Tom Jones
A vibrant, brisk play for adults and young adults. Tom Jones was a foundling...a loser from birth..."born to be hung." Everthing he touched turned to lead—or fell on his foot. This smooth-flowing dramatization of the famed 18th century novel portrays the rowdy, bawdy, racy plot and raucous characters that made Henry Fielding famous and the movie version a box-office champion.

Tom, the illegitimate ward of Squire Allworthy, is in love with his beautiful neighbor, Sophia. Although Sophia's father admires and envies Tom for his reputation as a brawling, womanizing, thieving daredevil, he wouldn't consider allowing his daughter to marry such a scoundrel. Instead, Sophia is betrothed to Blifil, Allworthy's sniveling heir. Since Tom is seduced by most of the women and nearly murdered by all the men, it's not surprising to find him on the gallows at the end of this fast-paced comedy.

Although the play has strong farcical content, it also has elements of honest drama and romance. Fielding's novel has lived as a classic because of the author's perceptive analysis of human nature, with its inherent hypocrisy, selfishness, boorishness, and indifference toward the welfare of others. These characteristics have been captured in the play; the director and actors are urged to seek them out in the script and point them up in staging the play.