K12 Playkit

K12 PlayKits are designed to make theatre in schools simple! Hand-picked by a team of professional educators, they put everything schools need for a successful production right at your fingertips; high-quality scripts, student-friendly materials, and streamlined performance rights without the hassle or uncertainty of traditional licensing. With no hoops to jump through, you can focus on what really matters: creating inspiring productions with your students.

The Hundred Dresses by Mary Hall Surface based on the book by Eleanor Estes

PlayKit | The Hundred Dresses

by Mary Hall Surface
based on the novel by Eleanor Estes

Wanda Petronski just wants to belong, but in a 1930s American town, her Polish name and worn clothes make her an easy target. When classmates tease Wanda for claiming to own a hundred beautiful dresses, Maddie knows it is wrong but stays silent. After Wanda’s family moves away to escape the cruelty, Maddie is left grappling with guilt and the cost of saying nothing. Based on Eleanor Estes’ beloved book, this poignant story explores bullying, courage, and the power of standing up for what is right.

Regular price $90.00

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Quick Details

  • Type: Play
  • Length: 105 minutes
  • Availability: Available for productions in North America
  • Cast Size: 11 roles | Doubling or expanding possible

Full Details

Roles:

  • Wanda Petronski, shy child of a Polish immigrant
  • Peggy Thomas, popular girl in school
  • Madeline Reeves, Peggy's best friend
  • Cecile Allen, student
  • Jack Beggles, student
  • Willie Bounce, student
  • Miss Mason, classroom teacher
  • Shelly Reeves, Madeline's mom
  • Mr. Petronski, Wanda's Father and Polish immigrant
  • Jacob Petronski, Wanda's brother
  • Mr. Svenson, reclusive and lonely man

The following resources are included in each PlayKit:
  • Opening Act Edition PDF script
  • Opening Act performance license for 1-8 performances (choose the number of performances using drop-down bar)
  • Copy license to copy included PDF script for your cast, crew, and production team. There is no additional cost for scripts! 
  • Media pack including logo PNG & SVG's as well as template poster files.
  • Director's Guide with tips, suggested rehearsal activities, FAQ, and more!

Mary Hall Surface

Mary Hall Surface is an internationally-recognized playwright and director specializing in theatre for families. A member of the Washington, DC theatre community since 1989, she has had twelve productions at the Kennedy Center as well as at Arena Stage, Theater of the First Amendment, the Round House Theatre, Imagination Stage and Washington Jewish Theatre. Internationally her work has been featured in productions and festivals in Germany, Canada, Japan, Peru, France, Sweden and Ireland. She has been nominated for four Helen Hays Awards for Outstanding Direction, receiving the award in 2002 for Theatre of the First Amendment's Perseus Bayou. With her long-time collaborator, composer David Maddox, she has been nominated for the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play forSing Down the Moon,Perseus BayouandMississippi Pinocchio. The newest Surface-Maddox musical,The Odyssey of Telemaca, opened at Theater of the First Amendment in June 2004. Recent projects includeSpirit Shall Fly: A Kentucky Talewhich will be read at the Provincetown Playhouse in New York in June 2005 and produced at Stage One in Louisville, Kentucky in October, 2005; a new Surface/Maddox musical, based on the Icarus myth, which will premier at Theater of the First Amendment and the Clarice Smith Center for the Performing Arts in February 2006 and Perfume River, a musical set in New Orleans with composers David Maddox and Jon Carroll (premiering at Signature Theatre Monday night series in March 2005.) She has served as an advisor to American Theatre Magazine, on the board of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Youth and as a National Endowment for the Arts on-site evaluator and 2003 theater panelist. In July 2006, she was awarded the Charlotte Chorpenning Prize from the American Alliance for Theatre in Education for her outstanding body of work as a playwright.

Originally produced in Seattle Children's Theatre’s 2007-08 season

Preview the Show

The Hundred Dresses at KOTA Productions, NYC

Reviews

What sets the play…apart is its quiet, unexaggerated depiction of xenophobia, and how poverty comes in different sizes and shades.

- Seattle Times

Everyone has been in Maddie’s situation. Everyone has faced peer pressure. These characters tell us that we, like them, can make the right choice next time.

- Teen Tix, Seattle