The Playwrights Database
JOHN DONALD O'SHEA
(1941 - )Nationality: USA
email: n/a Website: n/a
Literary Agent: n/a
John Donald O'shea is the author of fourteen published plays, as listed below. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the Notre Dame Law School. He served in the United States Naval Reserve, reaching the rank of Lt. Commander. He served as an Assistant States Attorney for Rock Island County, IL, and as Corporation Counsel for the City of Moline, IL. In 1974, he was elected as a Circuit Judge for the Fourteen Judicial Circuit of Illinois. He retired in January of 2000 after serving twenty-six years on the bench. "Don" has been active in community Theater since 1967, as an actor, singer, director, producer and playwright. Since retirement from the bench, he has directed plays at Edison Jr. High School, and Alleman High School in Rock Island, IL; Seton Jr. High in Moline, IL; and at Sherrard High School, in Sherrard, IL. He has also directed community Theater at the Quad City Music Guild, and for the Riversong Players. He served as producer for the Music Guild's 2009 spring show, "the Producers." In December 2009, he served as Director for the Quad City Music Guild's 2009 winter show, "Babes in Toyland," which featured his own book and lyrics, and Victor Herbert's music. It was the first time in 61 years that the guild ever produced the work of a local author. Don is also a paid political "op ed" writer for the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus newspapers, where his opinion pieces appear twice each month. List of Published Plays: (A) With Theatrefolks: (1) "Little Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure," (2) "the First Herald Angel," (3)"the Revolting Cheerleaders." (B) With Big Dog Publishing: (1) "Death Warrant for Dracula," (2) "the Stuffed Animal," (3) "the Day Ma's Boys Done Went To Town to Rob the Bank, Again," (4) "Ginzberg's Irish Wake," (5) "the Day that Dangerous Dan McGrew and Black Bart Balderdash Went to Dueling at Miss Kitty's Golden Nugget Saloon," (6) "Rogues Along the River." (7) "Babes in Toyland" (Musical, with music by Victor Herbert), (8 "the Baffling Case of the Grand Wallow Missing Persons." (C) Norman Maine Plays: (1) "the Case of the Music Guild Murders." (D) With Brooklyn Publishing: (1) "Grandma Rosie," (2) "Inspector Findout and the Lost Cherry Pie." Free previews of my plays are available at my web site: http:/www.osheasplays.com and at the following web sites: Theatrefolk https://www.Theatrefolk.com/ Big Dog Plays http://www.bigdogplays.com/ Brooklyn Publishers https://www.brookpub.com/ Norman Maine Plays http://www.normanmaineplays.com/
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below is a list of John Donald O'Shea's plays - click on a Play Title for more information
Babes in Toyland Case of the Music Guild Murders, The Day Black Bart Balderdash and Dangerous Dan McGrew Went to Dueling at Miss Kitty's Golden Nugget Saloon, The Day Ma's Boys Done Went to Town to Rob the Bank, Again!, The Death Warrant For Dracula First Herald Angel, The Ginzberg's Irish Wake Grandma Rosie Inspector Findout and the Lost Cherry Pie Little Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure Revolting Cheerleaders, The Rogues Along the River Stuffed Animal, TheBabes in Toyland
Synopsis:
This adaptation of the classic 1903 holiday musical by Glen MacDonough will charm audiences of all ages with its music by Victor Herbert and its 14 fabulous songs including Toyland and March of the Toys. In order to steal their fortune, villainous lawyer Barnaby Blatherskite drugs Jane and Barney, rolls them up in rugs, and has his bumbling henchmen, Stanley and Oliver, deliver them to the Forest Queen for disposal. But Oliver and Stanley decide to double-cross Barnaby, keep the Forest Queen's $1,000 disposal fee for themselves, and dump their human cargo in the Forbidden Forest of No Return. When Jane and Barney awaken in the Forbidden Forest, they encounter the Forest Queen, who has been captured in the evil Spider Captain's web. Jane and Barney manage to free the Queen before the Spider Captain can eat her. Meanwhile, Barnaby Blatherskite visits Mary Contrary and informs her that Barney is dead and offers his hand in marriage. Frightened, Mary and her brother, Tom, flee to the Forbidden Forest, where they are captured by the Forest Queen's tree soldiers. Out of gratitude for freeing her from the spider web, the Forest Queen arranges for Barney, Jane, Tom, and Mary to be escorted to Toyland. However, Barnaby Blatherskite and his henchman arrive at Santa's workshop in Toyland and disguise themselves as toy bag inspectors in order to kidnap Mary. But before the villains can make their escape on Santa's sleigh, they have to battle a troop of Toy Soldiers.
