A Puppy for Every Child!

4m, 3w, 1 either
3m 30-50, 1m 18-20; 1w 40-50, 2w 20s; 1 either 45-60

Jency Daniels, an unscrupulous puppy mill breeder, is running for mayor against Filbert Hazelton, an upstanding veterinarian.  To ensure his election, Jency provides a free puppy to every child in school.  But the puppies are infected with parvo, and Jency has plans to use this to swing the election in his favor.  He is aided by his obsequious office manager, Toady, and opposed by schoolteachers Jocelyn Sweet and Verity Friendly.  Further complications come from the fact that Jocelyn is secretly loved by Jency, Filbert, and her oldest student Imbo.  Who will become mayor, and who will win the hand of Jocelyn?

The cast is rounded out by the principal of the school, who also conducts the political debates, and by Glenda Glumm, Filbert's receptionist and Imbo's foster mother.  All have juicy roles, replete with melodrama-style asides.  Audience members are addressed in various scenes as townspeople, animal clinic customers, and students.  A dog (or dogs) can be part of the action, but sound effects of barking dogs will suffice.

A Puppy for Every Child! requires little in terms of a set other than a desk and a few chairs.  The list of props is similarly short, with the most unusual prop being a signature stamp, making this comic melodrama an easy show to produce.