FUNding Follies
by Judy Ziegler
a one-act musical revue in six scenes
With music CD and Choreography

About The Play
This play is a fun, easy musical to perform. The songs are familiar, including Another Op’nin’ Another Show, That’s Amore, Do-Re-Me and the Tarantella. When it was originally performed at Theatre for Kids/Teens, most of the students already knew song words enjoyed learning to dance the Tarantella. The production is set in a modern day school, and begins with the announcement of a school summer trip to Italy. A group of students decides to put on a show to raise money for the trip.
This play was written to showcase the talents of many students. Instead of one or two stars, it has 14 parts, each with about an equal number of lines. There’s a cheerleader, a romantic, a karate kid, a comic, a pretty but vain girl, an acrobat, a couple of characters who are quiet and shy, a leader, a drama queen and even a dumb Dora. Everyone gets an opportunity to sing and dance. Although it was originally performed with 12 girls and 2 boys, most of the parts could be played by boys or girls and five of the roles have dual character names.

Characters
Carol: a romantic
Bobby: likes martial arts, somewhat rough
Betty: acrobatic, happy, bouncy
Nancy/Norman: very dramatic
Susan/Sam: practical
April: a cheerleader
Dora: a bit dumb, needs things explained to her
Christie: pretty but vain, worried about her looks
Dorothy: a leader, organizer
Joan: quiet
Johnny: somewhat shy
Diane/Donald: a comedian, makes people laugh
Linda/Larry: friendly
Mary/Marty: helpful

Set, Props, And Costumes
The set can be very simple. Only a couple of benches are required for Scene 1. Two flats or some simple set pieces are needed for Scene 4. The only props are a costume carried by Christie in Scene 2, and small American flags for the “That’s Entertainment” number. Costume period is current. Actors could wear their own school clothes. April should wear a cheerleader’s outfit. For Scene 5, the play-within-the-play, each character should wear something that they could put on over their clothes to indicate the part they are playing: example, a Funny hat for the clown, a short veil for the bride.

Song And Dance Numbers
Suggested choreography is included in the script. These dance numbers are simple. If your cast has experienced dancers, you may want to alter the numbers to add more difficult steps.

Scene 1: Outside of a school building. Afternoon
That’s Amore
Do-Re-Mi
Scene 2: Corridor at school. Once month later

Scene 3: On a school stage. Immediately next
Another Op’nin’ Another Show
Scene 4: On a school stage. Just before showtime
Put On a Happy Face
I Enjoy Being a Girl
Scene 5: On a school stage. The performance.
That’s Entertainment
Scene 6: School corridor, after the performance.

FROM THE PLAY:
Nancy/Norman: Hey, Diane/Donald, you like being in front of an audience. What do you think about putting on some kind of show to raise money for the Italy trip?
Diane/Donald: Great idea! Count me in.
Linda/Larry: Me, too. I love being on stage.
Mary/Marty: I sure would like to go roamin’ to Rome.
Susan/Sam: So are we all agreed? We’ll put on a show, and everybody in the show gets a share of the profits to pay for their trip to Italy.
(Everyone jumps up…they respond….Yeah!….Ok!…. great! Etc.)
Dorothy: All right, so now we have to decide what show we are going to do.
Dora: How about something from Shakespeare?……(overly dramatically) To be or not to be. That is the question…………(Pauses and looks around quizzically) But I don’t remember the answer!
Christie: I would make a wonderful Juliet. She has to be beautiful, but fragile. So lovely that every man wants her and Romeo would rather die than live without her.
Susan/Sam: Oh give me a break! Besides I’d never be able to get all those thee’s and thou’s and wherefore’s.
Johnny: How about a play about baseball. I’m a great pitcher.
Betty: And I’m a little teapot. Short and Stout. Here is my handle. Here is my spout. (she acts out the rhyme mocking Johnny, then laughs. Johnny makes a face at her)
Diane/Donald: Let’s do something funny. I love making an audience laugh. (she steps forward like a standup comedian coming on stage) Did you hear about the new pirate movie that just came out. It’s rated Aaaaaarrrrr.
Joan: That won’t make them laugh, it’ll make them groan!
Nancy/Norman: How about a murder mystery? I can die really well (she pantomimes a long drawn out death, grabbing her throat, falling down, then twitching)
Carol: What about a romance? With a broken heart and then a reunion with a BIG kiss. (She smacks her lips and heads toward Bobby who backs off shaking his head NO)
Mary/Marty: Whatever kind of show we do, I want to build sets and get props and sew costumes. I can help backstage a lot.
Betty: Let’s do a play about the circus. I can be the acrobat! (She does a cartwheel)
Bobby: I like action movies. Let’s do a play with karate……………(Does a wild karate move)

April: Is there a play about cheerleaders? I could even direct that. (She does a cheer) Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah – V-I-C-T-O-R-Y
Linda/Larry: Let’s do a musical. Everybody loves musicals. We’ll get a great crowd and it’ll be fun to do.
Diane/Donald: A musical! But that would mean we would have to sing! I don’t know how to sing.
Dorothy: Singing is easy. It’s as easy as….(she thinks) …reading.
(Everyone – comments Really? No kidding? What do you mean?)
Dorothy: (steps forward and begins to sing DO-RE-ME as if she is explaining it to the other students)
Let’s start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with
All: ABC
Dorothy: When you sing you begin with
Do re mi
All: Do re mi
Dorothy: Do re mi
The first three notes just happen to be
Do re mi
Do re mi
Do re mi fa so la ti
Joan: Doe – a deer, a female deer (mimes petting a deer)
Diane/Donald: Ray – a drop of golden sun (raises arm to indicate the sun)
Christie: Me – a name I call myself (taps her chest)
Dora: Far – a long, long way to run (runs in place)
Carol: Sew – a needle pulling thread (mimes pulling a needle through cloth, very big)
April: La – a note to follow sew (two hands over heart like an opera singer)
Johnny: Tea – a drink with jam and bread (mimes drinking tea with pinky finger up)
All: That will bring us back to…do oh oh oh.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT:
Judy Ziegler is the Musical Theatre Director of Theater for Kids/Teens in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She teaches acting, dance and singing as well as staging at least five musicals per year. She also teaches acting for film and video. In addition, she does choreography for high school and middle school musicals. Judy was an actress, singer and dancer who worked with Jimmy Durante and performed lead roles in musicals in Chicago and New York as well as performing in industrial theater. She is currently a multi-media producer and a writer with two books, numerous video scripts and magazine articles to her credit.