Plays

Learn about the experience of creating a show with Ken Ludwig at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, Virginia. This article is part of our Samuel French Awards Series honoring several playwrights, including Ken Ludwig.

Cynthia P. Schneider discusses the importance of art in today’s society, A Raisin in the Sun and, how this play connected people across the world.

Wisconsin director Mark Flagg explores political tension amongst families in this classic play.

Jared Bellot spoke with renowned jazz musician Orbert Davis, who composed and recorded the original music for Paradise Blue, to discuss his 30-year career, his approach to working on the play, and the power of jazz.

English teacher and actress Sharon Zolper reflects on her moving experience in CALENDAR GIRLS.

“No one ever has their first play published. It just doesn’t happen.” Kris Vosler, author of A Good Old Fashioned Redneck Country Christmas, defied the odds and proved the axiom wrong.

Take a look behind the scenes of a theatre company for six great tips on how to create a season!

Life-changing shows don’t just fall into your lap every day. When you find them, you have a duty to bring them to life.

Want audiences to have a rockin’ good time at the theater? Learn about Ryan Bowie’s staging of THE AWESOME 80S PROM and why you should bring this show to your theater!

A great theater experience allows us to see our human selves reflected back—in a way that moves, informs and enables us to relate to the realities of the lives of others.

Playwright Clare Barron discusses the development of BABY SCREAMS MIRACLE and the search for meaningful things in life.

Jack Cannon examines Audrey Cefaly’s gritty reality of the modern South and the universality of the Southern experience.

How do writers transition from stage to screen? How about maintaining both careers? Learn more in our latest series.

How do writers transition from stage to screen? How about maintaining both careers? Learn more in our latest series.

How do writers transition from stage to screen? How about maintaining both careers? Learn more in our latest series.

When a co-production of Bad Jews is presented in Frankfurt, Germany, the city of Anne Frank’s childhood, what’s the reaction? Read more here.

In a first-ever collaboration by three professional Vermont theaters, Alan Ayckbourn’s THE NORMAN CONQUESTS will be produced in rotation this spring and summer. Learn more!

Q&A with AMADEUS director Kent Nicholson, who takes a moment to think about the nearly four-decade popularity of Peter Shaffer’s hit play.

It may not be a musical, but Peter Shaffer’s AMADEUS certainly performs as one. Learn more through this insight into South Coast Rep’s recent production.

In a historic collaboration, three Vermont theaters have banded together to bring theatre-lovers across the state beloved British playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s classic comedy trilogy.

When who we are and what we do has been reduced to a transaction, the receipt on our commercialized life is Mark Ravenhill’s SHOPPING AND F***ING.

In a first-ever collaboration by three professional Vermont theaters, Alan Ayckbourn’s THE NORMAN CONQUESTS will be produced in rotation this spring and summer. Learn more!

What’s the view like from the other side of the casting table? Especially when it’s your directorial debut, and your wife and brother are in the cast? Two River Theater Company’s Brandon J. Dirden tells all.

Concord Theatricals playwright and former employee of Samuel French, Julia Izumi, breaks down Samuel D. Hunter’s A Great Wilderness.

Concord Theatricals’ Vice President of Literary, Amy Rose Marsh, spotlights Samuel D. Hunter’s A Bright New Boise, unpacking the quiet beauty of the quintessentially American play.

This 2015 article from the Samuel French archives breaks down Samuel D. Hunter’s The Few, diving into what’s compelling about the play, and why you might want to produce it in this moment. Read on for a quick overview on the touching piece.

Bradley Cooper takes on the title role in the Broadway revival of Bernard Pomerance’s Tony-winning play.

Playwright Leon Kaye explains the genesis of his dark comedy, in which two women plot to murder an insufferable girl who hopes to marry into their family.

College theatremaker Michael Williams Jr. describes the experience of premiering Murder With Grace, Leon Kaye’s delightful dark comedy inspired by the work of Jane Austen.