Children's Theatre

44 pages

8 m, 8 w, 4 children, extras.

It is Christmastime, 1855, in a small fishing village in Maine. The mayor and his wife try to keep the villagers on their toes with harbor rules and planning of a traditional Christmas Eve celebration, but the villagers are reluctant to work together. During a relentless snowstorm, Holly, a young mother, finds solace and shelter in the town’s Nativity stable where she nestles her son in the manger. While she sleeps, her is baby taken. Quickly, Prophyte Harbor rallies around Holly and helps search for her missing son. God’s messengers provide saving grace in a...

9 pages

7 main characters.

Annie is the saddest-looking angel in Heaven! With a broken wing, a crooked halo, untidy hair, and always a pile of mending to do, she is just too busy to even get to choir rehearsal on time. The angels all know something very, very important is about to happen. When the Heavenly Father chooses Annie to stand guard over his newborn son, all the other angels work hard to get her ready, and most of all, make sure she will be on time. Performance time: 20 minutes.

0 pages

2 boys, 1 girl, 5 flexible parts, choir.

The angel Gabriel has a very important job that God has given him. His mission is to deliver messages concerning the birth of Jesus. Even though Mary is quite surprised by Gabriel's message, she yields to God's message right away. Joseph, with some helpful persuasion from Positive and some not so helpful ideas from Negative, also decides to follow God no matter what the cost. This humorous program is highlighted with imaginative original songs as well as traditional Christmas carols arranged with a twist. Also included is an optional program that can be perfo...

47 pages

19 to 28. 13 males (doubling possible), 3 females (doubling to 2)

3-12 minor characters and extras (captain of the guard, shepherds, Wise Men, priests, courtiers, and crowds) "One night in Bethlehem, and the world was not the same." This is how God's redemptive love story begins and ends in this 13-song musical. This biblically accurate show unpacks the events up to and including the birth of Jesus as told in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. God's plan for humanity's salvation begins with unexpected people the world wouldn't choose, but who are called to these eternally remembered roles. The approachable angel Gabriel (Gabe...

54 pages

4 m, 3 w, 6-7 flex, 2 kids, doubling possible

Did the Nativity costumes just come alive? Pastor Hadley doesn’t know what to think when he is washing the Nativity costumes and the first sheep pops out of the dryer. Granted, he hasn’t been doing well after the recent loss of his fiancée, taking a leave from his ministry and turning away from God. Last night’s church fire just proves that when it rains it pours. Maybe that wasn’t a sheep he saw…but then out of the dryer comes Amir the Sheep Shearer and Jesse the Angel. Turns out the dryer is a time tumbler, and time and prophecies once fulfilled have been a...

38 pages

3 m, 2 w, 1 teen girl, 10-19+ children

With the holiday season approaching, Pastor Jack Taylor finds himself overcommitted, unable to take his own advice about not doing so much this year. When parishioner Beulah takes the pastor’s sermon of slowing down to heart and quits the children’s Christmas pageant, Pastor Taylor jumps on the opportunity to let Pam, an inexperienced teen who loves TV crime shows, be in charge. The Pastor doesn’t have the time to supervise her, so she and the kids create a new Christmas pageant called “Bethlehem CSI.” Now the long-loved Nativity scene is a crime scene! Pam t...

32 pages

3-12, gender flexible.

There's wonderful news in the air - the Son of God is born! Follow the adventure of a shepherd boy and his lamb as they cross the countryside telling anyone they can about the birth of the Messiah! But it turns out that not quite everyone shares their excitement about the good news. "Pass-It-On Christmas" is equal parts chaotic comedy and touching storytelling that is sure to become a holiday favorite for all ages. This utterly delightful comedy is perfect for almost any Christmas occasion: small cast, large cast, small stage, no budget, children's audience, ...

