PlaysbyMichaelDruce.com
Contact: michaeldruce@hotmail.com
Les Miserables, Victor Hugo's timeless classic, dazzles in this exciting new adaptation that is perfect for high school and community theater groups. Beginning with Inspector Javert's opening words, “You are free,” Jean Valjean leaves Toulon prison after serving nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread. With nowhere to go and rejected by everyone he meets, Valjean once again turns to theft, only this time he is shown an act of mercy by a kindly priest who sees in the struggling beggar a glimmer of hope. Humbled by the priest's kindness, Valjean violates his parole and dedicates his life to goodness and to helping others. Meanwhile, Valjean is pursued by Inspector Javert, whose relentless dedication to the law requires he bring the ex-convict to justice for breaking his parole.
Less than twenty-four hours before the opening of their dinner theater show, the cast of Wine, Cheese, and Murder learns their director has been arrested for plagiarism. Left without a script, the cast decides there is only thing to do... quit! But contracts have been signed, tickets sold, food purchased, and important guests invited. The show’s producer, an amateur playwright with more ego than talent, decides this will be her moment of glory. The show will go on! And everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Every actor who has feared being in a show that has disaster written all over it, The Show Can’t Go On (But it Must!) is that nightmare come true
When no one else is available to serve as escort for the three daughters of the Spanish Ambassador and to keep an eye on the priceless Potosi Diamond, those other musketeers, Paris, DJon, and their servant Bordeaux, are assigned the duty. In no time, the three young women are kidnapped and the diamond stolen. Faced with certain execution by order of Cardinal Richelieu and his henchman LeVeque, the three other musketeers spring into action in an attempt to rescue the ambassador's daughters and retrieve the diamond. Think The Three Musketeers meets The Pink Panther, The Maltese Falcon and Indiana Jones in this hilarious swashbuckling romp of conspiracy, fake diamonds, and false identities, easily staged in seventy minutes. Plenty of large and small roles and any number of extras.
After tragedy deep-sixed their ten-year reunion, the graduates of Lehigh High School are eager to make their twenty-year reunion one they'll never forget by booking passage on the cruise ship, The Mirage. Unfortunately, a popular classmate is murdered days before the cruise begins and then the ship's captain goes missing. A cryptic note surfaces suggesting the recent murder and the tragedy ten years earlier are linked and that the person responsible will be revealed. Detective Magnus McNair dives in, hoping to crack the case before another Lehigh graduate goes under. It’s full steam ahead as the detective navigates the murky waters of long simmering grudges, a raft of suspects, and two murders. Easily presented as a dinner theatre production.
In this story of geeks, money, and revenge, spoiled rich kid Freddy Mondego frames geeky sophomore Billy Milburn for stealing a test. Billy is expelled from Monte Cristo High and disappears from sight. Two years later, Billy returns to Monte Cristo in the guise of Eddie Dantes, a suave and rich Italian count determined to settle old scores and to win over Marcy, the girl he had always been too shy to ask out. Meanwhile, Monte Cristo has declared bankruptcy and the school is to be sold to the towns richest man, Frederick Mondego.
Ever wonder where Mary Shelley got the idea for Frankenstein? The Browning sisters are about to find out. Searching for peace and quiet in the English countryside, writers Charlotte and Emily Browning lease creepy Fielding Manor, a mysterious old house with a sketchy past. The experience is anything but peaceful or quiet. There are noises in the night, a snake in the maid’s quarters, and a monstrous visitor. Someone or something wants the sisters out of the house. With the aid of the manor’s wacky caretaker Mr. Willikers, Mrs. Haggis, an elderly neighbor, and Professor Fairing, the local historian, the sisters are determined to uncover the truth about Fielding Manor. In their search for answers, the Browning sisters discover a page from Mary Shelley’s diary that reveals her novel Frankenstein may not have been a work of fiction after all; it may have been based on events that actually happened in the manor. Things That Go Bump in the Night offers up a delightful ensemble of charming characters in a simple to stage production that will appeal to both student and community groups.
The 30-year reunion of Broken-Rattan High School takes a dramatic turn when former cheerleaders and sisters, Hollandaise and Bernaise Soss, plan a killer reunion aboard the cruise ship, Thanatos. Dressed in their old cheerleading uniforms, they invite the audience to sing along with the hideous Broken-Rattan fight song. At the royalty dance, featuring the senior king and queen, Steve and Valene, someone almost kills Steve with a poison dart intended for Valene. It becomes evident that the killer on board is seeking revenge against all of the popular people of Broken-Rattan. Accusations fly, petty jealousies resurface, and old grudges are renewed. Murder Ahoy is fast-paced, filled with outrageous characters and lines, and has several opportunities for audience involvement.
When ten distant relatives learn that each of them is about to inherit a million dollars, wheels begin to turn and plots hatch. If someone doesn't make it through the stormy weekend ahead, their share will be divided equally among the others. It doesn't take a mathematical genius to figure out that less is more. As bodies pile up, the laughs come fast and furiously in this ‘whodunnit' that proves that Where There's a Will, There's a Murder.
HDYMTWBT? How Did You Make The World Better Today? In a world that can seem cynical and uncaring, sometimes you need an angel to remind you that kindness and compassion still exists. For Mr. Willis, a cantankerous resident of a care facility, that angel is Maddie, a seventeen-year old volunteer whose infectious spirit and optimism teach Mr. Willis that change often begins in small and personal ways.
THAT JIM is the high school heartthrob all the girls want to date. But it turns out Jim is not quite the catch everyone believes. When best friends Melanie, Sue, and Ruth get together after to school to hear Sue’s important news about Jim, the three friends begin to see Jim in a brand-new light. The themes of friendship and accepting others for who they are emerge from this lively comedy about friendship and discovery.
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A spectacular new android called The Electric Shakespeare, infused with Shakespeare's DNA, has produced a collection of new plays and poems. Friends Isaac and Robert discuss the merits of a new Shakespeare. Isaac is excited about what a new Shakespeare will mean for the world. Robert has a decidedly opposite opinion. For Isaac, humankind gains. For Robert, he sees nothing but loss.
Three Ten Minute Plays