{"id":6510,"date":"2018-11-26T15:04:43","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T15:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=6510"},"modified":"2020-12-13T17:23:19","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T17:23:19","slug":"deck-the-halls-10-plays-to-read-during-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/deck-the-halls-10-plays-to-read-during-december\/","title":{"rendered":"Deck the Halls: 10 Plays to Read During December"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deck the Halls: 10 Plays to Read During December<\/h3>\n \"\"<\/a><\/span>

Written by\u00a0Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n

August 15, 2018<\/p>\n<\/font>

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For many theatre professionals, the month of December is packed full of productions of\u00a0A Christmas Carol<\/em> (and various other iterations of the tale), but some theatres choose to broaden their horizons during the holiday season. If you’re out of school for break (or have a little extra time on your hands), pick up one of these incredible plays that celebrate the spirit of the holidays.<\/span><\/p>\n \"\"<\/span>

A Tuna Christmas <\/i>by Ed Howard, Joe Sears, Jaston Williams<\/h4>\n

Cast Info:<\/b> 2m
\n<\/span>\u201cIn this hilarious sequel to <\/span>Greater Tuna<\/span><\/i>, it\u2019s Christmas in the third-smallest town in Texas. Radio station OKKK news personalities Thurston Wheelis and Arles Struvie report on various Yuletide activities, including the hot competition in the annual lawn-display contest. In other news, voracious Joe Bob Lipsey\u2019s production of <\/span>A Christmas Carol<\/span><\/i> is jeopardized by unpaid electric bills. Many colorful Tuna denizens, some you will recognize from <\/span>Greater Tuna<\/span><\/i> and some appearing here for the first time, join in the holiday fun. <\/span>A Tuna Christmas<\/span><\/i> is a total delight for all seasons, whether performed by two quick-changing comedians as it was on Broadway, or by twenty or more. Production requirements are minimal, making the play suitable for school and community producers as well as large venues. Audiences who have and who have not seen <\/span>Greater Tuna<\/span><\/i> will enjoy this laugh-filled evening.\u201d – Samuel French<\/span><\/p>\nGet the Play Here<\/a>

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Inspecting Carol <\/i>by Daniel Sullivan<\/h4>\n

Cast Info:<\/b> 8m, 4f
\n<\/span>\u201c<\/span>A Christmas Carol<\/span><\/i> meets <\/span>The Government Inspector<\/span><\/i> meets <\/span>Noises Off<\/span><\/i> in this hilarious hit from Seattle. A man who asks to audition at a small theater is mistaken for an informer for the National Endowment for the Arts. Everyone caters to the bewildered wannabe actor, and he is given a role in the current production, <\/span>A Christmas Carol<\/span><\/i>. Everything goes wrong and hilarity is piled upon hilarity. Perfect anytime, this delight is particularly appropriate at Christmas.\u201d – Samuel French<\/span><\/p>\nGet the Play Here<\/a>

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Seven Santas <\/i>by Jeff Goode<\/h4>\n

Cast Info:<\/b> 5m, 3f
\n<\/span>\u201cThe long-awaited follow-up to <\/span>The Eight: Reindeer Monologues<\/span><\/i>: This time, it’s Santa’s turn, and Christmas will never, ever be the same. Scandal erupts at the North Pole when the most powerful man on Earth is sentenced to rehab for a minor traffic violation. But when he finds himself in a detox program run by the estranged Mrs. Claus, Santa’s desperate struggle to conceal the truth about his arrest uncovers yet another sordid secret that could mean the end of Christmas-as-we-know-it.\u201d – Samuel French<\/span><\/p>\nGet the Play Here<\/a>

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The Crumple Zone <\/i>by Buddy Thomas<\/h4>\n

Cast Info:<\/b> 5m
\n<\/span>\u201cThis hilarious Off-Broadway hit, set in a run-down apartment on Staten Island, concerns three gay roommates coming to a crisis during one frantic Christmas weekend. Terry, an out-of-work actor who can’t keep a job or get a date, spends his days swilling cheap vodka and playing referee to a messy love triangle. Extremely funny and deeply moving, <\/span>The Crumple Zone<\/span><\/i> is about staying together, breaking apart, and the things we lose along the way.\u201d – Samuel French<\/span><\/p>\nGet the Play Here<\/a>

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The Lion in Winter <\/i>by James Goldman<\/h4>\n