Notes:
Music by Victor Herbert. Original Book And Lyrics by Glen Mac Donough. New Book And Lyrics by John Donald O'shea
1st Produced:
Moline, Il
01 Dec 2009
Organisations:
Quad City Music Guild
1st Published:
Music:
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Genre:
Musical - Operetta
Parts:
Male: 13 Female: 11 Other: 14 "eithers" + chorus
Further Reference:
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Top of PageCase of the Music Guild Murders, The
Synopsis:
When a third Music Guild director is found floating face down in the nearby park lagoon, Detective Mike O'Hara with the assistance of his boss, the Chief of Police, undertake to bring the murderer to justice. the investigation is confused by the fact that the victim has been shot, stabbed, strangled and poisoned. the brutality of the murder causes the police to suspect that the murderer will be found within the Guild's stable of sopranos.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Music:
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Genre:
murder comedy Comedy
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 3 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageDay Black Bart Balderdash and Dangerous Dan McGrew Went to Dueling at Miss Kitty's Golden Nugget Saloon, The
Synopsis:
When Dangerous Dan McGrew and Black Bart Balderdash, partners in prospecting for gold, decide to play a friendly game of cards in Miss Kittys Golden Nugget Saloon, the boys go for their guns when Bart accuses Dan of cheating. But as they do, their duel is repeatedly interrupted by the other well-meaning citizens of the town, who offer the boys everything from wills, to dueling licenses and prepaid funeral services.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Edison Junior High School Drama Dept.
2007
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Music:
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Genre:
A Wild West MeloDrama/ Farce
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 4 Other: 5 m/f
Further Reference:
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Top of PageDay Ma's Boys Done Went to Town to Rob the Bank, Again!, The
Synopsis:
Ma Scraggins has decided it's time to marry off her "four" illiterate sons, Claude, Cletus and Clem (in reality there are only three boys, but nobody at Scraggins' Gulch is particularly proficient in math). To that end, she requests the assistance of Pastor Hezikiah Cropkiller, the local man of the cloth. But before the efforts Pastor Cropkiller can bear fruit, the "four" Scraggins' boys, during the course of a failed bank robbery, take matters into their own hands. they "bag, and kidnap their prospective brides, and bring them home to Ma for her approval. But Belle, Gloria and Prudence, the prospective brides, once "unbagged prove to be rather unlike Ma, "the girl that married dear old dad."
Notes:
set in the hiss of Arkansas, 60 min
1st Produced:
Seton Junior High School, Moline, Il
2007
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Music:
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Genre:
Farce/MeloDrama MeloDrama
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 6 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageDeath Warrant For Dracula
Synopsis:
Disguised as Professor Alucard (Dracula spelled backwards), Count Dracula takes a teaching position at a small women's college. But instead of preying upon hapless Victorian females, Dracula finds himself the victim of an accomplished student athlete, Lucy, who is more than happy to clobber him with her tennis racket and golf club. And if that isn't bad enough, Dracula encounters a host of zany faculty members including a biology professor who crawls on the floor and eats insects, a music professor who writes horrendous musicals, and a spooky poetry-reciting English professor who has corrected one too many exams. When Dracula is eventually captured, he discovers that modern vampire hunters aren't exactly old school. Instead of simply driving a stake through Dracula's heart, these civilized vampire hunters can't stand the sight of blood and can't bring themselves to kill Dracula even though he has been dead for 400 years. To Dracula's horror, the hunters contemplate even more torturous ways to end Dracula's taste for human blood like filling his fangs with Super Glue and forcing him to become a vegetarian!
