These titles are hot off the presses and ready for your stage! Take a peek at what’s new from Broadway Licensing Global.
Confidence (And the Speech) by
The Story: On July 4, 1979, President Carter canceled an important energy policy speech he was scheduled to give the next day and disappeared to Camp David. Ten days later, he emerged from his impromptu domestic summit and gave a new speech, the Crisis of Confidence speech, which became known as the “malaise” speech. The speech garnered overwhelmingly positive responses at first and many now view the speech as unprecedented, farsighted and insightful. Others think it may have ultimately cost him the White House. Forty years later, college professor Cynthia Cooper is approached by a stranger, a young man, and asked to recall her time with the Carter Administration during the days before the now infamous Crisis of Confidence speech. If she is going to tell her story of that time—the story told from her perspective—she is going to play the president. And the young man who wants to know her story? Well, he is going to play her. This unique cross-gender experience explores the confidence of a president, a nation in chaos, and women in politics.
Cabin Chronicles by Justin Borak
The Story: Josh, OC, and Will are alone in an empty cabin. At night. In the woods. The perfect setting for a scary story competition! The three boys try to out-scare each other with tales of zombies, lab accidents, and teenage slashers to distract each other from the pain of high school. A horror comedy about the fear of standing out and the friends you make when you decide you don’t care about fitting in.
Deadline by Don Zolidis
The Story: When eight mystery writers arrive at a legendary writer’s fog-shrouded island mansion in the North Atlantic, they think they’re ready for the Deadline Challenge—twenty-four restful hours to write as much of their new novel as possible. But the Deadline Challenge is anything but restful. In reality, the writers are brought together to solve a murder—the victim yet be determined, and the killer yet to strike. If a writer can design and execute a perfect murder and get away with it, they’ll win a million dollars (which is a lot of money for a writer). Who will live? Who will die? Who will survive the Deadline?
The Cottage by
The Story: Sylvia and Beau find themselves in an English countryside cottage for their yearly rendezvous, and Sylvia knows this time it will be the beginning of their new life together. But when Beau demurs on a shared future, and their spouses arrive at the cottage, she realizes that this home-away-from-home is a refuge for determining a new path forward. With a tip of the hat to Noël Coward and sex comedies of the past, THE COTTAGE offers a perfect showcase for six actors with endless laughs, hilarious twists, daring physical comedy, and a happy ending for lovers everywhere.
Home by
The Story: The action begins on the small farm in South Carolina that Cephus Miles, an orphan, has inherited from his family. Young and strong, he is content to work the land—until his childhood sweetheart rejects him and goes off to college. Not believing in the Vietnam war, Cephus is imprisoned as a draft evader for refusing to serve. By the time he is released, Cephus has lost his land to the tax collector so he heads north to build a new life. With a good job and a slinky new girlfriend, he finds the big city exciting and rewarding. But soon after, the dream begins to fade—Cephus loses his job and becomes involved in drugs and prostitution. Pulling himself together, he returns to South Carolina and settles back on the land with his old sweetheart. Despite all, he has never lost his joyous goodwill, his indomitable spirit and the conviction that one day his quest for fulfillment will be rewarded.
Days of Wine and Roses by J.P. Miller
The Story: In the fast-moving milieu of Madison Avenue, social drinking is almost an occupational necessity, and one that fast-rising young Joe Clay adopts with too ready ease. Unfortunately the girl he meets and marries shares his proclivity, and while they continue to tell themselves that they drink because they choose to, it is soon apparent that their habit has become a serious problem. But their failure to acknowledge this plunges them headlong into the shattering events of the play—a career in shambles, a marriage destroyed, the esteem of friends and family lost, and a child who has become the innocent victim of their obsession. In the poignant ending of the play a spectre of hope arises but, more important, so does a galvanizing awareness of the depth of their torment, and of the lesson that their compulsive self-destruction must have for others.
The Story: Kevin is a first-generation Filipino-American college student who, on his last night in Amsterdam, has a one-night stand with Sammy, a guy he meets in a bar. But when his flight gets delayed, Kevin finds himself spending the day with Sammy and what began as a one-night stand becomes a deeper connection. Years later, Kevin is still trying to capture that day in writing. Sammy was a refugee without papers—what was his home country? Surely Kevin asked, right? Did Sammy want to study art, or was it Kevin who wanted him to study art? As his memories become more and more elusive, one truth remains: The pair have not heard from each other since, and Kevin cannot shake his regret. Weaving in historical figures who also were touched by art and the uncertainty of life, ON THAT DAY IN AMSTERDAM explores love, art, loss, and what it means to live.
