Comedy Archives - Gary Corbin Writing

Voodoo Snowball

Sometimes, the only way to heal a dysfunctional family is through voodoo. Philip, a man of ritual, somehow reached his forties without ever committing to anything – at least, nothing that matters to his parents or his almost-fiancée Elise. But then his sister Danielle informs him that Gus, his estranged father, is dying of lung…

The Odd Couple at Love St. Playhouse

Neil Simon’s classic comedy, “The Odd Couple,” opens as a group of the guys assembles for cards in the apartment of divorced Oscar Madison. And if the mess is any indication, it’s no wonder that his wife left him. Late to arrive is Felix Ungar, who has just been separated from his wife. Fastidious, depressed and…

Prefacing

Jane has an unconscious verbal tic that drives her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend, Mort, over the edge. Way, way over the edge. Length: 7 pages Cast size: 1M, 1W Production History: “Prefacing” was workshopped as part of the PDX Playwrights “Daisy Dukes Shorts Nights” during the 2016 Fertile Ground Festival of New Works, with two performances, all at…

Building Blocks

Abe and Maude have broken up, gotten back together, and now aren’t sure where they stand. Over a game of Jenga, they discover a new way forward. Length: 7 pages Cast size: 1M, 1W Production History: “Building Blocks” was workshopped as part of the PDX Playwrights “Daisy Dukes Shorts Nights” during the 2016 Fertile Ground…

Family Hardware

Finalist, 2019 New Comedy Festival, B Street Theatre, Sacramento, CA Willy is a man of a certain age, who has largely lost interest in sex. His younger wife Katherine’s appetite is as voracious as ever. When Willy’s doctor, Kyle Warren, informs him that his heart is no longer healthy enough for sex, Katherine convinces him…

KleptoFamilia

This family will steal your heart – and maybe your wallet. Cate, a divorced middle-aged woman, is in desperate financial straits – not only from her divorce, but from bailing herself and her daughter out of jail for stealing. Her control-freak boyfriend Edgar wants to take their relationship to the next level, but he’s too…

Happy Anniversary

Robert and Beth meet for dinner on the first, fifth, and tenth anniversaries – of their divorce. Still civil – though just barely – the couple tries to salvage a friendship from the ashes of their ruined marriage. Arguments over the choice of wine, whether to share their food and Robert’s playboy past turn the…

Papacino’s

What if family planning clinics were run like coffee shops? When a young woman finds an unusual clinic on the internet, she discovers that counselors act like baristas, her boyfriend is a regular customer, and pregnancy is just another item on a complex menu. Script length: 10 minutes Cast size: 2W, 1M Production History: Performed…

The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa

An immigrant family struggles with assimilation and cultural identity in a California border town. “Gary Corbin’s cameo as a police officer makes the humor in this 45-year-old play seem fresh.” – Allison Hallet, Portland Mercury Role: La Jura (The Policeman) Author: Luis Diaz Director: Olga Sanchez Production Company: Miracle Theater Venue: Miracle Theater Performance Dates:…

The Seven Year Itch

While his wife and son escape the brutal New York summer heat, Richard just might have to scratch that Seven Year Itch when a beautiful young girl moves into the apartment upstairs. But what is wife Helen up to in Maine? Role: Tom McKenzie Author: George Axelrod Director: Tim Luke Production Company: North End Players…

The Odd Couple at North End Players

Can two divorced men – Oscar Madison, a disorganized, casual, honorable slob, and his best friend Felix Ungar, an uptight, neurotically neat control freak – live together, and survive the experience? A Neil Simon classic that inspired the hit TV series. Role: Oscar Madison Author: Neil Simon Director: Cassie Thompson Production Company: North End Players…

A Talent for Murder

The relatives of an internationally successful mystery novelist wouldn’t mind killing her to get their hands on her art collection. The banter between the novelist, her savvy Indian butler who uses words like “chutzpa” and her live-in doctor provides comic relief from the mayhem being planned by the family. A mystery with twists and turns…

Lost in Yonkers

In the summer of 1942, two young boys are sent to stay with their stern grandmother Kurnitz and their childlike aunt Bella in Yonkers, New York when their father, Eddie, needs to take a job as a traveling salesman to pay off the medical bills incurred by his late wife’s illness. As Eddie tries to…

Black Coffee, by Agatha Christie

“The famous Hercule Poirot (played ably by Tony Provenzola) is summoned by England’s most prominent physicist, Sir Claud Amory. Amory fears that someone in his household is attempting to steal his latest discovery, a secret formula critical to England’s defense. But there are other secrets, too… “I think it was Corbin, as the Italian Dr….

PS, I Love Your Daughter

A middle aged man falls for his best friend’s 30-something daughter. Michael, a 40-something divorced man, has spent three years moping after his divorce. His best friend and former drill sergeant, Paul, convinces him to start dating again. Michael meets Jennifer, the woman of his dreams, at a trade show – only to discover that…

The Exes

Two divorced couples crisscross their romantic paths and hook up with each others’ exes without realizing it until it’s too late and wedding bells start to chime. Elaine, dumped a few years back by playboy husband Sam, runs a struggling bookstore that somehow attracts the attention of Alex, a shy younger man whose hard-charging wife…

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