Charles Dickens Writes A Christmas Carol
Based on a short note in Dicken’s own journal, this adaptation puts Dickens himself centerstage as the characters in the story argue, debate and cajole him into writing his most famous work.
“For those who love the tradition of A Christmas Carol but have heard “God bless us, everyone one!’ just once too often, Scott Palmer’s splendidly imaginative adaptation of the classic story…could be just the thing…” – Carol Wells, The Oregonian
7 actors
Macbeth
Relying on original source materials, this adaptation centers the action on the question, “What happened to the children of the Macbeths?”
“At the best of times, this can be one of the hardest plays in Shakespeare’s canon to mount, but Palmer’s fresh, steamlined version cleans it up and clarifies it with new material…” - Holly Johnson, The Oregonian
6 actors
It’s A (Somewhat) Wonderful Life
The first in the “KBNB Trilogy,” this fast-paced, over-the-top holiday farce imagines a disastrously live broadcast of the holiday classic, It’s A Wonderful Life, performed by a group of misfit radio actors from the 1940s.
”It’s A (Somewhat) Wonderful Life is many things – fast-paced, funny, engaging, and witty, to name just a few…too good a show to be limited to one run…” Tina Arth, Westside Theatre Reviews
6 actors
A Miracle on 43rd Street
The second of the KBNB trilogy, this script takes the beloved A Miracle on 34th Street and does horribly hilarious things to it.
“Palmer’s sly script leaves hardly any dead spots and packs so much hilarious action into each section of this three-ring circus that there’s always something funny going on.” - Brett Campbell, Oregon Arts Watch
7 actors
A KNBN Kristmas Karol
The final installment sees the stars of KBNB facing the end of radio and the beginnings of the golden age of television.
“a once in a lifetime, over-the-top explosion of theatrical farce that blows away its own foundation and leaves the audience wondering “what happened?” - Brett Campbell, Oregon Arts Watch
8 actors
Adaptations
All adaptations are available for licensing. Use the “contact me” page to request a review script and to discuss performing rights fees.
Romeo&Juliet/Layla&Majnun
Combining Shakespeare’s tale of star-cross’d lovers with one of the most famous and beautiful Persian epic-poems ever written (Layla and Majnun by Nizami Ganjavi), Romeo&Juliet/Layla&Majnun is a powerful and haunting cross-cultural exploration. Featuring Shakespeare’s verse interwoven with Ganjavi’s brilliant poetry (some in the original Farsi).
”A script that benefits from the best of both its sources — the lush beauty and dramatic depth of Nizami’s poetic setting, and the equally lyrical words and page-turning plot that has always made Romeo & Juliet so popular…” - Brett Campbell, Oregon Arts Watch
Lear
Focused on the relationship between Lear and his three daughters, this stripped down adaptation relies heavily on original source materials, including text from The True Chronicle History of King Leir and His Three Daughters from 1605, Holinshed’s Chronicles from 1577, Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen from 1590 and The Mirror For Magistrates from 1559.
“It is rare to see a production that engages so thoroughly and creatively with the substance of a great Shakespearean text – this is a 21st century Lear to cherish.” – Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman Newspaper
The Merry Wives of Windsor, or the Amorous Adventures Of the Comical Knight Sir John Falstaff
John Dennis, a relatively unknown playwright of the Restoration period, adapted Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor into a far funnier, much bawdier, and more complex comedy. This adaptation take Dennis’ almost completely unknown script and transports it to a TV soundstage, performed as a black and white sitcom.
”Scott Palmer has rescued the scraps of playwright John Dennis’s Shakespeare-cribbing script about loutish Shakespearean ladies man Falstaff, and breathed new intrigue into his “amorous adventures” by setting the play in a ’50s television sitcom, complete with a theme song, savvy product placement, and a black-and-white set.” - The Willamette Week
10 actors
The Taming of the Shrew & The Woman’s Prize
The first time in history that Shakespeare’s play is paired with Fletcher’s sequel, combining both scripts into a single play.
“This is exactly the sort of provocative, intellectually curious project that contemporary theater should be taking on…” - Bob Hicks, The Oregonian
11 actors playing 22 roles
The Tempest, or the Enchanted Isle
An edited down version of Dryden and Davenant’s Restoration-era romp through Shakespeare’s The Tempest. A fast paced, hilariously complex and slapstick retelling, filled with Restoration-era bawdiness, of a rarely-performed script.
“A sea-change to the Bard’s original, in grand Restoration style. It is, really, Shakespeare twice removed, an adaptation of an adaptation, part revival and part rebellion…irreverent, counter-cultural, and something rich and strange…” - Marty Hughley, The Oregonian
14 actors.
