Published
Plays
Hazelwood Jr. High
Published by Concord Theatricals/Samuel French
At first, Hazelwood Jr. High is like any other middle school – cliques and crushes, dances and detention. But when a new girl unwittingly steps into a "love triangle," a revenge plot is hatched, and events spin out of control, escalating into a shocking and unimaginable climax. Based on a true story.
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CAST: 6f
RUN TIME: Approximately 90 minutes. Performed without an intermission. Mature subject matter. Appropriate for teens and adults.
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"In this fierce, disturbing lament for the death of childhood, the characters hardly change - but the audience does. We move from open laughter to uncomfortable giggling to deep, dark silence. Urbinati creates a mental jungle in which vampires and cuddly toys, Pentecostal visions and Kmart are tangled together. This is deft and morally serious writing, never exploitative and ultimately full of pity. Everywhere, there is the kind of precision and care that such a subject demands." - New York Daily News
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Target Audiences: High Schools, Colleges, Professional Theatres, and Amateur/Community Theatres
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Murder on West Moon Street
Published by Concord Theatricals/Samuel French
Young Lord Arthur is deliriously happy – just down from Oxford and engaged to be married – when a mysterious palm reader predicts that he will commit a murder. As a proper English gentleman, Arthur believes it is his duty to get this killing business over-with before he marries. But his education has not provided him with the required skills, and a hilarious series of mishaps ensues as he sets about finding a victim.
CAST: 4f, 4m
RUN TIME: Approximately two hours, including intermission Appropriate for all audiences
“Rob Urbinati has molded Oscar Wilde’s short story into a briskly paced comedy of mannners, true to its author’s greater spririt.” - The New York Times
“Urbinati has done a truly marvelous thing: He’s turned an infrequently read Oscar Wilde story into a play that improves on the original. A Wilde ride indeed!” - The New York Blade
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Target Audiences: Colleges, Professional Theatres, and Amateur/Community Theatres
Death by Design
Published by Concord Theatricals/Samuel French
What happens when you mix the brilliant wit of Noël Coward with the intricate plotting of Agatha Christie? Set during a weekend in an English country manor in 1932, Death by Design is a hilarious, delightful and mysterious mash-up of two of the greatest English writers of all time. Sorel Bennett, an actress, and her husband, Edward Bennett, a playwright, flee London and head to Cookham after a disastrous opening night. But various guests arrive unexpectedly – a conservative politician, a fiery socialist, a nearsighted ingénue, a zany modern dancer – each with a long-held secret. When one of the guests is murdered, it’s left to Bridgit, the feisty Irish maid with a macabre interest in homicide, to solve the crime. Death by Design is more than homage – it’s a new classic!
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CAST: 4f, 4m
RUN TIME: Approximately two hours, including intermission Appropriate for all audiences
“Playwrights don’t write comedies like they used to. That common complaint is totally disproved by Rob Urbinati’s wildly funny Death by Design. The play is exquisitely crafted in the style of British playwright Noel Coward with a major added fillip: an Agatha Christie-style whodunit . Death by Design is complete with interesting, over-drawn characters, brilliant comic repartee and wonderfully incisive social commentary.” - The Forecaster
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Target Audiences: High Schools, Colleges, Professional Theatres, and Amateur/Community Theatres
Death by Design: A Comedy With Songs and Murder
Published by Concord Theatricals/Samuel French
The same play as Death by Design, with two songs written in the style of Noël Coward by Peter Mills. Recorded accompaniment available upon request.
“Rob Urbinati’s idea of melding Noel Coward and Agatha Christie into something new, something more is so brilliant it’s amazing no one thought of it before. Snappy, urbane dialogue, delightful archetypes and a dash of slapstick blend into some kind of stylized, comedic wonder. Two clever tunes by Peter Mills add that perfect touch to a highly entertaining evening.” - Omaha World Herald.
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Target Audiences: High Schools, Colleges, Professional Theatres, and Amateur/Community Theatres
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Mama's Boy
Published by Concord Theatricals/Samuel French
The riveting story of Lee Harvey Oswald and his complex relationship with his overbearing mother, Marguerite, Mama’s Boy follows Marguerite's reckless attempts to reunite her family, from Lee's return to the U.S. from Russia, through the assassination of Kennedy, to her son's own murder and her defense of his innocence in the months that follow. A fascinating examination of family dynamics and obsessive maternal devotion played out in the shadow of history.
CAST: 2f, 2m
RUN TIME: Approximately two hours, including intermission. Mature subject matter.
