Mostly kids in this show with lots of cousins and typical bickering that you might find when lots of family is together. The play gets serious at the end when Alex has a chance to really share with her cousins about what Jesus did for us and His gift at Christmas.
Cast of 14. (Only 4 older adults, several small children and only 2 male parts, though some of the children could be changed to boys. Most of the actors need to be young adult or teen) About 30 minutes.
CAST OF CHARACTERS:
ALEXIS: (Alex) A young college student, raised by her grandmother (Nana) is a strong Christian and this is by far the largest part.
BO: Alex’s cousin. He’s a new believer and is very excited to talk about his new found faith. He is a few years older than Alex.
HAZEL: Another cousin; a teen who becomes jealous of her cousin, Jaska and her wealth.
JASKA: Another cousin; a teen who is rather flamboyant and outspoken and tries to be funny.
MARIA: Another cousin; she is a teen or older who is sweet and mature as she has two younger sisters to be in charge of.
BABE: Maria’s youngest sister who is outgoing and annoying and likes to dress in outlandish clothes creating her own ‘style’. Teen or pre-teen.
SUNNY: Maria’s other sister, just older than Babe. Typical teen that fights with her sister.
NANA: The sweet and loving grandmother. She is a strong Christian.
LOU LOU: Nana’s daughter. Very busy with 5 small children and somewhat obnoxious.
PRETTY: Lou Lou’s daughter who is a young child. A happy girl with several lines.
GIE GIE: Nana’s daughter and mother of Hazel. The voice of reason. Small part.
JIMBO DUGGLE III: The mean old man that lives next door. Small part.
STEPHANIE: Another daughter of Lou Lou, probably older than Pretty. Small part.
LANDON: A very young boy with only a couple of lines. Also Lou Lou’s child.
(This play takes place in the 50’s with several lines that are from old TV shows and other catchphrases that will be nostalgic for that era. [The shows that are referenced are in parenthesis] It also takes place in the country, perhaps in the south. The set is all one room with no changes: a cute little living room, decorated like an older widow woman might have it. Costumes should also represent the 1950’s and perhaps a county lifestyle.)
Excerpt:
GIE GIE: (To Stephanie and Pretty and Landon) So… what are you kids hoping that Santa will bring you for Christmas?
LANDON: I want a fire truck!
STEPHANIE: I want roller skates!
PRETTY: That’s what I was going to say!
STEPHANIE: Well, I said it first!
PRETTY: But I want roller skates, too!
LOU LOU: Now, girls…you can both want the same thing you know.
PRETTY: But I want to say something different!
BO: So, what else would you like for Christmas, Lovely?
PRETTY: I’m Pretty! My name is Pretty!
SUNNY AND BABE: Booooo! (Everyone joins in with the booing)
BO: (Buries his face in his hands) Just go ahead and shoot me now!
SUNNY: Let’s sing a Christmas carol!
LOU LOU: That would be so much fun! What shall we sing?
SUNNY: (Names a Christmas carol and they all sing it. Perhaps a secular carol at first. Then Alex suggests a Christmas hymn and they all sing that.)
ALEXIS: Whose Bible is this sitting over here?
BABE: It’s Boo’s Bible!
SEVERAL: Boo?
BO: Don’t ask!
ALEXIS: How about if I have Bo read the Christmas story?
PRETTY: What’s the Christmas story?
LOU LOU: You know, honey…Jesus in the manger.
PRETTY: Oh, that.
ALEXIS: Go ahead, Bo.
BO: (Reads a passage of scripture. Probably from Luke 2) I love that story.
BABE: Why is it called The Christmas Story?
ALEXIS: Because that is the real meaning of Christmas! You all know that Santa Claus and presents and trees and all of that is not what the real meaning of Christmas is! Man just added all those things to it over the years. What we just read in the Bible is what Christmas is really all about.
SUNNY: But you have to admit, Jesus being born in a stable is not that exciting, really.
ALEXIS: It’s not? I think it is! I think it is one of the most exciting things that ever happened in all of history! Think about it. God sent Jesus to the earth to be born as a baby. He was the very Son of God!
JASKA: I never could figure out why God had His own Son be born in a barn!
ALEXIS: He wanted Jesus to be born with humble surroundings. But if you realize what happened that night… there was a lot of fanfare. The heavens were filled with a mighty host of angels and they sang and announced His birth to the shepherds on a hill. I would have loved to have seen that!
MARIA: Me too! That sounds pretty neato!
ALEXIS: But I think more exciting than how He came is why He came.
BABE: Why did He come?
ALEXIS: To die. He came down to earth to die for all of us.
SUNNY: That’s terrible! I know Jesus died but…
ALEXIS: Let me finish. It really is a wonderful thing, not a terrible one. That was the whole reason that Jesus came. He came to die for each and every one of us. We are all sinners and because of our sin… we are doomed to die. The punishment for our sin is death. Jesus came to earth at Christmas and died on Good Friday in our place. He took all of our sins upon Himself when He died on that cross. That death was His way of giving salvation to us. Then He rose from the dead on Easter to show us that He has power over death.
BABE: Now you’re talking about Easter, not Christmas.
ALEXIS: It all goes together, Babe. Nana taught this to me years ago, and I know she wants all of you to understand it, too.
NANA: That’s right.
ALEXIS: Look at all the presents under the tree. They all have names on them. I think there is something for everyone here. What if we decided to just go back home and leave all those presents there and never opened them?
ALL THE YOUNGEST KIDS: NO!
ALEXIS: I didn’t think so. There’s some good stuff in there… and we want it, don’t we? I also want to see how much you all like what I’m giving you. Well, at that very first Christmas, God gave all of us a gift. That gift was Jesus, coming to earth to live a perfect life and die in our place. That gift is called salvation. And He has it available for all of us. But if we never take it… if we never open it… we will never know what its all about will we? So many people in the world go off and leave God’s gift to them under the tree and never take it. Nana taught me a long time ago how to open my gift, and cousin Bo here… he just opened his a few months ago. (They all look at Bo who is smiling) And do you know what we found inside?
ALL THE KIDS: What?
ALEXIS: Eternal life. Jesus came inside of our hearts and He gave to us eternal life. This Christmas, the most important present to open is the one from God!
wesage –
I want to thank you for the “Nana’s House” play, It was a big success, and the kids had such a good time working on it and getting into the 1950’s . They were so excited about the costumes (poodle skirts) and trying to figure out who the Lone Ranger and the Honeymooners were. Also thanks for writing this play, it let us have some really neat discussions. Looking forward to checking out some more of your works. I am sure you will hear from me again.
Joyce Jenkins, Mt. Clare United Methodist Church, Clarksburg, WV
wesage –
We presented the play Nana’s House and IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!! We had so much fun preparing for it. Trying to explain the old television shows to the children brought back memories. It was fun creating the scene of an old fashioned living room and having the adults and children dress in that time period. I also love the simplicity of the settings and the costumes. I just want to thank you so much for always presenting such a CLEAR and simple gospel message in your plays. We wish you God’s blessings as you continue to write so that the message of salvation can get out in a clear and unique way. You can be sure I will always consult your website first when looking for a play. Thank you again for providing such wonderful resources. Many people were moved to tears and greatly impacted by your message in Nana’s House and the comments were wonderful.
Ellen Loos, Brick by Brick Bible Church, Buffalo, NY