Script Excerpts
A list of the script excerpts available on the Untitled Theater Co. #61
website. Scripts are available to perform for a royalty. Contact Edward Einhorn
"One Head Too Many" is one of the three short scripts that made up
Fairy Tales of the Absurd, performed Off-Broadway in 2003. It tells the
story of a Princess who falls in love with her second head.
CAST: The show performed with a cast of 2 women and 3 men, as well as a
number of puppets. However, the number of cast is flexible.
RUNNING TIME: "One Head Too Many" runs 40 minutes. The whole production runs 1 hour 30 minutes.
REVIEWS:
"The laughter feels like spring in Fairy Tales of the Absurd... a bright
production with witty music and puppets galore….Almost unbearably funny.
[Peter B. Brown's] pacing and diction are perfect."
The New York Times, D. J. R. Bruckner, June 18, 2003
"Ionesco's puncturing of pretension and his ability to find pure silliness
in the everyday seem tailor-made for the young...the staging is also hilarious."
The New York Times, Laurel Graeber, June 20, 2003
"Staged with Pop Art panache by Edward Einhorn, Tales for Children...
jauntily lays out Ionesco's thematic preoccupation with the way our minds are duped
from the outset by parental chicanery."
The Village Voice September 18, 2001
"While many adults may find the show enjoyable and humorous,
children savor the zany nature of the fairy tales."
Theatermania, June 13, 2003
"The use of puppetry, bright colored costumes, props, and sets, and
cheerful music between scenes lends this would be-Electra story a bouncy
sensibility that children will appreciate…The costumes in "Head" have a
Mardi Gras quality to them, and the actors' make-up is terrific.
Incrocci's extra head is another example of puppetry executed with
charm and style."
Show Business Weekly June 25, 2003
"Ian W. Hill portrays the most personable and engaging talking food
that I believe I've ever seen on stage. You'll be enchanted by the delicious
variety of two writers' imaginations-Ionesco's and Einhorn's-as they take
you and your family on a pleasant and happy journey to the cockeyed worlds
beyond our own."
Nytheatre.com, June 11, 2003
"The small cast of actors is excellent. Uma Incrocci is a gifted puppeteer.
Peter B. Brown and Celia Montgomery are so versatile that they nearly steal
the show. It's quite an assembly of talent, including the first-rate puppetry.
Curtain Up, June 13, 2003
"Like any good comedy sketch, "One Head Too Many" works on several levels.
The silliness obviously appeals to the very young while at the same time the
witty dialog among the bickering parents can be appreciated by adults. Mr. Einhorn's
particular brand of humor makes this story ideal family fare. Children's theater and
literature are all the richer thanks to Mr. Einhorn's wealth of talents."
PuppetMaster, June 25, 2003
"An unequivocal delight"
Electronic Link, June 18, 2003
"A winning cast...As director, Einhorn demonstrates a perfection of timing and
expression...the gift of Einhorn is the common humanity he injects into his
delightfully idiosyncratic characters."
New York Arts Magazine, September 9, 2002
"A delighful introduction to the wonders of the surreal...light-hearted and
entertaining without becoming sugar-coated."
Off-Off-Broadway Review
"A fun, imaginative and playful time for all."
NYTheatre.com Auust 15, 2002
"A witty exaggeration of the ageless parental ritual of storytelling to children."
New York Theatre Wire
"A very enjoyable show, fabulous for the adults and fabulous the the kids."
"Hi Drama" August 16, 2002
"Peter Brown wittily plays a chef giving a lecture on how to boil an egg,
keeping his tongue firmly in cheek."
Back Stage November 30, 2001
An original Hannukah play in which a contemporary boy meets the historical Judah Maccabee. The play is told in eight scenes, corresponding to the eight days of Hannukah. Judah and the boy find each other in an abandoned room that exists in both the ancient temple in Jerusalem and the boy’s modern day temple, and the boy explains to Judah the odd modern practices that commemorate the ancient battles. At first Judah is horrified, but then he comes to learn why the boy needs those traditions
CAST: 1 man, 1 boy (10 - 13 yrs old)
RUNNING TIME: 60 minutes
An original adaptation of Artistophanes ancient Greek comedy, in which the women
refuse to have sex unless the men call off their war.
