Cast List/Descriptions
Rudy Oliver - TV Reporter
Jody Greenstreet - Clerk/Bailiff
Francis Hart - Judge
Leslie LaRue - Prosecution Attorney
Dale Lane - Prosecution Attorney
Connie Johnson - Prosecution Attorney
Terry Stone - Defense Attorney
Alex Rhodes - Defense Attorney
Regina Brinwaller - Police Officer at the scene and State Witness
Avery Summers - Resident at the scene and State Witness
Lonnie Jacobsen - One of the “Fearsome Five” and State Witness
Peter Lambert - Shot by Max Cooper and State Witness

Kelly Traveena - Botanical garden docent and. State Witness

Gilbert Grover - Gun shop owner
Val Baker - Gun expert and State Witness


Carrie Brubaker - Max Cooper's neighbor and State Witness
Nolan Hinkle - Friend to Max and Savannah and. State Witness
Loren Winer - Gun Training Expert and Defense Witness
Betty Doolittle - Savannah’s best friend and Defense Witness
Savannah Gregg Cooper - Max’s flirtatious wife and Defense Witness
Max Cooper - The Defendant


Note: A cast member’s age can vary greatly and those
portraying witnesses can double with a simple costume change.
Set/Technical Requirements
The set can be quite simple; a judge’s bench (for example a raised podium and bar stool), a bailiff’s box containing a chair, and a witness box containing a chair. In addition two long tables (one for the State Attorneys and one for the Defense Attorneys) are required. There also should be several chairs set up for the Attorneys and the witnesses.
Synopsis
Peter Lambert moved into a tranquil community and soon began terrorizing the neighbors. Max, an upstanding member of the community, found himself in a feud with Peter that escalated to one fateful night that ended with Max shooting Peter in the shoulder, causing Dean Palan, an innocent bystander, to veer off the road and die. Arrested for the attempted murder of Peter Lambert, and the death of poor Dean Palan, Max contends that he “didn’t know the gun was loaded with real bullets” and that his Wife, Savannah, switched the blanks for the real thing. Savannah was outraged by the accusation even though she had a flirtatious reputation and was rumored to have been “involved” with Peter.
The State argues that rage and revenge were involved in this exciting courtroom drama, laced with humor, in which the audience, as the Jury, must deliver the verdict. Three different endings are provided depending on the jury’s outcome.
UNIQUE, INTERACTIVE AND ENGAGING.
21 Actors, Doubling Possible
Many Gender And Age Neutral Roles.
Comments from Patrons
The State vs Max Cooper Production
Tucson, Arizona
February 24, 25, 26, 2010
(All Performances Sold Out with a long waiting list!)
The production was a real winner in many ways; suspenseful, entertaining, fact filled, well cast, a marvelous blend between "serious" and "comical", right length, engaging for the audience, flexible/ adaptive, doable, fun, easily staged, well supplemented with A/V, relatively quick to produce, did NOT take advantage of the audience in a condescending way, . . .
... the production was unique, well written & directed and an altogether fun experience for both of us. Our friends who saw the show commented that they thought the play was written by a professional playwright and adapted for by Steve. When we reminded them that Steve wrote the play, they were very impressed. Involving the audience as the jury made their experience much more enjoyable as they were a part of the play instead of just on-lookers.
Max Cooper had a superb plot (and script), performed sensationally. Thanks for an outstanding play.
What a fun evening! The courtroom drama was a real hoot; the acting was really good and best of all, everyone seemed to be having a great time.
We have just enjoyed one of the best nights of entertainment that we have ever experienced in SaddleBrooke. The writing was terrific, the plot engaged our attention, the actors entertained us with their portrayals, and the production was superb! Can we count on a sequel?
It was very engaging and very well performed. Thanks to everyone involved for a most entertaining and thought provoking evening.
You should be very proud and pleased with your original script. To have written such a detailed and realistic stage play is commendable. Screen play coming up? To get that many people to memorize and deliver so many lines is amazing. The movement on and off stage showed some really good coaching and directing.
We voted to acquit the defendant but my wife held her ground and so did 3 others at our table who found him guilty, which turned out to be the correct verdict. The rest of us were swayed by the long legs and big red hat of the defendant's wife. We loved that the crime took place in our community!
I loved the courtroom format and thought the production was a good blend of drama and comic relief. It provided several conflicts so that the jury could speculate about multiple scenarios that might have led to the shooting. Participating was especially rewarding as every actor and actress had his/her moment in the spotlight. The audience clearly enjoyed the humor and the jury ballots were testimony to the heated discussions that took place about who did what to whom.
I loved the script. It had humor and drama and it was great to see my friends and neighbors bring it to life. It was a wonderful experience for me to be part of this production and judging by the response of the audience every night, they absolutely loved it, especially their own participation as members of the jury. Thank you Susan and Steve Shear for bringing this new format to SaddleBrooke. I hope we will see more productions like it in the future.
Steve’s most recent Novel (seeking publication) and Screenplay
An Eye for an Eye
A Synopsis
Beautiful Rebecca, caught between Leonard, the man she loves, and the religious roots of her family’s orthodoxy is driven to a pharmaceutical overdose … and death by the family’s revengeful rabbi while Leonard, an atheist, is driven away by her deep-seated guilt. And the Rabbi who claims to have the ear of God is the mastermind manipulator behind her guilt in this explosive triangle overrun with sexual indiscretions, secrets, and retribution.
Rebecca runs to America from Jerusalem, from an arranged marriage—her father’s unsuccessful insistence she marry the Rabbi’s son after the Rabbi himself proposed the union. Months later she returns to Jerusalem with Leonard and his child in her belly only to be thrown from her father’s house. During that visit the Rabbi insists on seeing Rebecca, alone, and warns her of the All Mighty’s wrath—An Eye for an Eye.
Years later a freak explosion at the gas pump takes the lives of her family. According to the Rabbi, God initiated the tragedy, insisting her sacrilege caused Him to act. From God’s tongue to his ears, that’s how he knows … or so he claims—An Eye for an Eye.
Just as Rebecca edges beyond her guilt towards some degree of normalcy, the Rabbi enters her life again demanding she remain loyal to her faith, and to God—or else. It is that final meeting that drives her to her pills, whether by accident or by design, driving Leonard to avenge her death—An Eye for an Eye.
Emotional needs as destructive as the Rabbi’s narcissistic agenda of rage and revenge, and those as common as Rebecca’s God-fearing guilt and her desire to live her own life, fuel this mysterious journey of a young Juliet whose only crime is desiring freedom to choose her own Romeo.