How Will Your Church Tell HIS Story?

The Power of Music Theatre

In college, preparing to fulfill my call from God to pastor the musicians and other artists of the church, I received a direct call from the Lord to tell His story using music theatre. (The complete testimony of this event and the life it led me to is found here: Rogers and Hammerstein and Me – Steve Phifer) The difference between a musical comedy and a musical play is significant. A musical comedy is designed to entertain the audience, singing, dancing for them. In a musical play the performances tell the story of the characters. Presentational songs and dances would stop the story and tickle the fancy of the audience. In a musical play, everything is used to tell the story. The audience observes the drama as the story unfolds. This creates within them an openness to the meaning of the events, dilemmas, and conclusions of the characters and the story. This audience posture is perfect for the telling of the Jesus Story. For details on how this is done, request my PDF collection of articles on production ministry:

Meanwhile, there is still time in 2025 for you to tell the Jesus story using music theatre. May I suggest my One Act plays.

The Power of the One-Act Play
After many years of writing epic 2-3 act plays to tell the Jesus Story, I turned to 1-act plays. A shorter play is much less demanding on the local church to produce. The story is briefly told and goes straight to the point. Sub-plots and secondary characters are minimal. Music is used as commentary, mood setting, and character development. Best of all is the hand-off! When the play is over, the pastor can immediately call for a response from the congregation. I believe so strongly in DRAMA in service to evangelism that I present these 1-act plays for your consideration. Running time with optional music: approximately 60 minutes (without music approximately 50 minutes).

These two plays are each part of what I call “cycles.” In this form the Christmas play is Part One and the Easter Play is Part Two. For me this is a much more efficient use of musical and technical resources, and certainly production time.

Let’s take a closer look at these Easter plays.

Synopsis
The Time: A.D. 70
The Event: The Fall of Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Temple

The Action:
Mary, the Mother of Jesus is 86 years old. Her fourth son, Simeon is now the pastor of the Jerusalem church and the primary care-giver for his mother. With the help of an aging shepherd named Benjamin, who was one of the shepherds at the manger, they have escaped to Bethlehem, although Benjamin has remained behind; he cannot abandon the Temple to the Romans. The Pastor of the Jerusalem church is Caleb, the son of Benjamin, who takes Mary and Simeon in during a worship service in his home. The service is interrupted by Caleb’s unbelieving daughter and her husband. Other family members are believers. The service is interrupted again by a Roman Officer and his aide, Anthony and Cashua, who are under orders to follow Mary and Simeon. In the process of the service, the worshipers tell the Jesus story to the soldiers and find comfort for their grief in the Gospel story. The audience sees the Gospel of Christ as both a hope for life itself and a comfort in times of loss.

Characters
3 Women 5 Men

Mary, the Mother of Jesus
Simeon, the brother of Jesus
Caleb, Pastor of the Bethlehem Church
Ruth, daughter of Caleb
Rowena, sister of Caleb
Asher, husband of Rowena
Anthony, a Roman Centurion
Cashua, a young Roman soldier
A Chorus of Believers from the Bethlehem Church

Music
You Thought of Us
Kyle Matthews Arranged by Camp Kirkland

Scenes and Songs
Scene One: Prologue
Songs: Arise (w/ Our Great Savior)
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

Scene Two: Enter Rowena and Asher
Song: That’s the Heart of God with Hosanna

Scene Three: Enter Mary and Simeon
Song: Friend of a Wounded Heart

Scene Four: Enter Anthony and Cashua
Songs: One at Your Table
The Day He Wore My Crown
You Thought of Us

Scene Five: Anthony’s Story
Song: Will You Worship?

Scene Six: At the Table
Songs: Above All
Worthy Is the Lamb

Scene Seven: Finale
Songs: Our Great Savior, Arise
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
Friend of a Wounded Heart

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Script and Story by Stephen Phifer
Music and Narrations from:
Then and There by Geron Davis and Bradley Knight
Jesus, No Other Name by Randy Vader and Jay Rouse

Characters:
3 Women 10 Men

King Melchior: One of the three Magi to visit the Christ Child, now, 36 years later, presiding over a divided kingdom.

Aziel: Spiritual leader of Melchior’s kingdom, formerly one of the shepherds from that first Christmas night; husband of Lucretia; father of Hosah, harboring only spiritual, not political ambitions for his son.

Lucretia: Wife of Aziel, mother of Hosah, a voice of reason but ambitious for her son.

