Samaritan Christmas
Joanna is a hard-hitting public relations consultant, willing to work night or day for her clients, especially one who is a U.S. senator. On the night of Christmas Eve, the senator has driven into a ditch. Normally, Joanna would handle everything said to the public about the accident. But to her immense frustration, the senator delegates her chief of staff to communicate with Joanna, and he refuses to give Joanna many details. So, she presses her staff to find out what is happening. Meanwhile, Joanna’s younger brother, Jesse, has just arrived, prepared to celebrate with his sister. But Joanna is so caught up in dealing with the senator’s accident and the seeming cover-up that she practically ignores Jesse. Next door to Joanna’s apartment, a young girl, Celia, sits in the hall, crying. Her mother has just died, and now her distraught grandmother is unable to get out of bed. So, against Joanna’s wishes, Jesse brings Celia into Joanna’s apartment and their lives. The result is life-changing for cynical Joanna, who comes to consider Christmas in a whole new way. With short music interludes to mark the passage of hours, this story ably speaks to those without faith while encouraging all those who believe in the incredible power of Jesus’s birth.
Productions
Behind The Scenes
With Terrell Anthony
What inspired you to write this play?
God’s boundless creativity and love for us, demonstrated in Jesus’s birth.
What's your favorite part or line in the play? Why?
Joanna’s line, “You surely know the story of God being born as a baby is at best very poor marketing.” God’s coming as an innocent, vulnerable baby can seem incomprehensible in our modern world. Joanna gives the audience opportunity to identify their own skepticism and feel it slowly be undercut.
Where did the characters come from? Are they based on people you know?
Every character I write is a blend of people I’ve known. That helps me keep them relatable and evocative.
What did you try to achieve with this play?
To write a Christmas play from an uncommon perspective, a play that can be readily staged and is as fitting for a university, college, or high school stage as it is for a church, a play that’s as much for those who don’t believe in Jesus as it is for those who do.
Do you have anything else you'd like to add?
The conversations about Jesus and Christmas I’ve had with people regarding this play have felt more satisfying than writing it.