Summary: William Green had the perfect gift for his mother. It was wrapped and ready to go under the tree until a mugging. Stranded in town without any money or phone, William finds a friend in Joseph Fritz, a charity bell ringer, who shows him the story of Jesus from birth to death, and death to eternal life. In the end, William realizes that there is only one thing perfect, and he gave us "The Perfect Gift".
Style: Dramatic. Duration: 60min(?)
Actors: 14M, 4F, 1C +V
Characters
Joseph Fritz (A bell ringer for a local charity)
William Green (Common Man, an office assistant in a local law firm)
Woman (A Typical Mother on Christmas Eve with her child, aggravated)
Jimmy (A typical bored son, shopping with his mother)
Man # 1 (No specific part. Plays several people)
Inn Keeper (Self-explanatory)
Shepherd #1
Shepherd #2
Shepherd #3
Woman ( The Woman at the Well)
Jesus
Mary M
Criminal #1
Criminal #2
Soldier #1
Peter
John
Other Disciples
Angels
Mary
Joseph
Script
[Carolers are singing “Silent Night” which calms the crowds as a few stop to listen and join in. When they are finished and as the crowd applauds, ROBBER comes storming in SR. He runs through the applauding crowd carrying a coat. Closely following him is WILLIAM GREEN who is shouting for the capture of the thief]
GREEN
[Shouting at the crowd]
Stop that man, he’s a thief, stop him, Thief!
[The crowd doesn’t hear or care, for they begin to disperse and leave to continue their shopping. GREEN attempts to get through the crowd as the thief gets away SL]
[Upset and losing hope]
Please, someone stop him.
[The crowd disperses and he is left DN CS. He starts to walk away as the carolers strike up again and sing another Christmas song and the crowd shrinks to only a few. He slowly approaches the area the thief goes but drops to the ground angrily and accidentally by the bell ringer, FRITZ]
FRITZ
[Calling to the shoppers]
Merry Christmas! Donate to the needy! Merry Christmas!
GREEN
[Under his breathe]
What’s so Merry about it
FRITZ
What was that?
GREEN
[Not looking at FRITZ]
I said what’s so merry about it?
FRITZ
Plenty, if you’re in the right mind-set.
GREEN
[Angry]
Easy for you to say. All you have to do is stand there and collect donations so your conscience will be clear for the year and then you’ll go home to your house. There are people who have things to do, people to see, and- Gifts- to buy.
[Realizing his mistake]
Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just that- Oh never mind, like you care.
[Starts to walk away]
FRITZ
Hey now, you wait just a second. What’s bothering you.
GREEN
[Difficulty in delivering the lines]
Well, it’s my mother. She’s 84 and not doing to well. This is probably her last Christmas and -
And I don’t to bore you with this.
FRITZ
Go on, please.
GREEN
Well, I’ve always had trouble getting her something for any holiday. Her Birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Day; but I finally found something she wanted, and I got the last one at the store. It’s not like this thing could be bought from Wal-Mart. It’s one of those things, only available there.
[Getting Angry again]
And now that thief has it.
FRITZ
A man’s coat?
GREEN
No, it was in my coat.
FRITZ
Is that all that was in there?
GREEN
[Not concerned]
Just my keys, wallet, and cell phone. But that isn’t the problem. Those aren't as important as that- perfect- gift.
FRITZ
Though you probably don’t want a sermon right now, but the Bible says that every good present and every perfect gift come from above, from the father who made the sun, moon and stars. And though that isn’t the full verse-
GREEN
[Angry]
Yeah, and that the best gift I can give my dying mother is Jesus, right? Because he was born on Christmas as a gift to the world right?
FRITZ
Wrong! Jesus wasn’t the perfect gift because he- Well, how about I tell you about it another way.
GREEN
I’m sorry sir, but I can’t stay here and wait for Christmas to come. I have to find another gift for my mother.
FRITZ
I understand.[PAUSE] Hey, you don’t have a car right?
GREEN
[Confused]
Right
FRITZ
And since you don’t have any money, how about I pay for your bus ticket and in the mean time we can talk. Okay?
GREEN
I guess so. Are you staying here long?
FRITZ
Closing up now. Are you ready?
GREEN
Sure. My name is William Green
FRITZ
Pleased to meet ya. I’m Joseph. Joseph Fritz. And we my friend are heading to the Bus Stop
[They begin to head SL with FRITZ carrying his stand and the collection pot. They reach the Bus Stop and sit down]
FRITZ
Anyway, as I was saying. In order to tell you the truth about the perfect gift, I have to tell you the whole story surrounding it. Are you ready?
GREEN
[Annoyed and Bored]
I suppose.
FRITZ
[Trying to get him to stay]
Well, I would have loved to get you a cup of coffee and a bite to eat, but since your not so interested I -
GREEN
[Not wanting to lose his ride]
Oh, no I’d love to stay.
FRITZ
Well, good! We are starting at a place probably well known to many. The conception of Jesus.
Scene Two-
(Setting- At rise we see several locations, including inside Mary’s house, outside a house, and a stable.)
[The lights fade out on the two at the bus stop. We still hear the echo of the voice of FRITZ as the lights come up on MARY DN SR. She is sweeping]
God sent the Angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee. He appeared before a virgin promised in marriage, named Mary.
[GABRIEL enters and frightens MARY]
FRITZ
The Angel said
GABRIEL
You are favored by the Lord! The Lord is with you
GABRIEL
Do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God. You will become pregnant, give birth to a son and name him Jesus. And he will be the King of Jacob‘s people forever!
MARY
How can this be? I’ve never been with a man?
GABRIEL
The Holy Spirit will come to you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy child developing inside you shall be the Son of God
[Mary bows in Prayer and Gabriel vanishes. The lights fade and FRITZ‘s voice continues as the lights faintly reveal FRITZ and GREEN]
FRITZ
You know, I’ve always found this funny. Mary had been blessed by God. Chosen over everyone else to give birth to the hope of humanity. And even though all of this has happened. Everyone thinks of her as the total opposite. She’s basically persecuted for bearing Christ! Now, this is were a gift, or blessing can seem more like a curse. Even her own fiance, Joseph wasn’t as excited when he found. Being an honorable man he didn’t want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break off their engagement secretly.
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(c) Copyright John Charles Siedenberg II, all rights reserved.
This is not the full script. The full script can be obtained by contacting the author, at the address below. A royalty fee of $25.00 (American currency) is requested. It can be sent in the mail to the author's address: 121 High Street, Williamstown KY 41097, USA. To obtain the full script, email: