By Pat Cook.
Product Code: C76000
Full-length Play
Comedy
Cast size: 7m., 9w.
This title can be licensed and sold throughout the World.
* 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.
"You tell me how you wrenched up your leg or I'll turn your MasterCard into guitar picks!" yells old Zack at his nephew Leon. For some reason, none of the Dunwoody clan is talking too much about Leon's accident and it's driving Zach, the patriarch of the family, almost into a frenzy. Finally, after dealing with disappearing frogs, drunken uncles and dithering relatives, Zach clears the room and Leon tells him the whole story. After hearing the hysterical tale, Zach dies laughing...literally. Then, the grandfather clock, which hasn't worked in years, chimes once. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls," Nola says, "it tolls for thee!" Suddenly this prophesy is carried a bit too far when another member of the family gets backed over with the pickup truck and the clock chimes again. Find out who is killing off the Dunwoodys in this frantic comedy/mystery. The twists and turns will keep you guessing to the very end. But, as Gladys says, "It's only a matter of time!"
Easy to stage. The audience did not figure out who the killer was and I used 7th grade actors!
Fast-paced and very entertaining. Many audience members said it was the best comedy they had ever watched. Easy to produce and lots of good roles. We loved it.
Clockwork was awesome. We loved it. It is a fast-paced, funny piece with wonderful language usage and nuances. Very manageable for a competent group of high-school students!
To present the story correctly, you will need to plan on a lot of old age makeup. Train or obtain some helpers or you will be spending a LOT of time in the makeup room. Also, regarding the Messenger's disguise, I created a crepe wool beard using latex. I was able to hot glue an elastic cord to the inside which then went over the actor's ears and behind his head. This allowed him to have full old-age makeup on under the beard so it still looked like Zack when he removed it. We also put a mustache on the actor using Topstick (toupee tape). Again, this allowed him to get into the disguise quickly (only has about three minutes) and then easily remove the disguise at the end without disturbing the old age makeup.
Brian Logee, JCB High School, Phoenix, N.Y.