The Nativity Play

Cast

Scenes

Scene 1

NARRATOR 1: This is a story of family.

NARRATOR 2: This is a story of foe.

NARRATOR 1: This is a story of happiness.

NARRATOR 2: This is a story of low.

COW, DONKEY, SHEPHERD, and INNKEEPER walk on.

ALL start singing ‘Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel’.

Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel,
And with your people always dwell.
Who mourn in mortal exile here,
Until the Lord of life appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come again and with us ever dwell.

ALL exit stage except NARRATOR 1 and NARRATOR 2.

NARRATOR 1: Welcome to the first Anscomb Christmas Nativity!

NARRATOR 2: Where Rafeeq will be making his debut.

NARRATOR 1: So Merry Christmas!

NARRATOR 2: Feliz Navidad!

NARRATOR 1: Joyeux Noel!

BOTH NARRATORS: And enjoy the show!

BOTH NARRATORS go to their spot and keep reading their bibles.

Scene 2

MARY enters and kneels on her bed praying.

NARRATOR 1: The story starts with Mary.

NARRATOR 2: She is poor and part of a suffering community, called Nazareth.

NARRATOR 1: Mary and her husband Joseph often wished for God’s presence in their problem-filled world.

NARRATOR 2: And then one day something extraordinary happened!

ANGEL GABRIEL enters with LITTLE ANGELS, scaring MARY.

LITTLE ANGELS run around with streamers.

ANGEL GABRIEL: Peace be with you, Mary! I have come to save you and your town!

MARY: What? Who are you? What do you mean?

ANGEL GABRIEL: Don’t be afraid of me, Mary. God is pleased with you! You will become pregnant and give birth to a baby, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and people will call him their savior!

MARY: This is so strange... am I dreaming? A son? The Savior? God?

ANGEL GABRIEL: It’s pretty awesome, right? Your town is in desperate need of some help. Your baby will be holy! He will be the son of God.

MARY: The son of God?

ALL LITTLE ANGELS: Bye Mary!

MARY: Wait! Don’t leave! I have more questions!

ANGEL GABRIEL: Sorry Mary, you must face the rest of this story yourself, but God above is watching you.

MARY smiles.

ANGEL GABRIEL and ALL LITTLE ANGELS leave.

JOSEPH enters.

MARY: Joseph!

JOSEPH: Mary, I have news!

MARY: So do I!

JOSEPH: You go first!

MARY: I am pregnant! But not just pregnant with a baby, but pregnant with the son of God! The savior of all people! The King!

JOSEPH: (gasps) God has answered our prayers! We will no longer suffer as we have before!

MARY: Yes! We will be happy! And what is your news?

JOSEPH: Oh. My news is that the emperor has declared a census. That means we must travel to my hometown all the way in Bethlehem to be counted.

MARY: But I am pregnant!

JOSEPH: Oh no...

MARY and JOSEPH exit.

SCENE 3

KING HERROD walks on.

NARRATOR 2: Meanwhile, the evil King Herrod was not happy with the news of this new king.

JULIET, FAFA, and NAOMI run on with a scroll.

KING HERROD: Messengers! What news do you bring? (reads note) What?! The son of God? This is unacceptable! I am the king, not this new chap! He cannot live on! Wise men!

WISE MAN 1 and WISE MAN 2 take off their shawls and run onstage.

WISE MAN 1: We are the glamorous and fabulous...

WISE MAN 2: The rich and sparkly... Wise men!

Wise men point to their sequins.

WISE MAN 1: Yes my king?

WISE MAN 2: We are here!

KING HERROD: I have had news about a very powerful baby, that is to be born soon. As you are very wise, you should know where he is being born, so I can ensure he never grows up, he never becomes more powerful than me!

WISE MAN 1: (talking to audience) In fact, we did know where he was being born. We had prophesied it.

WISE MAN 2 acts out reading a magic ball.

WISE MAN 2: Yes, but we also knew that the new king would be a good thing for the people, and would help them get a better life.

WISE MAN 1: And the king was planning to kill him! So we kept our knowledge secret.

WISE MAN 2: (turning to KING HERROD) Sorry my king, we don’t know.

KING HERROD: Errrrr! I have to do everything myself around here!

KING HERROD storms off.

WISE MAN 1: Oh no! What if he finds the baby? We must go to Bethlehem to protect him.

WISE MAN 2: And praise him! He will be our king someday. Let’s go.

WISE MEN leave.

SCENE 4
WISE MAN 2 stops right before the exit
NARRATOR 2: In the meantime, Mary and Joseph had just begun their long, tiresome journey to Bethlehem.
WISE MAN 2 exits
ALL come on stage
MARY is on cow being led by JOSEPH in the front
ALL parade around audience
As ALL parade, ALL sing ‘O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM’
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM,
HOW STILL WE SEE THEE LIE!
ABOVE THY DEEP AND DREAMLESS SLEEP
THE SILENT STARS GO BY;
YET IN THY DARK STREETS SHINETH
THE EVERLASTING LIGHT;
THE HOPES AND FEARS OF ALL THE YEARS ARE MET IN THEE TONIGHT.
ALL exit except NARRATORS
NARRATOR 1: When Mary and Joseph arrived, they were cold and tired.
NARRATOR 2: Mary’s baby was coming very soon, so she needed a place to stay.
INNKEEPER comes on
NARRATOR 1: Finally, they found a kind innkeeper who had a place they could rest.
JOSEPH mimes knocking on door
INNKEEPER mimes opening
ANIMALS get into places
JOSEPH: Hello! Is there any room in your inn?
INNKEEPER: I’m so sorry, but the place is stuffed with all this census business. You both look so tired from your journey though, so you must stay in my stable! The hay is fresh and will keep you warm for the night, and there are only a few animals! Let me take you!
MARY: Thank you so much!
INNKEEPER leads MARY and JOSEPH across stage to flap
INNKEEPER tears away flap to reveal manger scene with all ANIMALS
INNKEEPER: Goodnight to you both!
INNKEEPER exits
MADELEINE goes to get BABY JESUS from the audience
NARRATOR 1: And it was here, in this lowly place, that Jesus was born.
MADELEINE should be giving BABY JESUS to MARY
NARRATOR 1: Mary wrapped him in cloth and laid him in a manger. A bright star had appeared, and many people were coming to praise the king.
ALL ANGELS and INNKEEPER come to stable
WISE MEN put on their crowns, get their presents, and kneel at manger
WISE MAN 2: We praise you with our gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Everybody is silent for a few seconds
INNKEEPER: Have you ever had a moment of calm in the midst of chaos?
ANGEL GABRIEL: Jesus was born in a crowded city with noisy animals...
MARY: But maybe after the hard messy work of bringing Jesus into the world, His family had one of those moments.
JOSEPH: His birth was simple and silent.
SEBAS comes on stage
ALL ACTORS start singing ‘SILENT NIGHT’

Final Song: Silent Night

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon virgin mother and child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

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