JAC Publishing & Promotions

Mary O'Leary
& the Leprechauns of Ballybun Village by Tim Ryan

#2005-0022

ISBN #1-933159-26-X

Have you seen Tim Ryan's other family-friendly favorite Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?

Cast Requirements:

bulletSTORYTELLER: The Narrator of the story. She has a special link with one of the main characters in the story. An Irish accent required.
bulletMARY O’LEARY: Oldest of the O’Leary children. She has raised her brothers & sister by herself while her father was away in America building a better life for his family. It is up to her to save not only her family, but the villagers of Ballybunn Village from the tricky ways of Leviticus and his band of Leprechauns.
bulletPEGGY O’LEARY: 3rd oldest of the O’Leary children. Likes nice things that her family cannot afford. Very materialistic and naïve.
bulletTOMMY O’LEARY: 2nd oldest of the O’Leary children. Always tries to woo the girls in the Village to no avail, until he makes a fateful wish with Leviticus. Strong headed, he is one of the funniest characters in the show.
bulletSEAMUS O’LEARY: The youngest of the O’Leary children. He is shorter than most leprechauns & is always teased about his size.
bulletCATHERINE: A village girl. She does NOT want Tommy for a boyfriend.
bulletCLANCY: An elderly mailman. He is very slow. A funny role for the right person.
bulletLITTLEST GIRL: The smallest human girl in the Village. Funny part for a small girl.
bulletMRS. McDOUGAL: The overbearing wife of Mayor McDougal. Never has a pleasant word to say.
bulletMAYOR McDOUGAL: The Mayor of Ballybunn Village. He can be pompous & long-winded—like all politicians.
bulletJOSEPH O’MALLEY: The Village butcher. Very protective of his family.
bulletMRS. O’MALLEY: The wife of Joseph, the butcher. Very motherly towards Mary. Always helping when she can.
bulletKELLY O’MALLEY: The daughter of Joseph & Mrs. O’Malley. Does NOT want Tommy for a boyfriend.
bulletKING LEVITICUS: King of all the Leprechauns in Ireland. Over 3,000 years old, he is very sly & tricky.
bulletPATCH & SCRATCH: Leviticus’ sidekick leprechauns. Always ready with one-liners.
bulletTHE LEPRECHAUNS: Each actor/actress should be encouraged to choose their own character’s Irish leprechaun name.
bulletTHE VILLAGERS: Each actor/actress should be encouraged to choose their own character’s Irish name. Playwright also encourages director to group some villagers into families.
bulletTHE DULLAHAN: The figure of death who comes to take one of the O’Leary’s to “heaven or the other place”. An eerie presence.

Plot Summary
The story takes place many years ago in the small fictional town of Ballybunn Village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The story centers on Mary O’Leary and her two brothers Tommy (who likes girls more than girls like him) & Seamus (who is teased all the time because he is short) as well as her sister Peggy (who likes nice things but doesn’t realize they cost money). Mary is the oldest O’Leary child who has been taking care of her siblings since her mother passed away a couple of years earlier. The O’Leary children’s father Thaddeus O’Leary has been away in American trying to save enough money to send for his children so they can live a better life. Despite warnings of the dangers of leprechauns from the other villagers, the O’Leary children go in search of lost sheep in the ruins of McLunser Castle. Legend has it that McLunser Castle is the home to Leviticus, King of all the Leprechauns and his loyal Leprechaun subjects. None of the O’Leary children believe in Leprechauns until they see Leviticus and his band of Leprechauns in the flesh. Tommy captures Leviticus. Tommy, Peggy and Seamus make wishes with the leprechaun. Mary refuses to make a wish because she knows all to well the stories of how Leprechauns like to trick humans for their own merriment.

After Tommy, Peggy and Seamus make their respective wishes they return to the village. Tommy wishes for all the single girls in Ballybunn village to love him. Peggy wishes for everyone in Ballybunn village to possess all the valuables in the world such as gems, precious metals and of course money. Seamus wishes he were a foot taller. At first it is clear that their wishes have been granted. Then slowly things begins to take a turn for the worse and all of Ballybunn Village is turned upside down in comedic turmoil as things become unraveled because of the O’Leary’s wishes. Tragically one of the Seamus becomes gravely ill as the family attempts to prevent the Dullahan (The mythical Irish angel of death) arrive to take Seamus to heaven.

