Macao, with book and lyrics by Mr. Durang and music by Peter Melnick, received its New York City premiere at Primary Stages following a run at Philadelphia Theatre Company. as an actor, Mr. Durang has appeared in movies and in his own plays. He's appeared with Sigourney Weaver in their co-authored Das Lusitania Songspiel (Drama Desk nominations for both of them), and with Julie Andrews in the Stephen Sondheim revue Putting It Together at Manhattan Theatre Club. With John augustine and Sherry Anderson he performed his crackpot cabaret Chris Durang and Dawne (Bistro award). With Marsha Norman, he's co-chair of the Playwriting Program at Juilliard where they have jointly won the Margo Jones award for their work with developing playwrights. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild Council. Received the PeN/Laura Pels International Foundation Award for Master American Dramatist. Obie Award winner and Tony nominated Christopher Durang is a prolific playwright who has been described as an angelic choir boy with poison leeching through his writing fingers. Durang's warmhearted sense of disgust has turned itself on the Catholic Church, Russian literature, and American musicals, among other subjects. His satiric voice and confrontation of taboo issues has won over the public and professionals alike. Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver starred in two of his early plays the Idiots Karamazov and Beyond therapy, respectively, and directors Alan Arkin and Jerry Zaks have taken on his work. Durang has carried the Theatre of the Absurd to its extreme farcical boundaries, and rooted out inconsistencies in institutions as well as the human condition.

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

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

        1-900-Desperate         Actor's Nightmare, The         Adrift In Macao         All About Me         Altar Boy Talks To God, An         Aunt Dan Meets the Madwoman Of Chaillot         Baby With the Bathwater         Better Dead Than Sorry         Betty's Summer Vacation         Beyond therapy         Book Of Leviticus Show         Business Lunch At the Russian Tea Room         Canker Sores And Other Distractions         Cardinal O'Connor         Christopher Durang At Dawn         Das Lusitania Songspiel         Death Comes To Us All, Mary Agnes         'dentity Crisis         Desire, Desire, Desire         Dessert With Durang         Diversions         DMV Tyrant         Doctor Will See You Now, The         Durang/Durang         Entertaining Mr Helms         For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls         Funeral Parlor         Gym Teacher         Hardy Boys And the Mystery Of Where Babies Come From, The         History Of the American Film, A         I Don't Genarally Like Poetry But Have You Read "Trees"?         Idiot's Karamazov, The         In Your Arms         Inside the Music         John And Mary Doe         Kitty the Waitress         Laughing Wild         Life Story Of Mitzi Gaynor, The; Or, Gyp         Marriage Of Bette And Boo, The         Medea         Miss Witherspoon         Mrs Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge         Mrs Sorken         Naomi In the Living Room         Nature And Purpose Of the Universe, The         Nina In the Morning         Not A Creature Was Stirring         Not My Fault         One Minute Play         Phyllis And Xenobia         Robert         Seeking Wild         Sex And Longing         Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You         Sloth         Stye Of the Eye         Titanic         Triple Trouble With Love         Twas the Night Before. . .         Ubu Lear         Under Duress         Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike         Vietnamization Of New Jersey, The         Wanda's Visit         When Dinah Shore Ruled the Earth         Why Torture Is Wrong, And the People Who Love them         Woman Stand-Up         Women In A Playground


1-900-Desperate

Synopsis:
Gretchen, nagged by her mother about her empty love life, calls a romance talk line and finds only other women and one young man named Scuzzy. When a five-year-old child dials by mistake, Gretchen finds his innocent babbling preferable to all the adults. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  3            Other:  1c

Further Reference:
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Resources/Bibliographies/VN_drama_bib.php

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Actor's Nightmare, The

Synopsis:
Having casually wandered onstage, George is informed that one of the actors, Eddie, has been in an auto accident and he must replace him immediately. apparently no one is sure of what play is being performed but George (costumed as Hamlet) seems to find himself in the middle of a scene from Private Lives, surrounded by such luminaries as Sarah Siddons, Dame ellen Terry and Henry Irving. as he fumbles through one missed cue after another the other actors shift to HaMLeT, then a play by Samuel Beckett, and then a climactic scene from what might well be a Man for all Seasons-by which time the disconcerted George has lost all sense of contact with his fellow performers. Yet, in the closing moments of the play, he rises to the occasion and finally says the right lines, whereupon make-believe suddenly gives way to reality as the executioner's axe (meant for Sir Thomas Moore) instead sends poor George to oblivion-denying him a well-earned curtain call

