Full Length Plays

(ELIZA and JOHNSON are discovered. JOHNSON is holding a newspaper.)

JOHNSON:
How could you have done such a thing?

ELIZA:
It was only one reporter, Andrew. And he was from a paper that I hadn’t even heard of.

JOHNSON:
Well, he must have squawked his fool head off because it’s in all the papers.

ELIZA
But Andrew, I merely told him what you told me. What’s wrong with that?

JOHNSON:
What’s wrong? Did you read this morning’s papers?

ELIZA:
Not yet. What do they say?

JOHNSON:
That I’m a tyrant. Listen to this: “’My husband rules with a fair and just hand,’ wheezed Mrs. Johnson. And now our ruler—for we surely cannot call him our elected leader, for not only was he never elected, but he is nothing short of a despot!—is determined to wage war on Congress as a whole. Mrs. Johnson refused to be more specific than that.” Did you say all that?

ELIZA:
I don’t think so.

JOHNSON:
All the papers have picked up on the story. It’s front page news. Now what am I going to do?

ELIZA:
I could write to the editors of those papers and demand a retraction.

JOHNSON:
Of what? Don’t you realize what you’ve done, Eliza? You’ve echoed my words and they’ve been twisted around and tied in knots so that they are barely recognizable as mine. All these mongrels want is a piece of my hide.

ELIZA:
(Pause) Andrew? Is it true that you’re going to be impeached?

JOHNSON:
Who told you that?

ELIZA:
The reporter. What was he talking about?

JOHNSON:
Nothing, my dear; don’t worry about it.

ELIZA:
Of course I worry about it. Is your war with Congress what it’s about?

JOHNSON:
No one is going to impeach me. I’ve done nothing wrong.

ELIZA:
Andrew, what did you do that they might impeach you for?

JOHNSON:
Eliza, believe me, it is no concern of yours.

ELIZA:
But Andrew–

JOHNSON:
So help me, Eliza, I will fight Congress to my dying breath, and when they lower me into my grave my hands shall still be formed into fists.

A Death at Shiloh 

In the deep South at the close of the Civil War, a funeral service is held for Robert Reilly, who was killed during the Battle of Shiloh three years earlier. What his parents, Michael and June Reilly, have managed to keep secret for all this time is that their son died a turncoat – a Union soldier.

Through flashbacks, we see the growing enmity between Robert and his father, who embraces the double standard of miscegenation with slave women. Michael romances Hattie, a field hand, but sells her when their affair affects his young son. When Robert falls in love with young slave Yasmeena Tilden, Michael intervenes with tragic consequences.

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Sons of the Revolution

On the eve of the French Revolution, Philippe, would-be assassin of Marie Antoinette, is imprisoned in the Bastille. Originally inserted into the prison to instigate the hundreds of prisoners there, Philippe soon learns that only seven men remain. He also discovers that, from food to exercise breaks, class struggles are alive inside the prison walls. He makes quick allies of Henri, a forger, and Jacques, a thief, but just as quick enemies of nobleman Jean and a priest named Laurent.

Laurent is stabbed to death and it appears that Philippe did it, but then the dagger is stolen and everyone is left wondering who will be killed next. As the shouts of their countrymen grow ever louder and the Bastille’s walls threaten to fall, the prisoners cannot escape the inevitable tragedy spawned by the Revolution.

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The Choice

The Choice takes place in Berlin, Germany, in March 1943. Once a proud supporter of Hitler and the Nazis, Ernst Hauptmann has grown quiet in his efforts to ignore the injustices and atrocities which he sees everywhere around him. But when his old boyhood friend Friedrich Holler challenges him as he has never been challenged before, Ernst is called to act in heroic ways in which he never dreamed.

The Choice is a drama about the universal themes of love of one’s neighbor, salvation and sacrifice. It is a powerful tribute to those who reach out and help others in times of crisis.

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The Last Waltz

Spanning nearly three years, this is the story of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, as seen through the eyes of his invalid wife Eliza. In addition to the public outrage toward Johnson for pushing his post Civil War Restoration agenda through without the approval of Congress, Johnson and Eliza deal with problems of a more personal nature, created by their son Robert, who is an alcoholic and brings prostitutes into the White House. This play is based on actual events.

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The World Upstairs

It is the eve of Grace’s 21st birthday, and her mother Aurelia is planning a surprise party. But Grace doesn’t feel like celebrating: her birthday is also the one year anniversary of her father’s death in a car crash, which also paralyzed Grace from the waist down. Aurelia was driving, and she may have been drunk at the time.

Despite Grace’s protests, the “party” takes place, with Aurelia’s friend Alice the only guest, until, unexpectedly, Grace’s old high school boyfriend Brian stops by. Grace, who hasn’t left her bedroom in months, is suddenly challenged by Brian to start living – and discover the world downstairs.

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