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Fairy Tale Courtroom

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  4w, 2m, 21any gender (youth)

This extremely adaptable comedy shows the other side of several familiar fairy tales, when two of their biggest villains, the Big Bad Wolf and the Wicked Witch, are brought to trial.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 2m, 21any gender (youth)
  • Duration
    Duration
    75 Minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Fantasy, Adaptations (Literature), Theatre for Young Audiences, Fables/Folktales, Parody / Spoof
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Children (Age 6 - 10), Pre-Teen (Age 11 - 13), Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary

This extremely adaptable comedy shows the other side of several familiar fairy tales, when two of their biggest villains, the Big Bad Wolf and the Wicked Witch, are brought to trial. Both the Wolf and the Witch have been frolicking from fairy tale to fairy tale, wreaking havoc as they try to prevent the general public from living happily ever after. Hear the personal accounts of what happened, told in testimonies and flashback sequences, from characters such as Snow White, Dorothy, Sleeping Beauty, the Three Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and many others, including the Witch and the Wolf themselves, as each trial unfolds. The audience is the jury, so each trial has two endings, depending on the verdict. The trials can be performed separately, with a few small cuts for a running time of approximately thirty minutes each, or together with no cuts for a running time of about one hour and fifteen minutes.

History

Fairy Tale Courtroom was first professionally read by the Stages Repertory Theater in Houston, TX when it was honored in the Southwest Festival of New Plays contest in 2000 and was dircted by Brian Byrnes. It was subsequently professionaly produced by the Navasota Theater Alliance, who performed it in conjunction with the Brazos Valley Troupe, and was directed by M.A. Sterling.

BOTH PARTS 
JUDGE
BAILIFF 
DISTRICT ATTORNEY (D.A.)
CLERK - (A HAND ONLY)

PART 1
WOLF 
PIG #1
PIG #2 
PIG #3 
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD 
BOY WHO CRIED WOLF 
GRANDMOTHER 
BADGER 
SHORT ORDER CHEF 

PART 2
DEFENSE ATTORNEY 
SCARECROW 
FLYING MONKEY 
DOROTHY 
WITCH 
HANSEL
GRETEL 
SLEEPING BEAUTY 
PRINCE 
SEVERAL DWARVES 

12-28 male or female roles. Certain parts should be accurate to gender; Snow White, Dorothy, Sleeping Beauty and Grandmother should be cast female.  The Prince should be male, and the Wolf works best male as well. While the Witch is female, a male in a witch costume can work just fine. All other roles are not necessarily gender-specific. Cast is very flexible, with as few as 12 people covering all parts with doubling, or as many as 32 characters with all roles represented and two sets of lawyers.

  • Time Period Not Applicable
  • Features Fantasy Costumes
  • Additional Features Audience Participation/Interactive, Physical Comedy, Stage Combat
  • Duration 75 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

"This show has the rare qualities necessary to be funny for the whole family." - M.A. Sterling, Director

Music

  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size No Chorus

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $130 per performance

Add-Ons

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Authors

Dana Proulx

Amongst other things, the 1960's brought us great sci-fi TV, micro-mini skirts, and my birth. As a young child, I moved a lot. Because of this, I became a letter writer to maintain friendships over the miles. To this day I have many friendships that began while I was still ...
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