Cast of 15 including 4 adult males and 5 adult females, 1 teen male and 2 teen females plus 3 children or young teens. ( Some of the girl teens could be changed to boys easily, or played by younger kids) about 45-50 mins.
There is another version available by request that has 6 males and 6 females. (Including the 2 teens and one child)
I also have a third version available that has 24 actors. It only has 3 adult males, 1 teen male, 7 adult females, 1 teen female and 12 other teens and children. 10 are very small parts in one scene as carolers.
CAST OF CHARACTERS:
HELEN MURPHY: Middle aged mother and hostess for Christmas, typical mother, mothering her kids and her parents. Large part.
MARGARET: Helens sister. Talkative and opinionated. A colorful character. Also a large part, as big as Helen.
JIM: Margaret and Georges son. New husband and new father.
HARRY MURPHY: Helens husband. Goes along with Helen on most things, but sometimes has opinions of his own.
GRANDMA: A godly woman, who likes to bring the family back to their spiritual roots, and remind them of the truth.
SCOOTER MURPHY: The youngest son. Typical child asking embarrassing questions.
CHRIS MURPHY: The teenage son of Harry and Helen. Has a lot of funny lines and bizarre behavior.
VELMA: The 90 year old neighbor next door. A great character role, using a New York or Boston accent.
GRANDPA: Hard of hearing, likes to wear turquoise and sleeps a lot.
GEORGE: Margarets husband.
SHARON: Jims wife.
SANDY MURPHY: Teenage daughter of Harry and Helen.
JAMIE: Daughter of George and Margaret
JANNY: Jamies sister
MARIA: Teenage girl selling candy.
Excerpt:
From the middle of the play:
HELEN: Is everyone in here?
SCOOTER: Wheres Sharon?
JIM: Shes feeding the baby.
SCOOTER: But where are they?
JIM: They are back in one of the bedrooms.
SCOOTER: Shes feeding the baby in the bedroom?
JIM: Yeah you know, its quieter in there.
SCOOTER: Can I feed the baby?
JIM: No, Scooter, you cant. Well, because he doesnt eat regular
food yet.
SCOOTER: He doesnt? What kind of food does he eat?
HELEN: Never mind, dear.
JIM: Uncle Harry! Dont you think its time you had a little talk
with Scooter?
HARRY: I guess so.
SCOOTER: A talk about what?
HARRY: Well have it later, Scoot.
SCOOTER: Why cant you tell me now?
MARGARET: Why dont we sing a Christmas Carol?
SANDY: Oh no.
MARGARET: Whats your favorite, Scooter?
SCOOTER: Oh, I dunno. I guess Jingle Bells.
MARGARET: Jingle Bells, it is! (She begins singing Jingle Bells and everyone joins in, except Chris and Sandy, and in different keys and not sounding all that good… but going on into the verse Dashing thru the snow and some fade out as they forget the words or it just sounds too bad to continue.) Oh! That was fun!
CHRIS: (Sarcastic) Yeah! Lets do it again!
HARRY AND HELEN: Chris!
CHRIS: I especially liked how well it blended with the classical music in the background.
(Sharon enters and walks over and sits next to Jim)
SHARON: I guess I missed the singing.
MARGARET: Oh, we can sing some more! What do you like, Sharon?
SHARON: Oh, you dont have to do it for me.
SCOOTER: Wheres your baby?
SHARON: Hes sleeping.
SCOOTER: Again? Boy, he sure sleeps a lot! Im never going to get to see him!
JIM: Scooter, you just saw him a little while ago.
SCOOTER: I know. But I like him. Hes cool.
JIM: Im glad you like him, Scooter. We think hes cool, too.
SCOOTER: But he doesnt do anything! He just sleeps all the time!
HELEN: Thats the way new born babies are, dear. They need lots of sleep. Which reminds me.Sharon, do we need to try to keep it down?
SHARON: Oh, no. Im sure hes fine. He seems to sleep through everything. Hes such a good baby.
SCOOTER: Did he eat all his dinner?
HELEN: (Quickly changing the subject) So, Sharon, how long do you plan on nursing?
