Three Needles in a Haystack
by Bill McCreary, Marcie McCreary

No person is immune to temptation - and no school is without an occasional problem of petit larceny.

Marshall High is no "Blackboard Jungle," rife with delinquency and rebellion.

But when the funds collected for the American History Class field trip disappear, Miss Portia Miles has two immediate reasons for alarm: 1: her own trusting nature and a moment of carelessness invited the theft; 2: circumstances oblige her to suspect three seniors, each of whom might be permanently scarred by complicity in such an incident.

With the help of Mr. Wheeler, the guidance counsellor, Portia devises an opportunity for each of the suspects to undo the crime, undetected.

On pretext of heightening interest in the current unit of study on the legal branch of our government; she has the class stage a mock trial.

Only the audience, the two teachers, and the miscreant know how closely the hypothetical case in this trial parallels actuality.

And since you don't know which of the "three" gave in to the temptation depicted in the first act, the ensuing developments are packed with suspense.

It is not grim or sinister suspense.

It is poignant� sharpened by humor and implication, and laced with your genuine empathic concern for all of these characters in this unique but plausible situation.

An outstanding play for High Schools.