NEW STAR (shortened version)

[Musical Introduction, if possible. OLD STAR ENTERS and stands at microphone. At the end of the musical introduction, NEW STAR ENTERS and is welcomed.]

[LIGHTS UP on OLD and NEW STAR]

OLD: Welcome, little Star! You’re looking very nice this evening.

NEW: Oh, thank you, Old Star. I’ve been working on my shining.

OLD: Good job! And, of course, this is a really great night for us to look our best.

NEW: Why is that?

OLD: Because it’s Christmas!

NEW: Oh, Christmas! Sure! Uh… What’s Christmas?

OLD: You don’t know what Christmas is? Oh, that’s right. You

are a new star! This is your very first Christmas!

NEW: Yes! Is it your first Christmas, too?

OLD: Ha, Ha! Who me? Oh, no! I’ve seen over 2000 of them.

NEW: Wow! 2000! …Is that a lot?

OLD: Well, no, it’s not a lot in ‘star years’. There are lots of stars older than me. But,

I’m old enough to tell you about the First Christmas, and to explain why we still celebrate it, even after all these years.

NEW: Oh, please do. I want to hear about it.

OLD: Okay, but before I do, we have to go back a little …before the First Christmas.

NEW: How far back?

OLD: Not far – About a year. And we have to travel to a place called Nazareth.

[Two people ENTER with a sign that says “Nazareth” and place it at CENTERSTAGE. Then they EXIT. MARY ENTERS and moves to CENTERSTAGE.]

[LIGHTS UP on MARY.]

NEW: Ohhh! Who’s the pretty lady?

OLD: That’s Mary. She is lovely, isn’t she? Mary is a Virgin, and she is to

marry a man named Joseph.

NEW: Is that Joseph? He looks like a nice guy.

OLD: He is. Joseph is a carpenter. He is also a good man.

NEW: What’s he doing?

OLD: Building something.

NEW: I hope it’s a cradle.

OLD: I think you’re getting ahead of our story.

NEW: Oh… So, what happened next?

[Two persons ENTER and remove sign that says “Nazareth.” Then they EXIT. MARY and JOSEPH may be seen leaving for Bethlehem. They may walk around auditorium.]

OLD: for Mary and Joseph, it was a pretty long trip now that Mary was waiting for a baby.

NEW: Where did they have to go?

OLD: …Bethlehem.

[Two people ENTER bringing in a sign marked “Bethlehem” and a manger. They set them down near each other at STAGE LEFT and then EXIT. CROWD may fill the stage.]

NEW: Wait a minute! Bethlehem… Isn’t that the one they sing about? The one they

call “O, little town” of Bethlehem?

OLD: Yes, it’s the same one they sing about.

NEW: I really like that song.

OLD: Listen, I think someone’s going to sing it now.

SUGGESTED SONG: “O, LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM”

www.SundaySchoolCenter.com

NEW: Wow. They can really sing! But listen, I thought this was a story about the FirstChristmas. When do we get to the part with the tree and the star?

OLD: There was no tree that first Christmas, but there was a star.

NEW: Where? (Looking around)

OLD: We’re getting there. First we have to hear more about Joseph and Mary.

NEW: Okay… let’s get on with it. (I’m ready for my cookies…)

[CROWD ENTERS if not already onstage and mills around near the sign for Bethlehem.][MARY and JOSEPH ENTER from a great distance and cross to the stage slowly.]

OLD: So, Joseph went to Bethlehem and Mary went with him. But it wasa long and difficult trip for them…

NEW: Look! There they are! Mary and Joseph have arrived in Bethlehem. And Marylooks very tired. Mary looks like she’sgoing to have that baby any minute.

OLD: You’re right. there was no room for them in the inn.

OLD: There Mary had her baby, and she put him

in the manger.

NEW: What’s a manger?

OLD: It’s a nice box where they would put food for animals

NEW: What did they name the baby?

OLD: They named Him, Jesus, which means “The LORD saves.”

NEW: Look! I think they’re going to sing again!

OLD: They do that a lot at Christmas time…

SUGGESTED SONGS

“TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE STAR”

NEW: Really!? You are the New Star? But you are so old.

OLD: So is the story, over 2000 years old… But it is still as true today as it was on that

very First Christmas. And that’s why we still celebrate Christmas today.

NEW: Thank you for telling me the story of the First Christmas. I think I will shine a

little more brightly now that I know all of this.

NEW: Okay… So… What now?

OLD: Looks like it’s time for another song.

[NEW STAR and OLD STAR start gathering up their things to leave.]

NEW: And cookies? I love cookies.

OLD: Yes, yes… We’ll get you some cookies. Come on.

NEW: Oh, boy! I really LOVE Christmas!

[NEW and OLD STAR EXIT or join ALL CAST and CHOIR for final songs.]

“WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS”