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Tina Howe

TINA HOWE

  (1937 - )
Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    ICM Partners  

Tina Howe. Tina Howe's best known plays include Birth and after Birth, Museum, the art of Dining, Painting Churches, Coastal Disturbances and Pride's Crossing. among her many awards are an Obie, a Guggenheim, a New York Drama Critics' Circle award, a Tony nomination, a Pulitzer finalist twice and a couple of honorary degrees. Grove Press recently published her translations of Eugene Ionesco's the Bald Soprano and the Lesson. She has been a Visiting Professor of playwriting at Hunter College since 1990. Her most recent play,Chasing Manet opens at Primary Stages in spring of 2009.

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

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

         Appearances         Approaching ZANZibar         Art Of Dining, The         Bald Soprano         Birth And After Birth         Breaking the Spell         Chasing Manet         Cheri         Closing Time         Coastal Disturbances         Divine Fallacy, The         East Of the Sun And West Of the Moon         Lesson, The         Milk And Water         Museum         Nest, The         Night Rides         One Shoe Off         Painting Churches         Pride's Crossing         Rembrant's Gift         Skin Deep         Some Women In their Thirties Simply Start To Fall         Such Small Hands         Swimming         Teeth         Through A Glass Darkly         Toccata And Fugue         Water Music

Appearances

Appearances
set in the ladies' dressing room of a department store. a mousy woman hoping to be the belle of the ball tries on dress after dress, exhausting the patience of the woman in charge of the area

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Approaching ZANZibar

Synopsis:
Wallace Blossom, a middle-aged composer who teaches at Juilliard, hasn't written a note in years. Charlotte, his wife, suffers from hot flashes and dreams of crying babies. Together with their colourful children, Turner, 12, and Pony, 9, they set out to drive across the country to visit Charlotte's dying aunt, a renowned artist.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Second Stage Theatre, New York    1989

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "approaching ZANZibar", Theatre Communications Group, USA, 1989
Samuel French, Inc   -

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:   2 m. child., 1 f. child (to play var. roles)

Further Reference:
-

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Art Of Dining, The

Synopsis:
Cal and ellen are the owners and sole staff of a small, elegant gourmet restaurant. Cal's main preoccupation is paying back the $75,000 it cost to start it up, and that means packing in the customers. Chef ellen is preoccupied with the food's quality and stopping Cal from sampling the ingredients. the Diners act out their own private Dramas over dinner and their conversations are exquisite burlesques of contemporary attitudes. there's a sensual middle aged couple who go into paroxysms of ecstasy just reading the menu and then there's three crass chic young career women. Finally, there's Elizabeth, a maladroit, shy and neurotic writer who's dining with her prospective publisher. Her actions and conversation are unintentionally hilarious and a delicious example of how not to act and what not to talk about while dining.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York Shakespeare Festival, NYC; Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.    1979

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, NY, 1980   -

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

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bald Soprano

Bald Soprano
In the Bald Soprano Ionesco throws together a cast of characters including the quintessential British middle-class family the Smiths, their guests the Martins, their maid Mary, and a fire chief determined to extinguish all fires - including their hearths. It's an archetypical absurdist tale and Ionesco displays his profound take on the problems inherent in modern communication.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Eugene Ionesco

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in: "the Bald Soprano and the Lesson" published by Grove Press
Samuel French, NY   978-0802143181

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:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Birth And After Birth

Birth And After Birth
Birth and after Birth is a wildly comic tale that explores the joys and terrors of birth and parenthood. Sandy and Bill have been up all night preparing a birthday party for Nicky, their rambunctious four year-old son. Desperate to impress, Sandy and Bill frantically ready the house for their party guests, Jeffrey and Mia, childless anthropologists who study primitive children in far flung places. the party spins out of control as each couple tries to convince the other of their social and personal superiority.
nytheatre.com

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "the New Woman's theatre", Vintage Books, New York, 1977
revised version published by Samuel French, Inc - New York (2007) >>>    -

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:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Breaking the Spell

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Summer Shorts @ 59E59 Theater, New York    19 Jul 2013

Organisations:
Through Line Artists

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:
Short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Chasing Manet

