The Phantom Tollbooth - Short Playscript (Funny Version)

Cast of Characters

 Milo – A perpetually bored boy

 Tock – The “watchdog” (a dog with a clock in his body)
 Humbug – A pompous insect guide
 Fleas, Dodecahedron, Lethargarians, Dr. Dischord, Officer Short-Shrift, Faintly Macabre – Supporting roles
(ensemble doubles)
 King Azaz the Unabridged – Ruler of Dictionopolis
 Mathemagician – Ruler of Digitopolis
 Princess Rhyme & Princess Reason – The two exiled sisters
 Duty Messenger, Soundkeeper, Demon of Insincerity – Minor roles (ensemble)
 Narrator – (Optional) guides transitions

Props: toy car or steering wheel, large oversize book, giant dice, jars labeled “Sound,” small hourglass, silly hats for
characters.

Scene 1 (5 min): Milo’s Room → The Tollbooth Arrives

[Lights up on MILO at a desk, head on hand, utterly bored. A small cardboard “tollbooth” sits center.]

Milo (sighing): Bored. Always bored. I could count ceiling tiles… again.
Narrator: Milo had everything a boy could want—except interest. Until today.

(MILO opens a package labeled “One Phantom Tollbooth.” He peers inside.)

Milo: A tollbooth? In a box? Might as well try it.

(He clutches a toy steering wheel. BLACKOUT to car sounds.)

Scene 2 (7 min): Enter Dictionopolis

[Lights up on a brightly colored street set labeled “Dictionopolis.” KING AZAZ sits on an oversized book ‐throne.]

Tollbooth Attendant (offstage): Toll, please!

Milo (handing imaginary coins): Here you go.

(Beat. Tollbooth attendant nods; MILO drives “through.”)

Milo: Where am I?
Humbug (buzzing in pompously): Welcome to Dictionopolis, land of words and letters! I’m your guide—Humbug at
your service.
Milo: You’re… an insect?
Humbug: I prefer “distinguished arthropod of impeccable taste.”

(TOCK bounds in, tail-clock ticking.)

Tock: Actually, I’m your real guide—Tock, the watchdog. Tick! Tick!
Humbug (scoffs): Amateur!

Scene 3 (6 min): Word Market & King Azaz’s Court

[Market stalls labeled “Words,” “Letters,” “Puns.” KING AZAZ presides.]

King Azaz: Citizens, today we celebrate the purchase of bare words!

Milo (picks up a “Dandelion” sign): You can buy words?
Humbug: Sure—in Dictionopolis, words are currency. The rarer the word, the dearer the cost.

(MILO attempts to pay in coins. A Foolish Flea approaches.)

Flea: Excuse me—“hortipoetics” for sale!

Milo: I’ll pass…

Court Audience with King Azaz

King Azaz: Stranger, will you help us? My brother—Mathemagician of Digitopolis—won’t speak with me.
Milo: Sounds… numerical.

King Azaz: If you rescue my princesses Rhyme and Reason from the Castle in the Air, we’ll settle our quarrel.
Milo: Rescue princesses? I can barely rescue myself from boredom!
Humbug: Fear not—I shall… presumably help!

Scene 4 (7 min): The Doldrums & Lethargarians

[Drab gray set. LETHARGARIANS lounge around eating “Lethargy” snacks.]

Tock: Welcome to the Doldrums—no thinking allowed!

Lethargarian 1 (chewing): Don’t hurry. Slow is smooth.
Milo: This is painful. I can’t even… be bored properly.
Humbug (yawning): Zzz…

(DR. DISCHORD blasts a screech; SOUNDKEEPER gathers odd noises in jars.)

Soundkeeper: I store sounds—like this one.

Milo: Can you jar laughter, too?
Soundkeeper: Only if you bottle joy. Good luck!

Scene 5 (6 min): Digitopolis & the Mathemagician

[Bright set with giant numbers and geometric shapes. MATHEMAGICIAN stands beside a gigantic abacus.]
Mathemagician: In Digitopolis, numbers rule. We add, subtract—and sometimes divide.
Milo: I’m not good at math!
Mathemagician: No matter—we’ll just multiply your troubles! Ha!

(DODECAHEDRON—a walking, talking twelve‐sided die—jumps in.)

Dodecahedron: Want a shortcut? Try this—it’s dicey!

Humbug: I prefer logic. Dice are undignified.

(Officer Short‐Shirt arrests Dodecahedron for “illegal shortcuts.”)

