The Princess and the Pauper

By Burton Bumgarner
Based on the story by Mark Twain
14 m, 7 w, 9 flexible, doubling possible
Eldridge Plays and Musicals

A young girl visits the White House on a school tour and is mistaken by the Secret Service for the mischievous daughter of the President. She is escorted to the family quarters, where she inadvertently meets the real First Daughter who resents the loss of her freedom notoriety has imposed. On a lark, the girls decide to change places for twenty-four hours: the President's daughter goes to a housing project, and the student remains to spend a night in the world's most famous residence. Unfortunately, the President's daughter is not exactly street smart, and she encounters hostile store clerks, burned out buildings, an insect-infested apartment, and gangs. The student finds out that the President's daughter was scheduled for a interview on national television, and she has to take her place. With a corrupt ambassador stealing White House china, a nervous wreck of a press secretary, a First Lady who just wants her daughter to conform, will the lives of these two girls ever get back to "normal"?