Notes:
double bill with Sister Mary Ignatius

1st Produced:
Playwrights Horizons, NYC     1981

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1982   

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 One act. - - Gay, theme/character one act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Adrift In Macao

Adrift In Macao
adrift in Macao is a madcap musical parody of glamorous films noirs, in which the leading lady can always get a job singing in nightclubs no matter how she sings, and the leading man is always mysterious and can't go home for murky reasons he won't explain. From the opium dens of China to the lowlife bars of New York, Durang and composer Melnick take us on a hilarious tour through the post-WWII years complete with intrigue, silliness, and a playfully melodic score.
Press Release

Notes:
book And lyrics Christopher Durang; music Peter Melnick

1st Produced:
Vassar     2002

Organisations:
New York Stage and Film Company and the Powerhouse Theatre

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:
musical comedy Musical

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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All About Me

Synopsis:
This is a new Broadway joint venture featuring cabaret star Michael Feinstein and TV/stage star extraordinaire Dame edna everage.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
written by Christopher Durang, Barry Humphries, Michael Feinstein

1st Produced:
Henry Miller's Theatre, 124 W. 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036     18 Feb 2010

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:
Show

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Altar Boy Talks To God, An

Synopsis:
Robert, a young man, talks in a friendly way about his days as an altar boy. He then recalls when his nephew got aIDS early in the epidemic, and how fundamentalists claimed it was God's punishment. Robert decides to go to heaven and ask God about this. Once there, God seems mean and ornery indeed, and professes to give aIDS to homosexuals, hemophiliacs and Haitians in a bizarrely unfocused rage. Leaving heaven, Robert feels that whom he met wasn't God, but an imposter. adapted from the "aIDS Speech" in LaUGHING WILD, and re-written to be performed by 2 actors, out of context of that play. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act. - - AIDS, one act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Aunt Dan Meets the Madwoman Of Chaillot

Synopsis:
aunt Dan, the title character of Wallace Shawn's aUNT DaN aND LeMON, has a discussion with Giradoux' Madwoman of Chaillot. they discuss it all.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  flexible

Further Reference:
-

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Baby With the Bathwater

Baby With the Bathwater
as the play begins Helen and John gaze proudly at their new offspring, a bit disappointed that it doesn't speak english and too polite to check its sex. So they decide that the child is a girl and name it Daisy - which leads to all manner of future emotional and personality problems when it turns out that Daisy is actually a boy. thereafter, in a series of brilliantly theatrical and wildly hilarious scenes, the saga of Daisy's struggle to establish his identity continues, despite his parents' growing obliviousness. at the outset there is a zany nanny who gives him a lethal toy to play with; then the small problem of Daisy's penchant, as a toddler, for throwing himself in front of buses; then his bizarre problems in school; and, finally, the sessions with his analyst which enable him, at last, to accept his maleness and stop wearing dresses. In the end the play comes full circles as the former Daisy and his young bride fondly regard their own baby - forgiving of the past but determined not to repeat its calami

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Cambridge, Massachusetts     1983

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1984
in Plays from Playwrights Horizons, Broadway Play Pub (May 1987)   

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. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Better Dead Than Sorry

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New Haven, Connecticut     1972

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Betty's Summer Vacation

Synopsis:
Betty is looking forward to her summer share at the ocean. But Trudy, whom she knows only slightly, chatters incessantly; and then there are the other housemates-sexy lout Buck, who's pathologically on the make with women all the time, and sweet, withdrawn Keith who carries a shovel and a mysterious hatbox and just may be a serial killer. then the emotionally anarchic landlady, Mrs. Siezmagraff, moves in too; and she invites a crazy derelict to dinner, and, well, the vacation becomes more and more of a strain for poor Betty. Not to mention there seems to be a laugh track coming from the ceiling that no one seems able to shut up. Death, destruction, mayhem-Betty finds it all in her seaside retreat.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
American Theatre Magazine, NY - December, 1999    

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. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Beyond therapy

