Shows About Show Biz

As Irving Berlin said, “There’s No Business Like Show Business!” These plays and musicals, which include splashy spectaculars, door-slamming farces and heartbreaking dramas, explore the fascinating world of theatre, music, movies and television.

Musicals

[title of show] by Jeff Bowen & Hunter Bell (US/UK) – Also available in a (clean version) (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 2w, 2m, 1 any gender)
A love letter to musical theatre and the joy of collaboration, [title of show] is the story of two struggling writers who, with the help of their friends, write and perform an original show at a new musical theatre festival, learning about themselves as people, friends and artists.

42nd Street by Harry Warren, Al Dubin, Michael Stewart, Mark Bramble & Bradford Ropes (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 7w, 6m + ensemble)
The ultimate show-biz musical! 42nd Street celebrates Broadway, Times Square and the people who make the magic of musical theatre. Also available in a Youth Edition (US/UK).

A Chorus Line by Michael Bennett, James Kirkwood, Nicholas Dante, Marvin Hamlisch & Edward Kleban (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 9w, 10m)
A stunning concept musical capturing the spirit and tension of a Broadway chorus audition, this Pulitzer Prize-winning musical explores the inner lives and bittersweet ambitions of professional musical performers at a high-stakes audition. Also available in a full-length Teen Edition (US/UK).

A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet by Alex Wyse & Ben Fankhauser (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 1w, 2m)
Two nobodies dream of writing one hit song for everybody, but their day job composing jingles for commercials isn’t the big break they hoped for. That is, until they’re plucked from obscurity by world-famous pop star Regina Comet, who wants them to create an anthem for her new perfume. They’re so close to the Big Time that they can smell it, but following your passion doesn’t always lead where you’d expect.

Babes in Arms by Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart & Douglas Carter Beane (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 2w, 1m, 3 girls, 8 boys + ensemble)
The quintessential “Hey, kids, let’s put on a show!” musical is revitalized with a fresh, witty and relevant script by acclaimed playwright Douglas Carter Beane. The musical’s astonishing Rodgers & Hart score includes a host of hits, including “My Funny Valentine,” “The Lady Is a Tramp” and “Where or When.”

City of Angels by Larry Gelbart, Cy Coleman & David Zippel (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 8w, 8m + ensemble)
In the late 1940s, a bookish writer of detective stories struggles to adapt his crime novel into a workable screenplay. With wit, humor and a fantastic Cy Coleman score, City of Angels captures the snappy dialogue of a Raymond Chandler novel and the glitzy showmanship of classic Hollywood in a unique, jazzy and stylish crowdpleaser.

Crazy For You® by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin & Ken Ludwig (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 3w, 4m + ensemble)
In this zany show-biz romantic comedy, a young New York banker travels to Deadrock, Nevada, to foreclose on a rundown theatre. He falls for the theatre owner’s daughter and vows – through cunning, razzmatazz, and a hilarious case of mistaken identity – to win her heart and save the theatre. Also available in a Youth Edition (US/UK).

Double Trouble (A Musical Tour de Farce) by Bob Walton and Jim Walton (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 2m)
In 1940s Hollywood, Jimmy and Bobby Martin have the opportunity of a lifetime: writing a song for a major motion picture… except they have only a few hours to do it. Written and originally performed by Bob and Jim Walton, this tale of singing, dancing, songwriting brothers is sure to get you laughing and your toes tapping.

Dreamgirls by Tom Eyen, Henry Krieger & Michael Bennett (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 4w, 4m + ensemble)
A sweeping and inspirational journey through 20th-century American pop music, this dynamic, Tony Award-winning musical chronicles one Motown group’s rise from obscurity to superstardom.

Face the Music by Irving Berlin & Moss Hart (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 4w, 6m + ensemble)
At the height of the Great Depression, Hal Reisman desperately seeks backers for his Broadway show. When he turns to crooked cops, hilarious hijinks ensue in this Irving Berlin treasure.

Funny Girl by by Jule Styne, Bob Merrill & Isobel Lennart (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 3w, 3m + ensemble)
In the Ziegfeld Follies, in Hollywood films and on the radio, Fanny Brice was one of the most celebrated entertainers of her time. With humor, talent and chutzpah, young Fanny, an awkward Jewish girl who “isn’t pretty,” defies the odds and becomes one of the greatest stars of her generation.

Gutenberg! The Musical! by Scott Brown & Anthony King (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 2m)
In this two-man musical spoof, a pair of aspiring playwrights perform a backers’ audition for their new, hilariously ill-advised project – a big, splashy musical about printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg.

