Mabel and the Talking Cat: A new one-act quirky comedy/drama
“If I had opposable thumbs like you, I should rule the land!” ~Patches, the Talking Cat
How far are we willing to go to get the things that we want? How can doing a good thing enable a bad thing? How much would you sacrifice for a loved one? How long do you hold onto a far-fetched hope? How do you connect with loves ones left in the dark once you’ve been brought into a new light? Does guilt ever go away?
For a one-act play, Mabel and the Talking Cat sure brings up a lot of questions! On top of all that, we have a bit of magic, a witch in the neighborhood, an ogre, a missing husband and a talking cat! And you won’t find out until the end of the play which well-known fairy tale this play launches into…
Mabel and the Talking Cat is the story of a lonely baker, Mabel, who finally has the opportunity to adopt a child of her own. But her best friend, Patches, a talking cat, has grave hesitations about the questionable method she’s using to secure this precious child…
This is is a play with high stakes, great dramatic tension, quirky comedy, dark comedy and a rich relationship between best friends. The play has 2 roles, 1 female and 1 flexible (Patches, the cat can be any gender). Both parts are strong acting roles, with good journeys and range. The play runs around 15-20 minutes and is set in the garden near Mabel’s small cottage in some sort of fairy tale world. Mabel and the Talking Cat leaves lots of room for creative acting, directing, design, tech and production. You can go big; you can go intimate. You can go Stage; you can go theater-in-the-park.
Read an excerpt here or get the full play below:
Mabel and the Talking Cat was first presented as part of When Fairy Tales Falter, a 4-part tangential fairy tale series. Huge shout-out to the original team bringing this play to life! Missy Flower played Mabel, Buchanan Highhouse played Patches and Nate Flower directed. This is a spectacularly talented trio I’ve had the privilege to work with several times and they brought stellar talent, insights and creativity to the play. Georgia Evans was the brilliant costume designer, Kevin Christopher Snipes was my beyond-helpful dramaturg, and Lowden Flower was the rockstar tech director who made performing outside seamless (that is NOT easy to do!). Missy and Nate also designed and created our very cool whimsical set.
Also huge thanks for support to The Harrison Public Library, Arts Westchester, The Statewide Community Regrant (of NYS), the New York State Council on the Arts, The NYS Governor’s office, The New York State Legislature, Chris Burdick and the other When Fairy Tales Falter cast Mohammad Saleem, Susan Ward, and Jessica Caputo.
Check out some fun photos below! Mabel and the Talking Cat as performed in When Fairy Tales Falter, directed by Nathan Flower. Featuring Missy Flower and Buchanan Highhouse, produced by Free Space Theater. Photo credit: JCP Images.