Synopsis:
Prudence's therapist is urging her to be more assertive; while Bruce's therapist urges him to meet someone of the opposite sex by placing a personal ad, not realising that Bruce has a male lover named Bob. Having met each other Bruce doesn't know how to handle nervous Prudence; and Prudence doesn't know what to make of decidedly unpredictable Bruce. How they sort it all out is the story of this delightful comedy. 'Beyond therapy offers the best therapy of all: guaranteed laughter.' Time

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Phoenix Theatre, NYC     1981

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, NY, 1983   

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. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Book Of Leviticus Show

Synopsis:
Lettie Lu is broadcasting her own public TV access show from a local motel. Based on Lettie Lu's belief in the Book of Leviticus, the show's interpretation of the story leads Lettie Lu to today's segment's activities of capturing and putting to death a homosexual and an adulteress. all in a day's devotion to God.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy One act. - - Gay, theme/character one act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  1 m voice

Further Reference:
-

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Business Lunch At the Russian Tea Room

Synopsis:
Chris, a writer, has a business meeting at the Russian Tea Room with a new Hollywood hotshot, Melissa. at the Tea Room, Melissa pitches insane ideas to Chris who can't wait to just leave this meeting. Once home, he tries so hard to write up the idea of a priest and a rabbi who fall in love (and other complications), that they appear to him to help him through.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Canker Sores And Other Distractions

Synopsis:
a man and a woman, previously married, try to reconcile over dinner, but a canker sore and a talkative waitress ruin everything

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cardinal O'Connor

Synopsis:
CaRDINaL O'CONNOR comes to explain briefly why birth control is always always always wrong.

Notes:
in Urban Blight

1st Produced:
New York     1988

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Christopher Durang At Dawn

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York     1990

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:
Cabaret

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Das Lusitania Songspiel

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written with Weaver, music Marvin And Gaughan

1st Produced:
Chelsea Theater Center, NYC     1976

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Death Comes To Us All, Mary Agnes

Synopsis:
the scene is a decaying mansion occupied by a family beset by all manner of problems: conceit, hatred, selfishness, incest and cruelty-all dealt with in an ironic, highly theatrical manner which offers rare acting opportunities for the performers involved. Throughout, and despite the horrors encountered, all exude a kind of bland innocence which, oddly enough, seems to excuse their otherwise inexcUSAble behavior-and underscores the biting irony of what takes place.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Yale School Of Drama, New Haven, Connecticut     1975

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1979   

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:
One act. - - Gay, theme/character one act

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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'dentity Crisis

Synopsis:
Recovering from a nervous breakdown, Jane is nursed and nagged by her relentlessly cheerful mother, and confused by her oversexed brother-who keeps changing into her father, her grandFather and her mother's French lover. eventually all (including Jane's psychiatrist, who undergoes a sex change operation and swaps places with his wife) change characters again and become Jane herself-leaving her with no identity at all and pointing up the near impossibility of self-identification in our uncertain times.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Yale Rep Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy One act. - - Gay/Lesbian, of interest

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Desire, Desire, Desire

Synopsis:
another Tennessee Williams parody, from the author of FOR WHOM the SOUtheRN BeLLe TOLLS. Blanche DuBois, her nerves shot, is stuck in a house with a slobby Stanley Kowalski, who keeps yelling "Stella!." StElla left for a lemon Coke 6 years ago and never returned. Blanche tries to seduce a young census taker, but is interrupted by Big Daddy and Maggie from CaT ON a HOT TIN ROOF. a "tart" from ICeMaN COMeTH shows up as well, irritating Blanche by saying "pipe dream" instead of "illusion." StElla comes back briefly, but departs again, leaving Blanche and Stanley stuck together for eternity. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy One act

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dessert With Durang

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
by Christopher Durang/Wendy Wasserstein

1st Produced:
The Payan Theatre, NY     2006

Organisations:
TimeSpace Theatre Company

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Diversions

Synopsis:
A man is about to jump off a building when a nun tries to stop him. Aloysius thinks the nun is trying to push the man off and tries to stop the nun. A policeman tries to stop all of them, but he falls off the roof. the whole thing winds up in court, where a game of bridge breaks out and more bodies start to pile up.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Outstanding Short Plays, 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

Booksellers:

Genre:
short Play

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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DMV Tyrant

Synopsis:
a man goes to a woman clerk at the Division of Motor Vehicles and tries to get his license renewed with infuriating results