Only Mary O’Leary can save her family as well as the rest of the Ballybunn Villagers from the twisted sense of humor of Leviticus King of All the Leprechauns!

Costumes

bulletSTORYTELLER: Simple blouse with long skirt. Should be very generic as to not to point to any timeframe. Optional cleaning woman’s cloth cap. Can also wear broach that matches one worn by Mary O’Leary to give the audience a hint of their connection.
bulletMARY O’LEARY: Traditional Irish farm girl dress w/optional patches & apron. Dress should be plain so as not to point to any timeframe. Can also wear broach that matches the Storytellers to give the audience a hint of their connection.
bulletPEGGY O’LEARY: Traditional Irish farm girl dress w/optional patches & apron. When the town becomes rich she will need a fancy gown, tiara, furs and shoes.
bulletTOMMY O’LEARY: White dress shirt and dark pants w/plain shoes. Also needed are 3 identical shirts of the original. The 1st shirt will be torn somewhere on the sleeve. The 2nd shirt will be ripped in various places. The 3rd shirt will be shredded to pieces. A shredded pair of pants identical to the original pair will be needed for last scene.
bulletSEAMUS O’LEARY: Traditional Irish boy outfit. Shirt, vest, pants & plain shoes. A wig that matches the actor’s hair can be used to attach fake latex foot to (Fake foot can be bought at most Halloween supply stores or paper mache foot can be made.) Once his wish has been made character will need to wear a cloth stove pipe type hat to conceal foot.
bulletCATHERINE: Traditional Irish farm girl dress w/optional patches & apron. When the town becomes rich, she will need a fancy gown, tiara, fur, shoes and, of course, a wedding veil.
bulletCLANCY: Like the other male villagers, traditional Irish villager wear such as dark pants, plain shirt & cap. Carries a beat-up mailbag. Once rich all clothes should be very extravagant. Lots of Jewelry.
bulletLITTLEST GIRL: Traditional Irish farm girl dress w/optional patches & apron. When the town becomes rich she will need a fancy gown, tiara, furs, shoes and, of course, a wedding veil.
bulletMRS. McDOUGAL: Traditional Irish women’s dress w/optional patches & apron. Should be very conservative and dark to reflect her personality. When the town becomes rich, she will need a fancy gown, tiara, fur & shoes.
bulletMAYOR McDOUGAL: Simple traditional Irish coat, shirt and pants w/optional patches. Once rich the costume should be very extravagant such as a velvet cape, crown, jewelry, etc.
bulletJOSEPH (The Butcher) O’MALLEY: Dark pants, white shirt with apron. Once rich all clothes should be very extravagant. Apron can be optionally gold or rhinestones. Lots of Jewelry.
bulletMRS. O’MALLEY: Traditional Irish women’s shopkeeper’s dress w/optional patches & apron. When the town becomes rich, she will need a fancy gown, tiara, fur & shoes.
bulletKELLY O’MALLEY: Traditional Irish farm girl dress w/optional patches & apron. When the town becomes rich, she will need a fancy gown, tiara, fur, shoes and a wedding veil
bulletKING LEVITICUS: Golden Crown. Green tuxedo with tails with applets. If green tux can not be found a white tux painted green will work. If tux unavailable at all constructing a typical king costume using green fabric will do. Green cape with white fur collar. Very regal looking. Orange wig & beard. Pointed ears can be achieved using Halloween prosthetic tips or flesh colored medical adhesive tape to tape ear tips. Pant cuffs should be cut short half way or just above shin to allow a knickers effect. Shoes can be homemade slippers with curly toes at the end.
bulletPATCH & SCRATCH: Green Military-like uniform with applets. Green pants cut off at shin to give knickers effect. Traditional Leprechaun stove top hat. Boots with curly toe tips.
bulletTHE LEPRECHAUNS: Green tunics worn over green tights. Should wear green dance slippers or dark shoes. Hats can either be made or they can be plastic St. Patrick’s Day type hats.
bulletTHE VILLAGERS: Men: Traditional Irish villager wear such as dark pants, plain shirt and cap. Once rich all clothes should be very extravagant. Lots of Jewelry. Ladies: Traditional Irish farm/ shopkeepers dresses w/optional patches & apron. When the town becomes rich, they will need fancy gowns, tiaras, furs, shoes and wedding veils.
bulletTHE DULLAHAN: Can be a “Headless Horseman” costume. Dark pants, dark cap & boots. The shoulders can be football shoulder pads covered in a dark fabric with black mesh in the neckpiece for the actor to see out of. The actor’s hand can be hidden with a fake glove that gives the illusion that the actor is holding the head from the top when in fact the hand is inside the head operating the mouth of the puppet. The voice can easily be recorded then enhanced using over the counter software then played for the actor to move the puppet’s mouth too.

