Ellen Abrams

The mother of Prince Philip of England, great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Princess Alice of Battenberg was born into royalty and privilege. But in the course of her long life, Alice would suffer all the traumas of the tumultuous twentieth century. Deaf since birth, Alice learned to read lips in four languages, married into the royal house of Greece and had five children. When Greece entered the First Balkan War, Alice taught herself nursing and established frontline hospitals for the neglected soldiers. But after her relatives in Russia were slaughtered and she was exiled from Greece with her family, Alice began hearing voices and having religious visions. In 1930 was committed against her will by her own mother and diagnosed as a schizophrenic. Alice recovered enough to win her freedom again—only to see her beloved daughter Cécile killed in a terrible plane crash. Yet that trauma seemed to awaken something in Alice, something that pulled her out of the drifting mindset in which she had been existing, propelling her toward decades of service in which she hid a Jewish family from the Nazi occupation of Greece, started a religious order to help the poor, and connected with her family again.

In the course of Bernard L. Madoff’s 150-year sentence for investment fraud, he is visited by the ghostly presence of the most famous—until now—fraudster of them all, Carlo (“Charles”) Ponzi. Bernie is looking for some justification of his crimes from his hero and Carlo is the only man he trusts. They have much in common, much to discuss.

Linda and Jessica haven’t seen one another since junior high school. Although neither has particularly missed the other, Linda is about to run for office, and wants to discover if Jessica remembers a particular incident that Linda has not been able to stop thinking about all these years.

Annie has just been fired yet again. Desperate to find any way to earn money, she consults her granny, Muriel. The answer they hit on could solve Annie’s problems, but it might create others that would be tougher to fix.

A professor of economic history reveals the nature of capitalism through the allegory of Isabelle Bunny and her avaricious desire for the beautiful scooter of another.

SOPHIE harasses her mother PENNY to get her to a store to buy a
special pair of boots before it closes, and while driving there, they
have a poignant conversation.

Eleanor and Alice Roosevelt--friends, cousins, and rivals—meet at eight crucial moments over the course of their lives, to feud, laugh, commiserate, and argue over their husbands, children, the nature of politics, and the state of the world, from their unique vantage points as two of the most influential women in American history.

Gillian Lowell is attempting to cleanse her soul for a past mistake by working for a worthy non-profit. She is not having a very good quarter and is at the point where she will accept money from almost any source in order to keep her job. When the background of a funding source reveals warning signs, Gillian must determine whether or not her job is worth her soul.

Although everyone knows Prince Hamlet as the Melancholy Dane, since he discovered who killed his father, he has gone into business to help others solve their vexing issues. Annette, a woman from our own time, hires the prince to utilize his amateur detecting gifts to help her out.

Finalist in the Garry Marshall Theatre New Works Festival.
Finalist in the Scribe Playwriting Competition.

In 1958, movie star Rock Hudson and his wife Phyllis divorced. She was the last to learn what the rest of Hollywood seemed to know——that her husband was gay and their marriage was a sham, cooked up by Hudson’s agent Henry Willson. In 1985, when Hudson was diagnosed with AIDs, Phyllis looks back at her younger self, conducting a press conference to announce the dissolution of her marriage, and shares what she has learned on the other side of youth.

The Covid-19 lockdown has been going on for months and Carolyn has lost all her friends during it. They haven’t died, they’ve just shut her out. On the other hand, her mother has died, her siblings dislike her, so she really has no one to talk or turn to. Independence is one thing, complete isolation is something else again.

Lara and Rich are a young couple, but Lara is moody and depressed. Together they make plans, but too often Lara backs out of them because her mood has changed and she cannot bear to leave their apartment and see friends.

Lorraine Twomey (who prefers to be called “Lorelei”) wants to be a writer, or some kind of artist. Already in her 40’s, she has never managed to hit upon a career that excites her and she still lives rent-free in a house that her mother owns. When Stephen Doyle, a much younger stepbrother who she hasn’t seen for many years, comes to town for a family reunion, Lorraine tries to latch on to his new success as a published author. She inveigles him to help her with her half-formed plans to write a cookbook and then a one-woman show, hoping that he will guide her to the success she has always craved, but has never had the focus or discipline to pursue.

In the game room of the Shangri-la Senior Living Community, two residents, BABE and SHEILA, bond over ping pong, life after
death…and Frank Sinatra. Part of the fun of this play is that the game is played in pantomime, with the actors making a clicking
noise each time their "racket" makes contact with the "ball." In fact, there is no table, there are no rackets or balls.

Josephine Bonaparte’s beloved pug Fortune reveals the lover he hated most.

Charlotte and Max clean up after a Liars Anonymous meeting and regale each other with creative renditions of their lives that sound suspiciously familiar.

Spouses May and Victor return from a friend’s dinner party, where May seems to have dominated the conversation, much to Victor’s embarrassment. It is not the first time, but it might be the first time that Victor has had the temerity to tell her that she is not the sparkling wit she thinks she is.

Backstage, two married British theatre stars in the 1930s prepare for their imminent performance in a most unusual way.

As any casual student of history knows, Lizzie Borden was exonerated of the murder of her father and step-mother, although few people in her time or today believe that she was not the perpetrator. What happens when a woman like Lizzie, with money, but an unsavory reputation searches for love and companionship?

TONY ROWLAND is a perpetual screw-up in both his personal and business lives. He falls in love easily and divorces readily. Only 35 years old, he has already been married three times. Now, he and his third ex-wife, GINA, who have been divorced for 18 months, have rekindled their romance and want to marry again. In addition, Tony’s needs a financial infusion for his business, and wants to borrow money from his father and mother, ED and SUE. But Ed is a tough father who thinks that his son is failing to face up to his responsibilities as an adult and is tired of bailing him out of the troubles he brings upon himself. Ed and his wife Sue will eventually--and very reluctantly--agree to subsidize Tony yet again, but they will make Tony work very hard for that money.

After 14 years of adulterous marriage--on both sides--Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, is determined to finally divorce his wife Josephine because she has not been able to bear him a son and heir. Taking their cue from 21st-century mediation techniques, both Napoleon and Josephine seek a civilized divorce and attempt to work out their dispute with the help of a mediator. Unfortunately, their passions still run very hot, and they find it difficult to face the issues that must be resolved before they can move on with their lives.

After 14 years of adulterous marriage--on both sides--Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, is determined to finally divorce his wife Josephine because she has not been able to bear him a son and heir. Taking their cue from 21st-century mediation techniques, both Napoleon and Josephine seek a civilized divorce and attempt to work out their dispute with the help of a mediator. Unfortunately, their passions still run very hot, and they find it difficult to face the issues that must be resolved before they can move on with their lives.

After 14 years of adulterous marriage--on both sides--Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, is determined to finally divorce his wife Josephine because she has not been able to bear him a son and heir. Taking their cue from 21st-century mediation techniques, both Napoleon and Josephine seek a civilized divorce and attempt to work out their dispute with the help of a mediator. Unfortunately, their passions still run very hot, and they find it difficult to face the issues that must be resolved before they can move on with their lives.

SYNOPSIS
After 14 years of adulterous marriage--on both sides--Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, is determined to finally divorce his wife Josephine because she has not been able to bear him a son and heir. Taking their cue from 21st-century mediation techniques, both Napoleon and Josephine seek a civilized divorce and attempt to work out their dispute with the help of a mediator. Unfortunately, their passions still run very hot, and they find it difficult to face the issues that must be resolved before they can move on with their lives.

Three strangers meet at a private club and although none of them actually belongs to the club each of them pretends to be a member in order to make a score and impress the others.

A somewhat unsuccessful personal physician in 1840s London,
Dr. Peter Mark Roget, may not be making a splash in the
medical world, but, with the insight of his wise wife,
Antigone, he discovers that he possesses an amazing and
unexpected linguistic gift, one that will send his name and
knack for assigning much needed synonyms to hundreds of
thousands of words down through the centuries.

February 27, 1860. ABRAHAM LINCOLN has just given one of the most important speeches of his life at the Great Hall at Cooper Union, one that will make him an overnight contender for the presidency. When Lincoln goes to the offices of the New York Tribune to proofread the galleys of his speech, he meets a pair of typesetters there: MATT McCARTY, a white teenager and NAPOLEON, a formerly enslaved man and “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. They are soon joined by ELIZABETH HONOR, a self-emancipated woman who works with Napoleon in helping other African Americans who have escaped slavery. The issues their debate raises--including reparations, the myth of white supremacy, and the threat of violent insurrection--are as urgent in America today as they were on the eve of the Civil War.

MAXINE, a waitress in her 30s, has a child she rarely sees or speaks to, and he is angry with her. She moved back into her mother NINA’s apartment, but is thinking of leaving again, although the legal agreement with CHARLIE, her son MICK's father, stipulates she cannot go further than 50 miles with the child. She wants to go much further than that and thinks everyone will be pleased with the arrangement.

Based on true story. It is London in 1961 and Lord Julian Langham (known as “Lucky Langham”), a handsome young earl with a high-stakes gambling habit, falls for Violet Telford, a beautiful young model. They marry and start a family, but Lucan's gambling gets worse. He begins to lose badly and falls into serious debt, much to Violet disappointment and anxiety. After the birth of their second child, Violet suffers terribly from postpartum depression, about which the earl is less than sympathetic. In fact, he wonders if his wife is losing her mind. When the two beautiful people can no longer stand the sight of one another, they divorce and the earl sues for full custody of his children--which he is not granted. Langham decides that the only way to right this miscarriage of justice is to eliminate Violet so he can take custody of their children. But Langham makes a terrible mistake on this particular night. There is a witness--his wife.

In 1215, the wealthy and powerful barons of Great Britain rebelled against grumpy, intransigent King John, who had earned their ill will through incessant wars, attempted conquests, increased taxation, and abuses of power. With a tip of the armour visor to the musical Hamilton, this verse play revisits that insurrection and the disputes behind the creation and signing of the Magna Carta (a document that is considered by many to be the inspiration for the U.S. Constitution).