Gypsy by Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim & Gypsy Rose Lee (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 6w, 2m + ensemble)
The Mother of All Musicals! This jewel of Broadway’s Golden Age reveals the world of vaudeville and burlesque with an incomparable score, a brilliantly conceived book, and one of the greatest leading roles ever to grace the Broadway stage: stage mom extraordinaire Mama Rose.

Hallelujah, Baby! by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Arthur Laurents and Jule Styne (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 3w, 2m + ensemble)
Through the struggles and triumphs of a determined, talented and resilient leading lady, Hallelujah, Baby! celebrates the African American experience in the first half of the 20th century. Arthur Laurents’ inventive book follows Georgina Franklin as she rises from domestic work in the 1920s to stardom in the late 1960s – all without aging a day. The glorious score by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, includes “My Own Morning,” “I Don’t Know Where She Got It,” “Being Good” and the title song.

Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun by Irving Berlin, Herbert Fields, Dorothy Fields & Peter Stone (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 3w, 6m, 2 girls, 1 boy + ensemble)
“There’s No Business Like Show Business!” This classic Irving Berlin musical captures the spirit and energy of a Wild West performance as Annie Oakley, the best sharpshooter in Buffalo Bill’s show, falls in love with her leading man.

Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn by Irving Berlin, Gordon Greenberg & Chad Hodge (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 3w, 3m, 1 boy + ensemble)
The beloved classic about a Connecticut inn and nightclub features one glorious Irving Berlin number after another, each celebrating a different festivity. Holiday Inn’s hit song “White Christmas” inspired another Irving Berlin musical, White Christmas (US/UK), which also explores the ins and outs of show biz, this time at a Vermont inn and nightclub.

Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter, Sam Spewack & Bella Spewack (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 3w, 7m + ensemble)
The battle of the sexes takes center stage as former spouses Fred & Lilli feud onstage and off during a musical presentation of The Taming of the Shrew. Sophisticated, romantic and hilarious, Kiss Me, Kate provides theatrical fireworks as the Golden Age of Broadway clashes with the Bard of Avon.

Mack & Mabel by Michael Stewart & Jerry Herman (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 5w, 10m)
Featuring one of Jerry Herman’s most tuneful scores, Mack & Mabel is a saga of the silent film era, “when movies were movies.” With wit and pizzazz, the musical explores the relationship of legendary silent film director Mack Sennett and his star, the endearing Mabel Normand.

Mizlansky/Zilinsky or ‘Schmucks’ by Jon Robin Baitz (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 1w, 7m)
Davis Mizlansky is on the brink of being done in by the IRS. Desperate to save himself, and morals be damned, he comes up with a scheme he’s sure will save the day. He’ll have to convince his former partner, Sam Zilinsky, to come on board to produce celebrity-narrated Bible stories for children.

Nuncrackers by Dan Goggin (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 5w, 1m, 2 girls, 2 boys)
The Little Sisters of Hoboken are back! They’ve gathered in the studios of WCON-TV Hoboken – formerly known as Mt. Saint Helen’s Convent Basement – to tape their brand-new Christmas TV special, which features songs like “Santa’s Little Teapot,” “Twelve Days Prior to Christmas,” and “Santa Ain’t Comin’ to Our House.” Dan Goggin’s hilarious holiday tuner, featuring the show biz-loving sisters and a slightly tipsy Father Virgil, will keep everyone’s Christmas merry and bright. The original Nunsense (US/UK) is also available.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Me and Juliet by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 14w, 9m)
This show-within-a-show follows the romance and secret marriage of Jeanie, a chorus girl, and Larry, an assistant stage manager, as they work on a new Broadway musical called Me and Juliet. Informed by rich insights into the world of Broadway – the acquisition and loss of jobs, the inside tricks of the trade and the pitfalls of backstage romance – this is an innovative, irresistible show that delivers both musically and dramatically.

Ruthless! The Musical! by Joel Paley & Marvin Laird (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 7w with flexible gender casting)
This hilarious homage to campy backstage films was billed as “The Stage Mother of All Musicals!” Eight-year-old Tina Denmark – part darling Baby June from Gypsy, part homicidal Rhoda from The Bad Seed – will do anything to win the leading role in her school musical, including murdering the competition.