Scene 6 (6 min): Castle in the Air & Rescue

[Gossamer set. PRINCESSES RHYME & REASON stand on a floating “cloud.” DEMON OF INSINCERITY blocks the way.]

Princess Rhyme: We are trapped by our uncle’s feud.

Princess Reason: Only a sensible hero can save us.

Demon: You’ll never pass—my jokes are insincere!

Milo (pulling out an actual dictionary and math book): Here—words and numbers combined!
Humbug: Who does that?
Milo: I do! Chapter One: Make sense!

(He reads a pun that fells the Demon. They free the princesses.)

Scene 7 (8 min): Return & Celebration

[Split stage: left side Dictionopolis, right side Digitopolis; KING AZAZ & MATHEMAGICIAN argue.]

Milo (entering with princesses): Here are Rhyme and Reason!

King Azaz & Mathemagician (simultaneous): Thank you. No—you’re welcome.
Princess Rhyme: Words without sense are nonsense!
Princess Reason: Numbers without heart are heartless!

(They kiss; feud ends. All gather to celebrate.)

Tock: Time well spent!

Humbug: I suppose… that wasn’t a complete waste.
Milo: I’m not bored anymore.

*[Everyone sings a short, silly finale song about “Making Sense” (optional).]

Narrator: And so, Milo learned that a little curiosity and a sense of humor can turn any journey into an adventure—no
matter the toll.
All: The end!
 The Phantom Tollbooth - Short Playscript (Serious Version)

Scene 1 (6 min): Milo’s Room → The Tollbooth

[Lights rise slowly on MILO’s dimly lit room. He sits slumped at a desk strewn with undone homework.]

Narrator (voice-over): Milo’s world had grown colorless—every minute a mirror of the last.
Milo (softly): There must be more than this…

(A gentle knock. A mysterious box labeled “Phantom Tollbooth” appears on the desk.)

Milo (startled): What…?

(He opens it; a soft glow emanates. He lifts a small steering wheel.)
Milo (whispers): Perhaps this is… the answer.

(Blackout. Wind and distant bell-tolls segue into next scene.)

Scene 2 (6 min): Arrival in Dictionopolis

[Soft, warm lighting reveals Dictionopolis—a city of towering books and floating letters.]

Tollkeeper (solemn): Toll, please.

(MILO places a single coin on a stone pedestal.)
Tollkeeper: You may enter.

(MILO crosses “through” an arch; lights shift to cool daylight.)

Milo: This place… it’s alive.

Humbug (approaching quietly): I am Humbug. I can guide you—if you wish.
Milo: I’m looking for… something real.
Humbug (softly): Then follow the path of words.

Scene 3 (6 min): King Azaz’s Court

[A grand hall of parchment walls. KING AZAZ sits behind a desk piled with scrolls.]

King Azaz (gravely): Stranger, you arrive as words falter between my realm and my brother’s.
Milo: I don’t understand.
King Azaz: My sister, Rhyme, and Reason are imprisoned in the Castle in the Air. Without them, logic and language
unravel.
Milo (steady): Tell me what I must do.
King Azaz: Journey east—seek the Mathemagician. Only then can the sisters be restored.
(Tock’s clock-tail appears at the door.)
Tock: I will accompany you.

Scene 4 (6 min): The Doldrums

[A gray, silent space where the ensemble moves in slow motion, embodying apathy.]

Tock (softly): Here, thought is forbidden.

Milo (kneels, placing a hand on the ground): But even here… hope can grow.

(A single Lethargarian slowly offers a small flower—symbol of emerging curiosity.)

Milo (quiet resolve): We must press on.

Scene 5 (6 min): Soundkeeper’s Vault

[A dimly lit vault with glass jars, each containing a different sound. Flickers of hosted whispers and echoes.]

Soundkeeper (whispering): I capture every sound—laughter, sorrow, wisdom.

Milo: Can I release one back?
Soundkeeper (gently): Only if you understand its weight.

(MILO lifts a jar labeled “Courage,” releases a soft chime that fills the vault.)
Tock: That sound… it calls us onward.

Scene 6 (6 min): Digitopolis & the Mathemagician

[A crystalline cityscape of numbers and geometric shadows.]

Mathemagician (his voice echoing): Numbers form the fabric of reality. Without precision, chaos reigns.
Milo: But without meaning, numbers… are empty.
Mathemagician (pauses): You speak truth.

(A solemn Dodecahedron rolls forward, offering a single die cast.)

Milo (accepting): I choose… intention.

