Go back in time to the old mysteries from the 40's and 50's where you hear the detective narrating as the story goes along. Based on "film noir" but not as dark: Think Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe. As our story begins, we find Johnny Howland waking up in a coffin and wondering how he got there. He discovers he has amnesia, and as he tries to get his memory back, he continues with his work, faking it with his clients and looking for clues. Who wanted him dead, and also who killed Hanfield Rivers, or is he even dead? Mrs Rivers, the supposed widow, is your classic 'film noir' dame. Have fun with costumes and makeup, and play out the parts like 'Bogart and Bacall'. The big difference here is a sweet young Christian woman named Laura leads Johnny to Christ, and that brings a whole spiritual side to the story that you would not expect. But that doesn't mean we don't have the big finale with guns and blackouts, screaming and fainting, and twists to make the story more intriguing. This is one of my more popular Christian plays, and has been performed many times around the country in the past few years.
11 actors (6 male and 5 female) all adult or older teens. one hour long.
This Christian play takes place in a diner and all the scenes have the same set. The main characters are the 4 waitresses who work there and the town sheriff who comes by daily for his coffee. There is a lot of humor as the girls have a contest to see who can get the customers to order strange items that are not on the menu, and some interaction with some of the customers. We are introduced to Johnny, the cook, (another lead character) who hates his life and dreams of leaving the small town and trying to make it in the big city. Carrie Ann is a young mother working at the diner who tries to share the Lord with Johnny. A sudden tragedy rocks the town when a bus crash kills some kids and Johnny learns that his best friend was the driver who was also killed. The sheriff shares how he lost a brother in a similar crash back in 1981 and he tells how he got through that, and shares how he came to Christ at that time. Johnny is moved by his testimony and gets right with God as well. Johnny does leave town, but with a new lease on life and in an upbeat manner. The play ends on a humorous note as they get back to their funny contest. The play could be done any time of year and the references to Christmas easily removed.
Cast of 15 plus extras. (written as 2 males, 8 females and 5 children) Some of the customers can be easily changed to men. Two extras are a senior couple. Runs about 50 min.
Here is a Christian mystery script for you. Is it a modern day rendition of “The Good Samaritan” or an old fashioned “Who-Done-It?” You decide. This is a mystery in four acts that is loosely based on the story of the Good Samaritan. This Christian play begins with a man lying on the floor, and the only person who comes to his aid to even see if he is alive is his lawyer, Samantha Good. The victim is Richard Blumfeld, who has invited several people over for a party, and someone there has stabbed him and left him for dead. Samantha becomes the sleuth while they wait for the paramedics and the police, and they all begin to try to solve the mystery of who tried to kill poor Richard. It seems almost everyone has a motive, as he was not a likable fellow. Could it have been his evangelist brother, the evangelist’s wife, the business partner, the therapist, his only son, the girlfriend or the cook? In act four, the perpetrator is caught, and Richard recovers…a changed man. Besides the tongue-in-cheek mystery, this play deals with issues like shame, phony Christianity, forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption and just doing what the Lord would have you to do.
10 actors (6 male and 4 female) all adult or older teens. 50-60 minutes.
This is the ultimate reality show, where the winners get Heaven and the losers go to hell. Each guest (contestant) on the show is first shown in a video, where the person dies. After their death, they are brought on stage and become part of the show, "This is Your Reality" with the host, Ed Turnity and a live studio audience. I have borrowed ideas from reality shows, talk shows and game shows to put together a play that really talks about the judgment day and what determines where we spend eternity. At the end of the show, the book of life is opened, and only one of them gets in to Heaven. A final contestant is selected at random from the audience (a planted actor) to make members of the audience wonder what they would say if they had been picked.
14 actors (7 male and 7 female with some extras - adjustable) No set changes, can be done very simply, with few props. About an hour. Videos can be filmed on location and shouldn't be too hard.
Ready to tackle a serious drama that talks about a lot of serious issues? This drama covers many topics through many stories and it all takes place within one church congregation. The main character in this play is "judging", and practically every person in the story is guilty of it. As the pastor seeks to help his congregation and do what God leads him to do, we find out that a lot is going on and people are reacting to other people and events in a less than loving way. There are at least ten different stories intertwined that cover controversial topics such as suicide, abortion, homosexuality, infidelity and sex offenders, just to name a few. Most of the stories are not wrapped up in a nice little ending, but more like real life, and they are not all dealt with in the best manner. Some people react to what is happening in a loving and Christ-like way, and others simply judge, which is how most of us probably do it. When the pastor decides to ask his congregation to be courageous and seek help and ask for prayer, he finds out that there is a lot going on behind the masks that we wear as Christians. The largest parts are the pastor (because there is a sermon excerpt), a judgmental and troubled mother, a young man struggling with his feelings and his good friends, plus the choir director and a woman conflicted in her marriage.
This play is long, just under two hours. (adapted from a screenplay) However, you can easily remove some of the characters and also their story lines which would shorten the play quite a bit. As written, there are 30 speaking parts (13 males and 17 females) 2 are children and 1 teen. Also extras can be used. Most of the scenes take place in either the sanctuary of the church or someone's living room. This can be done by having your stage divided with the church scene on one side and the home scene on the other. That way you don't have to take down the sets a whole bunch of times.
This play takes place in the late 20's or early 30's in a fictional town called "Rain River Valley". The people are poor and live in the backwoods and their lives are simple and uneventful till the day that young Billy Brown prays for a dying boy and God miraculously heals him. Billy is slow, but he is mighty in spirit. He loves God and loves His Word. A new preacher in town comes along and befriends Billy and is able to help Billy overcome a disabling secret that was making him unnaturally fearful of the river and of the rain falling. The river and the rain are also characters in this drama that seems to be coming to a nice happy close just as the reality of death and eternity brings a surprise ending. The gospel is presented and choices are made.