Side Show (2014 Broadway Revival) by Henry Krieger and Bill Russell (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 7w, 14m + ensemble)
Based on the true story of conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton, who became stars during the Depression, this musical is a moving portrait of two women joined at the hip whose extraordinary bondage brings them fame but denies them love. Told almost entirely in song, the show follows Violet and Daisy’s progression from England to America, around the vaudeville circuit, and to Hollywood on the eve of their appearance in the 1932 movie Freaks.

Summer Stock Murder by Kingsley Day, Philip LaZebnik and Paul Hough (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 5w, 6m)
Summer stock is a hotbed for affairs, huge egos and – apparently – murder! This riotous musical, set at the Sagautasac Playhouse, revels in high drama. Several bizarre murders befall the theatre as the players rehearse three consecutive shows: a Friml-esque operetta, a Cole Porter-ish potpourri, and a musical drama a la Sondheim.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes (US)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 4w, 7m)
In this hilarious whodunit, Charles Dickens’ final unfinished novel is presented as a show-within-a-show, as the Music Hall Royale – a delightfully loony Victorian theatre company – presents Dickens’ brooding mystery.

The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe & Gaston Leroux (US)
(Full-Length Musical, Drama / 4w, 6m + ensemble)
This timeless masterwork tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. In the sequel, Love Never Dies (US), the Phantom has escaped to a new life in New York, where he lives amongst the screaming joy rides and freak shows of Coney Island.

The Silver Belles by Matt Conner, Allyson Currin and Stephen Gregory Smith (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 4w, 2m, 1 any gender)
It’s Golden Girls meets Designing Women with a heaping helping of well-known Christmas tunes and clever new country and western ditties. Christmas without the Silver Belles… just wouldn’t be Christmas! When Oralene, the longtime director of small-town Sylva Ridge’s Christmas Pageant, suddenly passes away, the Silver Belles must come to the rescue. With the spirit of Oralene looking on, the sterling-hued vixens band together, discover their talents and pull out all the stops to keep the beloved pageant alive.

Plays

10 Out of 12 by Anne Washburn (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 6w, 8m)
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to tech. Around you, a company of 14 is engaged in the very peculiar – and peculiarly impossible – task of making a new play. Anne Washburn, the author of Mr. Burns, a post-electric play (US/UK), built this hilarious play from years of tech rehearsal notes.

45 Seconds from Broadway by Neil Simon (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 6w, 6m)
America’s master of contemporary Broadway comedy brings this revealing comedy set in the legendary “Polish Tea Room” on New York’s 47th Street. In this touching valentine to New York, Broadway theatre personalities gather to schmooze even as they lose.

Act One by James Lapine from the autobiography of Moss Hart (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 6w, 10m)
Tony Award-winner James Lapine has adapted writer Moss Hart’s rags-to-riches autobiography for the stage, creating a funny, heartbreaking and suspenseful play that celebrates the making of a playwright, his unlikely collaboration with the legendary playwright George S. Kaufman, and his play Once in a Lifetime. Act One offers great fun to a director to utilize over fifty roles, which can be played by a cast as few as twelve, in a production that can be done as simply or elaborately as desired.

Bad Auditions by Bad Actors (One Act) by Ian McWethy (US/UK)
(Short Play, Comedy / 7w, 4m, 3 any gender)
This hilarious comedy will bring you to the last place you’d ever want to be… behind the doors of a casting session for a community theatre production of Romeo and Juliet, where the pool of actors includes extreme method actors, performers who just don’t know what to do with their hands, and one particular woman who may or may not think she’s a cat. For more shows about show business by Ian McWethy, try the Full-Length Version (US) or Appropriate Audience Behavior (US).

Bernhardt/Hamlet by Theresa Rebeck (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3w, 8m)
In 1899, the international stage celebrity Sarah Bernhardt set out to tackle her most ambitious role yet: Hamlet. Theresa Rebeck’s play is suffused with with high comedy and human drama, set against the lavish Shakespearean production that could make or break Bernhardt’s career.

Curtain Up! by Peter Quilter (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 5w)
Curtain Up! is the hilarious story of five women who inherit equal shares in a dilapidated theatre and plan to bring it back to life again. A fast-paced and very funny comedy with five great roles for women. For another piece by Quilter about the life of Judy Garland, see End of the Rainbow (US).

Deadline by Marcia Kash and Douglas E. Hughes (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 6 any) 
Just as they are about to give up on their careers, a pair of struggling playwrights find out that their mentor, the most celebrated murder mystery writer since Agatha Christie, has just died with the script to his upcoming Broadway thriller left unfinished. Tasked with completing his work in under a week, Mara and Don jump into the story – but once they begin digging into the world of the play, they quickly find themselves trapped inside it.