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Doctor Will See You Now, The

Synopsis:
a raucous Woman Singer, dressed in sequins and boa, keeps bursting into noisy song in a doctor's office. Mr. Wilson is there to see the doctor about an allergy, but the doctor and his nurse insist he has a venereal disease and call up everyone he knows. a public service announcement. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Durang/Durang

Synopsis:
a program of one-acts that features several plays aimed at the "theater crowd", including send-ups of works by Tennessee Williams and Sam Shepard.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
45th Street Theatre, NY     2008

Organisations:
Michael Chekhov Theatre Company

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:
One acts

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Entertaining Mr Helms

Synopsis:
an extremely conservative Father runs a rigid household: the Pledge of allegiance each morning, his wife does "woman's thing," his daughter get points for being glad a classmate died of a botched abortion and his son gets in trouble calling sports teams by words with double meanings (instead of Team a and B). they are all happy living in America

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls

Synopsis:
In this parody of the GLaSS MeNaGeRIe, the fading Southern belle, amanda, tries to prepare her hyper-sensitive, hypochondriacal son, Lawrence, for "the feminine caller." Terrified of people, Lawrence plays with his collection of glass cocktail stirrers. Ginny, the feminine caller, is hard of hearing and overbearingly friendly. Brother Tom wants to go the movies, where he keeps meeting sailors who need to be put up in his room. amanda tries to face everything with "charm and vivacity," but sometimes she just wants to hit somebody

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Funeral Parlor

Synopsis:
a widow is accosted at her husband's funeral by a very inappropriate guest. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Gym Teacher

Synopsis:
an overly macho gym teacher addresses a cooed class of seventh graders, saying inappropriate things and eventually forcing the unlucky class to play a game of "bombardment" (hitting members of the other team with volley balls), but this time played with bowling balls. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hardy Boys And the Mystery Of Where Babies Come From, The

Synopsis:
Frank and Joe Hardy change sweaters a lot and look cute. they start an investigation only to find themselves tied up wearing only their boxer shorts. and that Nurse ain't no lady.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One act. - - Gay/Lesbian, of interest

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  -            Other:  1 male voice only

Further Reference:
-

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History Of the American Film, A

Synopsis:
a comedy with music, chronicles the changes in America and American movies as it follows five archetypal characters. Loretta, the innocent heroine, Is born in a silent D.W. Griffith film, falls in love with tough guy Jimmy in a 30's gangster movie, wanders in-to a screwball comedy, goes on for the ailing star in a Busby Berkeley musical, faces World War II, loses Jimmy in Casablanca, becomes an alcoholic, wins an Oscar for overcoming polio, finds 50's alienation in Hoboken, fails apart in the 60's and 70's (racism, exorcisms, earthquakes). the play ends with Jimmy and Loretta crawling out of the disaster movie rubble, planning the future

Notes:
book Amd lyrics by Christopher Durang; music by Mel Marvin

1st Produced:
Hartford Stage Co, Connecticut     1976

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, NY,    

Music:
-

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Genre:
Zany Comedy Musical

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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I Don't Genarally Like Poetry But Have You Read "Trees"?

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written with Innaurato

1st Produced:
New Haven, Connecticut     1972

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Idiot's Karamazov, The

Synopsis:
Using the characters and events of the Brothers Karamazov as a springboard, the play becomes a lampoon not only of Dostoyevsky but of western culture and literature in general. Dotted with literary allusions and intellectual jibes, it pokes fun at figures ranging from ernest Hemingway and L. Frank Baum on to Leo Tolstoy, as it turns the saga of the ill-fated Karamazov brothers topsy-turvy. the narrator of the proceedings is the famed translator, Constance Garnett, who struggles to keep the wild goings-on in perspective and under control, and, in the end, settles for conjugating the verb "Karamazov" -which, under the circumstances, makes more sense than one might suspect

Notes:
written with Albert Innaurato

1st Produced:
Yale Rep Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut     1974

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Yale/theatre", New Haven, Connecticut, 1974   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Comedy. - - Gay, theme/character one act

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  6            Other:  plus several bits for women

