Adult Christmas

41 pages

2 m, 4 w, 1 boy, 1 girl.

Erika, an 18-year-old adopted daughter, has developed a rather touchy and secretive attitude during the past few weeks. When she admits that she is working with her teacher, Rachel Duvall, to locate her natural parents, the world explodes for Mom and Dad, young R.B. and Grandma. And when Miss Duvall calls the day before Christmas to tell Erika that she is ready to introduce her to her natural mother, Christmas really falls apart. Through prayer, family love and faith, we learn that nothing can really ruin Christmas for those who have been "adopted" into the f...

65 pages

2 m, 2 w, 1 teen girl, 1 teen boy, 1 girl.

A unique and relevant holiday drama that tells the story of a newly formed, mixed-religion family and the sometimes humorous, sometimes tense conflicts that arise during the Christmas/Hanukkah season. Sam, a Christian, and Michelle, a Jew, agreed when they married that, even though neither was especially religious, they would continue to celebrate the holidays the way their kids were used to. But it may not be that simple. Sam has a 13-year-old daughter, Marie, who is about to be confirmed. Michelle has a 17-year-old son, VJ, who rejects religion in favor of ...

62 pages

4 m, 3 w, 2 girls, extras.

It's almost Christmas in a poor coal mining town in the early 1900s. When a foundling baby girl appears on the doorstep of the company store, Annie, the possessive wife of the proprietor, takes a shine to her. But Arly, who works at the store and makes Christmas presents for all the kids in town, learns that the real mother is Francine. She has kept her pregnancy secret from everyone, even her mean-spirited husband. She loves the baby, but is too poor to raise her and an older daughter. A cave-in at the mine sows tragedy and complicates matters further. Franc...

28 pages

3 m, 3 w, 1 teen g, 1 boy, extras

Ordinary people pull us into their lives as they endure the hectic days before Christmas. A mother is expecting, but the baby's father has left her. Little Jacob is being bullied, while Sara is trying to get through her teen years. Sara's parents are stressed over her attitudes and the holidays. Kathy thinks Christmas is about the gifts, while a homeless man has lost everything. These characters may have closed minds and hearts, but finally, and reassuringly, all find Christmas joy. While keeping Baby Jesus as the true reason for the season, we see that figur...

28 pages

3 m, 4 w.

Kyle is bringing home his fiancee, Katie, a very religious young woman, over Christmas and the Murphys dread it. Talk about a damper on the holidays. Grandma won't even be able to eat her rum balls in peace! When Kyle and Katie start talking about the rapture, the adults exit fast. Soon the young couple take the other children outside to see the snow. At that moment an unexpected power outage hits and in the dark, empty house, the Murphys think the rapture may have actually happened!  Performance time: 30 minutes.

20 pages

1 m, 1 - 2 w, 3 teen boys, 1 teen girl, (extras: 4 m, 1 w) Plus angelic choir (2 songs)

Owen is disgruntled. It’s time for the annual Christmas pageant and he’s been chosen for the role of a “dumb ole shepherd.” It’s even worse because his older brother will be playing a king carrying a gift of gold and his sister an angel dressed in regal finery. Meanwhile, Owen will be clothed in a “ratty old bathrobe with a towel wrapped around his head” carrying a stick. It just ain’t fair!

While he is stewing over his fate, he drifts off to sleep where he is transported back to the ...

28 pages

2 m, 3 w, 2 flexible.

It is the day of Eleanor's annual church Christmas dinner for the poor and she has brought along her new boyfriend, Leo, to meet her grown granddaughter, Jane, for the first time. Jane has also brought along her new boyfriend, Bobby, to meet her grandmother. Unfortunately, they are so busy serving the dinner that the two couples do not get the chance for formal introductions. Through a series of misunderstandings, each person thinks the other is someone else entirely. Eleanor thinks Bobby is one of the homeless people while Bobby thinks Eleanor is a confused ...

