20 pages
3 m, 5 w, numerous extras, choirs, optional pianist
Convinced that God doesn’t really care about the elderly, 84-year-old Beatrice has become the resident Scrooge of her nursing home. No matter what her roommate says, or what Bible stories the expectant nurse’s aide reads, Beatrice is adamant. “God doesn’t care about the elderly. His supposed only Son didn’t even live past 33 years, so how does He know what it’s like to be old!?” she declares. But during a church service she reluctantly attends, she falls asleep and dreams of bits and pieces of the Christmas story she is hearing, scenes of the nativity involvi...
26 pages
5 m, 5 w, 2 flexible, 1 girl
It's Christmas Eve and Jonathan is looking forward to a quiet family celebration with his wife Michelle and daughter Cissy. This idea comes to a screeching halt when, unbeknownst to him, Michelle invites his mountain family to come down for the holiday. These good folks turn up bearing, not only gifts, but a rocking chair (for Pappy's sciatica) and a live turkey for Christmas dinner. When another high-society guest shows up unexpectedly, the mountain folk eagerly pitch in to help. After all, that's what family is for. Unfortunately, their backwoods ways raise...
48 pages
3 m, 6 w, 13 flexible, 14 or more kids
Starlight Inn, a small, quaint hotel with a lot of charm, but not a lot of guests, is struggling to make ends meet. In fact, business has been so bad that on this snowy Christmas Eve, Emily, the owner, has decided to finally break the bad news to the staff: The inn will be sold to a local condo developer and torn down. As they lament the impending doom of their beloved hotel, a major snowstorm hits, forcing travelers to seek shelter. Suddenly, the hotel has several guests: a newlywed couple; a Hollywood diva and her entourage; a traveling church choir; a rock...
36 pages
2 m, 7 w, 3 boys, 2 girls, optional extras.
Two ladies in a rest home are arguing. Florence, who has never had a real family Christmas, fantasizes that a family would come along and take her in for the holiday, but of course no family would put themselves out that way. Yes, they would, says her roommate Myrna who has had years of storybook Christmases with her five children. To prove their differing viewpoints, they invent the fictitious Genevieve, a little old lady in a rest home near Myrna's children in Idaho. If one of them will agree to take “her” in, Florence will really believe in Christmas. Dram...
19 pages
Gender-flexible cast of 12 (with ensemble opportunities)
It’s the greatest story ever told! Well, sort of…. Grade school student Miley accidentally ends up at the annual meeting of the Bethlehem Animal Historical Society. The animals are retelling the story of a miracle night witnessed by their ancestors thousands of years ago in Bethlehem. Only, as they begin to act it out, Miley realizes they may have some of the details and focus wrong. Can Miley help them understand the real meaning and importance of that fateful night? The animals are shocked to find out the peacock is not the star, the donkey doesn’t win a m...
60 pages
24 - 30+ flexible, doubling possible
A guy with an invisible drum, a medieval restaurant host who won’t break character, a milkmaid who just wants to get rid of some cheese, and a dancing snowflake in the world’s ugliest costume. These are just some of the characters you’ll find in “And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.” This 60-minute holiday play weaves together 12 five-minute scenes based on the well-known verses of the Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” With a basic set and hugely flexible cast from adults to children, this play uses humor an...