 | Kiss and Cry Fiona Blake is a hot young actress who has just made her debut in a big summer horror movie; Stacy Clifford is a male figure skater headed for Olympic glory. They meet late one night at a Hollywood party, strike up a friendly conversation, and end up leaving together—and the paparazzi shoot some photos. When the gossip columns turn them into a couple, they decide to play along—in order to cover up the fact that, in reality, both of them are gay. As the lie snowballs, it begins to wreak havoc with their careers, their relationships, and every aspect of their lives. Kiss and Cry is a romantic comedy, a satire on the public’s obsession with celebrities, and a peek behind the scenes into the complex world of competitive skating. Cast: 3 men, 3 women. Produced at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2004. Click here to read the opening scene   This play was published in Martin Denton’s anthology Plays and Playwrights 2007. It is now available in an acting edition from Next Stage Press. |
 | The Second Tosca This is the story of Lisa Duvall, a rising young operatic soprano who is understudying the great role of Tosca in Puccini’s opera of that name. Set backstage at Opera California, the play provides a rare and fascinating view into the hothouse world of opera. A controlling conductor-fiancé, a legendary diva, a star struck young composer, a sarcastic gay brother, and a singing ghost are just some of the colorful characters who add to the chaos of Lisa’s life, as she struggles to come to grips with the huge role and hopefully earn her first contract at the Met. The Second Tosca is smart, witty, sexy, and full of surprises and the kind of emotional climaxes that make opera exciting. Cast: 4 men, 4 women. Produced by Sorrel Tomlinson at the 45th Street Theatre, New York City, in June-July, 2007. Click here to read the opening scene  An acting edition of the play is available from Next Stage Press. |
 | The Blue Djinn It’s four in the morning. Alex, a shy, youngish, would-be composer, arrives home in his small studio apartment in Chelsea, after a night out dancing. With him is Blue, a sexy go-go boy from the club. What appears to be a casual if somewhat awkward one-night stand soon turns potentially magical, when Blue tells Alex that dancing is just something he does for extra money: his real vocation is altogether more special and surprising. Before the end of the night, Alex will have to decide what it is he really wants out of life. Cast: 2 men. Produced at the Outworks Festival at Louisiana State University (2013) and the Fresh Fruit Festival, NYC (2014). |
 | David's Play Amanda Linden is opening in a new Broadway show tonight: a jukebox musical called Notorious! Ten years ago, when she graduated from college, she and her five best friends all promised that, whichever one of them made it to Broadway first, the others would all be in the audience on opening night. So on this special night, most of the members of this once-close-knit group have descended on the upscale Eighth Avenue apartment Amanda shares with her husband Leo. Ian, a director living in the Midwest, has brought his friend Joshua along; Molly, now a New Jersey housewife, has managed to get a rare night off from her childcare duties; and Barry, a standup comic, is a bit too excited about seeing her again. The only friend who didn’t keep the promise is David, a charismatic actor who was the center of their group but disappeared mysteriously in the city three years earlier. Could he still be alive? David’s Play is warm and witty, cynical and hopeful, a play about friendship, loss, and finding the courage to pursue your dreams when life doesn’t go the way you thought it would. Cast: 5 men, 2 women. This play was workshopped at The Ensemble Studio Theatre, and produced byExpress Lane Productions at the Chain Theatre as part of the 2019 New York International Fringe Festival. An acting edition of the play is available from Next Stage Press. |
 | Burning Leaves Leaving behind the wreckage of his life in New York, Matt takes a job teaching at a small high school in the middle of nowhere. He desperately needs a fresh start, but what he finds in Pittsville isn't exactly out of Norman Rockwell. When a talented, deeply troubled student named Jesse Wade comes into his life and asks for more than he's prepared to give, Matt is forced to address the mistakes of his past and his own frightening emotions. A humorous, compassionate play that asks: "Does anybody ever really get a second chance?" Cast: 3 men, 3 women. This play has had staged readings at The Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Roy Arias Studios in New York City and The Southampton Writers Conference. |
 | Faye Drummond Faye Drummond, the trophy wife of the fifth-richest man in America, lives in luxury in a penthouse overlooking Central Park. She's the woman who has everything, but she wants the one thing she can't have: her handsome stepson, Paul Letos. With apologies to Euripides and Racine, Faye Drummond updates the Greek myth of Phaedra and Hippolytus to contemporary New York, with uproarious results. Cast: 5 men, 2 women This play has had a workshop production at The Overtime Theatre in San Antonio, Texas (2013), and was featured in the 2016 UnFringed Play Festival at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City, NY. |
 | Festivities “Who ever heard of a Jewish Santa Claus??” So asks Abe Goldenbaum, veteran New York actor, when the only job he can get over the holidays is playing Santa at a New Jersey shopping mall. Holiday traditions can be a headache--especially when your family is nontraditional. If you’re even a little tired of The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol, try this warm and funny alternative: Festivities, a brand new holiday play for the whole family. Young or old, Christian or Jew, black or white, there’s sure to be something special waiting for you this Christmas at the Goldenbaums’! Cast: 3 men, 2 women, 1 little girl. |
 | The Article in Question When a skeptical article on climate change was published in 1992, bearing the names of two well-known scientists, its authorship was disputed. Had one of the credited authors, a respected pioneer in the field, changed his mind about the causes of global warming, or was his name used without his approval? Suggested by a true story, this very timely play examines the conflicting pressures placed on scientists, and investigates how science may be manipulated to political ends. Cast: 4 men, 3 women. |
 | The Weekend People It’s June, and the surviving members of the wealthy and eccentric Burgess family are gathering at their homestead in the Catskill Mountains—for the first time since the loss of their powerful patriarch. Buried secrets, witty repartee, and passionate political debate are all on the menu—along with the potential for a summer romance or two. In the best tradition of the Big American Family Play, The Weekend People asks what it means to be a family in today’s volatile world. Cast: 5 men, 4 women. |
 | The Patterns of Love A variation on themes from As You Like It, this comedy follows a motley troupe of contemporary thespians to a summer theatre in the Maine woods. There they wrestle with the Bard's immortal characters while attempting to sort out their own romantic entanglements. Pop culture, gender politics, and seafood are just some of the ingredients of this heady comedic stew, a provocative new play that drags Shakespeare, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century. Cast: 7 men, 5 women. |
 | Dismantling Prospero Professor Griffin Bates is a dynamic choreographer who has built a top-ranked dance department at Midwestern University. He struggled to hold the program together during the recent pandemic, teaching dance classes online. Now that the students are finally back on campus, he decides to reinvigorate the department with an especially ambitious spring production: an original ballet version of The Tempest—and audaciously casts himself as the magician Prospero. But is Griffin woke enough to navigate the minefield of today’s culture wars? A provocative and timely dance/theatre piece, Dismantling Prospero takes an unflinching look at diversity training, Shakespeare, artistic freedom, and campus politics in our rapidly changing world. Cast: 4 men, 5 women. |