Notes:
aka Dracula Encounters Title IX
1st Produced:
Edison Junior High School, Rock Island, Il
2003
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Music:
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Genre:
Farce, 60 min One Act
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 5 Other: 1 flexible
Further Reference:
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Top of PageFirst Herald Angel, The
On the first Christmas Eve a poor shepherd happens across a small child in the hill country about Bethlehem. To the shepherd's surprise, the child explains she is an angel practicing to be a herald angel so she can announce the Savior's birth. the shepherd, taken by the child's sincerity,believes the child's story, and asks to see the Savior. the shepherd's wife, however, has her doubts.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, Moline, Il
1998
Organisations:
Quad City Music Guild Minishow Players
1st Published:
Music:
-
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Genre:
Christmas Play, religious theme Youth Audience
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 2 Other: 2
Further Reference:
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Top of PageGinzberg's Irish Wake
Synopsis:
When Mary O'Malley's husband passes away years before his time, the beautiful and bereaved widow holds a traditional "Irish Wake at her home. When pianist David Cohen warrants to the Widow O'Malley that "he knows all the Irish numbers," she hires him to play at the wake, only to discover during the festivities that his assurances were untrue. When he is unable to play the Irish "standards" for the mourners to sing, Mary labels him a fraud and refuses to pay his agreed on fee, withholding half of it. Feeling that his professional competence has been impugned, David sues the Widow O'Malley and importunes his longtime friend, Kate Green, a prominent member of the defense bar, to represent him when the case appears in the Small Claims Courtroom of the Hon. Abraham Ginsberg. Unintimidated, Mary O'Malley defends herself, and in the process calls Father Shamus Rory Mulligan as her expert witness, in a trial that takes one strange twist after another. the show features five traditional Irish numbers from the Public Domain
Notes:
An Irish farce with traditional Irish songs from the Public Domain
1st Produced:
Quad City Music Guild [Mini-Show]
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Music:
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Genre:
Farce
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageGrandma Rosie
GRANDMA ROSIE is a short comedy in three acts. Rosie is a 94 year old woman who lives alone in her home. She is still spry, but her memory is not what it was. Rosie is fortunate to have a loving family who frequently looks in after her. Her grand daughter, Sara, is her main support. But with Rosie, the most prosaic incident, can turn into an unexpected major incident. the play present three molehills that Rosie turns into mountains.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Seton Catholic Junior High School, Moline, Il
2008
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Music:
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Genre:
A light comedy; a reminiscence
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 3 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageInspector Findout and the Lost Cherry Pie
When the cherry pie which Mom baked for dinner disappears, she deputized her son, Tom, under his nomme d'guerre, Inspector Findout, to ferret out the culprit. In the course of that investigation, he examines all the "usual suspects," which in this case include the family dog, and four uncooperative sisters
Notes:
written by John And Erin O'shea
1st Produced:
Edison Junior High School, Rock Island, Il
2005
Organisations:
Edison Junior High School
1st Published:
Music:
-
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Genre:
family comedy Comedy
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 5 Other: 1 m/f
Further Reference:
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Top of PageLittle Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure
Nell and her aunt are about to lose the family homestead to the unscrupulous banker, Wiley Whiplash. Whiplash offers to forgive the mortgage, but in exchange Nell must marry him. Nell's childhood friend, Casey Cleandeed arrives from law school to save the day. Unfortunately Cleandeed, not withstanding his J.D., is none too bright.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Music:
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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
MeloDrama
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageRevolting Cheerleaders, The
Cheerleader Erin O'Connor has been dating Scott Superbowl, the quarterback of the high school football team. To celebrate his recent birthday, she bought him a lobster dinner and an expensive shirt. An ungrateful Scott then asks Lorilie Lugnut to the homecoming dance. A furious Erin responds by refusing to participate in the long standing tradition of cheerleaders buying and providing snacks for members of the football team. When Abby Dolan sides with Erin, they are both voted off the team. Now even more furious, they take the only reasonable course. they prepare to sue their fellow cheerleaders before the Student Council, while the members of the football team take steps to insure a verdict in their favor.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Edison Junior High School, Rock Island, Il
2007
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:
farce One Act
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 6 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageRogues Along the River
Synopsis:
Running Time: Approximately 75 minutes. When the town of Polecat Point is all but washed away by the raging spring waters of the Mississippi River, Phineas Fourberie, the town's first citizen and banker, plots to recoup the loss of his personal fortune contained in his great iron safe which he believes may have come to rest amid the sawyers along the property of his neighbor, dear little Mary Goodperson. Mary, meanwhile, with the aid Phoebe Forthright and their faithful Indian friend, Running River, has set in motion a plan to assist their less fortunate neighbors who have lost all in the flood. Fourberie, seeing the opening he awaits, takes advantage of the situation by providing Mary with money for her venture, taking a mortgage on her property, and then acting to make certain her venture fails. Just as it looks as if Fourberie's plan will come to fruition, Mary's uncle, Merriweather Maresnest arrives, followed by a raft of other rogues - all intent on fleecing the fleece-able. Before the mandatory happy denouement, every rogue takes his best shot at conning one somebody.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Moline, Il
01 Mar 2008
Organisations:
Seton Jr. High School
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:
Farce - MeloDrama
Parts:
Male: 5 Female: 4 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageStuffed Animal, The
Synopsis:
One Christmas eve, Abigail Grace, the proprietor of a little shop known as the "Stuffed Animal," takes Cindy Kim, a young woman, into her shop in search of "Sabrina Ballerina," Cindy's favorite childhood doll. While in the shop Cindy comes to meet Sabrina's new friends
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Grand Ballroom, Plaza One Hotel, Rock Island, Il
1993
Organisations:
Quad City Music Guild Minishow Players
1st Published:
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
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Booksellers:
Genre:
Christmas Show Youth Audience
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 6 Other: 3
Further Reference:
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