Phil Olson

Phil Olson grew up in Edina, Minnesota, was All-Ivy in football and track at Dartmouth College where he majored in mathematics, tried out for the Chicago Bears, went on to get an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and pursued a business career while writing stage plays. Phil has written 19 published plays that have had 450 productions in eight countries. Thirteen of his plays are published by Samuel French/Concord Theatricals, including: “A Nice Family Gathering,” "A Nice Family Christmas," “Mom’s Gift,” “Don’t Hug Me,” “A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol,” A Don’t Hug Me County Fair,” “Don’t Hug Me, I’m Pregnant,” “Don’t Hug Me, We’re Married,” "Don't Hug Me, We're Family," "A Twisted Christmas Carol," "Birthday Club," Love...or Best Offer" and “Polyester The...

Phil Olson grew up in Edina, Minnesota, was All-Ivy in football and track at Dartmouth College where he majored in mathematics, tried out for the Chicago Bears, went on to get an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and pursued a business career while writing stage plays. Phil has written 19 published plays that have had 450 productions in eight countries. Thirteen of his plays are published by Samuel French/Concord Theatricals, including: “A Nice Family Gathering,” "A Nice Family Christmas," “Mom’s Gift,” “Don’t Hug Me,” “A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol,” A Don’t Hug Me County Fair,” “Don’t Hug Me, I’m Pregnant,” “Don’t Hug Me, We’re Married,” "Don't Hug Me, We're Family," "A Twisted Christmas Carol," "Birthday Club," Love...or Best Offer" and “Polyester The Musical.” His plays have won over 40 playwriting and theatre awards. Two of his plays have been adapted and optioned to made into feature films. Movie actor, Burt Reynolds, saw his play, “A Nice Family Gathering," and had it optioned. After his death, the director renewed the option. Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days) starred in a production of Phil's play, “Mom's Gift,” at the Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester, MI, which is the other play that's under option. Phil has also sold two screenplays and script doctored three screenplays that were produced. For more info, visit PhilOlson.com

Scripts

Birthday Club

by Phil Olson

Cast Size

5

Genre

comedy

Five women get together for their birthdays, each with their own story, to drink, celebrate, commiserate, and support each other as they negotiate through marriage, work, divorce, birth, kids, and solve the problems of the world.

Cheryl, Karen, Monica and Abbie started Birthday Club five years ago when their friend, Jennifer, was diagnosed with cancer, as a support group to help her get through it. When...

Five women get together for their birthdays, each with their own story, to drink, celebrate, commiserate, and support each other as they negotiate through marriage, work, divorce, birth, kids, and solve the problems of the world.

Cheryl, Karen, Monica and Abbie started Birthday Club five years ago when their friend, Jennifer, was diagnosed with cancer, as a support group to help her get through it. When Jennifer recently passed away, they had an opening for a new member. However, it’s not easy to join Birthday Club. Birthday Club is very exclusive, and there’s a three year waiting list. They bring in Sarah as a potential member, but first Sarah must make it through the “interview” and agree to abide by the eight rules of Birthday Club, to be considered an official member.

One by one we learn of their personal, work and family issues, and when it’s revealed that one of them went out with another’s husband, the Vodka hits the fan. The question is, will Birthday Club survive, or will Rule #5 end it forever.

For a FREE perusal script, for licensing or to schedule a Zoom reading contact OlsonPlays@gmail.com.

A Twisted Christmas Carol

by Phil Olson

Cast Size

5

Genre

adaptation,

comedy,

fantasy,

holiday,

parody/spoof

A Twisted Christmas Carol is a Texas spoof of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

It’s Christmas Eve in a small west Texas town and cantankerous barbecue joint owner Buford Johnson gets in an argument with his wife, Darla, tells her he's skipping Christmas, he storms out of the restaurant, goes four wheeling in his pickup, gets hit by a twister, rolls his truck and goes into a coma. He comes back in his dream...

