Around the World in 80 Days
Phileas Fogg—fantastically wealthy, majestically mysterious, and a dedicated man of scientific reason—has deduced that a mere 80 days is enough to circumnavigate the globe. And he’s staked his entire fortune on it. Will bandits, a herd of buffalo, an act of chivalry, and a meddlesome inspector from Scotland Yard prevent him from fulfilling this mindboggling task? Follow Fogg and his loyal valet Passepartout from the misty alleys of Victorian London to the steamy subcontinent; aboard steamships, locomotives, and elephants—as he learns about the heart, himself, and a world bigger than he ever anticipated. Eason's celebrated adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days features a cast of 8 actors performing over 125 roles.
Adapted From Jules Verne's novel of the same name
Cast: 2W, 6M
World Premiere: Lookingglass Theater in Chicago, 2008
Award Nominations: Seven 2008 Jefferson Awards, including Best Adaptation and Best Production
Subsequent Productions: ​This adaptation has gone on to have multiple productions in the US and UK. In 2017, it had a sold-out run at the New Vic Theatre in London directed by Theresa Heskins, before going on a 6-month, 17-city tour across the United Kingdom. It was then a part of the 2018-2019 season at the New Victory Theatre in New York City.
Published By
Reviews
  • “Pure, unadulterated magic…utterly beguiling…a high-spirited, imagination-filled escapade… Laura Eason's exceptionally graceful adaptation of the Jules Verne classic…manages to be both wise and fun-filled...it lays its bets on enchantment and invariably comes up a winner…a show that should sail the world. Highly recommended.” - Chicago Sun-Times
  • “Light, cheerful and greatly entertaining…laudably committed to its theatricality… Eason's staging is full of the visual imagination… It's all a great deal of fun.” - Chicago Tribune
  • “An engaging, family-friendly show. Highly recommended.” - The Chicago Reader
  • “Eason’s affable adaptation plays up elements of Verne’s novel that are sometimes forgotten… Eason moves stylishly from set piece to set piece, from the cuckoo-clock orchestration of Fogg’s London life to teacups sliding across a shipboard table.” - Time Out Chicago
​The Adventures of ​Tom Sawyer
Join Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and Becky Thatcher in the greatest summer adventure ever told in this imaginative, highly theatrical adaptation of Mark Twain’s incomparable classic. Featuring the thrill of mischief-making, the fickleness of first love, the cold shivers that linger after an adventure gone very wrong and the unbridled joy at discovering real buried treasure, this story is for anyone who has ever been a kid and celebrates all that is grand and glorious about childhood.
​Adapted From Mark Twain's novel of the same name
​Cast: 6W, 2M (Flexible Doubling)
Commissioned By & World Premiere: Hartford Stage, 2010
Subsequent Productions: It performed at the New Victory Theater in New York in 2012. It has gone on to have dozens of productions around the US.
Published By Dramatists Play Service
Reviews
  • "A near-perfect production…sassy, ingeniously staged and deeply affecting." —NY Times
  • "The show is bright and fresh enough to send a youngster who hasn't yet encountered Tom Sawyer flying home to read the book. And that is no small achievement." —Denver Westword
  • "Timeless and playful…[an] adaptation of a classic with a modern theatrical appeal."—TheArtsLouisville.com
  • "Clever, creative…an inventive, high-spirited and endearing stage version." —Kansas City Star
  • "It is exciting and engrossing, for adults as well as children…the whole production soars like a dream of America long ago, bursting with possibilities and promise." —St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  • "An innovative and charming adaptation…" —Talkin' Broadway
​​Hans Brinker ​and the Silver Skates
In 19th century Holland, a great skating contest is announced, and the winner will receive a shiny pair of silver skates. But will Hans and his sister, with their wooden skates, be able to compete against children who own steel blades? This work celebrates the importance of grit and determination, the value of generosity, and the thrill of flying down the ice on a pair of skates.
Adapted From Mary Mapes Dodge's novel of the same name
Cast: 3W, 4M
Commissioned By & World Premiere: Arden Theatre in Pennsylvania, 2016
Award Nomination: 2016 Barrymore Award for Best New Work
Ethan Frome
A shattered body. A frozen heart. A legendary sled ride down an unforgiving hill. In the deep of winter, a strange mystery unfolds. The whole town knows the story. But does anyone know the truth?
​Adapted From Edith Wharton's novel of the same name
​Cast: 2W, 3M
Commissioned By & World Premiere: Lookingglass Theatre Company, 2011
Award Nomination: 2011 Jefferson Award for Best Adaptation
When the Messenger is Hot
Three years after Josie’s mother died, no one expects her to telephone from a bus station in North Dakota. This comic study of love and letting go gives a look at the disparity between what you expect and what is delivered.
​Adapted From The Book of Short Stories by Elizabeth Crane 
​Cast: 4W, 1M
World Premiere: Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, 2008
Subsequent Production: ​59E59 in New York City, 2008
Published By Broadway Play Publishing Inc.
The Old Curiosity Shop
A grown-up fairy tale, Dickens’ masterpiece is the story of the young girl Little Nell, and her relationship with the grotesquely charming Mr. Quilp. Little Nell’s grandfather keeps an old shop that sells curiosities to a disinterested London. When his attempts to improve their fortunes fail, he and Little Nell are forced to flee the wicked Quilp and in their travels come upon town fairs, Punch and Judy shows and a wax works. With Dickens’ flair for character and his ability to find humor in the midst of despair, The Old Curiosity Shop examines loss while brimming with the hope of new life and the legacy each person, young or old, leaves behind.
​Adapted From Charles Dickens' novel of the same name
Cast: 4W, 5M
Co-Written By Raymond Fox and Heidi Stillman
World Premiere: Lookingglass Theatre Company, 2006
Award: 2006 Jefferson Award for Best Adaptation
A Tale of Two Cities
This exhilarating adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens novel tells an epic story of vengeance and sacrifice poetically described in the famous first lines as "the best of times and the worst of times." When the French emigrant Charles Darnay returns to his native Paris to help a friend, his aristocratic past is cause for the new regime to imprison him in the infamous Bastille, where he is sentenced to death by guillotine. With time running out, Darnay's friends and family try to free him before the iron falls.
​Adapted From Charles Dickens' novel of the same name
Cast: 2W, 5M (Flexible Doubling)
World Premiere: Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, 2004
Published By Playscripts
Coast of Chicago
Coast of Chicago explores growing up in an ethnic neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, juxtaposing the ordinary story of a neighborhood and its 'characters', with the life of the sprawling city around it. Here, the monumental and the spiritual intermingle with the gritty and the everyday.
​Adapted From Stuart Dybek's book of short stories of the same name
World Premiere: Walkabout Theatre in Chicago, 2006
Award Nomination: 2006 Jefferson Award for Best Adaptation
The Ghost's Bargain
Adapted From The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain by Charles Dickens
Commission & World Premiere: Two River Theatre, 2007