Further Reference:
-

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In Your Arms

Synopsis:
A company that has amassed an astounding 18 Tony Awards, 4 Pulitzer Prizes, 6 Pulitzer finalist distinctions, 3 Emmys, and 2 Academy Awards joins forces at the Globe for an exuberant world premiere dance-theatre musical! Ten of America's best theatrical storytellers (the minds behind such hits as The Full Monty, Driving Miss Daisy, M. Butterfly, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) join director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Newsies, The King and I) and composer Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime) to create a ravishing evening that glides, leaps, and twirls through the giddy extremes of romantic love. This unique event ranges across eras and cultures and tells its stories through the universal language of dance, from classical ballet to swing to tap to ballroom to jazz to flamenco and more. In Your Arms is as intoxicating as a sunset cocktail and as exhilarating as a first kiss.

Notes:
Music by Stephen Flaherty; Vignettes by Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred UhryDirection and Choreography by Christopher Gattelli; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; Conceived by Christopher Gattelli and Jennifer Manocherian

1st Produced:
Old Globe Theatre, CA, USA >>>     24 Sep 2015

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
dance theatre

Parts:
Male:  11            Female:  12            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Inside the Music

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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John And Mary Doe

Synopsis:
John Doe introduces his idealized family: his wife Mary, and their 3 children. His happy portrayal keeps turning truly dark, as he reveals that his wife has been murdered and dismembered by their insane next-door-neighbor, Tommy Pscyho Babbit. then he takes it back, says he's made it all up, and that everything is fine. Mary looks normal, but from time to time her mouth falls off and her eye pops out. John kills his children in a rage, then says he didn't really. Mary and John go to sleep and hope Dr. Kevorkian comes in the morning. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Kitty the Waitress

Synopsis:
In this giddy comedy, Mr. O'Brien goes to a restaurant on a tropical island, hoping to forget his troubles. His waitress, Kitty, who is French and preposterously seductive, is very suggestive with her body. O'Brien finds Kitty strange, and falls in love with her, but it turns out she is really a cat, not a woman. the hostess of the restaurant sends Kitty to the vet to be put to sleep. O'Brien rushes to the vet, but he's too late. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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:
One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Laughing Wild

Synopsis:
In the first section of the play, a Woman enters and embarks on an increasingly frenetic (and funny) recital of the perils and frustrations of daily life in urban America-waiting in line, rude taxi drivers, inane talk shows and the selfish people who block the aisles in supermarkets. In particular she is incensed by a man who prevented her from buying a can of tuna fish by standing in her way-and whom she attacked in a fit of pique. In the second monologue ("Seeking Wild") the Man appears, and while the subjects on which he expounds (nuclear waste, the rigidity of the Catholic Church, particularly in sexual matters, the threat of aIDS) may be broader in context, he also dwells on an incident in a supermarket, when a strange woman hit him over the head in the tuna fish aisle. In the final portion of the play ("Dreaming Wild") the two protagonists meet at last and reenact the supermarket incident via six varying interpretations; tell us more fully of their overlapping dreams; and then launch into an explosively

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York     1987

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Grove Press, New York, 1989   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Comedy. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Life Story Of Mitzi Gaynor, The; Or, Gyp

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written with Innaurato

1st Produced:
New Haven, Connecticut     1973

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Marriage Of Bette And Boo, The

Synopsis:
as the play begins Bette and Boo are being united in matrimony, surrounded by their beaming families. But as the further progress of their marriage is chronicled it becomes increasingly clear that things are not working out quite as hoped for. the birth of their son is followed by a succession of stillborns; Boo takes to drink; and their respective families are odd lots to say the least: His Father is a sadistic tyrant, who refers to his wife as the dumbest woman in the world; while Bette's side includes a psychotic sister who endures lifelong agonies over her imagined transgressions and a senile Father who mutters in unintelligible gibberish. For solace and counsel they all turn to Father Donnally, a Roman Catholic priest who dodges their questions by impersonating (hilariously) a strip of frying bacon. Conveyed in a series of dazzlingly inventive interconnected scenes, the play moves wickedly on through three decades of divorce, alcoholism, madness and fatal illness-all treated with a farcical brilliance wh

Notes:
also produced Wiliiamstown Second Company, Ma

1st Produced:
New Haven, Connecticut     1973

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Yale/theatre", New Haven, Connecticut, 1973   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Medea

Synopsis:
Medea and her chorus of three women try to figure out if it's appropriate to kill your children just to punish your husband. Jason shows up, so does a messenger with news of Lady Teazle, and a Deus ex Machina comes down from the sky and tries to cheer everybody up.