“Rob Urbinati's new and gripping play Mama's Boy is perhaps the most insightful portrait of manipulative motherhood in recent times. The play achieves its goal — to be both a provocative study in familial disharmony and a startling consideration of domestic events behind a national tragedy.” - CURTAIN UP
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Target Audiences: Colleges, Professional Theatres, and Amateur/Community Theatres
Jane Austen's Lady Susan
Published by Concord Theatricals/Samuel French
In this charming and briskly-paced period comedy, Lady Susan, a young widow, flees London and arrives at the country home of her obliging brother-in-law and his suspicious wife. Soon to come – uninvited – are an eligible suitor, her willful daughter, her chatty confidante and a dimwitted bachelor. Lady Susan schemes for position and wealth, but all does not go according to plan as she and her daughter become rivals for the same man.
CAST: 4f, 3m
RUN TIME: Approximately one hour and forty-five minutes. Can be performed with or without an intermission. Appropriate for all audiences.
“Though recently widowed, Lady Susan’s indiscretions in London have earned her the distinction of “most accomplished coquette in England.” So when she shows up in the country for a surprise stay with her brother-in-law Charles and his annoyed wife Catherine, she’s followed by a parade of people. Almost immediately, the widow’s charm and self-serving modus operandi upend everything - and since this is Jane Austen – everyone complains, snipes, and rhapsodizes about it with glorious wit in this deliciously verbal comedy of manners.” - Portland Phoenix
“Rob Urbinati’s Lady Susan captures the essence of Jane Austen’s story, as well as her humor. Today’s women can easily understand that Lady Susan ‘seduces and schemes’ because she has no options – she cannot get a job or own property. The plight of a penniless widow trying to make a life for herself and her daughter is effectively conveyed with sympathy and biting wit. I enjoyed Jane Austen’s Lady Susan very much!” – Carolyn Jack, The Jane Austen Society of North America
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Target Audiences: Colleges, Professional Theatres, and Amateur/Community Theatres
Miss Julie En Hollywood
Published by Next Stage Press
In Beverly Hills in the fifties, Julie, the volatile, sultry daughter of a wealthy studio mogul, aggressively pursues John, her father’s chauffeur - a suave, ambitious Mexican born in a squalid L.A. barrio. Class, ethnicity and gender are explosively explored in this bilingual adaptation of Strindberg’s classic play.
En los años 50 en Beverly Hills, Julie, la inestable hija sensual de un magnate rico de los estudios de cine, agresivamente persiguea John, el chofer de su papa - un ambisioso encantador mexicano nacide en un barrio escuálido en Los Angeles. Se exploran de forma explosiva la clase, la etnia y el género en esta adapatacion biligue de la obra clásica de Strindberg. Miss Julie En Hollywood is written to be performed bilingually, but can also be presented entirely in English or Spanish. Subtitles available on request. También se puedepresentar totalmente en inglés o en español.
CAST: 2f, 1m
RUN TIME: Approximately 75 minutes. Performed without intermission. Mature Subject Matter.
“A knock-out punch! Miss Julie is transported from late 19th century Europe to 1959 Beverly Hills, and the result is a fascinating study of women, power and desire.” Seattle Weekly
“Un puñetazo! Miss Julie es translada del siglo 19 en Europa al año 1959 en Beverly Hills, y el resultado es un estudio fascinante sobre la mujer, el poder y el deseo.” - Seattle Weekly
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Target Audiences: Colleges, Professional Theatres and Amateur/Community Theatres, Spanish- language Theatres
Cole Porter's NYMPH ERRANT
Published by Stage Rights
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From a Swiss boarding school, to a French seaside resort, to a Parisian jazz club, to an Austrian nudist colony, to a Venetian palace. to a Greek battlefield, to a Turkish harem, to an Arabian desert, to the Folies in Paris, follow the outrageous adventures of young Eve Edwards and her international school chums as she sets off on a world-wide adventure, vowing to “experiment” before returning home to her betrothed. This naughty, delightful new adaptation is a sleek, fresh take on a rarely heard gem.
“There are songs in Cole Porter’s score that chime with the unmistakable wit of Porter at his smartest and gayest!” The New York Times
“Cole Porter concocted a fizzy female fantasy, racy in its day, that still feels a bit radical. The scenario is fodder for a musical with not one but two diva parts. That’s not counting the leading lady, and four more choice characters for women. That’s seven out of a cast of 10. Feminist, indeed! Of course the biggest star here is Porter’s music and lyrics, which are, as ever, an astonishment and a joy.” - New York Theatre Review
CAST: Minimum: 7f, 3m. With no double casting, 21 roles, with as big a chorus as you like.
RUN TIME: 2 hours plus intermission
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Orchestrations available
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Appropriate for all audiences
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Tempests
Published by Next Stage Press
A Short Play about a disabled actor who behaves inappropriately at an audition.
Published in the collection, “Disability Forward! Short Plays with Disabled Characters.”
Target Audience: Short Play Festivals
