JEFF FLUHARTY
Playwright
Jeff Fluharty’s plays have been produced thousands of times across the United States and internationally. Directors are drawn to this award-winning playwright’s engaging stories, original characters, and wacky humor, making his plays a favorite in theater programs. His scripts feature large flexible casts that provide ample opportunities for actors to showcase their talents. Filled with witty dialogue, plot twists, and physical comedy, Jeff’s clever storytelling has something for everyone.
In addition to writing plays, Jeff co-founded The Jefferson Actors Guild, a drama program for young actors, which he helped establish in 2000. His extensive work with young performers has significantly influenced his writing, leading him to create scripts that challenge and inspire cast members. Jeff focuses on ensemble-driven stories featuring roles that, no matter their size, are meaningful and valued. Through his years of experience, he has learned what works best for both actors and directors, crafting plays that offer a fun and challenging experience for the cast while delivering an entertaining and memorable show for audiences.
Jeff has worked as an educator since 1994 and is currently teaching in Summit, New Jersey. A graduate of the University of San Diego, Jeff also has masters degrees from Rutgers University and Ramapo College of New Jersey. Originally from the Northern California town of La Honda, Jeff lives with his wife and three kids in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.
Published Plays
CAST: Flexible cast of 18-28 (4M, 9F, plus 5-15 roles that can be any)
SET: Simple interior and exterior sets
TIME: About 70 minutes
SYNOPSIS: When a mysterious talking groundhog steals young Ellie’s homework, she takes off down a hole after it and finds herself in a place where nothing is as it seems — the Land of Rejected Fairy Tale Characters. Here, Ellie meets a crazy assortment of misfits who were cut from the fairy tales we all know and love.
There’s her shadow-fearing sidekick, Groundhog; Mac, the eighth and world’s largest dwarf; Jacqueline, the great Giant Slayer armed with a magic polka-playing accordion; and more — Indecisive Goldilocks, Sleepless Beauty, Little Red Robin Hood, Fairy Godfather, and even Big Bad Platypus. Groundhog and the rest of the misfits make a deal to help Ellie find her way back home if, in return, she writes them into stories that can be shared with others. But Queen White-Out and her eraser minions, Pink Pearl and Big Mistake, have other plans. Will the misfits be erased forever, or will they find their own happily ever after?
Bursting with quirky humor and featuring a large cast of whimsical and endearing characters, Fairy Tale Misfits fits the bill for a large cast of young actors looking to deliver big laughs.
CAST: Flexible cast of 19-35, optional doubling
SET: Interior castle set
TIME: About 90 minutes
SYNOPSIS: Tons of magical fun awaits in this one-of-a-kind fractured fairy tale farce!
A kind king and queen have trouble in their royal family — four obnoxious, bratty, adult children who do not live up to their royal titles. There’s the mean Princess Cinnamon, the not-so-bright Princess Peppermint, the vain Prince Hairgel, and Prince Slacker, who thinks being a prince is just way, way too hard. The king and queen try everything to bring happiness and harmony to their family. They hire a royal therapist, bring in royal teachers, and even attempt to marry off their children, all to no avail. The king and queen are ready for a happily-ever-after that doesn’t include adult children still living at home, so they call upon the fairy godmother to help. However, after learning the outrageous cost of hiring the fairy godmother (let alone the permits required), the king and queen decide to create a do-it-yourself magic spell with the help of supplies purchased at The Enchanted Depot. Royal chaos! Of course, nothing goes as planned, but everyone is changed by their experiences. And through a series of haphazard events, the royal family just might live happily ever after, after all.
CAST: Flexible cast of 16-38
SET: Simple interior and exterior sets
TIME: About 75 minutes
SYNOPSIS: A theatre accidentally hires two different playwrights to write a play about Hydrangea Albright, a young girl whose family is cursed with bad luck. One playwright sees her story as a tragedy filled with disappointment and sadness, while the other playwright sees Hydrangea’s story as a whimsical comedy in which failure leads to new opportunity. While the playwrights argue, duel with their pens and even rewrite each other’s scenes, we meet an array of eccentric characters in this play-within-a-play. The episodic tale starts with a curse created by her great-great-grandfather and works its way through several generations of Albrights. From lightning striking a tuba to a case of uncontrollable hiccups to a tree house destroyed by a piece of the International Space Station, we learn that there’s more than one way to react to an unfortunate series of events. With the opportunity for minimalist staging (thanks to the play-within-a-play plot), a structure that allows the characters with the most lines — the narrating playwrights — to keep their lines in front, of them and a remarkable female heroine who teaches us a wonderful moral about staying positive and not acting like a victim, you’ll quickly become a huge fan of this award-winning playwright.
CAST: Flexible cast of 28 (6M, 11F, plus 11 roles that can be any)
SET: Simple interior and exterior sets
TIME: About 60 minutes
SYNOPSIS: Everyone loves a good story, especially when it comes to life! Lucille’s mother tells her the story of “The Princess King” as it unfolds before our eyes on the main stage. Princess Genevieve wants to marry Henry, but he’s just a common cook. Of course, the king thinks this is ridiculous and takes it upon himself to choose who will be the next king and a suitable husband for his daughter. Though the princess begs her father to let her lead the kingdom herself, the king instead decides to hold a contest to find the next king. Princess Genevieve is outraged that she has been reduced to a trophy for her father’s contest, so she and Henry cook up a plot to have Genevieve enter the contest herself. Disguised as a prince, Genevieve is intent on proving to her father that she is worthy to wear the kingdom’s crown. Meanwhile, to cover for her absence, Henry clumsily masquerades as the princess, and Genevieve’s maid tries to cover for the cook! Filled with mistaken identities, tongue-in-cheek humor, and over-the-top characters, your audiences will cheer for the princess as she tries to outsmart Prince Air-Guitar and evil “Prince Fluffy” and battle the great chicken-dragon, with some help from Henry’s delicious lasagna!
Winner of the Shubert Fendrich Memorial Playwriting Contest