Chasing Manet
In Tina Howe's comedy, Chasing Manet, a rebellious painter from a distinguished family in Boston and an ebullient Jewish woman with a huge adoring family form an unlikely bond. Inside the confining walls of Mount airy Nursing Home, the two plot an escape to Paris aboard the Qe2. But can they possibly pull it off amidst the chaos of their surroundings? the tension and comedy grow as they struggle to take wing for the last time.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
59e59 theaters, NY, USA >>>    24 May 2009

Organisations:
Primary Stages

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cheri

Synopsis:
Inspired by the classic 1920 novella by controversial French author Colette, Chéri is Martha Clarkes newest interdisciplinary work, an exciting fusion of theatre, live music, and dance featuring American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Herman Cornejo, prima ballerina assoluta Alessandra Ferri, Academy & Golden Globe Award nominee and Obie Award winner Amy Irving, pianist Sarah Rothenberg, and text by Tina Howe. This tragic story of forbidden love between a young man and an older woman in Belle Époque Paris is a timeless, powerful exploration of sensuality, love, and our preoccupations with youth and age.

Notes:
Choreography and direction Martha Clarke, text Tina Howe

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:
dance piece cross media

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Closing Time

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York    1959

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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Coastal Disturbances

Synopsis:
four generations of vacationers on a Massachusetts beach, it focuses on a romance between a lifeguard and a kooky young photographer

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York    1986

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, NY, 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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:   2 children (1 m, 1 f)

Further Reference:
-

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Divine Fallacy, The

Divine Fallacy, The
et in a photographer's studio. a camera-shy novelist needs a head shot for her upcoming novel. Chaos ensues during her photo shoot with a suave fashion photographer.

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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East Of the Sun And West Of the Moon

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
This book provides the full texts of plays produced through the New Generation Play Project A consortium that included the Seattle Children's theatre, the Children's theatre Co. of Minneapolis, Louisville Children's theatre And the Honolulu theatre for Youth in 1989.

1st Produced:
-    1989

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in eight Plays for Children, University of Texas press - available fromSamuel French, 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:
youth audience

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lesson, The

Lesson, The
the Lesson illustrates Ionesco's comic genius, where insanity and farce collide as a professor becomes increasingly frustrated with his hapless student, and the student with his mad teacher.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Eugene Ionesco

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in: "the Bald Soprano and the Lesson" published by Grove Press
Samuel French, NY   978-0802143181

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:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Milk And Water

Milk And Water
set in a pool. the Nursing Mothers' Water aerobics class is waiting for their teacher to show up. When she cancels, they take over the class with stunning results.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
University Of Maryland, Baltimore County    2008

Organisations:
thrid annual 10 Minute Play festival

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:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Museum

Synopsis:
Museum takes place on the final day of a group show of three fictitious contemporary American artists being exhibited in a major museum of modern art. In the course of the day some forty people walk through the show: art lovers, skeptics, foreigners, students, lost souls, fellow artists, and of course, museum guards. the play is about the movement and yearning of these people.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Los Angeles Actors Theater, La, Ca    1976

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, 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

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  19            Female:  21            Other:  9/9 with doubling

Further Reference:
-

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Nest, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Act Iv Theater, Provincetown, Ma    1969

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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Night Rides

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written by Tina Howe, David Marrero, Dan Shore, ed Valentine, Kathleen Warnock

1st Produced:
Frederick Loewe Theater, NY    2004

Organisations:
en avant Playwrights

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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One Shoe Off

Synopsis:
This comedy about marriage, fidelity, adulterous longings, existential panic and the theatre takes place in Leonard and Dinah's up state New York Greek revival farmhouse where slow moving disintegration is at work. Rooms are drifting into each other and trees and saplings have taken root indoors. Leonard is an actor who hasn't worked in eleven years; Dinah is an overworked costume designer who can't dress herself. they have invited their new neighbors, an overworked editor who delights in reciting nursery rhymes and his beautiful movie startet wife, for dinner. Things explode when a friend who is a successful movie director, drops in. Old memories stir and new passions kindle as vegetables and Dinah's costumes fly.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "approaching ZANZibar", Theatre Communications Group, USA, 1989
Samuel French, Inc   -

