"Mitch Maclay Sings Just for You" is a one-act comedy/drama by Craig Bailey, easily staged with two actors using a single set and a minimum of sound and lighting cues.
It runs 45 minutes, so pairs well with one or two shorter one-acts as openers; or serves as a stand-alone performance for a more brief evening of theatre.
It's a Saturday morning in the late 1980s, as radio jocks Chris and Loralie await one-time pop sensation Mitch Maclay's visit to small market station TRU-92. Once the authentic voice of their quiet Iowa town, the station's recently changed gears by shifting away from local talent to become another increasingly common automated abomination.
While Chris and Loralie contemplate their place in a changing broadcast industry they debate the nature of Mitch's promotional tour. What is it about the has-been crooner's upcoming visit that puts them at odds? And will he even show up?
"Mitch Maclay Sings Just for You" explores the fine line that separates patience vs. complacency when pursuing life's dreams; and questions the role lineage plays in determining the true essence of self.
Christopher Wood
Early-30s. Program Director and morning board operator for radio station TRU-92. He capitalizes on the invisibility of his medium by dressing in casual clothing including baggy khakis, sneakers with no socks, and a comfortable T-shirt sporting the logo of an alternative band. His cynical attitude and occasionally snide veneer reflect the mind-set of an up-and-coming industry man who somehow made a wrong turn only to find himself, inexplicably, in the rural midwest.
Loralie Kent
Early- to mid-20s. Evening board operator for TRU-92. She's dressed in simple slacks, blouse and stocking feet at rise — with a fresh, natural, cheerful face that's wasted on the radio. Her eccentricity and inclination for seemingly pointless chatter disguise her high level of intelligence — an asset thwarted only by her rose-tinted naivete.
"Mitch Maclay Sings Just for You" received its world premiere as part of Ritz Theatre Company's New Play Festival on Aug. 23, 2025, at the Ritz Theatre in Haddon Township, N.J., outside Philadelphia.
Michael Cramer played Chris and Alicia Brogan played Loralie under the direction of William Reid. MJ Smith was stage manager. Alicia received the festival's Excellence in Acting award.
Selections from "Mitch" were read at Playmakers in Burlington, Vt., in November 2019; and during two meetings of the Vermont Playwrights Circle in Montpelier, Vt., in Summer 2019.
The script has benefited from more than 10 critiques by users of Read My Play™, and it was featured on Episode #21 of The Green Light podcast.
Inkwell Theater in Los Angeles read an excerpt April 21, 2021, during its monthly Playwrights' Night. And The Depot for New Play Readings in Hampton, Conn., gave it a table read in January '22.
A staged reading took place at The Firehouse Center for the Arts Annual New Works Festival May 13, 2022, in Newburyport, Mass. The reading was directed by Joshua Faigen and featured Chris Donohue as Chris and Madison Phillips as Loralie.
"Mitch" was awarded the Honegger Prize for Best One Act by the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport, Mass.
The play earned 3rd Place in Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts' One-Act Playwriting Competition, with a staged reading at the Palace Theatre in Frostburg (Maryland) Nov. 12, 2022. (Craig's "The Mockingbird's Nest" took first place the previous year.)
And in August '21, "Mitch" was named a finalist in The Chameleon Theatre Circle's 22nd Annual New Play Contest. ("The Mockingbird's Nest" was a winner in that contest.)
You can read an excerpt from "Mitch Maclay Sings Just for You" — as well as purchase copies and apply for performance rights — at Next Stage Press.
Craig Bailey has been a broadcaster for more than 40 years, and drew on experience working in small-market radio in the 1980s and '90s to write "Mitch Maclay Sings Just for You." He wrote, produced and published his first one-act while still in high school. His other works include "Valaise," which premiered in Hamilton, Ontario, in October 2020; and "The Mockingbird's Nest," which earned him "Best Playwright" in the 2022 Pittsburgh New Works Festival and the Verna Safran Prize (Best Play) from Theatre Odyssey in Sarasota, Fla. Craig's played many roles in Vermont community theatre productions, as well as regional television commercials and independent films. He's the developer of Read My Play™, a free script exchange service to facilitate the sharing of critical feedback on works-in-progress among playwrights. He's also the producer and host of "Floydian Slip," a weekly radio show devoted to rock band Pink Floyd, which is heard on more than 120 stations. A Vermont native, he's lived in the Burlington area since the early-'90s.