29 pages

5 m, 5 w, 6 flexible, extras, doubling possible

How students cope with the death of classmates due to drinking and driving is poignantly brought home in this one-act. On one side, Lisa is consumed with guilt because she didn't take away her brother's car keys, even though she knew he drank. On the other, Kurt is racked with pain because if he hadn't been drinking, he wouldn't have needed his sister to pick him up and she wouldn't have been in Lisa's brother's car. Then the football team wants to erect a roadside cross in memory of Lisa's brother right next to a cross the girls are planning in memory of Kur...

17 pages

10-15 children, plus extras, doubling possible

The all angel news team of ANN, the Angelic News Network, are reporting the evening news. Tonight’s top story is the census. Gabrielle is working to keep everyone on schedule, Seraphima is maybe a little too relaxed for being on the
air, Sandy Storms doesn’t have much to report on the weather, and Angel-on-the- Scene is interviewing an innkeeper about the increased business. Then Joseph and Mary arrive, and a bigger story begins to unfold before everyone’s eyes. It is not the story the angels expected to report, nor did it occur where they expected to re...

33 pages

12 flexible plus extras

It is late December and Mr. Barker has sold all of the trees on his lot except for one - a little Christmas tree. It is a snowy evening, and the lonely little tree listens to Christmas carols that are playing in the distance. All of a sudden, an angel appears. He is a rather gruff, street-wise angel-- an angel that used to grace the tops of Christmas trees at Henthorne's Department Store. But this angel has been thrown out because its wing is broken. To cheer the angel up, the little tree tells the angel about this book she’s been reading: the Bible. She shar...

26 pages

Widely flexible,from children to young adults.

Benny is a young boy who thinks he is too little to do anything right. His grandmother decides to tell him a story of an impulsive young angel named Benjamin. He seems to have missed the journey to Bethlehem to welcome King Jesus. When Benjamin sets out to find Bethlehem on his own, he encounters a series of discouraged people. He proceeds to help them find their place in God’s plan, all the while fearing he himself has missed his own place. As he helps Mary and Joseph find a place for their baby to be born, he discovers God’s plan for his life and most impor...

46 pages

A Collection of Skits

At last, nursery rhymes with a reason. Here are 15 skits, based on popular nursery rhymes and tales, with delightful new twists toward biblical lessons. For instance, "The Three Little Kittens" may have lost their mittens, but they end up dressed in the whole armor of God. In "The Grasshopper and the Ants," the grasshopper learns how important it is to make provisions for the future which explains why the ants collect the bread of life. In another, the Little Christian, like the little engine that could, finds he is rewarded for facing his challenges. These s...

15 pages

Large, flexible cast.

The season of giving often misplaces the reason for giving, but that's not so in this delightful play. As the children of Bethlehem plan a baby shower for Jesus before he has to leave for Egypt, they learn the story of His birth. Yes, the angels are just a bit impatient and some people don't like one of the wise men's gifts, but everyone is in the party spirit. The play also serves as a mission project as the gifts (diapers, food, clothes, etc.) the children bring on stage can be dedicated to babies born today in less fortunate circumstances. Children from 3 ...

32 pages

4 m, 3 w, 1 flexible, extras.

This innovative play follows a news show's attempt to broadcast the Sorrow of Ramah. Studio hosts, Paula and Jack, try to put the pieces together as investigative reporters, Madeline (in Bethlehem) and Frank (in Jerusalem), talk to various citizens. They interview a scribe from the royal palace, one of the killer soldiers, other-worldly Magi, an earnest innkeeper and his wife, two shepherds, a couple from Mary and Joseph's home town of Nazareth, and an old prophetess at the temple in Jerusalem. As the fascinating interviews unfold, a much bigger story is brou...

28 pages

Large flexible cast, doubling possible.

It's Christmas and everyone is happy. Everyone, that is, except Travis, who tried to play a little joke on the Pastor's wife and now only has sticks and stones to look forward to. His grief is intensified by Felicity whose perfect record this past year has earned her all that she wants for Christmas - and she wants 364 gifts, one for each day of her goodness. After Felicity blows her contract and loses everything, they both learn that there is still one gift they can receive for Christmas...one that no one can ever be good enough to earn (Isaiah 64:6), but yo...