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MYSTERIES/MELODRAMAS

MYSTERIES/MELODRAMAS

Plays Magazine offers children’s plays, kids’ plays, school plays, plays for kids, and play scripts that include a range of mysteries that range from fun to really scary. Mystery plays include Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Brazilian Cat, The Open Window, and the Mystery of the Star of Calcutta and Edgar Allan Poe’s Masque of the Red Death. Other play scripts bound to scare are 1940s Radio Play, The Lighthouse, and Shades of Death. Downloadable plays are available as part of our print subscription package ($59).
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NELLIE'S FISHY FATE by G.S. Cadette NELLIE'S FISHY FATE by G.S. Cadette

Middle Grades; 4 male, 4 female; turn-of-the-century; 30 minutes.
Egad! Gadzooks! A wonderful fun old-fashioned melodrama. Will two fiends succeed in their plot to swindle wealthy widow Mrs. Vanderhoff out of her fortune, or will it be “Curses, foiled again”?

 
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THE SHOP GIRL'S REVENGE by Robert Downing THE SHOP GIRL'S REVENGE by Robert Downing

Upper and Middle grades; 4 female; 3 female; 1890s; 25 minutes.
A turn-of-the-century melodrama, complete with maiden-in-distress, moustache-twirling villain, and hero in disguise. . .all swirling around a pile of missing money and a long-lost daughter. And of course, it's curses, foiled again!

 
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THE COMEBACK CAPER by Anne Coulter Martens THE COMEBACK CAPER by Anne Coulter Martens

Upper Grades; 8 female, 7 male; 4 male or female. 35 minutes.

A television drama comes to life as an over-the-hill star and a stolen ruby become the focus of a tense courtroom trial.

 
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THE FASTEST THIMBLE IN THE WEST by Claire Boiko THE FASTEST THIMBLE IN THE WEST by Claire Boiko

Middle Grades, 15 female and 21 male, 30 minutes (cast may play more than one role). A rollicking, large-cast musical melodrama complete with orphans, an evil lawyer, poetry-loving cowboys, and a long-lost sea captain, all set in the Old West.

 
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THE SILVER-TONGUED SLICKER OF SASSAFRAS FLAT by Christina Hamlett THE SILVER-TONGUED SLICKER OF SASSAFRAS FLAT by Christina Hamlett

Upper Grades; 4 female; 2 male; Old West; 25 minutes.
A slippery con man works to take advantage of new widows in this fun and clever tale of the set-up, the con, and--to the delight of the bereaved--capture. Curses! Foiled again!

 
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SNEAKY SAM IN SUNNY JUNCTION, by Ellen M. Eleder SNEAKY SAM IN SUNNY JUNCTION, by Ellen M. Eleder

Middle and Lower Grades; 3 male, 2 female, 1 male or female adult or gifted reader for Narrator; 20+ male and female. 1880s; 15 minutes. Sure-to-please large-cast melodrama with the usual dashing hero, moustache-twirling villain, and sweet heroine named Sue. . .but this one also has plenty of audience participation, songs and choreography.

 
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THE POLKA DOT THIEF, by Amy Paulson THE POLKA DOT THIEF, by Amy Paulson

Middle Grades; 5 male, 3 female, and 1 male or female; 15 minutes. Police follow a trail of gum wrappers to try to figure out the "whodunit" of a "sticky" crime!

 
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SARAH AT SEA by Lisa Swarbrick SARAH AT SEA by Lisa Swarbrick

Middle Grades; 11 female, 6 male, 8 male or female; 40 minutes. Spunky 1830s English girl flees her demanding guardian by impersonating a boy so she can find work on a ship bound for New York — and an uncertain future in a new country.

 
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THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR OF CALCUTTA by Alex and William Goldsmith THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR OF CALCUTTA by Alex and William Goldsmith

Upper Grades; 5 male; early 20th-century; 20 minutes.
A clever and fun mystery featuring the brilliant detective and his sidekick Dr. Watson as they try to solve the mystery of the missing Star of Calcutta diamond.

 
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WAY, WAY OFF  BROADWAY by Betty Tracy Huff WAY, WAY OFF BROADWAY by Betty Tracy Huff

Middle Grades, 5 male, 6 female, 6+ male or female; 30 minutes. A fun melodrama featuring the poor but honest Daisy Cornball, the villainous Count Von Cliché, and the rich society lady Mrs. Smythe-Dashington, in search of wealth and fame on the stage. Be still, my thumping heart!

 
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THE SHADY LADY OF GOPHER JUNCTION by Celia Crispin THE SHADY LADY OF GOPHER JUNCTION by Celia Crispin

Upper Grades; 1 female, 7 male; Old West; 30 minutes. Innocent stranger Miss Purity Goodside meets up with Sheriff Joe Wallace and Deputy Sagalong Donovan in this fun tale, as mysterious double agent foils dastardly desperados.

 
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JANE EYRE, adapted by Lewy Olfson JANE EYRE, adapted by Lewy Olfson

Upper Grades; 2 female, 2 male; 19th-century England; 30 minutes.
An adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's novel of romance and suspense, in which a devastating secret threatens to destroy the happiness of the young heroine.

 
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1940S RADIO MYSTERY, by Craig Sodaro 1940S RADIO MYSTERY, by Craig Sodaro

Upper & Middle Grades; 7 female; 5 male; 1940s; 30 minutes.
Good old-fashioned crime drama in which employees at radio station KREP ask the question, did the butler really do it?

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THE BRAZILIAN CAT, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and adapted for round-table reading by Maurine V. Eleder THE BRAZILIAN CAT, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and adapted for round-table reading by Maurine V. Eleder

Upper Grades; 4 male, 1 female, 2 male or female; 25 minutes. In this tale of terror, a double-dealing relative will do anything to protect his interest in the family fortune.

 
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GHOST LIGHT, by Craig Sodaro GHOST LIGHT, by Craig Sodaro

Upper & Middle Grades; 7 female, 2 male; 30 minutes. Unexpected inheritance makes a young couple's dream of owning their own theatre come true. . . but ghostly occurrences may thwart their plans for a successful start.

 
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THIEF OF THE NILE, by Craig Sodaro THIEF OF THE NILE, by Craig Sodaro

Upper Grades; 4 female; 3 male; Ancient Egypt; 30 minutes.
When a valuable necklace goes missing, the word of a shy servant girl is tested against that of one of the Pharaoh's most trusted aides.

 
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ROWDY KATE by Claire Boiko ROWDY KATE by Claire Boiko

Middle Grades; 14 male, 6 female; the Old West; 35 minutes.
When the Mayor invites schoolmarms to town to help bring respectability to a small corner of the old West, the good old boys have plenty to say about it. It turns out that if anyone is going to get married around these here parts, Rowdy Kate is goin' to be the first!

 
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THE GOLD MINE AT JEREMIAH FLATS by Robert A. Anderson THE GOLD MINE AT JEREMIAH FLATS by Robert A. Anderson

Upper & Middle Grades, 3 female, 3 male, 1 male or female; 30 minutes. A fun melodrama, featuring a dastardly villain, a daughter and her mother in total distress, a kind hero, and a promising gold mine. Curses, foiled again!

 
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RICHARD GRAWN IS GONE by Georgia Tuxbury RICHARD GRAWN IS GONE by Georgia Tuxbury

Upper and Middle Grades; 5 male, 2 female; 20 minutes.
Message to the bride-to-be from her groom's kidnappers: "When we get the money, you get your honey!"

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