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Simon Levy

SIMON LEVY

  
Nationality:    USA
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    Abrams Artists Agency  UK representative Diamond Management

Since 1993, Simon has been the Producing Director for the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles. He recently launched the Great Gatsby Play website - www.theGreatGatsbyPlay.com. His trilogy of F. Scott Fitzgerald stage adaptations - the Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night, and the Last Tycoon - are published by Dramatists Play Service. they are the first authorized adaptations that have been granted exclusive rights by the Fitzgerald estate. the Great Gatsby was a Finalist for the PeN Literary Award in Drama, and has been produced across America, with productions in Canada and Ireland. Tender is the Night won the PeN Literary Award in Drama, as well as 7 Drama-Logue awards including Best Production and Direction. the Last Tycoon won 5 Back Stage West/Drama-Logue awards including Best Adaptation and Best Direction, and was nominated for the prestigious Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Ted Schmitt Award for Original Play. His stage adaptation of eliot Weinberger's celebrated article, What I Heard About Iraq, was produced worldwide, including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it won the Fringe First Award, the Adelaide Fringe Festival where it won the Fringe Award, was produced by BBC Radio, and received a 30-city UK tour culminating in London. He's currently finishing a new adaptation/translation of Ibsen's An enemy of the People: A New Version for the 21st Century. He's also writing a new play, the Canary, as well as a young adult novel based on the story of Tristan and Iseult. In 2011 he was the recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle's Milton Katselas Career Achievement Award in Directing.

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

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below is a list of Simon Levy's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Act Of Betrayal         Addams Family, The         Beethovens, The         Beetlejuice' Graveyard         Betrayed         Cry Of the Giraffe         Darling, Wendy         Enemy Of the People, An: A Modern Version For America         Great Gatsby, The         Jazz Crazy         Last Tycoon, The         Love Eternal         Man For Man         Noble Peace, A         Pink Skin         Sessions With A Dead Poet         She-Who-Is-Made-Of-Clay         Tender Is the Night         Vivian On the White Wall         Voice         What I Heard About Iraq (A Cry For 5 Voices)

Act Of Betrayal

Synopsis:
Benedict Arnold, a military genius, saves the American Revolution and becomes the Hero of Saratoga. But he is envied and hated by Joseph Reed, President of Pennsylvania, who plots Benedict's downfall, forcing Benedict to betray everything he believes in and becoming the most hated man in American history.

Notes:
Semi-Finalist, 2001 Interact theatre's Showcase of New Plays; Semi-Finalist, 1999 Northwest Regional New Plays Conference; Honorable Mention, Writer's Digest 2002 Competition

1st Produced:
Staged Reading: Blue Heron Theatre, New York    -

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To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
full length Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Addams Family, The

Synopsis:
episodes of the beloved TV series adapted for the stage, with "commercial breaks."

Notes:
San Francisco Chronicle "Bernie" Awards for Best ensemble And Design

1st Produced:
One Act Theatre Company, San Francisco    -

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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
comedy adaptation

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Beethovens, The

Synopsis:
Beethoven, the rock star of his generation, is the most celebrated musical genius of his time. But his sexual obsession for his sister-in-law, Johanna von Beethoven (the real Immortal Beloved), drags his family into terrible tragedy even while he creates his greatest music.

Notes:
co-written with Dr. Frederick W. Kurth; Winner 2 Drama-Logue Awards (including Original Writing); Nominated, PeN West Literary Award for Drama

1st Produced:
Dynarski Theatre, Los Angeles    -

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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
full length Drama

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Beetlejuice' Graveyard

Synopsis:
beloved Hollywood monsters rock out!

Notes:
co-created with Peter Giordano for Universal Studios theme Park

1st Produced:
Universal Studios Hollywood    -

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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
musical comedy revue Musical

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Betrayed

Synopsis:
How America betrayed Benedict Arnold

Notes:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Cry Of the Giraffe

Synopsis:
a lonely man's struggle with temptations of pedophilia

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Darling, Wendy

Synopsis:
a big Broadway-style musical of the Peter Pan story told from Wendy's POV.

