This month, while we’re running our annual Christmas Sale, we’re featuring each of our Christmas scripts on the blog! We started two weeks ago with our post about Rejected: The Inside Story, and today we’re on to number two in our Christmas play lineup: Christmas at The Three Bees.
For starters, here’s the play’s overall synopsis:
In a quiet town in snowy New Hampshire, one piece of gossip causes quite a stir.
Rumor of a distinguished visitor makes The Three Bees Inn & Bookshop a bustling place on this December day. The owners, Bethany and her brother Luke, find their little place flooded with friends and guests of all kinds, some expected, others not. The prickly Mounce family seems immune to kindness, and the enigmatic stranger named Nick is suspected of dark designs.
In both cases Luke steps in to do what good he can, while Bethany prepares for the arrival of their prestigious visitor. Between dissatisfied guests, family tension, and a problematic snowfall, however, this day does not turn out as planned, and Bethany and Luke must reconsider their ideas of hospitality and relationship if they hope to resolve the conflict around them.
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In some ways, Christmas at The Three Bees is a simple story. It’s in the tradition of those cozy Christmas tales about ordinary people with ordinary lives, about hearth and home, about friendships old and new. The whole action of the play occurs in just 24 hours, and, on the surface, not much happens. A few guests arrive at a little bed & breakfast; friends drop by to catch up on the latest gossip; snow falls, cookies are baked, the Christmas story is read. And that’s about it.
But what’s special about this drama is that those simple things somehow become much more significant than they seem—exciting, even, and possibly profound. Baking cookies turns into an ordeal and, in fact, tests character. Rumor of a young man’s homecoming animates every gossip in town, speculations losing themselves in mystery the longer his arrival is delayed. A bitter father, a dissatisfied mother, and an overlooked child take on the weight of tragedy, and the simple gift of storytelling shines compassion in a dark place.
Ultimately, the story’s revelation—the weight of small things—reprimands our failure to notice these little things that matter most, by pointing to the greatest One we can imagine and reminding us that He loved humble things. He chose to be one Himself.
From the last scene of the play:
Joy: I don’t think the world is small. I think I’m small, and the world is huge. But it doesn’t have room for me.
Luke: [kneels down beside her] It doesn’t have room for any of us—we weren’t made for it. It didn’t even have room for God—remember?
Joy: Why? Because God’s too big?
Luke: No. [pauses] Because He was too small.
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Looking for the play’s logistics? Here are the basics:
Running time: Approx. 100 minutes
Cast Size: 12 (7 female, 4 male, 1 either)
The setting is modern and homey, so props and costumes aren’t complicated. For more information about casting, props, costumes, sound, and lighting, you can read the play’s Production Notes. For specifics about the cast of characters, including a count of how many lines each one speaks, check out the play’s Character List. And lastly, if you want to read an excerpt from the script, here is a Script Sample containing the opening pages of Scene One!
If you’re interested in further information about Christmas at The Three Bees or have any questions, we’d love to hear from you! You can message us through our Contact page or simply send an email to kittywham@gmail.com.