Fran Handman

A Canadian abolitionist, Dr. Milton Alexander Ross, risks his life to help slaves escape to Canada. He has many hats, medical doctor, ornithologist, naturalist that he uses to secure invitations to southern plantations as a visiting scientist doing research and in this way, comes into direct contact with slaves. Dr. Ross was a Scottish Presbyterian, he didn't smoke, swear, drink, etc. and did not approve of anyone who did, especially women. In short, he was a stuffed shirt. His attitude toward any slave he met was paternalistic. In North Star he was studying the southern bird, the Grebe at the Carlton plantation when a slave disappeared. Ross was accused of helping him escape. In the first scene he is being tried in a southern court and sentenced to be hung when Mrs. Carlton showed up in court with the slave in question. As he is leaving town he is approached by a beautiful woman, Melanie Turner, who tells him she is escaping from a dangerous abusive husband. Can she ride out with him? He agrees and then, during their journey, finds out that she is actually an escaped slave - a very immoral one - she smokes, swears and is escaping from a brothel and from the very unpleasant lawyer, Simon Jarrell,who was the trial lawyer in the court case. However, despite his strict code of morals Ross is also an adventurer and is intrigued by the idea of escaping with light-skinned Melanie under their very noses - as long as she behaves. In the next scene in the woods Ross has arranged to meet with another escaped slave - Girard - who it turns out worked with Melanie in the same brothel. The brothel connection is news to Ross. Girard, with instructions from Ross, goes on his way. Ross, exhausted from the days' events insists they go to an inn for refreshment and rest before going on. There, he apologizes for thinking harshly of her while she explains the circumstance of her life. As they continue on their journey, finally having to go underground, Ross, a married man, discovers to his confusion that he is strongly attracted to Melanie, not only mentally, but physically, which he doesn't know how to handle. Girard comes into their life again. They are being pursued by Jarrell who is determined to get his get and punish Melanie. Finally, after a few twists and turns, Melanie and Ross end up in an abolitionist home in Ohio, preparing to cross into Canada, when Jarrell catches up to them. They manage to avoid him and end up in Canada, safely. Through Melanie, Ross has taken a journey and is a changed man. In the end they part ways and Ross goes on to new adventures. Here is a draft of the book (OPEN TO CHANGES) and lyrics. There is no composer at this point, but contact me if you are interested in collaborating.

MR. Zero finds himself in the Elysian Fields. He has just been executed and he doesn't understand why he is there, He is a convicted murderer and this place with music and trees is the last place he expected to be. He talks about his life, the murder and why it was inevitable for him to become a murderer. He talks about Daisy, his co-worker joining him and how they had a moment of freedom as they danced to the music. He is joined by Ido and Edo, two attendants who tell him this is only a waiting place before he is returned to use up what is left of his shriveled soul. He rebels and pleads his case. He danced with Daisy. He never danced before. He felt a moment of joy. Maybe there is some hope for him.

This is a monologue
Samson's mother is trying to talk a rabbi into talking with Samson. She is very upset that he's running around with that Jezebel, Delilah who she doesn't trust. She is asking to many questions about his hair. She goes into what it was like to have a child like Samson who she finally realized had a strange talent and how she dealt with that talent. But now she has a strange sense of foreboding. The rabbi finally agrees so talk to Samson. "And, rabbi, since you're coming would you mind bringing your beautiful daughter, Rachel.

After many years of bitter separation Helen meets with her brother John who needs her help.
Helen had an abusive country club husband who she divorced and then married an African American man. She was ostracized by her family who testified against her in her search for custody of her children. John's daughter has a serious drug problem and will accept only Helen as her mentor to help her recover. Helen works out a deal with her brother that if she helps his daughter he is to help reverse the custody decision for her children. At the end, there is a tentative conciliation.

At the beginning of the play a disheveled, disgruntled Mother Earth is taking her temperature. It's UP!!
She rants about those idiotic homo sapiens who are trashing the earth. One thing she doesn't get. When it was decided to get rid of the homo sapiens with the big flood, it would have made sense to have made some adjustments before bringing them back. She knows what she would have done.

It is a satirical look at the experimentation with existing plays that goes on in the theatre departments in universities and also the risks that universities take on with plays that are controversial. In On the Fence, Vanessa Cantry and Roger Edwards, the head of the drama department and her assistant are in competition. Vanessa decides to research material for a play about the White Supremacists by frequenting one of their dives until the question arises as to whether the Dean would go along with a play that could jeopardize the safety of the university and its staff. Would Vanessa stand behind her decision that might get her fired or not?