Part-time actor Jimmy Burns returns to the town in which he
raised his family, to break the news to his grown children of
his intention to marry a local widow he has seen once in the ten
years that he’s been living in Los Angeles, trying to break into
the movies as a middle-aged actor. When his son Hal meets him in
a shabby motel, Hal thinks he has prepared for the worst--but
his father’s plan is so ridiculous that even he is surprised.
And he pulls no punches in telling his father what a mistake he
is making.

Sheila's difficult mother has recently died, and she is attempting to drown her sorrow in wine, until her mother Flora returns for a chat.

THE RANSOM OF RONA, is inspired by the classic O. Henry short story, “The Ransom of Red Chief,” where scoundrels new to town, kidnap the exceedingly annoying child of a rich man for ransom, only to become so vexed with the lad, that they pay the child’s father to take him back.

THE RANSOM OF RONA features a comically exasperating mother of two grown children. Rona a non-stop talker, a teller of incredible tall tales and wild confabulations, with something to say about everything, is kidnapped by a fanatical trio of computer geeks to wreak revenge on her beloved son-in-law for an article he ha written. They don’t know what they’ve let themselves in for.

Monologue of an announcer giving a play-by-play of a thrilling checkers competition
between two children.

Evangeline and Evelyn are sisters whose lives are very
different. One of the few things they have in common is
their rapacious desire to own a painting of their deceased
father’s. Each woman thinks she deserves it more, and is
willing to go to the mat to win it.

An immigrant Jewish girl who rolled stogies for 60 hours a week, ROSE PASTOR STOKES, became an overnight sensation, and was nicknamed the “Cinderella of the Sweatshops” when she married millionaire socialist JAMES GRAHAM PHELPS STOKES. With scarcely any formal education, she became a writer, a public speaker, and a political force to be reckoned with. In 1918 during the First World War, she was arrested--and convicted—for sedition. Her trial and conviction made more headlines, destroyed her marriage (and resonates in today’s ongoing debates over Gaza and Ukraine). Rose left the Socialist Party, helped establish the Communist Party in America, and married again. But by the early 1930s she was dying of cancer. Searching for a cure in a German clinic she hallucinates the appearance of her great friend, Socialist party stalwart and labor leader, EUGENE V. DEBS. Together, they look back at her life and decisions, forcing Rose to reckon with the price she has paid for staying true to her politics and her passions.

JAY and BRENDA have been divorced for some time, but when Jay’s
Huntington’s Disease begins to manifest disturbing symptoms,
Brenda returns to care for him...a little too much.

Sandy finds herself in the jury room with a unique celebrity—-Liza Minelli--and can scarcely contain herself. She hopes for a personal exchange, which almost happens, but alas, Liza has more important people to meet.

Two women meet at the funeral of a man they both knew
intimately.

Ms. Baker, a high school guidance counselor, meets with a variety of students every day. Students come to her
—sometimes on their own—sometimes at their parents’ insistence—each with unique issues and with a distinct attitude toward the counselor. One tries to get over her by insisting on an unusual selection of electives; one besotted couple ask for her intervention with a teacher; one is almost too afraid to speak to her; one is so obsessed with video games that he wants to leave school and play professionally; one is desperate about what her college major should be; one is a mischievous word-repeater who is just cutting class; one is so narcissistic that she not only doesn’t understand why she wasn’t accepted by Harvard and doesn’t understand how anyone else in her school was; one mischievous guy/girl has the bright idea of trying to counsel his fellow students when Ms. Baker steps out of the office; a couple of students can’t find their way around the building; a Goth girl wants to volunteer with kindergarteners; and a student government president has committed an accidental bit of larceny. Ms. Baker tries to help all the kids as best as she can but not every student is equally receptive.

Long-time married couple Bess and Barry gaslight one another to keep their love alive.

Two very young kittens, REMINGTON and REGINA, converse about what their futures might hold. Will one of them be taken through the Big Tall Doors, never to return, or will they stay together where they are?

In a city apartment, one’s neighbors can sometimes hear so much
that they can’t help but chime in what’s going on in their neighbors’ homes.

Dr. Patricia E. Bath was an extraordinary woman, medical
scientist, and researcher. She invented the Laserphaco device
that made cataract surgery much easier for both doctor and
patient. In this play, Dr. Bath sees a young patient whose
vision is compromised, but whose suspicions and fears are
allayed as Dr. Bath reveals some of the story of her own life
and how she made medical history.

New York City is in the midst of a lockdown because of the
COVID-19 virus. It has gone on for months, with no end in sight.
Minutes before the nightly tribute to the front-line workers,
four neighbors meet each other and exchange their anxieties
about their lives, the virus, and share the gossip of the
neighborhood.

A fox, a chihuahua, and a prairie dog are stuck in a construction pipeline waiting for a months-long rain storm to stop. When an evil coyote named Donald lumbers into their sanctuary and threatens their health, the smaller animals have to outwit him to preserve their hiding place—and their lives.

Warning to creative writing students from a creative writer.

CHRIS, a former marine sergeant and new yoga teacher at the gym, has some peculiar ideas about teaching the relaxing, meditative practice to a lone student, ANNE MARIE.