The Quit Claimed Ghost of the Old Viola Opera House is published by Drama Source.     

Scripts can be acquired and Royalties paid on the Drama Source website.  To go there, click the link below.

www.dramasource.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=211&search=Quit+Claimed+Ghost

A free preview can also be viewed there.                                                                                   

      The Quit Claimed Ghost of the                                                                                                
              Old Viola Opera House
                          by John Donald O'Shea

                                                   Synopsis

When Molly O’Hara and her friend, Janet Johnston, decide to open an Antique Store in the tiny town of Viola, Illinois, they are attracted to a building known as the old “Viola Opera House.”   They are not dissuaded from from buying the old vaudeville house even when Bill Cornelis, the seller’s realtor, advises them the place may be haunted.

With the assistance of their  intrepid Bill Cornelis,  the proprietor of the flower shop next door, Gloria DeGreve, and  the Director of the Mercer County Historical Society, Susan Harper, Molly and Janet embark on a mission. Molly, not satisfied with answering the question of whether the place is haunted, wants to know why.

With recourse to the  sharp memory of an elderly resident of the town, and the newspaper accounts of a shooting that occurred shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, Molly and Susan come face to face with their “Quit Claimed Ghost,” the vaudevillian song and dance man, Jack Harris. Along the way they also encounter  his partner, Kitty Sloan, and Tom Scanlan who encourages Kitty to leave her abusive relationship with Jack.  As Kitty deals with her problem, Molly and Janet deal with theirs.

The play combines comedy, tragedy, ghosts  and a bit of morality into funny play with a strong, but subtle, message for young women.


                                     Cast of  Characters
                                              (5 women; 3 men)
​
Molly O’Hara                  
An entrepreneur, intent on turning an old opera house into an       antique shop

Janet  Johnston                    
Her business partner
Bill Cornelis                    
A realtor
Gloria DeGreve                     
Proprietor of the shop next door which sells candies and flowers
Susan Harper                    
Director of Local Historical Society
Kitty Sloan                     
A vaudevillian
Tom Scanlan                    
Another vaudevillian

Jack Harris                      
A  third vaudevillian and Ghost of the Old Viola Opera House

                                                   Running Time

                                                       About 45 minutes