Notes:
written with Wendy Wasserstein

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Miss Witherspoon

Synopsis:
Veronica commits suicide only to wake up in a Buddhist purgatory to find out that she must reincarnate. Her spiritual minder helps her through many reluctant incarnations.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Mccarter Theatre, Princeton Nj     2005

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mrs Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge

Synopsis:
In this departure from Dickens, young Scrooge's exclamations of Bah, humbug! are an undiagnosed kind of seasonal Tourette's Syndrome, and the Ghost of Christmas Past is played by a sassy African-American woman with enough attitude to portray all three spirits (which she does). She tries to show Scrooge his past, present and future in order to change him, but her magic keeps malfunctioning in Durang's version of the beloved holiday classic, and they consistently find themselves transported to the wrong time and place. She tries to take Scrooge back to see his old employers, the Fezziwigs-always an audience favorite-but instead she and Scrooge keep appearing in the present at the Cratchit's pathetic home. Mrs. Bob Cratchit, a minor character in the Dickens, takes center stage here. No longer loving and long suffering, Mrs. Bob is in a rage: She's sick of Tiny Tim (the goody-goody crippled child), she hates her twenty other children (most of them confined to the root cellar), including oversized Little Nell, and she wants to get drunk and jump off London Bridge. as the Ghost loses more control, the plot morphs into parodies of Oliver Twist, the Gift of the Magi and It's a Wonderful Life. and to make matters worse, Scrooge and Mrs. Bob seem to be kindred souls falling in love. With a denouement that is two parts Touched by an angel and one part the Queen of Mean, Scrooge's tale of redemption and gentle grace is placed squarely on its head.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  4            Other:  1 boy and 1 girl (doubling): 12 total

Further Reference:
-

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Mrs Sorken

Synopsis:
a middle-aged suburban matron is scheduled to give a lecture on the meaning of theatre, but has lost her notes. Relying on memory, her comments are dotty, but definitely endearing

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Naomi In the Living Room

Synopsis:
Naomi, when visited by John and Johnna, her son and daughter in law, is alternately friendly and insulting. Johnna copes her best, but when John changes his clothes to look like Johnna, things start to unravel. Naomi barely notices any differences, but throws them both out of the house, then decides she's had a nice time!

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York     1991

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Short Play One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Nature And Purpose Of the Universe, The

Synopsis:
Centers on a week in the beleaguered life of eleanor Mann, housewife and mother, who lives with her religious fanatic husband and three sons; the oldest a pimp and dope pusher; the middle son a flagrant homosexual; and the youngest the victim of a threshing machine accident which has deprived him of his manhood. the family becomes embroiled in a plot to assassinate the Pope, who is coming to New Jersey to bless the air, and with the help of a radical black nun succeeds in its purpose-with unexpectedly hilarious results.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Northampton, Massachusetts     1971

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1979   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Comedy One act. - - Gay, theme/character one act

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Nina In the Morning

Synopsis:
a style piece a la Edward Gorey. a tuxedoed narrator presents Nina, a preposterously narcissistic wealthy woman, attended by her butler, a silent maid, and her 3 children. the interwoven time-frame juxtaposes scenes from Nina's past misbehaviors with the present morning when she can't seem to get the butler to bring her a cruller

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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:
Comedy One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  flexible

Further Reference:
-

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Not A Creature Was Stirring

Synopsis:
a tyrannical Father tries to pass off a classic Christmas poem as his own. But his version is slightly different -- it involves bats, which appear and terrorize the family. When matters escalate and the family's survival is at stake, who will live to see New Year's Day? (This play can also be performed as part of the full-length play 'twas the Night Before. . .)