A Twisted Christmas Carol is a Texas spoof of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

It’s Christmas Eve in a small west Texas town and cantankerous barbecue joint owner Buford Johnson gets in an argument with his wife, Darla, tells her he's skipping Christmas, he storms out of the restaurant, goes four wheeling in his pickup, gets hit by a twister, rolls his truck and goes into a coma. He comes back in his dream where he's visited by ex-business partner, Hank Walker, who plays the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. Hank takes Buford (Scrooge) on a journey similar to that in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" only Texas style.

For a FREE perusal script, for licensing or to schedule a Zoom reading contact OlsonPlays@gmail.com.

A Nice Family Gathering

by Phil Olson

Cast Size

7

Genre

comedy,

drama,

faith-based,

fantasy,

holiday

A Nice Family Gathering is story about a man who loved his wife so much, he almost told her.

It’s Thanksgiving Day and the first family gathering at the Lundeen household since Dad died. At the gathering, Dad comes back as a ghost with a mission; to tell his wife of 35 years that he loved her, something he neglected to tell her while he was alive. The problem is, she can’t hear or see him. The trouble begins...

A Nice Family Gathering is story about a man who loved his wife so much, he almost told her.

It’s Thanksgiving Day and the first family gathering at the Lundeen household since Dad died. At the gathering, Dad comes back as a ghost with a mission; to tell his wife of 35 years that he loved her, something he neglected to tell her while he was alive. The problem is, she can’t hear or see him. The trouble begins when Mom invites a date for dinner.

A Nice Family Gathering is available for licensing through Samuel French/Concord Theatricals. Call (866) 979-0447 or go to: https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/2439/a-nice-family-gathering

For more info, visit: http://www.ANiceFamilyGathering.com or http://www.PhilOlson.com

A Nice Family Christmas

by Phil Olson

Cast Size

7

Genre

comedy,

holiday

It’s Christmas Eve and a young newspaper reporter, on the brink of being fired, has been assigned a last chance story about a typical family Christmas - his family. He goes home to his recently widowed mother, his crazy uncle, and eccentric grandmother as well as battling siblings and neurotic spouses with no shortage of material. One by one, we learn of each family member’s secrets, problems and dysfunctions...

It’s Christmas Eve and a young newspaper reporter, on the brink of being fired, has been assigned a last chance story about a typical family Christmas - his family. He goes home to his recently widowed mother, his crazy uncle, and eccentric grandmother as well as battling siblings and neurotic spouses with no shortage of material. One by one, we learn of each family member’s secrets, problems and dysfunctions, and when they learn that he’s writing an article with some very personal family information, the fruitcake hits the fan. The question is, will the magic of Christmas bring this family back together?

A Nice Family Christmas is available for licensing through Samuel French/Concord Theatricals. Call (866) 979-0447 or go to: https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/60328/a-nice-family-christmas

For more info, visit: http://www.ANiceFamilyChristmas.com or http://www.PhilOlson.com

Mom's Gift

by Phil Olson

Cast Size

6

Genre

comedy,

drama,

faith-based,

fantasy,

romantic comedy

In this comedy with a heart, Mom has been dead for 11 months and shows up at her husband’s birthday party as a ghost with a mission. Like Clarence in “It’s A Wonderful Life,” she has to accomplish a task to earn her wings. Only what the task actually is, is a mystery. There are so many things to fix. The problem is complicated by the fact that the only person who can hear or see Mom is her daughter who has been...

In this comedy with a heart, Mom has been dead for 11 months and shows up at her husband’s birthday party as a ghost with a mission. Like Clarence in “It’s A Wonderful Life,” she has to accomplish a task to earn her wings. Only what the task actually is, is a mystery. There are so many things to fix. The problem is complicated by the fact that the only person who can hear or see Mom is her daughter who has been ordered by the court to spend Dad’s birthday with him as part of her Anger Management Program. One by one the family's secrets are peeled away revealing a shocking truth that surprises even our ghost.

Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley) starred in Mom's Gift at the Meadowbrook Theatre in Rochester Hills, MI, in 2017.

Mom's Gift is available for licensing through Samuel French/Concord Theatricals. Call (866) 979-0447 or go to: https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/15075/moms-gift

For more info, visit: http://www.MomsGiftThePlay.com or http://www.PhilOlson.com