R.C. Staab
Writer, Playwright, Lyricist
Plays & Musicals
One Way Ticket
On New Years Eve 1940 as the world is enveloped in war and America sits by confused and silent. A millionaire summons key business leaders, a famous mystery novelist, his glamorous daughter and representatives of Russia, Germany, France, Britain and the Vatican on board his private train. Tonight, they will decide America’s role in the European conflict and advise Roosevelt in the morning. The situation turns fraught as a German dies of an apparent suicide, then the Russian representative drinks vodka and dies and the Congressman and the sister from the Vatican meet a terrible end. Can the remaining guests save themselves and discover the nefarious plot to the change the course of the world?
How The Westons Won
Two young teenagers, left with their uncle on the lonely ranch on the outskirts of Tucson, accidentally bring a Wild West toy diorama to life with Buffalo Bill, General George Custer, Geronimo, Calamity Jane, and a young Indian squaw.
A game of Cowboys and Indians turns into a mix of comedy and drama as the family learns from characters of the past to deal with present problems so they can have a future together.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
Set to the rhythms of early 20th century music, F. Scott Fitzgerald's comic novella is told through the eyes of young foreign woman, today, seeking to immigrate to the U.S. With Fitzgerald's deliberate satire involving impossibly wealthy Americans and the author's cavalier treatment of race issues, the story takes on added comic satire and an edgy, engrossing perspective.
Dumb Luck
A tru-ish musical comedy about Elmer McCurdy, "The Bandit That Wouldn't Give Up." Born out of wedlock, shuttled among relatives and left to drift across America without an education, Elmer follows an unseemly path which includes a heist that the newspapers called “one of the smallest in the history of train robbery.” Yet, his small-time exploits unexpectedly catapult him into a larger-than-life role in carnivals, movies, amusement parks and “The Six Million Dollar Man.”
Zombie Wedding: A Musical Zomedy
"My Best Friend's wedding with a romantic Zombie twist. It sold out in its run at the Gorleston Pavillion in England, following its success as one of the top picks of the 2011 New York International Fringe Festival. In 2016, reworked show with a non-Equity cast during a two-week workshop aiming for an off-Broadway run.
Shadows of Pompeii
A young female painter seeks to express her artistry despite restrictions of the Roman Empire, while disaster looms from Mt. Vesuvius. It's a compelling story of passion that echoes modern times. Public workshop production in collaboration with 42nd Street Moon, San Francisco, April 2009. 3F, 4M. 90 minutes not including intermission.
Fountain of Youth
After an unwitting sip from the Fountain of Youth, two Florida retirees suddenly become young and gorgeous...with grown grandchildren, elderly neighbors and decades of shared history. Follow these unlikely heroes on a comic journey through fresh temptations, unexpected opportunities and hard choices—plus interference from a lovestruck sprite. It's a refreshing take on what it means to be young, old, or both. Public workshop production in San Jose, CA, February 2009. 4F, 4M. 120 minutes not including intermission.
A Union of San Franciscans
A free-spirited daughter of liberal Haight household falls in love with a Marin County yoga instructor, whose parents are politically correct liberals. When the two families meet for dinner, the evening turns into a comic melee of mixed-up intentions, vegan uprisings and missing geckos. Phoenix Theatre, July-August 2006. 4F, 6M. 120 minutes not including intermission.
Any Given Sunday
At an open house, two couples meet realize they are looking for something, other than renting an apartment. Part of evening of one act plays, "Fire Plays", January 2005.