Props

NOTE: Once rich all village characters except Mary O’Leary, Seamus O’Leary & Tommy O’Leary should have very “rich” looking clothes and accessories such as jewelry, money and of course gold bars (blocks of wood painted gold). If you have a very large cast items like Tiaras and crowns can be bought in bulk from many party supply stores.

bulletSTORYTELLER: Broom, dustpan, mop & bucket. Seen carrying at various times during the show.
bulletMARY O’LEARY: Basket of food for festival. Knitting needles & yarn.
bulletTOMMY O’LEARY: Book entitled “101 Ways to Make Women Like You!”
bulletPEGGY O’LEARY: A very large golden egg (like easter candy is sometimes packaged in.) A basket with a cabbage. Money, jewels, gold bars & coins.
bulletSEAMUS O’LEARY: A teddy bear. A knitted hat with sock-shaped top.
bulletMAYOR McDOUGAL: Wooden walking stick. King’s crown, gold walking stick with jewels, Gold necklace and other jewelry.
bulletJOSEPH O’MALLEY: Gold coins, water bucket, butcher knife, fake drumstick for festival.
bulletCLANCY: Optional flask. Letter to O’Learys from America.
bulletPATCH & SCRATCH: Scroll & Pot of Gold.
bulletTHE VILLAGERS: Poor: Festival related items such as food, serving trays, etc. Rich: Money, gold bars, gold coins, Gold & Jewel encrusted chalices.
bulletTHE LEPRECHAUNS: Gold coins. Tourist items like camera, Irish theme tourist t-shirts, hats, sunglasses, etc
bulletLITTLEST GIRL: Optional baby bottle both plain & jewel encrusted. (This of course depends on the age of the actress playing the character.)
bulletTHE DULLAHAN: Talking Head Puppet

Online purchases are for single script purchases only and include $3 S&H.  For more than one script or a script package, please call us at (781) 272-2066

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"Educational on many levels… a great memory to all the young people participating.”

- Portland Press Herald, March, 2001

$6.25/individual copy

$100/package (15 scripts) +
$35/performance royalty

Author Biography
Tim Ryan made his playwriting and directorial debut in the winter of 1998 at Windham Center Stage Theater with Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty? The popular and financial success of the production led to subsequent productions of the play being performed by several community theaters and schools throughout Northern New England. Many of the productions have broken box office and attendance records. Mary O'Leary & The Leprechauns of Ballybunn Village was Tim's second original play to be produced. The play made it's premiere at Windham Center Stage Theater in March 2001 to public and critical acclaim. While honeymooning in Ireland, Tim was inspired to write the script, by the humor and charm of the locals, the beautiful scenery as well as the many legends, which the country is famous for. Sanford Maine Stage Theater also produced the play again with much acclaim in the summer of 2002.  Tim is also a professional actor. In the short time since his first audition, he has accumulated many production credits as an actor, producer, director and playwright. He has appeared in wide range of local stage character roles and commercials in Maine. Nationally, Tim made his motion picture debut playing the feature comedic part of Brian (aka Buster) the drunken busboy in the HBOfilms production of Empire Falls. The film is based upon the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. Tim shares many scenes with such world acclaimed stars Ed Harris, Helen Hunt, Paul Newman, Joanna Woodward and Aidan Quinn just to name a few. Since 2002 Tim has directed Freeport High School's One Act Drama competition pieces. In this capacity Tim became one of the only few people in the world to have directed a officially sanctioned stage version of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail, a play adapted by the Freeport High School students based on the hit movie. Word quickly spread of the show’s both critical & commercial success. As they prepared for their show’s national debut, the production team behind the Broadway version of the movie titled Spamalot (which included Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols & Monty Python’s Eric Idle) requested all materials related to the Freeport High production. They wanted to see how such classic scenes such as The Black Knight, Trojan Rabbit and Killer Rabbit scenes were achieved on a $500 budget. Tim has also written and directed comedic instructional videos for IT companies.

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