An original full-length play with music, in two acts
For producers, artistic directors and selection committees
The script is complete and available to license. If your organization would rather not produce it alone, it can also be booked as a turnkey fundraiser. If you plan holiday programming and would rather bring your audience an original full-length play than the same shows they have seen for the last few decades, I would be glad to talk.
| Form | Original full-length play with music, in two acts |
| Running time | About two hours, with one intermission |
| Cast | Four principals, plus an early-teen lead and four to six non-speaking children, roughly ages five to ten |
| Featured guests | Most of the song performances are “featured performer” spots. A producing company can cast them from its own roster; a community program can fill them by open audition and with recognizable local names. One optional school choir spot in each act |
| Set | Split stage. Stage right is a 1950s radio broadcast: two podiums with vintage mics far stage right, a performance area closer to center stage, and slightly upstage a bandstand with a band front and five cardboard person cutouts (homemade is fine, and preferred). A lit “On Air” sign stays lit for most of the show. Stage left is the attic of an old house: old trunks and suitcases, an old mattress, and, featured, a larger-than-life vintage radio with a lit dial. Far stage left and downstage is one armchair |
| Wardrobe | Simple, and mostly things people already own. Radio side: hosts in 1950s style formalwear, a tuxedo and an evening gown; floor manager in black pants, a black button-up and suspenders, with an optional period-correct hat. Attic side: children in present-day everyday clothes or, preferably, holiday-themed onesies. The narrator wears dress casual, nothing flashy. Guest performers wear period-correct formalwear, along the lines of a holiday ball |
| Music | We provide contact information for licensing the twenty songs. Licensing the music for each performance is approximately $30, from a separate company, and your ASCAP/BMI license covers the performance of those songs. The song list is fixed and cannot be changed. We also provide pre-recorded, period-correct comedy commercials, and the original music, written by the author, for Twas the Night Before Christmas |
| Audience | Audience interaction is key throughout the show. The audience will feel like the studio audience at a 1950s radio broadcast. They will be asked to sing along to several holiday favorites, and children in the audience are invited on stage for the final scene |
A free preview performance
With three or more paid performances you may add one free performance on the afternoon before your official opening. It is for invited local school teachers and students, and local media, and it is not promoted to the general public. It fills a room with the people most likely to talk about the show, the day before you need them to.
Modular rehearsals
The show was conceived from the start as something that can be put together quickly and with minimal rehearsal, and it is built around a modular rehearsal model that does not ask for much of your cast’s time. The script is very light on monologue and dialogue.
The radio side and the attic side rehearse separately. They never interact. Guest performers practice on their own time and attend only two rehearsals, the full company run and the tech and dress. They walk out when introduced, sing, accept their applause, and walk off. No spoken lines.
Only one full-cast rehearsal, guest performers included, plus the tech and dress rehearsal, is required on stage. You may choose to schedule more, though you likely will not need to. If you do, the entire show runs through in about 45 minutes when the guest performer spots are skipped, and they genuinely do not need to attend more than those two required rehearsals.
About the author
The author is a retired wedding and radio DJ with a lifelong love of music. He was in theater in high school and has wanted to get back on stage ever since.
The premise of the show came to him in a dream. Much of what happens on stage is drawn from his own life. The scene about sneaking downstairs the night before Christmas morning is his own. The forgotten song was his grandfather’s favorite, and the small ritual performed with it on stage is exactly what his grandfather did every single year. The narrator is named after his grandmother, and modeled on the narrator of one of his favorite films. The station’s call letters, WMRG, are his grandparents’ initials.
This is his first completed script, with more to come. The modular rehearsal format exists for a personal reason: he wanted to be on stage himself, and did not have months of evenings to give to it. He suspects a good many volunteer companies have the same problem.
He answers questions personally by email, and will happily do a talkback or question and answer session with your audience after a performance, or privately with your cast. Depending on distance and his own performance schedule, there is a fair chance he will be in the audience for one of the first licensed productions.
Licensing fee
A $100 script fee, which includes up to two hours of consulting with the author, plus $195 per performance. Discounts are available for fundraising performances benefiting local charities, for all-volunteer companies, and for five or more performances. Contact for full details.
What we provide
- Digital script file, with permission to print copies for your cast
- A detailed production cue sheet with sound and lighting cues
- Print-ready PDF, editable to include your location and dates
- Original Christmas songs for pre-show, with no additional licensing required
- Contact information for obtaining the required backing tracks, approximately $30 per performance
- Pre-recorded, period-correct commercials using original music, with no additional license needed
- Pre-recorded backing track of the original music for Twas the Night Before Christmas, with no additional license needed. That scene is half narrated and half sung
The author is happy to personally answer any questions by email, and a perusal script is available on request. The questions and answers page covers cast size, rehearsal time, set, wardrobe, technical requirements and payment terms in detail.
The author is not currently seeking representation for this script. Publishers and agencies are welcome to make contact; he is open to discussions.
