HEIR TO A MISFORTUNE – A SHORT TWO ACT FARCE
In this short two act farce, Arthur Aldenbrooke has recently passed away leaving behind his three daughters and a large fortune. His oldest daughter, Violet, is sweet and innocent, while his younger daughters, Christa and Lynn are greedy trouble-makers. Nigel Wentworth, Arthur’s attorney, shows up with the sealed will of the late millionaire with instructions to read it in front of a small handful of people. One of those people being Arthur’s secret lady friend Gabriella, who is evil to the core and only wanted Arthur’s money right from the start.
Gabriella brings her idiot boyfriend Guy along for support in her scheming. As soon as everyone arrives Christa and Lynn plot to steal the real will and replace it with a false one. Meanwhile, Guy and Gabriella have their own intentions of stealing the will. The only problem is that since the will was in a sealed envelope, Hazel, the delightfully unintelligent maid mailed it. And to make matters worse, Erica, a young woman with a vendetta against the late Mr. Aldenbrooke shows up with a gun demanding money for her own father’s death which she claims Arthur was responsible for.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
This show was produced and performed at Theatre 29 in Twentynine Palms, California in 2001 and was presented as a dinner theater show.
The Friends’ School, Tasmania, Australia – 2018
Iroquois West High School, IL, USA – 2018
Private staged reading, FL, USA – 2020
The White Mountain School, NH, USA – 2020
Five Towns Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, UK – 2020
White River High School – WA, USA – 2021
Inner West Drama, NSW, Australia – 2021
Monroe Central Jr-Sr High School, IN, USA – 2021
St Columba College, South Australia, Australia – 2021
Wayland Community Players, NY, USA – 2021
Community center for English Speakers in Netanya, Israel – 2022
Author: Michael Maxwell
Genre: Comedy
Type: short two act farce (alternatively one act farce with 3 scenes)
Length: Sixty 60 minutes
Suitable for: All ages
Ages of actors: Early twenties to any age
Number of actors: Eight, 8 6F 2M
Set: The Aldenbrooke Estate. The main entrance is on the stage left wall. A hallway leading to other parts of the house is on the stage right wall. There are stairs leading up and off stage right on the center stage back wall. There is a couch center stage and a chair stage right of that. There is an end-table stage left of the couch. Other furnishings are up to the director.
Level of difficulty: 7/10 – achieving the element of farce
This show was produced and performed at Theatre 29 in Twentynine Palms, California in 2001 and was presented as a dinner theater show. Read about playwright Mike Maxwell.
Best selling plays by Mike Maxwell include Jack Masterson and the case of absurdity, Missing the Mark and other plays including I should tell you and The Wandering Bard’s Tale. Screenplays include Once a Pirate and 2093,” and Darkest Before Dawn.
Cost is $11.00 for this digital play script. Simply click on Shakespeare!
Copyright 2010 Michael Maxwell and Off The Wall Play Publishers
Like this two act farce? Looking for something different?
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