The Story: A darker cousin to Almost, Maine, John Cariani’s LOVE/SICK is a collection of nine slightly twisted and completely hilarious short plays. Set on a Friday night in an alternate suburban reality, this 80-minute romp explores the pain and the joy that comes with being in love. Full of imperfect lovers and dreamers, LOVE/SICK is an unromantic comedy for the romantic in everyone.
Technical Difficulties 2.0: Plays from Pandemic Theatre by Marshall Foltz, Natalie Margolin, Craig Pospisil, Crystal Skillman, Tracy Thorne
The Story: Originally created for streaming during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, these one-acts are perfect for audiences both in person and online. Charming and poignant, TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES 2.0 offers a unique perspective on the resilience of American theatre.
End of Days: The Minor Considerations List by Tracy Thorne. Mabel makes lists, a lot of them, especially during these desperate times. Her current list details some of the less heroic stuff on her mind, but still…it’s on her mind…and maybe some-thing not too terrible will come of it. (1 woman.)
The Hug by Marshall Foltz. When six feet feels more like six thousand miles, a child and a parent try to figure out how to connect in the age of social distancing. (2 n/s.)
Forget-Me-Not by Craig Pospisil. When you’re stuck at home during a global pandemic, everything happens online—even high school reunions. Richard and Julia are old friends who happily reconnect—until Lizbeth, a younger woman, appears onscreen. Despite graduating from a different class, Lizbeth won’t leave, infuriating Julia. But Lizbeth’s desperate plea to stay leads to an admission and uncovers an old secret. (1 man, 2 women.)
The Secret by Crystal Skillman. Over months of quarantine, we follow Luna, a housecat. She watches with concern as her human dons a mask, leaves at odd hours with protest signs, reads newspapers with long lists of names, and becomes more anguished by the day. When Luna encounters a special visitor, she is given the key to resilience during pandemic. But can she make her human truly understand the secret? (1 n/s.)
The Party Hop by Natalie Margolin. THE PARTY HOP takes place on a Saturday night three years into quarantine. Three college sophomores, Ava, Emma, and Nancy, bounce from virtual party to virtual party in what is now a typical night *out.* However, when Emma and Nancy discover that Ava has not yet had her first kiss, they insist that tonight must be the night. Their given circumstances complicate this, but sometimes…it’s nice to have a dream. (9 women, 5 men, flexible casting.)
Also in this series: Technical Difficulties: Plays for Online Theatre and Technical Difficulties 3.0: Plays for Every Theatre .
The A.I. Play by Don Zolidis
The Story: When Eleanor uses a chatbot to write a paper on The Great Gatsby for her, she figures it’s not that big of a deal. But when her chatbot writes the best essay on The Great Gatsby ever, she’s sent to a special school for genius children. Except every other student also used a chatbot to get into the special genius children school. And that school might not be a school, it might just be prison. Now Eleanor has to lead a jailbreak with her friends—can she escape without the help of artificial intelligence?
How to Get Away with a Murder Mystery by Don Zolidis
The Story: Five mysterious color-coded guests. A mansion. A murder. Can the killer get away with it? And how will the sleuths bring them to justice? A handy guide for how to escape the law when you just happen to be a prime suspect of a mysterious murder. Told in vignettes in a style similar to 10 Ways To Survive The Zombie Apocalypse, this show hilariously skewers the tropes of the murder mystery: an airtight alibi, a long-winded monologue by a detective with an accent, an impossibly complicated Rube Goldberg murder device? Check, check, and check!
Emily Brontë, Teenage Necromancer by Don Zolidis
The Story: 1835. Northern England. The moors. A terrifying phantom has appeared at the Roe Head School for Girls, terrorizing its students and driving the school near to extinction. It’s up to star pupil Emily Brontë, and her sisters Anne and Charlotte to discern the true nature of the haunting, using their unique talents—which happen to include necromancy. A gothic, hilarious ride through English literature that needs magic, ghosts, and fog, featuring an undead goose, a lovesick ghost, and a talking meat pudding.
Biz Town by Rachel Bublitz (Full Length)
The Story: An in-class “adult life” simulation goes very wrong after students throw the rules out and turn to lying, cheating, stealing, and kidnapping to one-up their classmates. The bottom line is that the kid with the most heart points gets to pick the toppings for their pizza party, and that’s a prize worth playing dirty to win. One detective tries to uncover the criminals and set the town on a better path, but maybe Biz Town just can’t play nice. Maybe it’s just not built that way.
A One-Act version of this play is also available.
