The Theatre of Aurand Harris: His Career, His Theories, His Plays

The Ice Wolf Adapted by Joanna H. Kraus.

From the East Coast Hudson Bay Inuits comes an exciting, authentic tale of a pale-haired child, exiled by her own people because she was "Anatou—the different one." In a village ruled by spirits, shamans, superstition and myth, such a different one has no place. When her parents disappear in a storm, and Anatou is cast out by the community. She seeks out the forest, into which no Inuit goes, and begs the Wood God to turn her into a wolf.

• Product Code: I99000
• Genre: Drama
• Cast Size: 8m., 7w.
• Approx. Run Time: 60 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

Androcles and the Lion Book by Aurand Harris. Music by Glenn Mack.

Refreshingly antic, this irreverent version of Aesop's fable is written in the style of Italian commedia dell'arte. Using authentic staging and stock characters of commedia—the miserly Pantalone, the bragging Captain, the romantic lovers, the trickster Arlequin, plus an endearing lion—this fable becomes a colorful theatrical experience with zany comedy and the warmth of friendship.

• Product Code: AE3000
• Genre: Comedy,Drama
• Cast Size: 5m., 1w.
• Approx. Run Time: 90 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

The Arkansaw Bear By Aurand Harris.

Saddened by her grandfather's death, Tish runs to her special tree and meets the world's greatest dancing bear. He is old too and is running away from death. In trying to help him, she begins to understand the meaning of both life and death, which helps her to cope with her own sadness.

• Product Code: AE8000
• Genre: Comedy,Drama
• Cast Size: 1w., 5 either gender.
• Approx. Run Time: 50 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

The Brave Little Tailor Dramatized by Aurand Harris. Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

In this completely nonsensical but utterly enchanting version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, a moral evolves to prove you do not have to be big to be strong.

• Product Code: BF4000
• Genre: Comedy
• Cast Size: 3m., 3w.
• Approx. Run Time: 55 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

Huck Finn's Story Adapted by Aurand Harris. Based on selected scenes from Mark Twain's classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

In six action-filled scenes, that are faithful to the original book, alive with colorful characters and sparkling dialog in rural dialect, the play reveals Huck Finn, a clever, lovable boy who is baffled by the greed, hypocrisy and absurdity of society. His conscience troubles him about what is wrong and what is right, during his long journey down the Mississippi, a journey in which he "grows up."

• Product Code: HB5000
• Genre: Drama
• Cast Size: 4m., 4w., 2 boys, or 5 minimum (4m., 1w.) with doubling.
• Approx. Run Time: 50 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

Peter Rabbit and Me By Aurand Harris. Some scenes adapted from The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.

Filled with humor, adventure, colorful characters and all of the magic of children's theatre, this is a joyous dramatization of the beloved story of Peter Rabbit.

• Product Code: PE4000
• Genre: Drama
• Cast Size: 3m., 6w.
• Approx. Run Time: 80 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

The Pinballs Adapted by Aurand Harris. From the award-winning novel by Betsy Byars.

Three children are bounced like pinballs from one foster home to another. Each longs for the comfort of a real home. Now they come together for the first time at the home of Mrs. Mason, an understanding foster mother.

• Product Code: PE8000
• Genre: Drama
• Cast Size: 3m., 2w.
• Approx. Run Time: 75 min.

The Plain Princess Adapted by by Aurand Harris. From the book by Phyllis McGinley.

A spoiled princess is told for the first time that she isn't beautiful due to her frown and upturned nose. A servant offers to help if the princess will come and live in her cottage. The princess learns to be kind and slowly becomes more beautiful.

• Product Code: PF2000
• Genre: Comedy,Drama
• Cast Size: 4m., 7w., 2 either gender. Suitable for an all-female cast.
• Approx. Run Time: 60 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

The Prince and the Pauper Adaptation by Aurand Harris. Music by Steve Wheaton. From the novel by Mark Twain.

The famous story of a prince and a pauper exchanging places comes alive in scenes of action, humor and pageantry, enhanced by appropriate music. The play is told in dramatic scenes bridged by a singing minstrel.

• Product Code: PF5000
• Genre: Drama
• Cast Size: 5m., 4w., 2 boys, extras optional, or double-cast to reduce cast number.
• Approx. Run Time: 80 min.

Rags to Riches Book and lyrics by Aurand Harris. Music and lyrics by Eva Franklin. Additional music arrangements by Glenn Mack. Suggested by two stories, Ragged Dick and The Match Boy, by Horatio Alger.

In this two-act production, a dime-novel hero rises from rags to riches. Ragged Dick, an honest, upright lad who earns his meager living by shining shoes, is entrusted with a $2 bill by a rich banker.

• Product Code: R89000
• Genre:
• Cast Size: 6m., 3w., plus chorus.
• Approx. Run Time: 70 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

Robin Goodfellow By Aurand Harris. Based on the English folktales of Robin Goodfellow and scenes from William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Mischievous young Robin sets out to find his fortune and encounters Oberon, king of the Wee People. Oberon himself is a merry prankster, and he auditions Robin for the position of his royal jester.

• Product Code: R99000
• Genre: Comedy
• Cast Size: 4m., 1w., 1 either gender with doubling, or up to 12 (4m., 1w., 7 either gender).
• Approx. Run Time: 45 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

Steal Away Home Adapted by Aurand Harris. From the novel by Jane Kristof. Music by Carolyn Geer.

Two young slave boys escape from a South Carolina plantation. With the help of many good people, both black and white, they make their way north to join their freed father in Pennsylvania.

• Product Code: SW1000
• Genre: Drama
• Cast Size: 9m., 4w., with doubling, or up to 30+ (20m., 4w., 6+ either gender).
• Approx. Run Time: 60 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

A Toby Show By Aurand Harris.

A Toby Show brings back to the stage an American folk character of Toby, a country bumpkin who through naiveté, honesty and homespun humor outwits the city slickers. Toby is a great role for an energetic actor. The play is a colorful segment of American drama. This farce melodrama recreates traditional situations and stock characters through jokes and stage business.

• Product Code: TM3000
• Genre: Farce,Melodrama
• Cast Size: 3m., 4w., plus extras for vaudeville entr'actes.
• Approx. Run Time: 100 min.

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available