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Norman Krasna

NORMAN KRASNA

  (1909 - 1984)
Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    ICM Partners  

Norman Krasna's plays including theatres, agent, synopses, cast sizes, production and published dates

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

         Bunny         Dear Ruth         Full Moon         John Loves Mary         Kind Sir         Lady Harry         Louder, Please         Love In E-Flat         Man With Blond Hair, The         Small Miracle, A         Sunday In New York         Time For Elizabeth         Watch the Birdie         We Interupt This Program&         Who Was That Lady I Saw You With?
Bunny

Synopsis:
A woman who "gets around"

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     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:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dear Ruth

Synopsis:
Using the name of her elder sister, a young girl carries on a romantic correspondence with an overseas soldier. When the soldier returns he finds that his distant lover is already engaged, but, through a series of hilarious complications and plot twists, the elder sister becomes entirely convinced that her original engagement was a mistake and decides, at the very end, to marry the soldier anyway.

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

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Full Moon

Synopsis:
Cathy and David are two young theatre hopefuls who, despite the fact that neither thought they gave a good reading, have been cast in a Broadway play. after rehearsing together, and then acting together, they decide to live together as well-which is fine until Crystal, another actress, tells Cathy that David is "playing around." at the same time the question of who is paying for Cathy's apartment comes up. It happens to be her father, an army colonel, but Cathy (who is not miffed with David) lets him believe that she is being kept by an older man, a rich toy manufacturer with an invalid wife. When Cathy's Father arrives unexpectedly the plot thickens hilariously: David is bundled unceremoniously out of the apartment; he jealously shadows them when they go off to the Rainbow Room; Cathy's Father grows suspicious; and Cathy, to her chagrin, finds out that David's reputed "affair" was actually a visit by his younger sister. In time each of them figures out what the other is up to, but acts as if he (or she) didn't, which keeps the laughs coming right up to the final scene, in which love and good sense triumph, and marriage is the happy outcome.

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

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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John Loves Mary

Synopsis:
John Lawrence, who has been overseas three years, is welcomed home by the charming Mary McKinley. these two are and have been in love with each other. John's life had been saved while he was overseas by his buddy Fred Taylor. Fred returned home a year before John, and John brings him what should be a pleasant surprise-news that he has married Lily, an english girl Fred had fallen in love with and who could not hope to get to America for years unless as the wife of a G.I. John therefore marries her and plans to deliver her to Fred. John hopes to get a quick divorce from Lily and marry Mary. Mary and her family have, of course, no notion what has happened, and John is up against it when Mary and her family insist upon an immediate wedding. Matters are not helped when it is learned that Fred has, meantime, not only married but is an expectant father. John and Fred get in touch with a former officer of their acquaintance and have him pretend to call John for special extra service for six weeks out West. This plan also falls through, and in despair, Mary and her family agree that John has lost interest in his fiancee. Things look hopeless until it turns out that Lily was actually married to the same officer whom the boys have induced to order John back to duty. That officer had sent word to Lily of his "unfortunate" death. the jig is up and all ends happily.

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

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Kind Sir

Synopsis:
This is the light-hearted tale of a glamorous stage star, who is unhappy with her love life. . .or the lack of it. But a charming banker enters the picture, and he and the actress fall in love. He tells her that he is married and his wife will not divorce him, and the actress tries to make the best of this situation. But the actress discovers that her banker is not married. He thinks marriage is a fine institution for everyone but him. So she sets out to get her revenge. She accomplishes this by making the banker jealous, but the man she's chosen to help her doesn't show up at the last minute, so she persuades her maid's husband to masquerade as a new admirer, and the stage is set. then, however, the banker bursts in and asks the actress to marry him, but it's too late for her to stop the scheme, and a hilarious scene 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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lady Harry

Synopsis:
An aristocrat is murdered so that someone can pass himself off as her husband

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:
Thriller

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Louder, Please

Synopsis:
Publicity men fake the disappearance of a Hollywood star

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre Masque, New York     12 Nov 1931

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Love In E-Flat

Synopsis:
Being a young intern, Howard is overworked and underpaid, but fortunately his girlfriend, amy, has both a job teaching school and an apartment directly under his-which solves the problems of entertainment and transportation (not to mention romance) very handily. Mutual openness and trust are the keystones of their relationship, at least until amy stumbles onto the fact that Howard has planted a "bug," or electronic listening device, in her apartment, and has been monitoring her comings and goings for months. Feeling betrayed by this evidence of calculated eavesdropping, amy, in league with her married sister Bea, decides to manufacture some really choice bits of "conversation" for Howard to listen in on, suggesting for one thing that she is probably pregnant and for another that she has decided to take up again with a former, and very wealthy, boyfriend. Needless to say, Howard is rocked by this "news," although he can't let on to amy. He and his roommate Mitch, a fellow intern, take turns maintaining a constant vigil at their listening post, waiting for further developments. What they overhear resolves Howard to "do the right thing," but his decision to propose to amy is thwarted by her prior announcement that she is planning to marry her ex-fiance. But if the exposure of Howard's deception started the whole thing, it is the eventual discovery of amy's counter-deception which brings all back to balance, making Howard realize how much he has really loved her all along, and all ends as happily as it should.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York     13 Feb 1967

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

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Man With Blond Hair, The

Synopsis:
Two Nazi airmen escape from internment in Canada and wind up in New York. They are arrested by police and escape again. One of them - Rudolph is captured by a gang of teenagers. They try to make him jump off the top of an apartment building. But the fiancée of one of the boys manages to get him and take him to her apartment. Her mother looks after Rudolph very well. The gang are trying to find him. They are confronted by the police and one gets shot. Rudolph gives himself up to the police

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Belasco Theatre, New York     04 Nov 1941

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:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Small Miracle, A

Small Miracle, A
A police officer has four hours to kill before he hands over a convicted killer. He takes him to the foyer of a Broadway theatre

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
John Golden Theatre, New York     26 Sep 1934

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc 1935   

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:
Thriller

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sunday In New York

Synopsis:
John McClain outlines, "the author's consideration here is the plight of a young lady from albany who comes to visit her brother in New York, having discovered that she has exhausted the supply of eligible young men at home because she will not go to bed with any of them. But when she becomes hopelessly and physically attached to one in a crowded Fifth avenue bus-a most engaging one at that-we realize that her determination will be put to a strenuous test. the intricacies that follow her to a fairly conventional line, reaching a climax at the end of the first act with the arrival of the rich and desirable townie from albany, who has decided to claim her-legally. a fig for the fact that she and her new friend are in bathrobes! She merely introduces him as her brother. This would seem to present an unraveling problem of impossible proportions, but Mr. Krasna meets it head on in the second act and brings it to a safe conclusion, carefully guarding his heroine's virtue." and, as the action moves swiftly from scene to scene, the complications multiply uproariously. a small fib, made to avoid a misunderstanding, grows enormous and our heroine is hard-pressed to convey the truth which will save her engagement-and her reputation. Fiance, brother and friend are ultimately set straight on what has transpired, but the tangling is wildly funny.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Cort Theatre, New York     29 Nov 1961

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

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Time For Elizabeth

Synopsis:
ed. Davis, General Manager of a washing machine company, is a successful business man, who needs a long vacation. When an elderly employee of his company retires, ed, too, dreams of going away with his wife to enjoy his declining years without business worries and ulcers. But ed and his wife, Kay, cannot call their souls their own when the boss and his wife force them to accept engagements for business reasons and otherwise make life miserable. So ed speaks his mind to his boss and is fired. the next act finds them settled in an apartment in Florida. everything promises happiness, even the simple neighbors. Soon, however, the Davises begin to get on each other's nerves and when their daughter and her husband appear, ed secretly plans to go into business again. But these plans turn out disastrously and ed is faced with bankruptcy. He is even ready to ask for a humble job with his ex-boss, when the big boss appears. the boss misses ed and fears for the security of his company, and ed is offered every inducement to return. ed and his wife are delighted to return to New York and the things which only a big city can offer.

Notes:
written by Norman Krasna And Groucho Marx

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

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Watch the Birdie

Synopsis:
a crack legal secretary working for an attorney specializing in divorce cases, Helen is happy in her job until a personable young man appears and offers her the chance to go to Paris as his assistant. Unfortunately the salary is small and, debating what to do (and romantically intrigued too), Helen suddenly finds herself asked to fill in as a professional corespondent-which means being photographed in a hotel room with someone seeking to establish grounds for a divorce. It's all very matter of fact and hands off, and it also pays very well-with no income taxes involved, the operation being technically illegal. So when the regular "corespondent" announces her decision to marry and retire, Helen agrees to take over her "business" -and the money is soon pouring in. But Paris, and her now-eager suitor, cannot be put off indefinitely, and the fact that he happens to work for the Internal Revenue Service only adds to the complications. eventually, and despite some hilarious misunderstandings, it all works out: true love finds a way, and Paris it is, underpaid but happy.

Notes:
many of the male roles Are bit parts

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

Parts:
Male:  13            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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We Interupt This Program&

Synopsis:
The theatre audience is held hostage by a gang of criminals demanding the release of one of their number

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Ambassador Theatre, New York     01 Apr 1975

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:
Thriller

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Who Was That Lady I Saw You With?

Synopsis:
as told by Chapman in the New York News: "Peter Lind Hayes. . .plays an innocent Columbia University Chemistry professor who can make liquor as easily as an alchemist can make gold-a harmless pastime. Unfortunately, his wife, Mary Healy, catches him in another harmless pastime, kissing a coed, and is preparing to leave him. In comes Peter's pal, Ray Walston, a TV writer for CBS eager to save the marriage. Ray's mind is as fertile as a turtle, so in no time he invents an alibi for his pal. Ray and Peter are agents of the FBI and the coed Peter was kissing was a foreign spy and Peter was doing his bussing in the live of duty. . .all this is very funny. . .Having started his comedians as FBI impersonators, playwright Krasna has to go through with the jest-and the farther he goes the more involved he becomes." the real FBI comes in, including a secret agent with stomach trouble and our heroes find themselves involved not only with the FBI but with real spies, until at least it's all straightened out in a fast and hilarious finish.

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  15            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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