(The Mathemagician nods and unlocks a gate.)

Scene 7 (9 min): Castle in the Air & Reunion

[A misty, floating battlement. PRINCESSES RHYME & REASON stand separated by an invisible barrier.]

Princess Rhyme (voice distant): Words without wisdom cannot free us.
Princess Reason (echoing): Numbers without heart are hollow.

Milo (stepping forward): Then let us join them.

(He reads aloud a passage combining poetic verse with clear logic. The barrier shimmers and falls away.)
Rhyme & Reason (together): Thank you, brave one.

King Azaz & Mathemagician (entering): United at last.

Narrator (voice-over): And so wisdom and wonder were restored—Milo’s journey proving that true adventure lies in
seeing the world anew.

[Lights fade on MILO standing between the reunited sisters, a single beam of light on his thoughtful face.]
End.
 The Wizard of Oz – Playscript

Cast of Characters:

 Dorothy
 Toto
 Aunt Em & Uncle Henry
 Glinda (Good Witch of the North)
 Scarecrow
 Tin Man
 Cowardly Lion
 The Wizard of Oz
 Wicked Witch of the West
 Munchkins, Winkies, Flying Monkeys (ensemble)

Scene 1: Kansas – "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

(Lights up on a small Kansas farm. The wind blows. DOROTHY hugs TOTO.)

Dorothy: Oh, Toto, I wish we could fly away somewhere over the rainbow...

Aunt Em: Hurry, Dorothy! A storm’s coming!

(Thunder roars. Dorothy and Toto run into the house. Sound of a cyclone! Swirling lights. House spins.)

Dorothy (screaming): Toto, hold on!

(BLACKOUT.)

Scene 2: Munchkinland – "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"

(Lights up. DOROTHY stands beside a strange house on top of a witch’s feet.)

Glinda (appearing): Welcome, Dorothy. You have freed the Munchkins!

Dorothy: But I didn’t mean to...

Glinda: Follow the yellow brick road to find the Wizard of Oz.

(Munchkins sing:)

Song: "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" (short version)

Follow the Yellow Brick Road (Short Version)

(sung by Munchkins and friends)

Follow the Yellow Brick Road,

Follow the Yellow Brick Road,
Follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow the Yellow Brick Road!

We're off to see the Wizard,

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!
Because, because, because, because, because —
Because of the wonderful things he does!

(Dorothy sets off.)

Scene 3: Meeting Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion

(Dorothy meets SCARECROW stuck on a pole.)

Scarecrow: Help! I don't have a brain.

Dorothy: Come with me! Maybe the Wizard can help.

(They find TIN MAN rusted.)

Tin Man: Oil can... please...

Dorothy (oiling him): There you go!

Tin Man: I need a heart.

Dorothy: Come with us!

(They meet LION, roaring.)

Lion (scared): I'm a coward.

Dorothy: You’re braver than you think. Join us!

(They march together.)

Scene 4: The Wicked Witch Strikes

(WICKED WITCH appears in a swirl of smoke.)

Wicked Witch: I'll get you, my pretty — and your little dog too!

(She throws fire. Friends protect Dorothy.)

Dorothy: We must hurry!

(They rush off.)

Scene 5: Emerald City – Meeting the Wizard

(Grand green city. GUARD opens the gate.)

Guard: Who dares to seek the Wizard?

Dorothy: We need his help!

(In the hall. Smoke and booming voice.)

Wizard: Bring me the broomstick of the Wicked Witch!

(They gulp but agree.)

Scene 6: Defeating the Wicked Witch

(At the Witch’s castle. FLYING MONKEYS capture them.)

Wicked Witch: You’re trapped!

(Toto escapes, bringing a bucket.)

Dorothy (throws water): Take that!

Wicked Witch: I'm melting! Melting!

(The Witch disappears. They grab her broomstick.)

Scene 7: The Real Wizard – Home Again

(Back at Emerald City.)

Wizard (revealed behind a curtain): I'm just a man! But you already have what you seek.
  Scarecrow, you have wisdom.
 Tin Man, you have love.
 Lion, you have bravery.

Dorothy: But how do I get home?

Glinda: Click your heels three times and say, "There's no place like home."

Dorothy (tearfully): There's no place like home…

(Spinning lights. Back in Kansas.)

Aunt Em: Dorothy, you’re safe!

Dorothy: There’s no place like home.

(Music swells. All characters take a bow.)

Song: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (short version)

Somewhere over the rainbow,

Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow,

Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

(End.)