Holiday

54 pages

5 m, 4 w, 2 flexible, extras

’Tis the night before Christmas, and the employees at the local Shop Smart are forced to work a double shift. Soon a no-good Secret Santa with questionable intentions shows up to pay off the layaway. Will greed win out or will he get put on the naughty list? Throw in a live broadcast with a disgruntled local news anchor, a once in a lifetime mystical fog, and Santa’s giant energy weapon powerful enough to destroy Earth (Pew! Pew!), and you have a superstore full of workers ready to take down the capitalist machine and ultimately help everyone celebrate the ho...

18 pages

Flexible cast of 18 – 30+

Three hobos gather in New York City in the early 1900s. Winter is approaching, and they hatch a plan to get themselves arrested so they can winter in jail, where at least they will have a warm bed and three squares a day. They proceed with multiple attempts to get themselves nabbed, but each attempt fails, for one reason or another. Dejected, they wander the streets until they come to a church where they hear a Christmas hymn playing. The beauty of the scene and the power of the music prompts them to pledge to reform their lives and start afresh—and it’s at t...

44 pages

5 m, 4 w - 1 optional

Detective Vic Torious is called to the Broken Leg Theatre where the leading lady has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. The theatre’s Christmas extravaganza was her return to the stage after a long hiatus. Clearly, she did not disappear of her own volition, but where is she and who is responsible? From a visiting Hollywood producer, to a jealous understudy, to an ex-fiance, to an opportunistic scriptwriter, eight different suspects remain at the theatre awaiting detective Vic Torious’ arrival. His pun-filled inquiries take the audience on a hilarious seri...

64 pages

7 m, 5 w, 5 flexible, and kids (doubling possible)

A timeless masterpiece told in the spirit of La Frontera! This holiday ghost story is filled with thrills and chills to delight young and old alike. But more than a yuletide spectacle, this play is a tale of family, solitude, and redemption. By transplanting the familiar Dickens’ classic from Victorian England to the US/Mexican border, the story finds new life and cultural relevance. Though easily understood by English-speaking audiences, the play has a generous helping of español to add authenticity to the borderland story.

38 pages

4 m, 4 w [1 is a teenager]

Without their knowledge, the residents of the sleepy country town of Mistletoe Ridge are about to be on national television. When TV producer Nash Adams is stranded in the town and forced to stay at the Pear Tree Inn, he meets the proprietor, Trixiebelle Partridge – and a few other colorful residents who are obsessed with the Christmas holidays. With the Tearjerker Television Network’s failing ratings, Nash Adams realizes that an undercover Christmas special about them would be the perfect solution!

Add in apocal...

70 pages

4 m, 1 w, 3 male teens, 4 female teens, 1 girl, 2 flexible, extras

David and Ashley Johnson and their six children are excited about the upcoming holidays singing gleefully “I Can’t Wait for Christmas.” But like most families today, they are over-extended and over-committed! That’s why on Christmas Eve they still need to hit the mall to shop for gifts, stop at a local tree lot to buy the perfect tree, and once home, dig out the old decorations for said tree -- and the rest of the house! The family is so consumed with all the last-minute secular preparations they ignore the most important reasons for the holiday, even when th...

28 pages

3 m, 5 w, 8 flexible, children, doubling possible

Whispering Pines is a small, homey assisted living facility, but for how long? On the death of the owner, the facility has passed to his daughter, who is determined to unload this “albatross.” She has lined up buyers but there’s only one problem. Or really, six problems: the current residents. And together they agree they are not going out without a fight! Knowing that the new owner must find another facility to take them in, they come up with a plan. It’s an elaborate scheme that will ensure that no one else will accept them. So “Operation: Whispering Pines”...