Notes:
(commissioned: treatment for A new Peter Pan musical)

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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
full-length musical

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Enemy Of the People, An: A Modern Version For America

Synopsis:
a new translation/adaptation in a modern version for America of Ibsen's classic about how one man stands up for his convictions even though he's labeled "an enemy of the people."

Notes:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
full-length translation/adaptation

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  2            Other:  2b

Further Reference:
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Great Gatsby, The

Synopsis:
Fitzgerald's Jazz age masterpiece will be brought to Guthrie audiences through the vision of award-winning playwright Simon Levy. Carefully constructing scenes both from the novel's dialogue and its narration, Levy's version is wisely faithful to the original while transforming the book's sharply observed details and images into a wonderfully vivid theatrical landscape. Moving the story's action fluidly from Gatsby's mansion in West egg to New York City and into the past, Levy's script paints a swirling Roaring Twenties world that crackles with the vibrancy of Fitzgerald's voice. the play stylishly incorporates jazz music and dance of the era. http://www.thegreatgatsbyplay.com/

Notes:
the official stage Adaptation, the Fitzgerald estate has mandated that this is the only Adaptation that can be produced in the United States, of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Acclaimed novel.

1st Produced:
Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis    2006

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY   978-0822227274

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  4            Other:  saxophone player

Further Reference:
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Jazz Crazy

Synopsis:
the fictional story of Bebe Baxter - one of the great Jazz/Blues singers of the 20's and 30's. the red hot mama of the Southern jazz club circuit. Both talented and wise, she is a beacon for all who are jazz crazy. But, she walked away from fame. . . refusing to be recorded. . . or interviewed. Her reasons for doing so are the mystery that fuel this story.

Notes:
Treatment developed for And with Mark Brymer

1st Produced:
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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
full-length musical

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  2 African/American dancer/singers; 2 CauscAsian dancer/singers; Band

Further Reference:
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Last Tycoon, The

Synopsis:
1930s. the Golden Age of Hollywood. F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece about the movie industry. the tragedy of a man obsessed. Monroe Stahr (loosely based on legendary producer Irving Thalberg) is in a fight with Pat Brady (loosely based on movie mogul Louis B. Mayer) over artistic control of his movies. the "Boy Wonder" is only 36 and the most celebrated producer in Hollywood, but already the corporate men are ready to throw him over if he doesn't turn a profit. In a world where money is God, art is seldom discussed. When Stahr decides to make his masterpiece, the "Shakespeare Project," as a tribute to his dead wife, knowing full well it will lose money, Brady and the Money Men try to bring him down. they stand a good chance. Stahr has a bad heart from a childhood illness. His doctor tells him if he doesn't slow down, he'll be "dead in six months." But Stahr is a man obsessedwith movies, with illusion, with memories of his dead wife, with a mysterious, enigmatic woman (Kathleen Moore) whom he met on the back lot after an earthquake nearly destroyed his studio. It's been years since he's cared about another woman. He pursues her, like his precious "Project," without regard to consequences. All around him are people who love and want to protect himespecially Cecelia Brady (Pat Brady's daughter), who takes us on a journey of love into the literal and metaphorical heart of a great man. Permission for adaptation courtesy of the Fitzgerald Estate.

Notes:
Winner, 5 Back Stage West/Drama-Logue Awards (including Best Adaptation, Best Direction); Nominated for the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle "Ted Schmitt" Award For Original Play; Winner Beverly Press "Best of 1998"; Winner, Frontiers Mag "Best of 1998";

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY   978-0822228530

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Love Eternal

Synopsis:
the greatest love story since Romeo and Juliet. a time of giants and Celtic magic. a time of hate between two kingdoms. a time of honor and infidelity. the romance of Tristan and Iseult. He of england. She of Ireland. Bound by destiny. . . and a love that could never die.

Notes:
Finalist, 1999 West Coast Ten-Minute Play Contest

1st Produced:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Man For Man

Synopsis:
Can six men, unified in basic sympathy, create a Men's Club based on the same principles of women's support groups? Can they find the kind of camaraderie, open honesty, and vulnerability they hunger for? these men try. One night. Baring all. But then nature takes over and they begin behaving as only men do. One of them, however, Harold Canterbury, the only African American among the group, struggles to rise above the inevitable self-loathing, accusations, and violence to find that part of himself that allows him to love again.

