Much Ado About Coconuts

By Burton Bumgarner
Flexible cast of 20 (about 8M, 10F plus 2 that can be either), extras
Pioneer Drama Service

When the State Department punishes the ambitious Miss Garfield by sending her to El Cansado to serve as the assistant’s assistant, everything in this laid-back tropical paradise is turned upside down. She insists that Atwood, the American Consul, and his assistant, Johnnie, do “something that resembles work,” so they answer an inquiry from a business woman about opening a shoe store in El Cansado. The problem is that they think the letter is an April Fool’s joke so they create a ridiculously positive response! The sincere entrepreneurs turn out to be Rosine Hemstetter and her mother. Wouldn’t you know, Rosine is the girl who broke Atwood’s heart in his previous life back in the States. Now there’s a bigger problem—there’s absolutely no market for shoes in this remote tropical setting! When mobsters invade the island, greedy real estate developers attempt a land grab and the local community theater runs into problems with their Shakespeare production, chaos reigns supreme!