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.
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.
Are you looking for a Christmas extravaganza? This Christian play has it all...toys that come to life, a kind old toy store owner, a villain who is trying to ruin Christmas (and the whole town forever) and a mystery. Merryton is a special town and they love to celebrate Christmas. The problem this year is that someone stole the star from the top of the town Christmas tree. The mayor hires a private detective and the mystery begins. Meanwhile, the toys in the toy store come to life and they are also trying to solve the mystery of the missing star. Many of the toys are based on recognizable characters and much of it is humorous. The villain is Mrs. Murray and her very strange grounds keeper who are trying to remove all religious references from the town's public activities. Meanwhile, while everyone is upset about the star and trying to guess "who-done-it", one Christian family is reaching out to the lonely toy store owner and trying to be his friend. They share the gospel with him over dinner and he gets saved. The British P. I. is about to solve the case, when the Christian puppeteer confesses to the crime to protect the real thief, the toy store owner. But as a new believer, he confesses everything and soon all is forgiven and the town has a happy ending. Well, except for Mrs. Murray. This would make a great musical, however you would have to provide your own songs, none are included here.
A large cast of over 50 plus extras. (speaking parts for 53) Good mixture of adults and children, or could be all children. Gender can be easily changed in many of the roles. Should run about 65 mins without songs.
This is a little different concept for a mystery: Detective Jack Shilowe finds himself in a case where people are looking for influence or someone who influenced them. As Jack talks to folks at a party, he quickly finds out that some of them have something in common. They had someone in their past who had such an influence in their lives in a spiritual way, that they ended up coming to the Lord. The mystery to be solved was that they all had the same person, and she is also at the party, unaware she had any effect in their lives at all. Meanwhile, Jack does some influencing himself by helping a lost soul find his way to the Savior. Jack's character can be fun if he is played like a typical "Philip Marlowe" type detective.
3 males and 3 females. Only about 30 minutes in length. No set, and easy costumes.
This skit takes place at Christmas, but the subject really has very little to do with Christmas. It could be used at any time. Rachel and Angela are sisters staying at their grandparents and they decide to explore the attic. They find an old trunk full of things that seemed to belong to their great-grandfather. As they begin to read newspaper clippings, they find out that he was arrested for murder back in 1939, while in college. This becomes a mystery that they are determined to solve and little brother, Jake joins them as they uncover the story of how their great-grandfather found the Lord while in jail waiting for his trial. What sounded bad at first, turned into something that would change the spirituality of their entire family forever!
3 children (2 girls and 1 boy, but could be easily altered) About 15-17 minutes.