CAST: The show was performed with a cast 100, including chorus. As written, it has
16 principal parts, with 11 women and 5 men. The number of chorus is flexible.
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 15 minutes.
REVIEWS:
"Edward Einhorn seems to have done his research. The performances
are lewd without being prurient, and he has reined in his boisterous
ensemble just enough. The production fully utilizes the entire space.
The actors cavort, yell and sing. This is a loud and raucous show. And so
it should be since Lysistrata is after all a comedy. The audience for this
show? Anyone with an appreciation for sex, or drinking -- or even Sex and the City"
Curtain Up
"Overall, Lysistrata 100, is an enjoyable erotic production with strong acting
(including a large chorus handling complex choreagraphy/blocking), a brilliant
sound design/composition by William Niederkorn and sensational directing/writing
by Edward Einhorn who has made the leap from his children's theater off-Broadway
production of Fairy Tales of The Absurd, to the orgiastic rituals of ancient Greece,
with unsettling ease. All in all a fun, risque, energetic, piece of theater with
some of the most talented off-off Broadway people behind it."
Hi! Drama
"Directed by Edward Einhorn, Untitled Theater Company #61 did a fine job of evoking
the agora [the Greek marketplace] and makes good use of the unusual space"
L Magazine
An original adaptation of the play by Euripides, in which Agamemnon is faced with the decision of whether to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia on the eve of the Trojan War.
CAST: 3 women, 5 men, and a chorus of woman (the number is flexible)
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes.
A retelling of the legend of a clay man in 16th century Prague. Rabbi Loew
creates a Golem to defend the Jews, but this Golem seems more interested in
listening to the Rebbetsin's stories and falling in love with the Rabbi's
daughter. Is he the reincarnated spirit of her murdered lover? Or does his
childlike façade hide the face of a demon?
CAST: 3 women, 5 men
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes
REVIEWS:
"Golem Stories' skillful direction, enthusiastic young cast, and fresh approach to the well-known story of the Golem of Prague give
the play an energy and excitement that many larger scale productions don't have...
In it simplicity and directness, Golem Stories is a reminder of the supernatural
quality of the theater, which can transform the most basic elements of speech and
play into something magical."
The Jewish Standard, October 24, 2003
"It really is quite wonderful."
Hi! Drama
"Edward Einhorn has skillfully written a fairy tale and love story for adults.
His writing gives the players great opportunities, such as Rifka's fake mad scene
which is executed with great aplomb. The style is an absurd fantasy; and as the
best of the absurd genre, more than a hint of truth is borrowed from the real world."
Stage Pages
"Rather than simply retell the legend of the Golem, Edward Einhorn has skillfully
woven the original into yet a new cautionary tale; In sum: our words are more powerful
than we imagine."
Artzine
"Einhorn should be commended for seeking the deeper meaning behind the Golem legends."
Off-Off Broadway Review
Four people are quarantined with a curious new disease that causes aphasia,
a condition that makes them lose their powers of speech. Yet as they lose conventional
speech, they find a new language with which to communicate.
STRANGERS CAST: 1 woman, 1 man
RUNNING TIME: 35 minutes
LINGUISH CAST: 2 women, 3 men
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes
REVIEWS:
"The first part, a two-hander pregnant
with Pinter-esque pauses, manages to convey the numbing repetitiveness and frustration of life with an amnesiac.
The second, an inspired absurdist comedy, follows four strangers infected with a mysterious form of aphasia who
are quarantined in a No Exit bunker. Literally at a loss for words, they must invent a new language in order to
communicate—or to keep from going crazy. Side effects may include hilarity, we are told (it's definitely contagious)."