Cast Info:<\/b> 5m, 2f
\n<\/span>\u201cSibling rivalry, adultery, and dungeons \u2013 <\/span>The Lion in Winter<\/span><\/i>, by James Goldman, is a modern-day classic. Comedic in tone, dramatic in action \u2013 the play tells the story of the Plantagenet family, who are locked in a free-for-all of competing ambitions to inherit a kingdom. The queen, and wealthiest woman in the world, Eleanor of Aquitaine, has been kept in prison since raising an army against her husband, King Henry II. Let out only for holidays, the play centers around the inner conflicts of the royal family as they fight over both a kingdom and King Henry\u2019s paramour during the Christmas of 1183. As Eleanor says, \u201cEvery family has its ups and downs,\u201d and this royal family is no exception.\u201d – Samuel French<\/span><\/p>\nGet the Play Here<\/a>

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A Facility for Living <\/i>by Katie Forgette<\/h4>\n

Cast Info:<\/b> 3m, 3f
\n<\/span>\u201cJoe Taylor, a retired actor, moves into a prison-turned-elder-care facility shortly after the demise of Medicare and the election of Dick Cheney to President. \u00a0There he discovers a community of loveable, irascible inmates hell-bent on bucking the dehumanizing system in which they have landed. Together, this band of aging misfits rediscovers purpose and dignity in the face of a system mightily stacked against them. A delightful comedy with bite from Katie Forgette, that dares to confront the issue of aging in America.\u201d – Samuel French<\/span><\/p>\nGet the Play Here<\/a>

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Greetings! <\/i>by Tom Dudzick<\/h4>\n

Cast Info:<\/b> 3m, 2f
\n<\/span>\u201cAndy has a sweet Catholic mother, a sour Catholic father and an intellectually disabled younger brother named Mickey. When he brings his Jewish atheist fiance to meet the folks on Christmas Eve, his worst fears about family blow-ups are realized. But when Mickey, whose entire vocabulary has been limited to “oh boy” and “wow,” suddenly spouts the word “Greetings!” the entire family’s belief system is turned upside down. For it seems an ancient, wise and witty spirit who is set upon healing the family’s wounds has borrowed Mickey’s body! Though a play for all seasons, <\/span>Greetings!<\/span><\/i> is ideal for groups wanting something special to put on at Christmas\/Hanukkah time. The Off Broadway production starred Darren McGavin and Gregg Edelman.\u201d – Samuel French<\/span><\/p>\nGet the Play Here<\/a>

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A Doll\u2019s House<\/i> by Henrik Ibsen<\/h4>\n

Cast Info:<\/b> 4f \/ 3m \/ 2 boys \/ 1 girl
\n<\/span>Taking place just before Christmas, <\/span>A Doll\u2019s House <\/span><\/i>explores the communication, or lack thereof, between Nora and her husband, Torvald. \u201cIn Ibsen’s play, Nora Helmer has secretly (and deceptively) borrowed a large sum of money to pay for her husband, Torvald, to recover from illness on a sabbatical in Italy. Torvald’s perception of Nora is of a silly, naive spendthrift, so it is only when the truth begins to emerge, and Torvald appreciates the initiative behind his wife, that unmendable cracks appear in their marriage.\u201d – Bloomsbury Publishing<\/span><\/p>\nGet the Play Here<\/a>

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The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge <\/i>by Mark Brown<\/h4>\n

Cast Info:<\/b> 6m, 2f \/ 8m, 5w
\n<\/span>\u201c<\/span>The Trial of the Century! A year after his miraculous transformation, Ebenezer Scrooge is back to his old ways and is suing Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future for breaking and entering, kidnapping, slander, pain and suffering, attempted murder and the intentional infliction of emotional distress. The ghosts employ Solomon Rothschild, England’s most charismatic, savvy, and clever barrister. Scrooge, that old penny pincher, represents himself. One by one, Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s nephew Fred, solicitor and philanthropist Sara Anne Wainwright, and the ghosts themselves take the witness stand to give their account of the night in question.\u201d – Dramatic Publishing<\/span><\/p>\nGet the Play Here<\/a>

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A Country Scandal <\/i>by Anton Chekhov<\/h4>\n

Cast Info:<\/b> 11m, 5f
\n<\/span>\u201cA play with one of the longest runs in the history of the famous Greenwich Mews Theatre. Though the last of Chekhov’s plays to be produced professionally in America, it was written by the author at the age of 21 and is unquestionably a key to the comic intent of all his plays. Misha has a devil inside him that makes him irresistible to women, including his wife, and a widow, and the widow’s daughter-in-law. While the widow is pursued by a propertied gentleman and a huge serf, she has eyes only for Misha. But Misha prefers an affair with her daughter-in-law. There are many comic interludes, as when the widow’s son tries to challenge Misha to a duel; and all of them point up the humorous failings of mankind in crises. Misha himself fails, when he tries to commit suicide.\u201d – Samuel French<\/span><\/p>\nGet the Play Here<\/a>
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Interested in reading more plays? Check out our other features below!<\/h3>\n