42 pages

3 m, 2 w, 1 girl

   Father Christmas has been kidnapped! And it's only a week ’til Christmas! Facing disaster, Mother Christmas calls the Council of Fictional Christmas Characters (who have developed some humorous quirks since their stories ended) to solve the crime in this comical Yuletide mystery spoof. With bright dialogue, plot twists and comic confrontations, this show is for everyone! Mother Christmas, Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Jack Frost, the heroes of O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi” and the strange little girl Want from “A Christmas Carol” join forces to bring their Victorian-...

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...

17 pages

Flexible cast of 13

We are in the control room of Santa’s Elves on Christmas Eve—our view is exactly what Santa sees on his sleigh monitors. Santa is about to take off, and we are getting an inside look at how that happens from the control room monitors. Papa Elf is retiring next year after 108 years in charge. Spark is in the lead this year, and if all goes well, he/she will be the next Chief Elf. But a disaster awaits that just might cancel Christmas...

* To order:  Under “BUY N...

18 pages

12-23 total. 1 m, 3 w, 19 flexible

It’s the reality show of the season where inhabitants at the North Pole compete to create festive and fun holiday bakes! Hosted by cheery and comedic elves Merry Yuletide and Noel Joyeux, this week’s challenge is cookies inspired by Christmas carols. They will be judged by that merry old soul, Santa Claus, and the chill monarch, the Snow Queen. But grumpy workaholic elf Coal wants everyone to get back to work and not waste time with such trivialities as holiday baking. Will the other inhabitants of the North Pole be able to teach Coal the reason for the seaso...

69 pages

11 m, 4 w, 2 flexible, 1 girl, 1 child, and large chorus

Gather ‘round with the ghosts in the graveyard who will show you the real story of Ebenezer Scrooge! This rousing new adaptation of the beloved novel by Charles Dickens has up-tempo songs of melody and memory. With three actors playing Ebenezer Scrooge, we go back to see Ebenezer through young boyhood, young manhood, and finally to the character we know. In “This Christmas,” Ebenezer’s family is left homeless thanks to his father’s well-intentioned but unrealistic gift giving. When his mother sells the young, gentle boy into servitude, fellow child laborers p...

69 pages

4 m, 2 w

It’s Christmas Eve, and the interstate in Virginia has closed due to major snowstorms.  Frank, a brash billionaire businessman, and his secretary Kristine – who’s not the “sharpest bulb on the tree” – are forced to seek shelter in a highway rest area.  They are soon joined by Tom, a hitchhiking wannabe country music singer, and Mary Beth, a young, very pregnant widow.  Of course, Charlie, the rest area janitor, is stuck there even though he just wants to get home to dinner. 

But this ...

64 pages

Flexible cast

This 45-minute operetta, with over 15 sparkling songs, is the perfect choice for a combined grades presentation. Based on Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," the parts of Scrooge, Fred, Bob, Jacob Marley's Ghost, Mrs. Cratchit and 2 Gentlemen can be played by older students while the parts of Peter, Tiny Tim, Ragamuffins, Grocery Lads and Shopping Lasses can be played by younger students. Other characters, including Angels and Festive Ghouls and Ghosts, are ideal for any age students. In addition to the even distribution of parts, the song melodies are within easy ...

34 pages

4 m, 3 w, 4 flexible, extras

Santa’s elves, Flip and Twip, are sent to help Mrs. Santa with her last-minute preparations for Christmas Eve. The two elves spin mischief, but real trouble arrives in the form of King Sarak and his spoiled son, Prince Horace. By royal decree, Horace’s Christmas stocking must include all the toys in the land! When Santa refuses, offering instead to visit Prince Horace in the usual manner, the King has the toys seized, thus jeopardizing the merriment of Christmas. With Mrs. Santa’s guidance, plus cooperation between Flip and Twip, as well as lots of audience i...

