This is another very old play. It was published in 1905 by Baker's Plays. It is an acting edition and was originally priced at 15 cents. It is called Carroty Nell by Thatcher Howland Guild and it is "A Farce in Two Acts". Like the last play it is also barely 24 pages long. It is, however, much more interesting and amusing.
The play is about a group of plucky mischievous orphans led by the red-headed, hence "carroty" Nell. They are often visited at their orphanage by various pious, sanctimonious, do-gooders and Nell has had enough. She decides to show them their hypocrisy and devises a plan that involves sending away the Matron and housekeeper and then assuming the role of matron herself. she is joined by the other orphans and two other a young girl named Beth, whose mother is looking to adopt an young girl with red hair, and Beth's German maid Hebe. Nell's plan works very well and soon Mrs. Croker, two society girls and Helpful Gleaners, a pair of women who sing to raise the orphans spirits are all forced into a variety of crazy antics.
The play is a lot of fun. It would be very fun to perform and despite its brevity of text would work out to be fairly long as it was played as the time to have all the characters engage in their antics would pad out the play. Nell is a funny character with a lot of good malapropisms and asides. Hebe is also pretty cool because as an adult she readily joins in the mayhem and in some sense this legitimizes the shenanigans. There is also nice plot twist in that the Matron and housekeeper each receive real notes which draw them away that are basically the same as the fake ones Nell write to achieve that end. Also there is a clear and satisfying happy ending.
This play has a very big cast for its size and would be good for a student show. I also like that all the characters are female.
The play is about a group of plucky mischievous orphans led by the red-headed, hence "carroty" Nell. They are often visited at their orphanage by various pious, sanctimonious, do-gooders and Nell has had enough. She decides to show them their hypocrisy and devises a plan that involves sending away the Matron and housekeeper and then assuming the role of matron herself. she is joined by the other orphans and two other a young girl named Beth, whose mother is looking to adopt an young girl with red hair, and Beth's German maid Hebe. Nell's plan works very well and soon Mrs. Croker, two society girls and Helpful Gleaners, a pair of women who sing to raise the orphans spirits are all forced into a variety of crazy antics.
The play is a lot of fun. It would be very fun to perform and despite its brevity of text would work out to be fairly long as it was played as the time to have all the characters engage in their antics would pad out the play. Nell is a funny character with a lot of good malapropisms and asides. Hebe is also pretty cool because as an adult she readily joins in the mayhem and in some sense this legitimizes the shenanigans. There is also nice plot twist in that the Matron and housekeeper each receive real notes which draw them away that are basically the same as the fake ones Nell write to achieve that end. Also there is a clear and satisfying happy ending.
This play has a very big cast for its size and would be good for a student show. I also like that all the characters are female.
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