Inspired by True Events by Ryan Spahn (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w, 2m)
The clue is in the title! In this hilarious yet horrifying play, Ryan Spahn invites the audience backstage, where a tenacious group of show people determine at what cost the show must go on. Backstage in their community theatre’s green room in Rochester, New York, the Uptown Theatre Performers are getting ready to play to a full house after opening to rave reviews the previous night. When their star actor arrives in a dangerously unhinged state, they must improvise on and off stage in ways they could not have imagined. Based off a single true crime headline that Spahn had read, the play imagines what might possess people to keep going, even in the face of unfortunate events.

Into the Breeches! by George Brant (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 6w, 2m)
This surprisingly modern and moving comedy, set during World War II, explores the power of art and community, even in the darkest times. While Oberon Play House’s director and leading men are off at war, the director’s wife sets out to produce an all-female version of Shakespeare’s Henriad.

Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me A Tenor (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4w, 4m)
A sensation on Broadway and in London’s West End, this madcap, screwball comedy – set behind the scenes at the Cleveland Grand Opera Company in 1934 – is guaranteed to leave audiences teary-eyed with laughter. For more delirious opera fun, check out Ken Ludwig’s A Comedy of Tenors (US/UK), and for the same show with the titular tenors swapped for leading ladies, see Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Soprano (US/UK).

Ken Ludwig’s Moon Over Buffalo (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4w, 4m)
This hilarious backstage farce centers on George and Charlotte Hay, fading stars of the 1950s. As they attempt to play Private Lives and Cyrano De Bergerac in rep in Buffalo, New York, everything that can go wrong does. The increasingly dire stakes continue to rise in this sidesplitting, kinetic show-biz romp.

Magic Valley Community Theatre’s Little Women by Liza Birkenmeier and Trish Harnetiaux (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 5w, 2m)
It’s closing night of Magic Valley Community Theatre’s production of Little Women, so what could go wrong? This play within a play follows the tension and triumphs of an ensemble of amateur actors on the closing night of the best play in the town’s memory. We follow the actors playing the March sisters onstage and the chaos they encounter backstage as their creative dreams and practical worries roil through the performance of their lifetimes. A poker game, a packed bag, a secret relationship and an unhappy board member all stand in the way of their ultimate dream: making it to the Nationals in Rochester.

Noises Off by Michael Frayn (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4w, 5m)
Called “the funniest farce ever written,” Noises Off presents a manic menagerie of itinerant actors rehearsing a flop called Nothing’s On. Doors slamming, on and offstage intrigue, and an errant herring all figure in the plot of this hilarious and classically comic play.

Nollywood Dreams by Jocelyn Bioh (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4w, 2m)
Lagos, Nigeria. It’s the nineties, the “Nollywood” film industry is exploding, and Ayamma dreams of leaving her job at her parents’ travel agency and becoming a star. When she auditions for a new film by Nigeria’s hottest director, tension flares with his former leading lady as sparks fly with the biggest heartthrob. A “warm, wonky and laugh-out-loud funny” (Variety) ode to the Nigerian film industry with ample heart and humor.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3w, 6m, 3 any gender)
Accident-prone Cornley Drama Society attempts their most ambitious production yet with their own version of Peter Pan. What ensues is two acts of hysterical disaster, battling technical hitches, flying mishaps and cast disputes. Will they ever make it to Neverland? A One-Act Version (US) is also available. 

Play On! by Rick Abbot (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 7w, 3m)
Perfect for any performing group, this dynamic farce is the hilarious story of a theatre group trying desperately to put on a play in spite of maddening interference from a haughty author who keeps revising the script.

Popcorn Falls by James Hindman (US)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2 any gender)
The sleepy town of Popcorn Falls is forced into bankruptcy when a neighboring town threatens to turn them into a sewage treatment plant. Their only hope – open a theatre! Two actors play over 20 roles in a world of farce, love and desperation, proving once and for all that art can save the world.

Present Laughter by Noël Coward (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 6w, 5m)
At the center of his own universe sits matinee idol Garry Essendine: suave, hedonistic and too old – according to his wife – to be having numerous affairs. Just before Garry escapes on tour to Africa, his many misdemeanors are discovered, and all hell breaks loose.

Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 5m)
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1833. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, has collapsed on stage whilst playing Othello. A young black American actor has been asked to take over the role. But as the public riot in the streets over the abolition of slavery, how will the cast, critics and audience react to the revolution taking place in the theatre?