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Flea Theater (New York, NY, United States)     2006

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playscripts, Inc - New York   

Music:
-

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Genre:
10-15 min Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  2 males, 2 females, 5 either (7-9 actors possible: 2-7 males, 2-7 females)

Further Reference:
-

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Not My Fault

Synopsis:
a serious play about alcoholism, written for school audiences, to trigger discussions about addiction and denial. Jack denies he is an alcoholic, while his ex-wife says he is. He gets arrested for stealing, and looks to his mother, Selina, and brother, Harry, for help. Selina drinks wine all day and is overly protective of Jack, and never calls him on the ill he's done. Harry, is sick of both his brother and mother. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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One Minute Play

Synopsis:
Written for a one-minute play festival at American Repertory theatre. a young man tells his suicidal, despairing thoughts to a cheerful woman who chooses to ignore them. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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:
1 min One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Phyllis And Xenobia

Synopsis:
Two strange sisters bicker bout who did or didn't kill their mother, and who does or doesn't like pudding. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Robert

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
aka 'dentity Crisis

1st Produced:
Cambridge, Massachusetts     1971

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1979   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Seeking Wild

Synopsis:
central section of a longer play. a young man troubled by a wide range of the world's abrupt malevolence tries too calm himself by positive affirmations and taped birdsong, but thoughts of Chernobyl break through.
Jeremy Kingson, the Times

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Offstage Downstairs, London     1992

Organisations:
London Gay Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Play/Drama. - - Gay, theme/character one act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sex And Longing

Synopsis:
Setting: In and around Lulu's apartment; in and around the Senate

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Cort Theatre, NY     1996

Organisations:
Lincoln Center Theater

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:
-

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Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You

Synopsis:
Sister Mary Ignatius is giving her yearly lecture on how the world works, where heaven and hell are, who goes to purgatory, who goes to Limbo (un. baptised babies), what mortal sin is, what exactly went on in Sodom, what her family life was like (22 brothers and sisters; from her family, 5 became priests, 7 became nuns, 3 became brothers and the rest were institutionalised). She is assisted by Thomas, a 7-year-old child from Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow School. Mid-way her lecture is interrupted by the arrival of 4 ex-students of Sister's, now in their 30's. they put on a Christmas pageant they used to perform in her class years ago and then settle down to chat with her. How their lives have strayed from her teachings distresses Sister greatly and she finds it necessary to shoot two of them.

Notes:
double bill with the Actor's Nightmare

1st Produced:
Ensemble Studio Theatre, NY     1979

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1980   

Music:
-

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Genre:
One act. - - Gay, theme/character one act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sloth

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
in Faustus in Hell

1st Produced:
Princeton, New Jersey     1985

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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-

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Stye Of the Eye

Synopsis:
In this parody of a LIe OF the MIND, cowboy Jake is a rage-alcoholic who has probably killed his wife, Beth (played by a male). Ma, his feisty, no-nonsense mother with a bad memory, thinks Beth "deserved" it and wishes her own husband were dead (he already is) Jake, also schizoid, becomes his own "good brother Frankie" and goes to find Beth's family. Beth shows up, not dead, but damaged, and talking gibberish. Jake's sister, Mae, also shows up, in love with her brother. No problems are solved, but a great deal of "meaning" is in the air.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Titanic

Synopsis:
amid a tangle of changing identities-and sometimes sexes-the action of the play centers on an American family, the Tammurais, who are traveling aboard the Titanic. Comprised of father, mother, brother and sister (or is she actually the Captain's daughter?) the Tammurais undergo a series of sexual permutations as they reveal all manner of shocking secrets and bizarre fetishes while awaiting the iceberg which, somehow, the ship seems unable to find. the mother tells the Father that their son is not really his; the Father confesses to the mother that their daughter is not really hers; the daughter mysteriously becomes an aunt who is having an affair with her sister (when she isn't seducing her nephew); while the Father and son compete vigorously for the affections of a handsome young sailor, who is hard put to choose between them. eventually the ship does go down, taking its odd assemblage of passengers with it, but leaving behind a remarkable array of original thoughts on the nature of the modern American famil

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New Haven, Connecticut     1974

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1983   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Comedy One act. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Triple Trouble With Love

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
part of DummerShorts 5

1st Produced:
59e59 theaters
59 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022     04 Aug 2011

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Twas the Night Before. . .