Hosah: Son of Aziel and Lucretia, one year from his return from exile with the rest of the Jesus story. Now reconciled with the king and with his parents, Hosah is Melchior’s choice to succeed him to the throne of the kingdom. Hosah’s mind and heart do not agree on Melchior’s choice. He is the chief proponent of Christ.

Prince Hazad: Nephew of Melchior, whose father, the king’s brother has recently died. He makes a blood-claim to the throne. He is a brilliant young man, neutral on all religions, who seems a very genuine, good soul and is popular with the people. He and Hosah have been friends their whole lives. The entrance of Jesus into Hosah’s life is more of a barrier between them than Hosah’s infamous rebellion. Hazad’s ambitions lie beneath the surface, where it mixes with his innate pride of position.

Zoron: The Keeper of the Sacred Embers in the Temple of Fire and chief proponent of the ancient pagan religion of Melchior’s kingdom before this Tribunal; a not-so-brilliant man who has great difficulty making sense when he speaks.

High Priestess Sultrana: The smarter and wiser assistant to Zoron. Sultrana bails Zoron out when he gets into situations that are clearly over his head. She is reminiscent of Jezebel in that she is a brilliant woman propping up a stupid man.

The Great Tribunal: Achmed, The Keeper of the Treasury; Batrol, the Keeper of the Laws of the Kingdom; and General Zerstan, Leader of the Army and Defender of the Borders—three high ranking officials who will recommend a course of action to Melchior and the other leaders of the land as to how to reconcile the competing religions and unify the people.

The Witnesses: Mary, Martha and Lazarus: three witnesses to the power of Jesus and his story brought to the Tribunal by Hosah. They are able to step out of Melchior’s Palace into the flashback sequences.

Jesus, the Christ: The Focus of the play; His story is told in “flashback” as the Great Tribunal meets under King Melchior. He is a powerful man who impacts all who meet Him.

Heavenly Host: Overlooking all of the proceedings is an angel chorus.

THEMES
Major Theme: THE NEW COVENANT. Jesus is the only Savior who can bring unity to the world, not through violence or coercion but through forgiveness, conversion, and empowerment.
Sub-theme: Even good people need salvation
Sub-theme: The Intolerance of Tolerance (hidden dangers of pluralism)
Sub-theme: Personal Ambition and the will of Go

Scenes and Songs
Overture: “In Christ Alone”

Scene One: The Great Tribunal, The Issues
Songs: Alive Forever, Amen!
Jesus, No Other Name
Scene Two: The Great Tribunal, the First Day,
”What Kind of King?”
Songs: Sing Hallelujah
What King of King?
Beatitudes
Ancient of Days / Triumphal Entry
Scene Three: The Great Tribunal, the Second Day,
“Who Is this Man?”
Songs: Then and There
Who Is this Man?
Just Call Me Jesus
Scene Four: The Great Tribunal, the Third Day,
“Why Should We Follow Him?
Songs: A New Covenant
O Broken Lamb
Scene Five: The Great Tribunal, The Final Day,
“Who Will Wear the Crown?”
Songs: In Christ Alone
Alive Forever, Amen!

Synopsis

The Time: Within a Generation of the Resurrection
The Event: An official Tribunal in Babylon
The Action:

The aging Kind Melchior, the surviving wise man who made the historic trip to see the Christchild in Bethlehem, has called a tribunal of the leaders of his kingdom to decide the role of Christianity in their land. He has appointed Aziel, one of the shepherds he met in Bethlehem to be the spiritual leader of his kingdom so he will lead the defense of the Christian faith. Aziel’s wife is Lucretia and their son is Hosah, a young man who led a rebellion against King Melchior and was banished from the Kingdom. He went to Isreal and became a Jesus follower. Now he is back. In the rebellion all of Melchior’s sons were killed and now his nephew, Hazad, makes a claim to the throne. Dr. Zoron leads the prosecution against Christianity assisted by High Priestess Sultrana. She is much smarter than Zoron. Melchior has called three witnesses from Israel, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus of Bethany to speak for Jesus. The tribunal lasts for three days. As the Jesus story is told in “court,” it comes to life on stage.

