Drama.  65-75 minutes.  3 males (2 men, 1 boy), 4 females (3 women, 1 girl).  Suitable for high school and middle school performers, middle school and older audiences.  First performance royalty:  $80.  Each additional performance:  $60.  All licenses include permission to make copies of the script as necessary for production.  Professional rights should be negotiated directly with YouthPLAYS at info@youthplays.com.

Note: the actress playing Penny must assume the role of a child with integrity and honesty. Also, because the piece deals with the subject of death there must be room for discussion built into the platform if younger children are viewing it.

Prefer to print your perusal script?  YouthPLAYS is happy to provide printable PDF files of our plays for customers who would prefer to evaluate material offline.  Just click the Place an Order button above and select the Printable Perusal option.  A printable copy of this play is $7.50.  Our non-printable perusals will, of course, continue to be free.

A memory play, Mrs. Murphy’s Porch is set in 1986 and the present.  Penny (a young woman in her late twenties) recalls the year “her eyes were opened” by personal tragedy, and those who participated in her imaginary adventures. The play begins with the words of Ronald Reagan as he speaks to the nation in the wake of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.  Penny’s best friend, Henry is devastated by the loss.  While the town discusses the tragedy with sadness, Penny’s mother and father consult the family doctor and neighborhood matriarch, Mrs. Murphy, about the far more personal impending loss overshadowing Penny.  Should they force her to stop pretending and face the truth?  Does imagination help a child come to terms with grief in their own way?  Through imaginative play, Mrs. Murphy guides Penny to a place where she can finally face the tragedy behind the door.