Notes:
(inspired by "the Men's Club" by Leonard Michaels)

1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
full-length comedy/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Noble Peace, A

Synopsis:
One-man show about andrei Sakharov, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Soviet dissident, and Father of the Soviet H-bomb

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Solo Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Pink Skin

Synopsis:
Clay, naked, pink skin glowing in the gloom of a windowless room, plays with his derringer pistols. Sometimes life just isn't worth it.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Bloomington Playwrights Project, In, Usa    2004

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Sessions With A Dead Poet

Synopsis:
the poetry and life of the Father of modern Japanese poetry, Hagiwara Sakutaro. an experiment in form: a 21st century psychoanalyst holds sessions with the dead poet.

Notes:
inspired by the book, HOWLING WITH SaKUTaRO, by Dr. Frederick W. Kurth. Honorable Mention, 2005 Writer's Digest Writing Competition

1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  possibly a 3rd character

Further Reference:
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She-Who-Is-Made-Of-Clay

Synopsis:
She-Who-Is-Made-of-Clay is the last of the Yokuts Indians - and a homosexual (or what we would call a homosexual). In his culture she is a berdache, third gender, a revered shaman who straddles the world between man and woman. Only he can bury the dead of her people; and on this, his last day, she tells the story of her people as he readies the funeral bier that will consume her life.

Notes:
Produced: Audio Play, Mind's ear, 2003; Broadcast: WFHB, Indiana, 2002; Broadcast: WBaI-FM, NY, 2000; Produced: Rites & Reason theatre, Brown University; Produced: Cleveland Public theatre. Top 10 Finalist, 2004 Shenandoah International Playwrights Compet

1st Produced:
Cleveland Public Theatre    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
alabama Literary Review ; Black Hat Press; American Writing: a Magazine,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Tender Is the Night

Synopsis:
the carefree swirl of the Jazz Age. . .and the tragic romance of Dick and Nicole Diver. Fitzgerald's "favorite novel" is the story of their passionate love affair and their life as the perfect Jazz Age couple. He's an idealistic American psychiatrist, full of charm and a promising career. She's an extraordinarily beautiful and wealthy mental patient being treated at a Swiss sanitarium. they fall in love and marry. Unfortunately, her shameful and tragic past continually forces him to be both doctor and husband. He can't. And though they love each other, he eventually has an affair with a Hollywood starlet, dooming their marriage and setting the stage for his disintegration and loss of self. Surrounding them are a host of expatriate Americans and glamorous Europeans Dick has "collected."

Notes:
Winner, 1996 PeN West Literary Award for Drama; Winner 7 Drama-Logue Awards (including Best Production); Winner Back Stage West "Garland" Award for Best Production 1995; Winner "Best of 7 Productions" 1995 L.a. Village View; Nominated for 2 1995 theatre L

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY   978-0822228554

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  5            Other:  doubling, flexible casting

Further Reference:
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Vivian On the White Wall

Synopsis:
On a day unlike any other, Clay sits in his room in his underwear, sucking down cigarettes, when he's visited by the vision of a dead acquaintance who materializes in his room and gives him the greatest gift of all - the gift of life.

Notes:
Finalist, Heideman Award, Actors theatre of Louisville

1st Produced:
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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Voice

Synopsis:
Patsy, a "good" minister's wife, learns to listen to her own Voice (literally), and drags her husband kicking and screaming back into a sexually-balanced relationship.

Notes:
co-written with Fred Kurth. Honorable Mention, Writer's Digest 2000 Competition

1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
full-length comedy/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  voice

Further Reference:
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What I Heard About Iraq (A Cry For 5 Voices)

Synopsis:
an anti-war theatre piece adapted from eliot Weinberger's acclaimed article, "What I Heard about Iraq."

Notes:
an Adaptation of eliot Weinberger's Article, "What I Heard About Iraq". the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle has nominated WHaT I HeaRD ABOUT IRaQ for Best Adaptation

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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