Shakespeare in Love by Lee Hall, Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 6w, 18m)
Based on the Academy Award-winning film, this enchanting, hilarious, romantic stage play reimagines William Shakespeare’s creative process and explores his inspiration as he writes Romeo and Juliet. Also available in a High School Edition (US/UK).

Stage Kiss by Sarah Ruhl (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3w, 4m)
Art imitates Life. Life imitates Art. When two actors with a history are thrown together as romantic leads in a forgotten 1930s melodrama, they quickly lose touch with reality as the story onstage follows them offstage.

Talent Show Fail by Ian McWethy and Carrie McCrossen (US)
(Short Play, Comedy / 5w, 5m)
The town of Holly Springs has terrible roads, and the citizens are counting on the money raised from this year’s talent show to fix them. Unfortunately, the one guy who has a talent wants to do taxes onstage this year. As the host, Tina is determined the show must go on, even as duets are being hastily converted to solos, angsty teens are reading upsetting poetry and everyone’s being hounded by a heckler. Will the town of Holly Springs get their act together or are they doomed to a future of potholes and unrehearsed roller-skating? Find out in this warm and winning community comedy!

The Audition by Don Zolidis (US/UK)
(Short Play, Comedy / 4w, 2m, 13 any gender)
In this hilarious short comedy, a new theatre teacher is bringing A Chorus Line to their high school, but the hopefuls range from shy to outrageous, diva-like to determined, and all especially spotlight-hungry. Also available as a musical aptly titled The Audition: The Musical! (US/UK).

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 6w, 4m, 9 girls, 8 boys)
In this hilarious Christmas classic, a couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids – probably the most inventively awful kids in history. You won’t believe the mayhem – and the fun – when the Herdmans collide with the Christmas story head on! Also available in a Full-Length Musical Version (US) and a Shortened Musical Version (US).

The Four Old Broads Christmas Extravaganza by Leslie Kimbell (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 7w, 2m)
Your favorite OLD BROADS are back… and Christmas doesn’t stand a chance! When Eaddy is forced to take over the Petula Community Theatre charity Christmas pageant, everything that can go wrong does go wrong. This community-theatre-gone-wild fiasco delivers nonstop, rolling-in-the-aisles laughs… and absolutely ZERO silent nights. Senior living never felt so fun! For another show about show biz by Leslie Kimbell, check out The Miss Magnolia Senior Citizen Beauty Pageant (US/UK).

The Mystery of the Missing Letter by Don Zolidis (US/UK)
(Short Play, Comedy / 18 any gender)
The letter Z has gone missing and the cast of the adorable Fluppet show, Meemoo’s Universe, are all suspects. Can hard-boiled detective Jack McCracken determine if it was Reginald the Grump, Zuzu the Little Witch or even the sugar-addicted Sweets Beast who’s responsible? From acclaimed playwright Don Zolidis comes a hilarious one-act murder mystery parody that takes us to one of most terrifying and suspense-filled places on Earth: backstage at a children’s television show.

The Play That Goes Wrong (High School Edition) by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2w, 2m, 4 any gender)
On opening night of the Cornley University Drama Society’s newest production, The Murder at Haversham Manor, things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. This 1920s whodunit has an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines). Nevertheless, the accident-prone thespians battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call, with hilarious consequences! Original Version (US) and The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong (US) also available. 

The Shark Is Broken by Joseph Nixon and Ian Shaw (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3m)
In this behind-the-scenes comedy, Jaws stars Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider take center stage as they bond, argue, drink, gamble and pray for an end to the film shoot, not knowing it will change their lives forever.

The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2w, 2m)
Good intentions collide with absurd assumptions in Larissa FastHorse’s wickedly funny satire, as a troupe of terminally “woke” teaching artists scrambles to create a pageant that somehow manages to celebrate both Turkey Day and Native American Heritage Month.

Two on the Aisle, Three in a Van (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4w, 6m)
Sometimes the best show isn’t onstage but in the parking lot. A comedy about the unsung heroes who call the show, man the spotlights, sew the costumes, count the tickets and suffer through every flubbed line, forgotten prop and missed cue. 

Who am I This Time? (& Other Conundrums of Love) by Aaron Posner, adapted from Kurt Vonnegut (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3w, 4m)
Set on the stage of a community theatre in Connecticut, three early comic masterpieces by Kurt Vonnegut are sewn together into a seamless evening of hilarity and humanity. A smart, delightful comedy about love for the whole family.

Need more ideas? Check out these collections of Plays About Show Business (US/UK) and Musicals About Show Business (US/UK).