63 pages

8 m, 7 w, 1 boy, 1 girl, extras

Jack Thompson's kids are fighting non-stop this Christmas. Yet the season holds wonderful memories for Jack. He relates the story of his family's magical Christmas back in 1965 when life could not be worse. The stage comes alive with Jack, now 13, with his dad about to lose his business. Mom is worried about the two girls they are sheltering from an abusive home. Grandma, newly widowed, has come to live with them while irresponsible Aunt Hilda and her over-pampered son, Little Claude, arrive for an extended visit. Jack's older sister, Corrie, has a boyfriend ...

63 pages

4 m, 10 w, 1 flexible

It's 1841 and Christmas at Moor Manor doesn't promise to be a happy one. The two daughters of the late Lord Fairchild deeply mourn their father's death. Lady Fairchild has invited her old pupil, now Queen Victoria, and her new husband Prince Albert, for Christmas hoping their presence will cheer her daughters. But the girls act even worse than before. On Christmas Eve, as they are about to run away, they bump into five orphans who have been hiding in the house stealing food. Roused by the commotion, Queen Victoria devises a plan for their "punishment." The or...

74 pages

5 m, 6 w, 6 boys, 4 girls

Emily Ainsley, an idealistic young lady, is trying to provide a home to young orphans, and that's not an easy task in London in 1867. She rents space from a greedy businessman, Aloysius Penningham, but gets behind in the payments. He proposes marriage to her (so that he can manage her future inheritance) or threatens eviction if she refuses. Harrold, an angel in the guise of a gentleman, starts to work on Penningham, while other well-meaning folk attempt to help Mrs. Fritzroy-Palmer locate her long lost daughter. A ragtag band of pickpockets creates havoc and...

78 pages

2 m, 2 w, 1 male teen

An emotional, heart-opening journey about love, friendship, family, sacrifice, and what it truly means to give begins with an enormous Christmas tree wrestled into the warmth of a Colorado cabin. The Britton family, Brad and Tina and their son Nick, are eagerly anticipating the joy of a fun-filled holiday vacation spent with their close friends, Kyle and Jan, who arrive bearing gifts of sentiment, sarcasm, and sass. The two couples merrily begin to share their laughter, their affection, and their memories of the good ol’ days, but too soon Jan begins to quest...

44 pages

14 or more (minimum cast of 8 with doubling)

All the deer inhabitants in Bucksville are lamenting there hasn't been a spring in fifteen years! Coincidentally, that was when our hero, Peter, an orphan bunny, was discovered in a basket and adopted by a family of deer. As the only bunny in Bucksville, Peter feels out of place, and despite words of comfort from his mother, decides to set out on a quest to find spring. His travels bring him to the land of Omalet, where he's delighted to discover other bunnies. They are painting eggs in preparation for the annual test to reveal if spring is inside any of them...

56 pages

15 m, 6 w, extras

This dramatic comedy tells the story of a Christmas in 1938 in the small town of Comfort Falls: population 603. The cream of society is getting ready for their out-of-doors holiday extravaganza at the town bandstand until they find out that the local church is planning a "competing" program, their annual Christmas Eve pageant, also at the bandstand on the same night! The society set, lead by the Widow Jeffries, and the church drama troupe, defended by her long-suffering son-in-law Mayor Hoshpepper, are joined by a hilarious group of eccentric townspeople, inc...

50 pages

5 m, 9 w, 2 boys, 1 girl, extras

It's frantic in the Albert home. Mom is trying to direct a Christmas pageant that no one wants to be in. Dad, an obstetrician, is hoping he doesn't have to deliver any babies the night of the pageant so that he can attend. David, 12, is trying to avoid Victoria Monroe, the meanest girl in town, who insists she play Mary to his Joseph so that they can hold hands. Molly, 15, is worried and guilty when her dreaded math teacher, Miss Morris, informs her mom just how far Molly and her friends have begun harassing the new girl, Darlene. But some special Christmas m...

58 pages

7-8 m, 11 w.

In a small police station Julius Buttrum is having his usual difficult time meeting the demands of both his superior, Lt. Frank Rhule, and his girlfriend, Emily. The capture of the notorious Big Al Gang in this sleepy coastal community has touched off a panic at the station. As it is Christmas, Julius is the one who has to watch the gang throughout the holiday. However, the mild-mannered police officer is under the impression that the Big Al Gang is actually Santa Claus, his helpers and reindeer. Can Santa save Julius from his much put-upon life and bring him...

26 pages

2 m, 5 w, 3 flexible

This time it's not Ebenezer Scrooge but his grandson, Engelbert, who is "bah humbugging." The fun begins when the first ghost, a lovely young lady, pops in, intent on showing the crotchety old executive a grand tour of Christmases past. Add to this merry melange another two ghosts, a snippy secretary, and carolers, and the result is a hilarious situation that Dickens couldn't possibly have foreseen. One act.

55 pages

4 m, 3 w

Christmas in West Texas can be pretty drab, especially for three ranch hands who usually just decorate a cactus with painted barbed wire. However, when it looks as if their boss' ranch may be bought out from under them, Smitty, Bubba and Eddie decide they better come up with something and fast! Sara, their boss, has just about given up and is putting up a valiant front for her 9-year old daughter Jordan. "This has to be the best Christmas ever," she says to the boys. With "Santy" landing on the wrong roof, Eddie's duck getting loose, and the three ranch hands...

40 pages

Very fluid cast. Minimum: 7 m, 5 w.

“The Gift of the Magi” is probably one of the most beloved stories for Christmas. It, along with two other tender stories by O. Henry, “The Last Leaf” and the lesser known “Christmas by Injunction,” are dramatized here, set in the framework of O. Henry’s life which in itself is a story. In the early 1900s he was one of the most widely read authors in America. O. Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter, was known, however, to have spent some time in jail for allegedly embezzling from an employer, and it is believed that he started writing there in ord...

76 pages

5 m, 5 w, 1 girl

“Who IS that guy?” That’s what they’re asking each other at the local police station when Santa Claus shows up handing out gifts. This Santa seems to know them all so well…but they haven’t a clue who he is. It’s not like they haven’t seen people dressed for the holidays, especially since Earlene visits costumed first as an elf and then as a big bunny. Even Chief Culpepper has been known to don the Santa suit. As if this weren’t enough to keep them guessing, state investigator Russell Brooks arrives to check on some irregularities. It doesn’t take long for Bro...

52 pages

3 m, 8 w, 6 children, carolers and skaters

Adapted from Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic novel. Four of literature’s most famous sisters, nurturing Meg, rebellious Jo, sweet Beth and spoiled Amy, must endure the absence of their father while he is away ministering in the Civil War. Under their mother Marmee’s wise and tender care, the girls learn many lessons – including the real meaning of Christmas – as they experience both the painful and the beautiful that life offers. Full of memorable and varied music with richly drawn characters, “Little Women – A Merry Christmas” is a family-friendly timele...

46 pages

7 m, 5 w, 11 teen girls, 3 teen boys.

The Davies’ house is a picture of confusion and complications this Christmas Day with the arrival of various extended family members and guests. No one can find Uncle John, there’s body glitter all over Kelly’s room, Sandy and her daughters have been doing something with feathers in the kitchen, and nobody knows what Nana Jane might do this year! But then a stranger appears who might be Sandy’s new boyfriend, Phil’s old friend from college, or (if we believe Grandpa) the mysterious Uncle Don from the Amazon. The stranger says nothing, and yet his soft smile i...

33 pages

1 m, 2 w

This play deals with the heartache and the trauma of being old, being alone in the world and forgotten. Mrs. Delmonico, a former actress, lives in a tenement building in New York. She exists mostly in her imagination and takes her torment out on her neighbor, Mrs. Quinn. They are unable to get along in any way until this Christmas Eve when Mr. Gartch, one of the roomers whom they have never met, happens upon the scene. He becomes their catalyst - motivating them to look at things differently. Because of his being so positive and hopeful, and because he is ano...