Scapino!
By Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale.
Product Code: S12000
Full-length Play
Comedy | Farce
Cast size: 10m., 4w.
Awards: Drama Desk Award
Rights and availability
This title can be licensed and sold in the following countries:
Canada, United States
* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.
Synopsis
Rave reviews from every critic on Broadway! With the first line of the play, we plunge into the situation as Octavio cries, "I am lost! I am ruined! What am I to do? My world is crumbling around me. Disaster after disaster!" Into this comes Scapino who states, "The good Lord has blessed me with quite a genius for clever ideas and inspired inventions which the less talented, in their jealousies, call deceits and trickery!" At one point, with the girl's father hiding in a huge sack, Scapino pretends to be a Japanese waiter shouting, "Ah so—Kung Fu—there is something moving in the saki! I am going to give one gigantic karate chop suey to the saki!" "See this Naples and die—laughing." (New York Magazine)
Details
- Status In stock
- Type of Show Full-length Play
- Product Code S12000
- Minimum Cast Size 14
- Pages of Dialogue 81
- Min. Royalty Rate $110.00/perf
- Approx. Run Time 105 min
- Staging One ext. set.
Categories
- Target Audience Middle School | High School | College and Adult | Senior Adults
- Performing Group Middle School | High School | College Theatre | Community Theatre | Professional Theatre | Senior Theatre | Dinner Theatre
- Genre Comedy | Farce
- ISBN(13) 9780871296399
Customer Reviews
Excellent -- a crowd pleaser. The material was both challenging and understandable for high school kids. We had a blast and ended up with a very tight production.
Excellent play for high schools. It allows for lots of creativity on part of director and cast. It is fast moving and funny.
Scapino! was great. We'd seen it as a one-act and liked the show even more as a full-length. It's best with the production book which helped my students understand the need to be extremely physical.
I love this script! I have directed it twice in the past several years, and audiences have always loved it and picked it as one of their favorites.
Scapino! was my first production at Middleton High School in 1980-81. The photo from that production in 16 X 20 is a highlight on a wall in my classroom. What show to kick off my 25th year with MHS Drama? Of course, Scapino! It was definitely the right choice. It was a lovely fall. Enthusiasm! Excitement! Ovations! Every actor had a ball creating his/her character as you will see in the photos. The script ... invites physicalization and inspires passionate performance. We enjoyed our best house ever because students came in droves to laugh at the antics of Scapino, Sylvestro, Carlos and the rest. At state (competition) in a talk back, one hundred (official count) or more crammed into a classroom for thirty to rave about the Thursday night show at state and to ask how we did things and where they could find the script. The talk back crowd wanted repeats of O Sole Mio (we had a TRUE Italian singing waiter ... foreign exchange student), of Sylvestro's monologue, of most everything Scapino did. (Our Scapino is particularly physical and used handsprings, popular dance moves and every space he could find on the set in his interpretation of the role.) At least five students came to me after the performance here and said, Scapino! was my first play ever .. it was so much fun ... I am coming to the next play now. Or variations on that theme. Certainly in my experience, Scapino! is FUN Italian style! (From the publicity button the kids created. Their words but all of our truthful experience!) Hope the words and the photos help you share in our joy.
This play is delightful. What a challenge for my actors. I loved working with it. Frank Dunlop's companion text is a complete A-Z on how to put the show on. It makes it so easy.
This play was FANTASTIC! It is a wonderful vehicle with which to introduce commedia dell'arte to high-school students.
Hints, Tips, and Tricks
The director's guide was extremely useful as a foundation. I highly recommend it.
Use levels in your set design. It enhances the comedy and the power struggles.
I added some extras to walk through, eat dinner on stage, walk through the lobby during intermission. We served gelato at intermission.
Production Map
| Location | City | State | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UWM Mainstage Theatre | Milwaukee | WI | 11/19/2025 | 11/23/2025 |
| Haid Theater, Belmont Abbey College | Belmont | NC | 02/13/2026 | 02/22/2026 |
Downloads
| File Description | File Format | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance Poster | Download |
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Gallery
Scapino! - Covington High School, Covington, LA
Scapino-Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, IA
Also By These Authors
William Myatt, Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa