First Class

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Exclamation! Publishers

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First Class ~ A Hicks From the Sticks Hoax in One Act, by Ludwig Thoma, translated and adapted by Alma Thieme.

One-act "farce" by Ludwig Thoma. Translated and adapted by Alma Thieme.

Ludwig Thoma wrote FIRST CLASS in 1910. It debuted on August 12, 1910 in a folk theater in Egern/Tegernsee. And then "debuted" again in Munich on March 4, 1911.

Alma Thieme has taken Ludwig Thoma's raucous romp and made it relevant for a US public. She preserved the turn-of-the-20th-century setting, but action takes place in rural Texas instead of Munich, Germany.

The bawdy, funny tale (PG-content, not R-rated) of the politician with a self-inflated ego matching wits with a country bumpkin he deems "beneath" him will keep your audience in stitches. Sometimes the dialog and action border on the slapstick, and indeed, it would have found resonance with vaudevillian performers. Nevertheless, the serious heart never stops beating, and Thoma's patented folk wisdom wins out, as usual.

Nine players in all: 7 adult males, 2 adult females, and 2 smaller roles that could be either (junior and senior conductor) if necessary.

Script can be ordered through our online store ($10 each ~ either 1 copy only for perusal purposes, or minimum order of 10 scripts).

Royalties: For high school, college, university, and community theaters, $50 for the first performance, $35 for each subsequent performance. Can be paid online.

To order scripts or pay royalties, click here.

For-profit professional theaters: Please write us for quote.

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Exclamation! Publishers

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Date of last update: 18 March 2008