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Here is the synopsis from the script:

The Seeker
Scene One: Mary and Joseph
Scene Two: John the Baptist
Scene Three: Nicodemus and Claudius
Scene Four: Mary Magdalene
Scene Five: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
Scene Six: Paul and Timothy
Scene Seven: James, the Lord’s Brother

The Seeker* is a reporter investigating the Jesus Story. The action takes place as a dream entirely in his home office. After a disturbing phone call from his editor, exhaustion overtakes him and he collapses into a deep sleep. He begins to dream visits from the characters in the Jesus story in which he has been immersed. These visitations are based on extensive research into the biblical record of Jesus. Seeker is acquainted with details from scriptures and with Christian traditions of theology from an orthodox point of view shared by most Christians, especially Evangelicals. He admires the Jesus Story from an artistic point of view and would love to believe it to be true. In his dream, Seeker encounters people he has studied, interviewing them in the process. He is open minded but cannot cross the line from reason to faith. Personal needs lie beneath the surface of this investigation and for the most part do not enter into his thought processes. The play is open ended leaving the final decision to the audience.

*I have written this character from a male point of view. Please adjust the masculine pronouns if the role is played by a woman.

Characters
Seeker: Seeker is a modern newspaper reporter whose world view has been shaped by modern thought. He is open minded and sincere. Deep spiritual needs may be present in his life, but they do not surface in this investigation.
John the Baptist: The classic prophet in the wilderness is consumed by his mission.
Nicodemus: This leader of the Sanhedrin council is reasonable and unable to dismiss Jesus.
Claudius: A Roman officer of high rank who is impressed with Jesus if not with Israel.
Mary Magdalene: This former prostitute was delivered by Jesus from demon possession.
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus: This family of believers hosted Jesus and His men in their home. Mary is the worshiper. Martha is the worker, and Lazarus is the one redeemed from death.
Paul and Timothy: The Apostle and his young assistant are imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel. Paul is absorbed in his work and a bit absentminded. Timothy reads the scriptures.
James, the Lord’s Brother: Is the pastor of the Jerusalem church although he has not always believed in Jesus.

Optional Music
This play can be effectively presented without music. I have included suggested familiar congregational songs as an option. The function of music in this play is to provide the audience with time to reflect on each scene. For the most part these songs are vintage worship songs so people can more easily sing along if they wish. They characters do not sing. I estimate about 10 minutes of music, extending the play to an estimated running time of 50 minutes. Here is the playlist:

Prologue: 1. Tell Me the Story of Jesus (Chorus)
Scene One: 2. Tell Me the Story… (Verse & Chorus)
Scene Two: 3. Lamb of God (Twila Paris)
Scene Three: 4. The Lord Thy God in the Midst of Thee
Scene Four: 5. Who Can Satisfy My Soul (Jernigan)
Scene Five 6. I Live (Rich Cook)
Scene Six: 7. I’m Free (Bill Gaither)
Scene Seven: 8. Humble Thyself in the Sight of the Lord
Epilogue: 9. REPRISE: Tell Me the Story of Jesus (Verse & Chorus) with I Love to Tell the Story (Chorus)

Sheet music is included with the script as a separate document. Producers are free to use different songs to facilitate the participation of their audiences.

This play is available on a contract basis with the cost of the use of the script varies with the size of the church. There will also be a royalty fee for each performance. Contact Steve Phifer: (863) 512-3671 DrStevePhifer@gmail.com

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There is much more to the Phifer Drama Services! Read more here: Phifer Drama Services – Steve Phifer.

Here are other dramatic forms:

Dramatic Monologues

The simplest form for of theatre is the dramatic monologue; one actor in character speaking directly to the audience, telling the story. All my monologues have been proven in worship services.

Readers Theatre

This form of theatre expands on the monologue concept with a collection of characters telling their story. READERS THEATRE is done without scenery or action. The actors fully develop their presentations reading from stands. In this form, the words become most important.

Christmas and Easter Plays

The essence of the Gospel of Christ is the content of CHRISTMAS AND EASTER WORSHIP and evangelism. In the early 1990s I began writing what I called “cycle plays.” These were two plays integrally related to each other in this way: Christmas was part one and Easter was part two. All my plays are character-driven, and this form enabled me to draw much deeper characters and each with a with much more dramatic character arc. A child in the Christmas play is an adult in the Easter play, etc. This depth of story allows a generational approach to the Jesus Story. As an added benefit, I ran these plans for three years. Year one, we learned it. Year two, we perfected it and year three we enjoyed it and said goodbye. This was a much more reasonable and less demanding creative process. First, let’s consider one-act plays for smaller companies.

Following is a list of full-length plays designed for larger production companies.