The Ronald M. Ruble New Play Festival

Semi-Finalists for 2012 Ronald M. Ruble New Play Festival

Due to a record number of submissions and in order to give our readers adequate time to properly read and review each work, we are a week behind in announcing the 5-6 finalists for this year’s festival. The finalists will be posted on Friday, March 23rd by 5:00 pm. Thank you for your submission (and thank you for your patience)! ~Brian Marshall, CCCT

O'Sullivan Stew (m)
Music and Lyrics by Frank Cuthbert
Book by Laura Maria Censabella
Based on the book O'Sullivan Stew by Hudson Talbott
Based on the beloved children’s book by Hudson Talbott which uses motifs from Irish fairytales, O’Sullivan Stew is a coming-of-age musical about a young Irish girl Katie O’Sullivan who bargains for the life of her family and town by telling wondrous stories about each of them.

Dreaming at the Fair (p)
By Claudia Haas
On a magical day at the fair, wishes are granted, taken away and blown in the breeze. A young girl afflicted with polio discovers her true inner resources. A tale of the value and power of dreams even when faced with adversity."

The Giant's Garden (m)
By Scott White and Peter Fenton
Deep in The Deep Dark Forest, hidden beyond The Stream of Sorrows and Sinking Spirits lies The Giant’s Garden – a place forbidden to outsiders. But when Giant goes away, the children sneak in to play, and for seven years their idyllic world has been undisturbed ... until today. Today Giant is coming home. . Today a battle will take place which could lead to the entire world being frozen.  And today a young boy will test his courage and to see if love, friendship and sacrifice can truly save the world.

The Star Child (m)
By Jennifer Stafford, Sarah Underwood, and Josh Freilich
Based on Oscar Wilde's short stories, this fun-filled family musical follows Mattan, who believes he is the most beautiful boy the world has ever seen. But when he becomes so self-centered and cruel that a witch takes his beauty, he must go on a journey to get it back, and learn to see beauty through the eyes of others.

Peter and Alice (p)
By Monica Flory
When Alice floats out of Wonderland and washes up on the shores of Neverland, Peter Pan finds himself in an altogether different story that Wendy doesn’t like one bit.  Who will win Peter’s affection?  And is anyone going to grow up already?

Princess K.I.M. The Musical (m)
By Maryann Cocca-Leffler
Princess K.I.M. The Musical is a humorous, upbeat play based on the best selling children's books by Maryann Cocca-Leffler about how a teeny tiny lie becomes a gigantic problem!  Coping with the loss of her mother, and to fit into her new school, Kim tells her classmates that she is a princess and her grandmother, a queen.  Kim then goes comically overboard in her lessons learned about truth and lies, but in the end finally finds the courage to stand tall and be herself!

The Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe (p)
By Stacey Lane
You know that the old woman who lived in a shoe had so many children she didn’t know what to do.  But did you know that her children were Jack, Jill, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Hansel, Gretel, and Mary?  The Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe weaves together beloved nursery rhymes and fairy tales into an energetic romp through an enchanted forest.

Her-Cules (p)
By Matt Hanf
Her grandpa is crazy...and a cleptomaniac...and thinks he's Zeus.  So when he tells her that she is Hercules and must complete heroic labors, she is full of doubt and anger and fear.  But that's what  
heroes  are made of, isn't it?

Keep on Walkin’ (m)
By Lavell Blackwell, Joshua Cohen, James Armstrong
In 1955, a white girl on Staten Island becomes pen-pals with a black girl in Montgomery, Alabama. As tensions flare, a bus boycott is led by a young preacher named Martin Luther King Jr., attracting the attention of both girls. Together, they gradually learn to confront their own prejudices and discover the strength to do the right thing.

Constellation Prize (p)
By D.J. Jones
Camp Pleiades. Community service. All summer.
As eighteen-year-old Derek Marshall serves out his sentence, he first discovers the truth about the young campers in residence. And then about himself.

LEFT TO OUR OWN DEVICES (m)
By EllaRose Chary, Stephanie Salzman
A new high energy, pop/rock revue-sical for "Tweens and Twids". When a group of kids stand to lose their favorite hang out, they must "out play" an army of digital Celebri-monsters to save the day! Featuring an infectious score, cool dancing, and parts for kids of all ages, this is a show about what happens when we kids are LEFT TO OUR OWN DEVICES.

A Magical Midnight (p)
By Nicolette Vatjay
Maggie Conner, a precocious 10-year-old, is easily lured into the clutches of Hollywood's limelight when her luscious head of long, curly, red hair is "discovered" by a talent scout.  Her diva-like attitude quickly changes when Olivia, a girl the same age as Maggie though much more advanced in spirit, show’s up bald!   A glimmer of fate orchestrates a magical adventure to the Land of the One Eyed Pirates, where the girls overcome challenges of mystical proportions, and forge a unique friendship that changes their lives forever!

Monarch Ashes (p)
By Jeff Jenkins
Fifteen year old Ryan Shaughessy tries to recapture “normal” after a family loss and his own attempted suicide. Hannah, Ryan’s sister, looks for meaning in the aftermath as Ryan looks for a lifeline. Both discover the world is not what it seems.

Hue Manatee’s Quest (m)
By James Durst
An Eco-Peace World Musical for Planetary Citizens of All Ages. Hue Manatee and his newfound friends seek the wisdom of renowned change agent Leon Chameleon, only to be invited to join him on a journey to his ancestral homeland, the Galapagos. Along the way, they overcome numerous perils while meeting and sharing songs with Shining Eagle, Trio Life, Ella Condor, and many others to help learn that the care of the earth is in our hands.

The Grand Old Oprah Gossip Club (p)
By Denis Meadows
Bets, a senior at Thomas Paine HS, chooses her one and only extra-curricular to join, a gossip club started by Alice, the smartest kid in the class and a role model to Bets. However, right away Alice allows innocent gossip to deteriorate into backbiting. When a friend of Bets pulls a prank on the club, Bets must choose between loyalty to Alive or standing up for what she believes and being expelled from the club.