The Village Voice (2006)
"The dialogue is a slow burn of wit,
un-canniness, seduction, and just the right amount of heart-wrenching...[Peter Bean] possesses an unsettling,
calm-before-the-storm quality, as well as a muted sensuality, that makes him a fun and unpredictable fixation.
If the other offerings of NEUROfest are as novel and cerebral as Strangers and Linguish, one might
be obligated to make repeat visits."
Theater Talk
"NEUROfest's presentation of
Strangers and Linguish has captivated me to the point where I'm gunning to buy a NeuroPass.
Strangers...is an extremely well-acted and poignant study of amnesia but Linguish - a witty look
at aphasia (the fascinating, terrifying neurological condition that robs one's ability to use language) - is
the real star of the twin performances. The play is worth seeing for the brilliant ensemble alone, but the
inventive bit of scientific license that describes the disease as an insidious virus is really what makes
this show remarkable. "
L Magazine
"Touching, stark, and entirely
unsentimental, Strangers is a smart, mature, highly effective one-act drama. Peter Bean gives one of his
trademark excellent performances...Nancy Nagrant does excellent work as Sylvia, serving as both our guide into
Richard's muddied consciousness as well as our surrogate...Josephine Cashman is luminous and warm as a psychologist...
Both plays are neatly staged by Einhorn and feature effective production values"
nytheatre.com
"It is unique to find a complete
ensemble performing at such an extraordinary level of skill. "
Hi Drama
"Edward Einhorn combines Beckett's absurd landscape
with Mac Wellman's verbal Cuisinarting, and Oliver Sacks' ruminations into neuro-dysfunctions for his oddly
entertaining foray into aphasia, euphoria, and euphony."
The Village Voice (1997)
"A well-written, well-acted meeting
of Kafka and Oliver Sacks."
New England Review
Antonio says that Shylock was a capitalist. Jessica says that he was a
Freudian nightmare. Tubal says he was a good Jew. Whom is Jacob Levy to
believe? Perhaps Hamlet can guide him. Although this Hamlet seems to be a woman.
Jacob Levy, a mild mannered professor, is taken on a tour of Shakespeare's
Venice, as he tries to find his own answer to Shylock's legacy.
CAST: 3 women, 5 men
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 15 minutes
REVIEWS:
"Einhorn skillfully intersperses the famed soliloquies with his own lines...
[A] hard-working cast of eight romps through 24 roles. In the leads,
John Blaylock plays the professor with a thoughtful performance that
pulls together the disparate elements, and Catherine Dunning brings a
lovely, mocking tone to the role of Hamlet."
Back Stage March 1, 1996
Methuselah, the world's oldest man, has lived through the Flood,
the Plague, Sodom and Gomorrah, Pompeii, and his own extremely poor judgment,
thanks to his wife Serach, the world's oldest woman. Now age and a poor health
regimen have caught up with him, and the doctor tells him he won't make it past
the end of the play. Afflicted with every disease known to man, Methuselah fights
on, flashing back in his delirium to former disasters and fantasizing about having
handmaidens. Will he survive? It ain't necessarily so.
CAST: 3 women, 2 men
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 15 minutes
Rabbi Tzipporah Finestein is having dreams that Moses is a
pirate captain, battling Pharaoh on the high seas. Are they
nightmares, or more? Two congregants may be the key to an answer.
CAST: 2 women, 1 man
RUNNING TIME: 15 minutes
Edward Einhorn takes his Oz novels and brings them to the world of puppetry!
Buddy, a small boy, has a mother who like to perform sorecery and a
good friend who's a magician. But Glinda won't
be happy when she finds out they are defying Oz law to do so. See the Living House,
a two and a half foot tall puppet filled with characters in its windows! See Dr. Majestico
attempt to destroy his own home! See Glinda, Omby Amby, Tempus the Parrot-Ox, and many more!
CAST: 2 women, 2 men
RUNNING TIME: 20 minutes
