MINOR PLAYS / UNPUBLISHED WORK

Prof. Lahaie's unpublished full-length work include a musical entitled Cubicle and a translation of Heinz Coubier's comedy Aimee, which was translated from the German together with his wife, Ute S. Lahaie.

He also has a number of shorter pieces that have been published in collections of one-act plays. Additionally, there are a couple of shorter pieces that are available only in manuscript form. These are all described below.

A wry look at life in the office, this Musical tells the story of Alan Zookowski in his battle against management’s attempt to reduce the workforce by ninety-five percent. But despite the office shenanigans, this Musical tells the powerful love story of Alan and his office sweetheart Zoey as they pursue their love in the face of impossible (although comic) odds.

The reoccurring songs of “The American Dream” and “Our Mission is Attrition” keep the plot moving forward, while show-stopping numbers like “I Am the Omega Man” and “Sweat Shop” keep the audience love flowing.

With script and libretto written by Scot Lahaie and a delightful musical score composed by Roger Lowe, this yet unproduced Musical is sure to please audiences everywhere. Producers interested in bringing this delightful script to the stage should make contact with the author via the contact page.

An English translation of Heinz Coubier’s comedy AIMEE. Translated by Ute S. Lahaie & Scot Lahaie.

SUMMARY: The play is set in France at the end of the 18^th century during the revolution. A lovely young Countess named Aimée hides an aristocrat named Gaston in her chateau. To save his own life, Gaston must flee to England, but he has fallen in love with Aimée and decides stay, despite the danger.

The revolutionary commissar Georges searches the chateau, but to no avail. Aimée recognizes that the handsome Georges has romantic feelings for her, so she promises him her affections if he will write travel documents for Gaston, allowing him to flee. At Aimée’s insistence, Gaston accepts the passport and departs, but his jealousy forces him back later that night.

When the two men face off, Aimée is a wits end. Georges wants to arrest Gaston, but Gaston persuades Georges to fight for Aimée’s affections. They agree upon a duel with Aimée as the arbiter. They provide her two guns and one bullet. She must hand the loaded pistol to the man of her choosing, but neither should know her choice until the triggers have been pulled.

The countess gets the upper hand by leaving both pistols unloaded and then privately telling both men that the other has the loaded pistol. The evening finds the two rivals quite paralyzed since they both believe they are about to die. Their candor in the face of death create a strange bond of friendship, which only complicates the matter. Indeed, a peaceful solution seems hopeless since the revolutionary has his duty and the aristocrat his pride. When they finally call upon Aimée, they discover she has left the chateau for a monastery. Ultimately, everyone leaves the castle. Georges returns to his duty as a man of the law, while Aimée and Gaston to escape to a happy ending.

The copyright for this translation now resides with Felix Bloch Erben Publishers in Germany. 

Written about the first American conflict in Iraq (Desert Storm), this 25-minute post-modern drama (a Soldier’s Anthology) looks at the atrocity of war through the eyes of the soldiers who were there. The media coverage hailed Desert Storm to be a major American victory–almost no blood shed by the allied force, while hundreds of thousands of Iraqi soldiers were wiped away or captured. This play reveals that no military conflict is without repercussions for the individuals who fought it.

This play is published in NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL, Volume One: New One-Act Plays by Emerging American Playwrights. New York: iUniverse, 2003.

William Jefferson Makepeace, age 83, is terminally ill. He has experienced great success in a high-level business career and has amassed a considerable fortune. Unfortunately, he has not enjoyed it and has had no one with whom he could share it. At the end of his life, he summons the four people closest to him for an afternoon tea–his purpose is to read his living will and divide his fortune with them before his illness takes his sanity and autonomy. Not understanding the gravity of the invitation, not even one of his invited guests appear for the reading of the will. Speaking to an empty table, the old man disinherits the four friends and gives his fortune to his servants. He then kills himself in despair.

This play is published in NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL, Volume Three: New One-Act Plays by Emerging American Playwrights. New York: iUniverse, 2005.

Based on true events, this One-Act Play follows the ethical dilemma of a college German professor asked to translate the private memos of a colleague suspected in a terror plot on the campus.

This play is published in NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL, Volume Two: New One-Act Plays by Emerging American Playwrights. New York: iUniverse, 2004.