26 pages

1 m, 3 w, 1 flexible, 1 boy, extras

Goldie, Frank, and Myrna, three counselors at an emotional helpline, have devised a way to have Christmas Eve off this year. They have engaged Thomas Wellmore, a charming but self-centered Wall Street type, to man the phones. He willingly embraces the opportunity to “balance his karma” and “do something real at Christmas for those less fortunate.” As the evening wears on and no one calls, he becomes increasingly irritated and his true character is revealed. Then, at the stroke of midnight, a cleaning woman enters with her young son, Christopher. Though the ey...

24 pages

3 m, 3 w, 1 flexible, extras.

The host of a television talk show investigates the recent birth of a King. She interviews several people, all of whom give her insight into the nativity of the new King of the Jews, and at the same time, display prejudices - theirs and ours - against those who are different. Her guests include a gossip, who looks down on the pregnant Mary; unsympathetic officials; a greedy business owner; a selfish, materialistic guest; and an Egyptian who feels threatened by asylum-seekers. At the end, the TV guests return to the stage and argue that the host made them look...

35 pages

2 m, 4 w, 1 boy, 1 girl.

The Christmas manger scene that James Bradbury put up for his children's pleasure five years before has become a neighborhood tradition. It is the WHOLE of Christmas to young Oliver. This year, family conflicts and a death on the street have quenched the Christmas spirit. Father believes it best to forget the usual tableau. But when Ollie makes a sign to nail across the empty shed, the people on the street realize that they all need to get closer to the "grown-up" Christ who came to help. Realistic and touching with a message to make Christmas joyful. Perform...

28 pages

1 m, 4 w, 1 flexible, 1 boy, 1 girl

If you’ve ever thought that Christmas has become too commercialized (and who among us hasn’t felt that as we pulled out the credit card yet again) this is the play for you. Several customers wander in to a rather bare, nondescript store during the Christmas shopping season. All of them, younger children, teenagers, and twenty-somethings, are looking for the same thing, but for different reasons. Some aren't even sure what they want: they just know that they are missing something. Naomi, the elderly widow working behind the counter, answers their questions kin...

40 pages

3 m, 2 w, 2 teen girls

Mark Kingston has been pastoring the same church for seven years. This particular year has been a stressful one. His kids want him to find a new job, his wife is trying to lead every program and ministry herself, and his congregation has an opinion about everything! One day, Mark wishes his life were “normal,” that he didn’t have the stress of being a pastor. When he wakes up, his wish has come true. Will Mark’s new life be easier having a typical job, or will he discover that his old life was exactly the way it should be? About an hour.

20 pages

2 m, 3 w, 1 boy, 1 girl

Ted and Jane are hosting Ted’s mother and sister for Christmas. As they share memories of their childhood home (acted out live) it becomes clear that their perspectives about the past are very different. An on-going “falling off the ladder” gag adds to the laughs. Finally, Mom presents them each with a DVD featuring their old home movies. As they watch it together, the realization that perhaps they each had things better than they remember brings a lump to the throat and an appreciation for the value of family. Performing groups can be as creative as desired ...

48 pages

4 m, 6 w

Rev. Sarah, the minister of a small-town church, finds Christmas barreling down on her. Like everyone, she, too, is caught in the trap of commercialization where everything has to be bigger and better, including the Christmas Eve service. But how is she supposed to get it all done? Her crisis peaks moments before the service is to begin when, feeling totally uninspired, she finds out the kids who were supposed to present the nativity are stranded and won't make it in time. Her salvation comes from the most unlikely characters: John, the old maintenance man; C...

26 pages

2m, 3w, 1 girl

It is a snowy Christmas Eve at a lonely roadside diner. Hope, the owner, and Darla, a waitress, are working the evening shift, anxious to close up and get home. But late-arriving customers need food to warm their bodies and faith to warm their souls. Rusty, a quiet truck driver, arrives first, followed by Meredith, a depressed homeless mother with a young daughter, and finally Randall, a brash, arrogant young man who's been traveling for a while. When Rusty convinces Meredith to get a fresh start through his outreach ministry, his unassuming act of kindness a...