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:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Painting Churches

Synopsis:
Gardner and Fanny Church are preparing to move out of their Beacon Hill house to their summer cottage on Cape Cod. Gardner, once a famous poet, now is retired. He slips in and out of senility as his wife Fanny valiantly tries to keep them both afloat. they have asked their daughter, Mags, to come home and help them move. Mags agrees, for she hopes as well to finally paint their portrait. She is now on the verge of artistic celebrity herself and hopes, by painting her parents, to come to terms with them and they with her. Mags triumphs in the end as Fanny and Gardner actually step through the frame and become a work of art ineffable and timeless.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York    1983

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, NY, 1984   -

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/Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Pride's Crossing

Synopsis:
at ninety, Mabel Tidings Bigelow insists on celebrating her daughter and granddaughter's annual visit with an archaic croquet party. as it unfolds, she relives vignettes from the last eighty years that subtly interleave past and present to reveal the precise moment of opportunity lost and love rejected that define her life. a vibrant portrait of Mabel takes shape: her flashes of wit and humor, resilience, disappointments, youthful spunk and geriatric willfulness. Her Boston blue blood family expected daughters to applaud from the sidelines, but Mabel had one shining moment of achievement: she was the first woman to swim the english channel. Her willfulness did not extend to rejecting a socially ideal fiancee for love. Pride's Crossing is a rewarding challenge for a talented cast; one actress plays Mabel from 10 to 90 and others portray two or more characters.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, 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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  to play var. parts

Further Reference:
-

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Rembrant's Gift

Synopsis:
In Rembrandt's Gift, award-winning playwright Tina Howe introduces us to Walter Paradise and Polly Shaw. they're in their sixties and have been married forever. She's a world-class photographer; he's a former actor turned hoarder. their Soho loft is disappearing under stacks of old costumes that block the windows and doors, creating a fire hazard. the landlord is on his way to evict them when the great Dutch painter Rembrandt suddenly appears in full 17th century regalia. the three then spend the day together testing the limits of art, love and old age.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Humana Festival 2002: the Complete Plays, edited by Tanya Palmer and amy Wegener, Smith and Kraus, 2002   -

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:
Full-Length, 1 act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Skin Deep

Skin Deep
set on the R train in New York City. Daphne, the wood nymph is being chased through the subway system by apollo. She flies into the arms of an infamous dermatologist who tries to save her. But can he?

Notes:
part of Summer Shorts, A festival of nine new American short plays

1st Produced:

Organisations:
the Open Book

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:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Some Women In their Thirties Simply Start To Fall

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:
-

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:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Such Small Hands

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Syracuse Stage    2003

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:
Solo Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Swimming

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York    1991

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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Teeth

Teeth
set in a dentist's office. It's Bach's birthday. a neurotic woman has come to her dentist to have a filling replaced, but he's struggling with his own problems.

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Through A Glass Darkly

Through A Glass Darkly
set in an optometrist's office. Things spin out of control when a young playwright visits her optometrist for an emergency eye exam.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Atlantic Theater Company    2006

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:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Toccata And Fugue

Toccata And Fugue
Sir Humphrey spends his days wallowing at Heartbreak House, lamenting the end of his career as a world famous organist due to a disastrous concert in Mexico City. Will his daughter's new love interest, the lost twin sister of his servant, help end his suffering and restore his faith in music?

Notes:
In 1995, A group of writers, directors And Actors gathered on Manhattan's Lower east Side for what was supposed to be A one-time-only event: write, direct, produce And perform new plays with the span of 24 hours. More than A decade And just over 300 plays later, the 24 Hour Plays have been produced on Broadway, in London, Los Angeles, Chicago And Across the globe.

1st Produced:
American Airlines Theatre, New York    2006

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playscripts, Inc - New York   978-0970904690

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:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Water Music

Water Music
set in the pool area of a health club. Ophelia unexpectedly pops up in the whirlpool of a health club after having drowned in 'Hamlet', creating havoc for the lifeguard and a retired school teacher.

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
short play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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