Full-Length Musicals
Mythos
Book and lyrics by Sonya Hayden
Music by Kristoffer Bjarke
Full-length, drama, 8 actors (4M, 4F)
In this Greek mythology adventure musical for family audiences,
teenage princess Andromeda must assemble an A (well, more like B) team of heroes to help her survive when a god comes after her soul. Along the way, she discovers that she’s far more capable than she thought and realizes she herself might just be the hero she’s been looking for. The show explores themes of sacrifice, loss, empowerment, and the meaning of heroism. Listen here.
For Love or Funny
Book by Sonya Hayden & Megan Loughran
Music by Sonya Hayden
Lyrics by Megan Loughran
Based on the public domain Three Stooges film Sing a Song of Six Pants
Full-length, comedy, 6 actors (1M, 5F)
Three women (Mo, Mary, and Curly) own a secondhand clothing store in 1940s Brooklyn that's about to close – unless they can somehow get $500 by tomorrow. When they learn that the cops are offering a $500 reward for the capture of notorious bank robber Fleets Robinson, they hatch a plan to capture Fleets themselves, resulting in mix-ups, mayhem, mistaken identities, and more!
Book, music and lyrics by Sonya Hayden
The Luckiest Girl
Full-length, drama, 8 actors (2M, 6F)
A sheltered young woman becomes secretly involved in a women-led experimental theater troupe in 1920s Greenwich Village. As she finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with another female member of the troupe, she finds a new kind of freedom, self-confidence, and independence. Listen here.
Design by Julia Peiperl
Dream a Little Dream
Book, music, and lyrics by Sonya Hayden
Full-length, comedy, 8 actors (4M, 4F)
Composer Neil battles financial and career decisions while caught in a love triangle. In a wacky dream sequence involving in-laws, widgets, and a judge that places his music on trial, Neil confronts his dilemmas Freudian-style.
Princeton University Triangle Club
As a member of the Triangle Club Writers' Workshop, Sonya contributed music and lyrics for the shows Tropic Blunder, An Inconvenient Sleuth, and Zero Gravitas. Listen here.
Triangle Writers' Workshop 2015
Full-Length Plays
You can read Sonya's plays
on New Play Exchange:
The Dictator's Dentist
By Sonya Hayden
Full-length, dramedy, 7 actors (5M, 2F)
In this darkly absurdist dramedy, charismatic dentist Hugo Schmidt struggles to make ends meet in early 1930s Germany, but when offered a job on rising politician Adolf Hitler’s medical team, his morals begin taking a back seat to his ambitions. The play explores complicity and the cost of silence in the face of injustice.
All the Way Home
By Sonya Hayden
Full-length, comedy, 7 actors (4M, 3F)
In a world of conniving mothers, tequila bottles, and Pilates classes, Mary struggles to reconcile society’s expectations for her with the life she wants to have. All the Way Home is a comedic and poignant exploration of relationships, self-discovery, and the childhoods we never leave behind.
One-Act Musicals
Wanda Does the Water Cycle
Book, music, and lyrics by Sonya Hayden
One-act, theater for young audiences, 4 actors (1M, 3F)
In this short musical for kids, precocious young water molecule Wanda visits the forbidden surface of her lake, where she promptly evaporates and, through learning about the water cycle, must figure out how to return home before the wind blows her away. Listen here.
Crazy But True
Book and lyrics by Sonya Hayden
Music by Jon Hugo Ungar
10-minute, comedy, 2 actors (1M, 1F)
In this short romantic comedy musical, two awkward, lonely individuals meet in a deserted subway station and must decide whether to pursue their surprising connection before the next train arrives. Listen here.
It Ain't Over 'Til the Bat Lady Sings
Book by Sonya Hayden & A.J. Freeman
Music by Sonya Hayden
Lyrics by A.J. Freeman
Based on the play The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart & Avery Hopwood
One-act, comedy, 6 actors (0M, 6F)
A murder mystery comedy musical! In the 1950s, after 60-year-old homemaker Cornelia's husband passes away, she feels ready for a new life chapter of adventure, excitement, and independence in a big city. But to her frustration, her beloved niece and perpetually anxious sister-in-law whisk her away to a remote village to grieve in peace—only to discover there’s a serial killer on the loose! Having found some excitement at last, Cornelia is determined to solve the case before the killer can snuff out someone she loves.
It's a Hard-Rock Life
Book and lyrics by Sonya Hayden
Music by Jon Hugo Ungar
One-act, theater for young audiences, 4-13 actors (any gender)
In this short musical for kids, three awesome rock bands – Sedimentary, Igneous, and Metamorphic – vie for the title of Rock Star in a Battle of the Bands competition, trying to win over the audience with their moving origin stories and layer upon layer of rock puns.
One-Act Plays
Cassie Goes to Congress
By Sonya Hayden
One-act, comedy, 5 actors (2M, 3F)
When her baby penguin brother dies due to the sea ice breaking up too early, determined emperor penguin Cassie travels to Congress to convince them to do something about climate change before it's too late.
Nadia Diamond as Cassie, 2022
Photo credit: Terrell Lopez
There's Always Tomorrow
By Sonya Hayden
One-act, drama, 2 actors (1M, 1F)
Determined Harper longs to explore the world beyond her conservative Southwest Virginia town but obstacles of marriage and motherhood constrain her as the years of her life slip away. There’s Always Tomorrow is a poignant exploration of how our identities, relationships, and worldviews are shaped by our upbringing and the places we call home.
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
By Sonya Hayden
One-act, comedy, 6 actors (3M, 3F)
In an animal-populated film noir-esque world, foxy fox heiress Isabella hires hardboiled Private Eye Zorro Valiente, who must confront a suspicious racoon, armadillo, and his archnemesis El Aterrador to find the thief threatening to steal Isabella’s priceless diamond anklet.
The Clumps
By Sonya Hayden
One-act, drama, 2 actors (1M, 1F)
A plucky American student meets a spry elderly Englishman on a hike in the British countryside, but neither is who they claim to be, and the surrounding hills hold a dark secret which threatens one or both of their lives.
By Sonya Hayden
What in Creation Was That All About?
One-act, comedy, 5 actors (4M, 1F)
This zany retelling of the biblical Creation story re-imagines God and his angels as a bunch of bros who decide to create Earth in seven days on a whim – much to the dismay of overworked angel Gabriel, who struggles to implement all of the wacky ideas in the limited time frame.
Short Plays
Baubles, Bangles, and Bankruptcy
By Sonya Hayden
10-minute play, comedy, 4 actors (2M, 2F)
Bauble makers Betsy and Billy clash over their commitment to their relationship and bedazzled handicrafts when their beloved baubles and bangles boutique goes bankrupt. Simultaneously, their younger selves open the boutique for the first time, brimming with hope for their future. Will their glittering dreams of youth stand the test of time or are they as breakable as a bauble?
Just Like Magic
By Sonya Hayden
10-minute, drama, 2 actors (1M, 1F)
Locked together in a closet by their children, unhappily married couple Marisa and Chris will do anything to escape—both from the closet and each other. Trapped together, their resentments and frustrations boil over, forcing a decision about their commitment to their relationship.
Circus Act
By Sonya Hayden
5-minute, drama, 2 actors (any gender)
Two people conjoined at the hip struggle to forge their own identities in their relationship; one wants to stick it out and the other feels stuck, leading to a painful choice.
