Can anyone direct me to a good, small-casted, comedic show?

Question

This upcoming year I'll be directing the student-led show at my high school and I'm looking for a comedy with less than 6 people, preferable 2 or less male characters, that'll be understood by the high schoolers who come to see it. I can get a little out there but not too risque, as my school is pretty conservative, even when it comes to the arts. Help?

Answer 1

There's a play called "Clean House" by Sarah Ruhl. It has 4 female and 1 male character.

Here's the synopsis: A dark comedy about loss, love, change and redemption. A serious career-oriented doctor, Lane, has hired a quirky Brazilian maid. The only problem is that the maid, Matilde, hates to clean but loves a good joke. Meanwhile, Charles (Lane's husband) leaves her for a passionate, older Brazilian woman Anna who suffers from breast cancer. The play offers laughter as an antidote for the mess people typically make of love.

For more info: http://stageagent.com/shows.php?id=841

I'm not sure if the age of the characters and the themes would be a problem or not, but I don't know of another semi-comedic play with such a small cast.

One place many theatres get their performance licensed plays from is http://www.pioneerdrama.com/ My search there came up with several choices, but you'll have to investigate the stories yourself. There's also Samuel French - http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/index.php/cPath/34 that link is to the budget / low royalty page. On the left you can also click on "Full length royalty plays" under "Catergories" if you have a bigger budget. If you're up to a musical, try MTIshows.com or you can also look on Samuel French.

I also did a search and found other sites you may want to check out for plays off the beaten path. I'm not sure if they're any good, but it may be worth a shot :-)

Good luck

Answer 2

The first thing I thought of was 'Crimes of the Heart,' by Beth Henley (4 women, 2 men). I used scenes from it for a college acting class, but it may be a little on the adult side for high school (it's a comedy about three sisters in small-town Mississippi. One sister is a failed singer and alcoholic, another shot her husband after he caught her having an affair with the hired help. Their mother committed suicide years before. Strange as it sounds, it is hilarious).

Durang's 'Baby With the Bathwater' (3 W, 2 M) is one of his typically mad-cap satires. Another one that's popular in acting classes.

'Proof' by David Auburn isn't *exactly* a comedy, though it has its moments (2 W, 2 M). It's a good, current show that I think high schoolers would be able to appreciate.

Answer 3

Here are some I could come up with:

Barefoot in the Park -- the Telephone repair man, and Delivery Person could be played by girls. I've never seen it done that way, but it's possible.

How the Other Half Loves is 3m & 3w

The Norman Conquests is 3 plays (Table Manners is the funniest, I think) with the same 6 characters (3m & 3w) All occur during a single weekend in different parts of the same house and concern a group of related people. Each is complete in itself and can be played alone, or as a group they can be performed in any order. However, each benefits when produced with the others. A common factor is Norman's inadequate attempts to involve himself in turn with his sister in law, his brother in law's wife and his own wife.

The Prisoner of Second Avenue -- 2m & 4w

Footlight Frenzy is a very funny slapstick comedy (lots of pratfalls) but is 4m & 2w

Greetings is good for Christmas time -- 3m & 2w

Butterflies Are Free -- 2m & 2w

Last of the Red Hot Lovers -- 1m & 3w

Who's on First -- 2m & 2w -- Take a husband, wife, lover and friend, add a strange lamp, a gun and a rubber chicken plus a party that begins at 8 p.m., then again at 8 p.m. and then again at 8 p.m. and you have this nightmare comedy." Four people find themselves reliving one horrible hour over and over as themselves, as Japanese, as British aristocrats, as gangsters, and almost anything else you can think of. Camille is giving the party. Don shows up in a jealous funk about his wife, Alice, whom he suspects of seeing another man. When Alice and Ben have arrived, it turns out their relationship is innocent. But by the time Don realizes this he has already shot Ben, Alice and even Camille. Camille wishes that things might have turned out differently and that is what happens. All concerned find themselves back at the party's beginning again and again doomed to live that same hour over and over again until they get it right. Is it all an accident? Or is their dilemma part of someone's fiendish plan? A labyrinth of hilarity exits to a shocker of an ending.

Vanities -- 3w

The Cocktail Hour -- 2m & 2w

Sweet Sue -- 2m & 2w -- A comic (and creative) tour de force, in which two actresses and two actors, portray different aspects of the same two characters—a middle-aged, but still very attractive divorcee, and her son's college roommate, to whom she is romantically drawn, despite the difference in their ages. Might be a bit risque.

The Star Spangled Girl -- 2m & 1w

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune -- 1m & 1w

Answer 4

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Answer 5

The Capital Steps
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Even the conservative are risque, they just do not realize it or do not admit to it.
Teach the children, don't just pacify the parents.