As hard as we've tried over the last 8 years, we just can't find anyone or any place to perform other than a church.
 
We will continue to search, but in the meantime we have to go with what we've got.  Luckily for us the minister is supportive, but we do have to pick our shows to fit the venue.  Not that it has to be religious, but we do have to watch the inuendos and language.  We would do that out of respect, regardless.

So with that in mind ... we're looking for a couple of shows that would be a single set, small cast (preferably 8 or less), comedy or small musical, no sexual overtones or inuendos, no swearing.

Oh yeah ... no Christmas shows either.  The church does their own productions.

I know ... I'm making this really easy, right?

So if you've got anything that might fit the above criteria, please let me know.

Thanks

Boy it's tough when you have criteria like that.   I would think almost any of the Agatha Christie myteries might be appropriate but they can sometimes tend to have casts over 8.    Look at some early Neil Simon, that's sometimes relatively tame.

You might even want to contact some of the publishers.  They might be helpfull.    Dramatic Publishing has some especially friendly customer service people (maybe it's because they're in Illinois and not NYC like French and DPS) and they have a 1-800 phone number Check out their web site at www.dramaticpublishing.com.

Good luck with your season!

 

you might check out "Weird Romance" ( by the composer of Little Shop of
Horrors, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid)- we had
great success with it. It's a science fiction love story musical (original cast
available on cd) - and it's doubtful that title would be confused with a
church-y play LOL. Lots of fun special f/x that can be done in small spaces
(we have an 18'x15' stage)....including a holographic character. 5 Male/4
Female characters and a unit set. As I recall, it's handled by Samuel French.

Maybe an obvious comment, but a lot of "older" stuff is generally tame or at least tactful enough to not annoy the church leaders or community.  Hamlet is probably the stereotypical church-basement show, but a lot of those "old guys" like Shakespeare have some great material.  If you check out Greek and Roman plays, because of the rules on acting (the unities, the rule of 3), most of them don't have burdensome casts or sets.  The key thing to watch out for there is that, although those folks are long dead, their translators may not be, so you may have to pay someone for rights.  Alternatively, if anyone in your group actually knows Greek or Latin, you can make your own version.  I was a classics major back in college, so I come in handy for my theater group....  Or if you have someone good in French, Moliere's a goldmine as well.

My recommendation: "An O. Henry Christmas" -- A musical by Peter Ekstrom. (Be careful -- there is a ghastly soppy play of the same name, available from a different vendor.)

I directed this show for the Corvallis (OR) Community Theater in 2003 (run from Dec. 27, 2003 through Jan 4, 2004).

This is a two-act musical consisting of Ekstrom's librettos based on "The Last Leaf" and "The Gift of the Magi." The gem of this show is that it only requires four people for "The Last Leaf" and two for "The Gift of the Magi." However, good strong voices are required for the women's parts, and there is a tricky bass-baritone role in "The Last Leaf".

The show is easy to do in that we used the same set, with just minor modifications, for both shows. We did a one-room NY tenement set and got local dealers to lend us old furniture, including an ancient Hoosier cupboard.

The music is lovely, especially the writing for the soprano in "The Last Leaf" and "Gift". It can be done with piano, or with small ensemble.

The one caveat I have has nothing to do with the play. If you want to do this show, be prepared for grief and pain from the folks at Samuel French. Oh, they are quite happy to send you the scores -- but they're the wrong ones. We requested scores and scripts for rehearsals to start at the beginning of October. In mid-November, after numerous mistakes, we still did not have the correct scores. Finally, a SamFrench manager found (!) a conductor's piano score in some drawer and a photocopy of another score in another drawer(!). The show went on and we had good audiences, despite a major ice storm. So, be prepared to be firm and insistent with SamFrench right from the outset. It is really a pity that Peter Ekstrom should be losing out on royalties and performances because Sam French can't figure out which score is which.

OK, it isn't strictly a Christmas play. It is a winter play, and could be done in Late Fall (
Thanksgiving period) or Jan-Feb. The Gift of the Magi is of course about Christmas gifts, but it is pertinent to any time of the year.

If anyone has specific questions about production demands, etc., don't hesitate to ask. Good luck.