Veronica, an attractive older woman in her 60's is sunning herself on a bench in the park. Jerry, same age, is passing by, spots her, finds her attractive and decides to sit with her, when he discovers a copy of National Enquirer on the bench next to her. A lightly contentious discussion follows about her politics, her intelligence, the value of peanut butter while she flirts with him and the attraction increases. She is about to accompany him to his apartment when the phone rings. It is Bernardo. She agrees to meet him in 15 minutes and with a hasty goodbye to a.confused, annoyed Jerry, leaves. He looks around and picks up the National Enquirer.

A father has secretly turned in his son who he suspects of terrorist activities. It explores the struggle he has in doing so and of trying to understand how this could have happened and living with the pain that he can share with no one, least of all, his wife Helene.

Angie, a middle-aged/elderly woman with limited expectations and money, plays mind games to alleviate the boredom of her life. On her way home from a boring temp job the game is that if the bus passes her before she gets home that she will be stuck wherever the bus passes her. And it comes to pass. She is stuck in front of a house. She is limited to only entering the house which is occupied by a young couple. They eventually move out and she is alone. Her options narrow and the walls start closing in. She takes this all with equanimity until she realizes she may be disappearing.

Angie Holcomb, a middle aged woman, plays mind games to relieve her boredom with her temp job, and her life, in general. One of her games is to beat the bus on her way home from work and if it passes her before she gets home she is stuck where it passes her. One cold winter night it actually happens - she is stuck and the only place she can go is to the home of strangers - a young couple. The police are called, then a psychologist, etc. the newspapers. No one can solve the mystery. As her options run out she finally disappears. Or did it really happen?

SAM has a mission. On the surface he comes off as a brash, in your face, goose but his/her mission is to help dreamers follow their passion against all odds. His dreamers are Caroline, a very unkempt princess who roams the forest in search of curative plants from which she makes potions which smell up the palace to the disgust of her mother, Queen Aleeda, who nags the her husband, King Gorman, to do something about Caroline. He likes Caroline because she laughs at his riddles. The other dreamer is Jeremy, a woodcutter, who's passion is charting the stars against the interference of his loutish woodcutter brothers. Sam arranges for Caroline and Jeremy to meet. They fall in love and through magic and machinations Sam helps the young lovers follow their dreams.

The breakup of a human family is seen through the eyes of their dog, Tiny Alice, a big, drooling dog, who now finds herself transported from the exurbs to an apartment in the city with her mistress. The play takes place in a dog run where Tiny Alice meets Tiger, a small, yappy dog and shares her experience with him.

It's a surprise birthday for grandma Hannah - a secular Jewish grandma who sees disaster at every turn. On her way to the party with her son-in-law she envisions something dire awaiting her. They are meeting with her granddaughter and husband, an ultra-orthodox Jew. At the party, nothing is quite right and when she finds out that her granddaughter and her husband and children are planning to celebrate Passover with someone else, she loses it completely. On her way home, her daughter's husband cautions her that the more she expresses her disapproval of her granddaughter's life, the further she will alienate her and bring about what she fears - a complete rift.

There is a conversation between Moses and his mother, Jochebed. There is trouble in the desert. People are fed up with manna and are staging protests, talking about going back to Egypt where at least they could get a decent meal. Jochebed asks Moses if he couldn't intervene and maybe ask God for some chickens for some chicken soup. Moses is infuriated but says he will think about it. Jochebed also wonders why, in almost 40 years they still haven't found the promised land. Moses reprimands her. You do not question God. So you won't ask for the chickens? Moses will give it some thought. What's for breakfast? What's for breakfast? Guess.

Prudence's psychic told her that unless she confronts a man who abused her in another life she can never have a meaningful relationship and that she will meet that man in a bar that night. When a lone, slightly drunk, unsuspecting man, Ernest, in a bar offers her a drink she confronts him - the life in question was in Italy, 1490, when he was Carmine and they had two children Annuncia and Guiseppe who came to bad ends because of his neglect and other women. He dissolves in tears and promises to be a better man if only she will have dinner with him. She tells him to get a grip. According to her psychic, Guiseppe became an artist, Armand, in another life in Paris. A second man, overhearing the conversation, pretends to be Armande, invites her to dinner and she goes off with him, with Ernest shouting after them about respect for a father.