Synopsis:
a collection of five Christmas-themed short plays from New York City's acclaimed Flea theater. From a family sitting down to read "'twas the Night Before Christmas" with unexpected results (Not a Creature Was Stirring), to elves rapping about bloody films (Holiday Movies), to an irreverent take on the story of Jesus' birth (away in the Manger), these comedies and Dramas take on the holiday season like never before. To purchase this book of 5 plays, click "add to Shopping Cart" above. To perform an individual play, click on its title below:

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playscripts, Inc - New York   

Music:
-

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Genre:
60-85 min Comedy/Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  5 males, 3 females, 8 either (11-41 actors possible: 5-33 males, 3-31 females)

Further Reference:
-

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Ubu Lear

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Music by Richard Peaslee; lyrics and book by Christopher Durang

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:
Ten minute musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Under Duress

Synopsis:
Chris and his friend Stephanie debate global warming. Stephanie's pretentiousness irritates Chris, but they make up, and Chris composes a letter to the President about the subject. Realizing he has to go to post office to buy a stamp, Chris is overwhelmed, but he gathers his courage and goes. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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:
Comedy One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
In VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKe playwright Christopher Durang takes characters and themes from Chekhov, pours them into a blender and mixes them up; the result is his latest play set in present day Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Vanya (David Hyde Pierce) and his stepsister Sonia (Kristine Nielsen) have lived their entire lives in their family's farmhouse. While they stayed home to take care of their ailing parents, their sister Masha (Sigourney Weaver) has been gallivanting around the world as a successful actress and movie star, leaving Vanya and Sonia to feel trapped and regretful. their soothsayer/cleaning woman Cassandra (Shalita Grant) keeps warning them about terrible things in the future, which include a sudden visit from Masha and her twenty-something boy toy Spike (Billy Magnussen).
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Mitzi Newhouse Theater
150 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023     25 Oct 2012

Organisations:
Lincoln Center Theater

1st Published:
Grove Press (August 13, 2013)   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Vietnamization Of New Jersey, The

Synopsis:
the scene is a middle-class home in Piscataway, New Jersey, where Ozzie ann (the mother) and Harry (the father) await the return of their Vietnam veteran son, David, and his native bride, Liat. also on hand are younger brother et, a sex-obsessed high school junior who eats cornflakes from his unzipped pants; and Hazel, the irrepressible black maid (portrayed by a male performer) who is the real power in the household. When David and Liat arrive they are both blind (which he demonstrates by walking into the refrigerator) and she is an ex-hooker (who later turns out to be a displaced orphan named Maureen O'Hara). thereafter come suicide, adultery, the feeble intervention of a homosexual priest and the arrival of a super-patriotic, war-mongering uncle-plus a staccato of outrageous comments by the cynical Hazel. the final result is a scathing, irreverent indictment of the worst aspects of the American character, made real by the incisiveness of the author's writing, yet hilarious by the wild originality of his vi

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Yale Rep Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut     1977

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1978   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Comedy Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Wanda's Visit

Synopsis:
Jim and Marsha have been married for 13 years and are feeling a little bored and unhappy. Wanda, Jim's old girlfriend, shows up for a visit, and becomes the guest from hell. Out one night for dinner, all hell breaks loose in the restaurant as a waiter tries to cope on his first day with the confused threesome.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  flexible

Further Reference:
-

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When Dinah Shore Ruled the Earth

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written with Wendy Wasserstein

1st Produced:
Yale Cabaret, New Haven, Connecticut     1975

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
-

Parts:
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Why Torture Is Wrong, And the People Who Love them

Why Torture Is Wrong, And the People Who Love them
Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love them tells the story of a young woman suddenly in crisis: Is her new husband, whom she married when drunk, a terrorist? Or just crazy? Or both? Is her father's hobby of butterfly collecting really a cover for his involvement in a shadow government? Why does her mother enjoy going to the theater so much? Does she seek mental escape, or is she insane? Honing in on our private terrors both at home and abroad, Durang oddly relieves our fears in this black comedy for an era of yellow, orange, and red alerts.
- press release

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Grove Press    

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:
Satire

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Woman Stand-Up

Synopsis:
a sensitive woman trying to do stand-up comedy has to bring her own laugh track, just in case. Her self-deprecating jokes turn out to be all too real, as is her pain as she senses the truth.

Notes:
in Urban Blight

1st Produced:
New York     1988

Organisations:
-

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:
Musical Revue Musical One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Women In A Playground

Synopsis:
Two women watch their children play; one of them is pretty normal, the other has a very pessimistic outlook. In volume entitled NaOMI IN the LIVING ROOM aND OtheR SHORT PLaYS

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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