Infinite Variety
A “greatest hits” of Shakespeare’s female characters, Infinite Variety highlights both characters from his plays along with imagined scenes featuring selected dialogue from throughout the canon. A celebration of Shakespearean women, and a tour-de-force opportunity for 4 actors playing dozens of roles each.
“A very special show, a fast-paced, exciting new showcase of Shakespeare’s greatest female characters…A rollercoaster of a show exploring how the Bard’s women rise to the challenges of life from the first flush of young love to the pain of death and loss.” – The Dominion Post
4 actors
Kabuki-Titus
A savagely cut script, featuring only 5 actors, heavily influenced in form and style by the grand Japanese traditions of Kabuki theatre. Both beautiful and horrifying, Kabuki-Titus looks at Shakespeare’s most violent and bloody play through a lens of movement and stylized performance.
“A kabuki-inspired adaptation of Titus Andronicus, which successfully unites the exaggerated grotesquerie of Shakespeare's grisliest tragedy with the haunting grace of Kabuki movements…” - The Willamette Week
5 actors
Richard III
What if we saw the world through King Richard’s eyes? This is the premise of this dark comedy that imagines a world in which every character in the play manifests their own greed, avarice, ambition and jealousies in their bodies while Richard remains hearty and hale.
“A play unlike any production of the play put on before... Palmer gives the audience the chance to see the world through Richard’s wicked eyes and the result is a look at characters that is both dark and decidedly comedic…” - Stephanie Haugen, Pamplin Media
9 actors playing 18 roles
The Six Gentlepersons of Verona
Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona has been a challenging play to produce for hundreds of years. In this fun, musical retelling of the tale, 5 women portray all of the characters, with a dog rounding out the cast of 6.
“The success of the production is not in the original story itself which but rather lies in Palmer’s brilliant and innovative adaptation…” - Dennis Sparks Reviews
5 actors
Coriolanus, or the Roman Matron
Using Thomas Sheridan’s 1749 adaptation of Shakespeare’s original, this script gives an all-female cast a sharper, faster and more streamlined tale of political power struggles and tension between the political elite and the masses.
“the first recorded performance in U.S. history of Thomas Sheridan’s 1754 adaptation…the production has an explosive energy… Clocking in under two hours, the show barrels along with the vigor and electricity of General Coriolanus himself, and it’s not until the final moments of the play that the audience even has a chance to process the destruction.” - Grace Culhane, Willamette Week
10 actors
Caesar
Combining Shakespeare’s powerful tale of political intrigue and revenge with the almost completely forgotten play Caesar In Egypt by Colley Cibber, this adaptation is a tight, taut and electrifying exploration of power and passion.
“Palmer’s approach to the play goes well beyond “adaptation” – he reimagines the play into a powerful and cohesive story that breathes new life into what can be a mind-numbing maze of plots and characters…” - Tina Arth, Westside Theatre Reviews
11 actors
The Silent Woman
Often described as one of Ben Jonson’s best plays, The Silent Woman, or Epiocene has also been described as “impossible to stage!” This adaptation takes the impossibly complex original and simplifies the plot, condenses down the character list, and lifts up the style and hilarity.
"Palmer has taken a gargantuan monster of a play and tamed it, retaining all of its wit and charm and making it, finally, accessible to audiences who have waited more than 400 years to see it staged.” - Helen Cathron, Oregon State University Press
12 actors
The Comedy of Errors
Shakespeare’s delightfully goofy story of mistaken identities, twin sets of twins separated at birth, and hilariously complicated storylines gets the Bugs Bunny treatment in this adaptation that places the play into a Warner Bros. universe of slapstick comedy.
“The attempt to make Shakespeare seem relevant is famously fraught with unfortunate outcomes, but this adaptation of The Comedy of Errors in the playful style of an animated cartoon works! An excellent, sweet and irreverent way to get your fix of the bard…” – Carol Wells, The Oregonian
8 actors
Twelfth Night
Think The Great Gatsby meets Malvolio in this slimmed down adaptation of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy. Using selected poetry from F. Scott Fitzgerald and original source material from the Italian comedy Gli Ingannatori (The Cheats) and the short story “Of Apollonius and Silla” by Barnabe Rich, this adaptation adds glitter to the sands of Illyria.
“This adaptation by Scott Palmer relocates the action in both time and place - to the height of the roaring twenties, turning the show into a delightful garden party-style romp that even F. Scott himself would attend.” - KOIN 6 News
10 actors
