Play Script
The Fourth Orange and Other Fairy Tales You’ve Never Even Heard Of
by Hillary DePiano
It’s bedtime bedlam when a washed-up clown tries to sell three unruly princesses on something other than their fairy tale favorites.
Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty… these are just a few beloved classics that Truffaldino will NOT be reading tonight because you’ve heard them a zillion times already and, frankly, he’s sick of them. Instead, he’ll be dusting off four of the weirdest, wildest and most downright hilarious fairy tales you’ve never even heard of. But will his new spin on these old tales be enough to get his sneaky nieces asleep in time? This funny and flexible adaptation of Giambattista Basile’s classic, The Tale of Tales, is told in the slapstick tradition of classic Italian theatre with a modern twist.
- 100-120 minutes (60-90 minute option also available by omitting a tale)
- 25w 12m 11any (11 to 60+ performers possible)
- Massive cast! (Though you can do it with as little as 11 performers, there are over 60 speaking roles even without counting the ensemble and silent roles)
- Flexible staging and casting (+ majority-female roles)
- Variable length: productions can omit a tale to perform without intermission in just about an hour as is in vogue right now
- Source material was recently adapted into an award-winning movie (The Tale of Tales starring Selma Hayek and John C. Reilly)
- Educational tie in: The Tale of Tales itself is an important collection historically because it’s the one the Grimm boys based theirs on and this is first time these tales have been adapted for the stage
- Can be performed in masked commedia dell’arte style if desired (or not!)
- The Myrtle
30-40 minutes, 5 m 8 f (6-20+ performers possible) - Goosed!
25-35 minutes, 2 m 6 f 8 any (11-20+ performers possible) - Arm Candy
35-45 minutes, 2 m, 4 f (5-7+ performers possible) - The Fourth Orange
20-30 minutes, 4 m, 6 f, 5 any (7-20+ actors possible)
Availability
This play is available in eBook or paperback acting edition.Â
Members of the New Play Exchange can also read it in its entirety for free here.
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