10 actors (5 males - one child, and 5 females) Several extras needed. A few set changes, can be done very simply, with few props. 60-70 mins.
This is a comedy about marriage. (or musical comedy if you wish) Perfect for a Christian dinner theater or Valentine banquet. The play centers around two best friends who live next door to each other and spend a lot of time together talking about their marriages and trying to think of ways to make them better. The play turns into a slapstick comedy several times with falls, gags and surprises and even a pie in the face. It might remind you of some of the old sitcoms of the 50's. There are plenty of husband and wife squabbles that you may find hilarious, especially if it reminds you of yourself. There is a tiny message at the end about love and feelings and what the difference is, as one of them expresses how love is from God and it involves a commitment. But overall, there is not a strong spiritual message. The play is mostly done for laughs and the two male leads have the largest parts by far. There are places where songs could be added to make it a musical. Some song suggestions have been made, but the songs are not included in the script.
5 major roles (2 males, 3 females) A few males and females in very small roles and as extras. (only 3-5 with lines)
Should take a little over an hour, or 90 minutes if 4 or 5 songs are added.
A futuristic play that speculates about the end times. After the rapture of the church, Steve Burton has gotten saved and is now working for the new evil government. He and fellow employee Valerie escape from their jobs and go into hiding. As the play opens they are sneaking into an abandoned house and find two women and a man already hiding there. The story is really not so much about the book of Revelation as it is a story about people trying to survive in a safe house together. Steve and Amanda become attracted to each other and then Stephanie shows up, a frightened girl running away after her church was raided. The gospel is presented and one character gets saved. Some are arrested at the end and leave the house knowing that they will face execution. Serious acting as the character Mark breaks down under the stress of fear and anger.
8 actors (4 male and 4 female) all adult or older teens. About an hour. No set changes... easy set with just a living room scene.
Somewhat medieval, the costumes will be fun, and the story is a sometimes humorous allegory about our love for Jesus. The King has called on his faithful knight, Sir Virtue, to travel across the kingdom and find out why the people, and especially the King's own men, no longer love the King. Comparisons can be made to our own lives as we look at reasons why we don't love God, don't obey Him and gather into cliques instead of drawing others into the kingdom by our example of love. At the end, everyone repents and they all head back to see the King and celebrate their love and worship of Him. Another version of the script is available with the dialogue in Old English. (like a King James version Bible) This could be more difficult but also more fun. Sir Virtue is a very large part.
10 actors (7 male and 3 female) all adult or older teens. About 45 minutes.
Another version is available (also in Old English) that has another female as Sir Virtue's sidekick, (large part) and Virtue has fewer lines. The King is played by a youth and there are comical lines throughout the script making reference to the king's size. Also a small part at the opening for a female. (just purchase the script and then email and ask for this version) About 50-60 mins.
The story of Corrie ten Boom is narrated by Corrie's nephew, Peter, and spans 32 years. As a young lady, Corrie was smitten with Karel, a friend of her brother. But Karel only thought of Corrie as a good friend, and he married someone else. Corrie had many difficult situations in her life.. and her father was a wise and strong man who gave her much strength. The play jumps to World War II, and the ten Boom house in Holland is being used as a safe haven for Jews. Corrie's sister Betsie is concerned about their involvement in the underground, but they get in heavy, and soon the house is raided and all are beaten and taken off to jail. Act 2: Corrie and Betsie end up in Germany in Ravensbruck camp, that seems like hell itself. Betsie dies there, and Corrie tells the audience all of her emotions as she deals with her sister's death. In the final scene, she meets a man who was a guard at the camp and he asks her forgiveness. Again she tells the audience of all her feelings. An emotional drama with a powerful message of forgiveness and of God being with us even in the deepest pit. One of my more popular and favorite Christian plays.
Cast of 21 adults, (11 male, 10 female) plus extras. 60-75 mins. * Used by permission
This is a story about a church youth group that learns a lesson in love and acceptance. This could work as a Valentine program, although there is no romance in the story. Two new students show up at church and become part of the youth group. One fits in quickly, while the other is obviously an outcast. The kids don't even know that these two are really brother and sister. Soon, we learn who the other outcasts are and that this youth group as well as the church as a whole has a lot of cliques. This part is humorous as we look into the various cliques in the church, but the script gets serious as the kids begin to face their own prejudice about someone that they really don't know. Several characters stop and tell the audience during a freeze all about what they are truly feeling on the inside. The youth leader teaches them a lesson from I Corinthians 12 about how they are all part of one body and they need each other. This helps to open the eyes of some of the kids to stop thinking in terms of "us and them".
Cast of 16 speaking parts (10 females and 6 males). About 35-40 mins.
A fun youth drama (high school or young adult/college age) with music and costumes from different eras. Perfect for a Valentine Banquet. You will get the real nostalgia feel on this one along with some science fiction. Abigail is a teenager who is frustrated with the dating scene and wants to know what true love is. A time traveler shows up to take her back in time to see how her parents met and fell in love, also her grandparents and great grandparents. This takes you to the 70's, the 40's and the 20's. Add songs from those periods with some fun costumes and you and your audience should have a delightful time. A spiritual message is woven into the story as Abigail watches her great grandparents get saved... which was when the Christian heritage began for her family. This is when Abigail decides to focus on her relationship with God and let the love thing happen in His timing. The gospel is shared in that scene and you will find period references and slang throughout the script. You will need to find your own music.
Cast of 17 actors. (7 males, 9 females, the time traveler can be either) About 30 minutes of dialog (before songs are added). Simple sets.