SHARON: Oh, as long as I can.
HELEN: Well, I think that is really good. So many mothers go right to the bottle as soon as they can.
SHARON: So, did you nurse?
HELEN: Yes, I nursed for quite a while.
SCOOTER: Mom! I never knew you were a nurse! (Everyone busts up at this point) Whats so funny?
GEORGE: (Looking out the window) Hey, there is an old woman coming up the walk.
HELEN: That’ll be our neighbor!
CHRIS: Oh no! You didnt! Can I be excused?
HELEN: You’re not going anywhere young man! (She heads for the door) Hi there, Velma! I’m so glad you decided to come over. Come on in.
VELMA: (Entering, a very old woman who talks with a strong New York
or Boston accent and using an umbrella as a cane) I’m missing all mah shows! Have you had dinnah?
HELEN: We finished a while ago, did you eat anything?
VELMA: I had a TV dinnah. It wasn’t very good.
HELEN: Oh, thats too bad. Come sit over here, Velma. This is my sister, Margaret.
MARGARET: How do you¦.?
VELMA: I have a sistah in Rhode Aahland. She nevah calls me.
MARGARET: Oh, thats too bad..
VELMA: I got a lizzuhd from the pet stow-uh. Ya like lizzuhds?
MARGARET: Well, I bet Scoot¦
VELMA: Huh? Ya like lizzuhds? Ya wouldn’t like mah lizzuhd! I think hes dead. He hasnt moved in a while. Mah dawt uh sez he just sleeps a lot. But mah dawtuh moved to Wiscaahnson about 3 years ago and I don’t see her much. Ya gotta dawtuh? (Barely a
pause) Huh?
MARGARET: Yes.
VELMA: Well, ya still have time. Im gonna be 91 in Maaahch. 91! (Cackles) I dunno. I dunno. (Kind of trails off.)
wesage –
“Christmas at the Murphy’s” was a hit. Everyone enjoyed the play, and the ending was a little more in depth than traditional Christmas plays, so that made it even better. We had our construction types come in and build the set and it looked great. Thanks again. We’re having a Valentine’s Day dinner for couples and we’re doing the “Soup of the Day” skit.
Dr. Danny Evans, Assistant Principal, South Hall Middle School, Gainesville, GA
wesage –
I wanted to let you know that the play was a success. Not only did I direct it, but I ended up playing the part of Velma due to a cast member dropping out! It was a lot of hard work, yet a lot of fun and very rewarding. Thanks for being a creative part of the kingdom. Keep on writing!
Kelly Smith, The Church of Jesus, Piqua, OH
wesage –
We put on your play and it was a huge success!!! I played the part of Velma and had so much fun with it. It was great to be able to put folks of varying ages into the program. People who had never really participated in anything in church got involved in the play. We now have a closer relationship with each other, in addition to our mutual relationships with God. Thank you for sharing your talent and giving us a great experience.
Cathy Willis, Calvary Worship Center, London, KY
wesage –
We presented “Christmas at the Murphy’s” and it was fabulous. The script had wonderful humor to it, good characterization, and a very good (and followable) story line. People enjoyed themselves immensely and we heard many good comments – the kind that let us know that we achieved our objective of giving people a positive exposure to church and to Christ. The gospel message was very well woven into the story: not preachy but also to the point. As a cast (and me as director), many of us had a difficult time when “Grandma” was giving her lines as we were so moved and impacted at how God’s Spirit was moving at that moment (as He had been moving during the entire evening), speaking to the hearts of friends and family that we had brought. Eternity will tell of its true impact, but we were pleased with how it went.
Darren Driedger, Morden Alliance Church, Morden, Manitoba, Canada
wesage –
We performed “Christmas at the Murphy’s” this Christmas. It was hilarious!! Everyone enjoyed the production so much. Thank you. Also, we added a small part at the end where Scooter exits to his bedroom. We actually had him say a prayer of repentance and accepting Jesus into his heart as Lord and Savior. It worked out really well. I’m looking forward to performing more of your scripts. May God continue to bless your talent through Him.
Kathy Wilkerson, Fountain Inn Church of God, Fountain Inn, SC