A Christmas to Remember

 A Christmas To Remember

Book by

Jay Dias Music by

Daniel Humbert Lyrics by

Clayton Stang

A Christmas to Remember

 Copyright 1998  

by Daniel Humbert, and Clayton Stang

All Rights Reserved

CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER is subject to a royalty.  It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, the British Commonwealth, including Canada, and all other countries of the Copyright Union.  All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, and the rights of translation into foreign language are strictly reserved. 

The amateur live stage performance rights to A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER are controlled exclusively by Drama Source and royalty arrangements and licenses must be secured well in advance of presentation.  PLEASE NOTE that amateur royalty fees are set upon application in accordance with your producing circumstances.  When applying for a royalty quotation and license please give us the number of performances intended and dates of production.  Royalties are payable one week before the opening performance of the play to Drama Source Co., 1588 E. 361 N., St. Anthony, Idaho 83445, unless other arrangements are made. 

Royalty of the required amount must be paid whether the play is presented for charity or gain, and whether or not admission is charged.  For all other rights than those stipulated above, apply to Drama Source Company, 1588 E. 361 N. St. Anthony, Idaho 83445.

Copying from this book in whole or in part is strictly forbidden by law, and the right of performance is not transferable.

Whenever the play is produced, the following notice must appear on all programs, printing and advertising for the play, “Produced by special arrangement with Drama Source Co.”

Due authorship credit must be given on all programs, printing and advertising for the play.

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Publication of this play does not imply availability for performance.    Both amateurs and professionals considering a production are strongly advised in their own interests to apply to Drama Source Company for written permission before starting rehearsals, advertising, or booking a theatre.

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A Christmas To Remember has a cast of thirteen: seven women, five men, and one girl.  O. HENRY, EMMA, MARGARET, YOUNG MARGARET, and MRS. ROCHE are the principal characters.  The members of the Ensemble play various parts.  The ages listed below indicate the character playing age range.

O. Henry/William Sydney Porter – Baritone (low G to high F#/opt. high G#), early twenties through mid forties.

Emma Porter – Soprano (low A to high G#), early to late twenties.

Margaret Porter – Soprano with Belt/Mix (low Ab to high G#, with perhaps a good belted/mixed B-natural above middle-C), late teens.

Mrs. Roche – Mezzo Soprano with possible Belt (low F# to C# an octave above middle-C, with perhaps a good belted/mixed F# right above middle-C), late fifties.

Young Margaret – innocent child Soprano with mix/belt (low Bb to D/opt. Eb, one octave above middle-C), approximately seven years old, no older.

Robert H. Davis, etc. – Baritone Bass (high F#/G), early fifties.

Orrin Henry, etc. – Baritone Bass (high F#/G), mid forties.

Herbert P. Pfaefflin, etc. – Baritone Tenor (high G#/A), early thirties.

Con Lantry, etc. – Baritone Tenor (high G#/A), mid forties.

Dulcie, etc. – Soprano w/Belt (soprano high B), early twenties.

Nettie Estes, etc. – Mezzo w/Belt (soprano high G#/A), late thirties.

Effie Estes, etc. – Soprano w/Belt (soprano high B), late twenties.

Madame Zozo – Mezzo w/Belt (soprano high G#/A), mid thirties.

PRODUCTION NOTES

Set

It is recommended to keep the set simple, so as to suggest the various locations mentioned in the script.

Script

In the opening and closing scenes’ stage directions, a tintype tableaux is indicated.  These tableaux represent not only the period in which the piece is set, but, more importantly, the world inside the private and creative mind of O. Henry – a world in which real life and fiction become one.

As indicated in the stage directions, the references to O. Henry/Porter’s drinking are specific.  Please resist any temptation to embellish.

Performance Of Lyrics

The lyrics to the show were written in standard English with the specific intention that the songs be performed with only the slightest hint of a regional accent, if any.

Options

1-1-1: throughout the following scene, JIM and DELLA are seen in what is a suggestion of their eight-dollar-a-week, furnished flat in New York City.

1-1-14: Optional Scene and Music for “Act 1, Scene 1a” may be inserted (see appendix).

1-7-9:  Optional Scene and Music for “Act 1, Scene 7a” may be inserted (see appendix).

TIME

Turn of the twentieth century

PLACE

Primarily New York City

MUSICAL NUMBERS

ACT ONE

“The Joy Of Christmas” ……………………………………… O. Henry, Patrons of Con’s Saloon

“Smell The Roses” ………………………………………………………………………. O. Henry, Davis

“Thoughts/The Joy Of Christmas” …………………………………. Margaret, O. Henry, Patrons

“A Box Full Of Memories” ………………………………………………………………………… Emma

“Here Is Where You Belong” …………………. Porter, Emma, Young Margaret, Mrs. Roche

“Gossip And Rumors” ……………………………………… Mrs. Roche, People of Austin

“A Christmas To Remember” ……………………………………………….………….. Porter, Emma

“You Never Really Say Goodbye” …………..………………………………………………….. Porter

“Not Until Today” ………………………………….………………………………………………… Porter

INTERMISSION

ACT TWO

“Everywhere I Look” …………………………………………. Porter, Young Margaret, Ensemble

“Someone To Believe In”  ………………………………………………………….Emma

“Watching The World Go By” ………………………….…………… O. Henry, Margaret

“Not Until Today” (Reprise) …………………………..……………………………………… O. Henry

“Four Million People” ………………………………………. O. Henry, People of New York City

“The Mystery Behind The Name” …………………….…………………….. O. Henry, Patrons

“Someone To Believe In” (Reprise) ……………………………………………. Emma, O. Henry

“With Nothing Left To Lose” .………………………………………………………………… Margaret

“Finale Act Two” ……………………………………………………. O. Henry, Margaret, Company

THE MYSTERY BEHIND THE NAME

In the 1906 preface to his second book of collected short stories entitled The Four Million, American author O. Henry wrote, “Not very long ago some one invented the assertion that there were only ‘Four Hundred’ people in New York City who were really worth noticing.  But a wiser man has arisen – the census taker – and his larger estimate of human interest has been preferred in marking out the field of these little stories of The Four Million.”  Published in all the leading newspapers, these stories firmly established O. Henry as the most popular writer of his time.  His work reflected the cultural diversity of America at the turn of the twentieth century.  Translated into many languages, the world came to know a writer who could take such universal themes as love and the unexpected of the commonplace and give to them a new meaning – and, most often than not, delight the reader with a surprise ending.

And yet, despite all the fame, the adoring public had no idea the author named “O. Henry” was really a work of fiction – the creation of a humble man from North Carolina named William Sidney Porter.  For the majority of his brief but prolific career, Will Porter intentionally shrouded the identity of his alias.  Based on truth, A Christmas To Remember invites us into a private world – and the events that lead to the creation of one of America’s most beloved classics, The Gift Of The Magi – as timeless now as at the turn of the twentieth century.  As O. Henry would say, “Truth is stranger than fiction”.

A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER

(December 17, 2013)

ACT 1, SCENE 1

Darkness.  Silence.  There is no overture.  We hear the sound of a chiming mantel clock striking seven.  After the third chime, we hear a woman’s voice.

DELLA:  Jim, darling, don’t look at me that way – I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn’t have lived through our first Christmas together without giving you a present.

Lights slowly up on newlyweds JIM and DELLA DILLINGHAM YOUNG, in silhouettte throughout the following scene.  It is Christmas Eve, 1905.

DELLA, portrayed by the actress who will play EMMA PORTER, has tiny, close-lying curls on her head that make her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy.

JIM, portrayed by the actor who will play O. HENRY/PORTER, stares at DELLA.

The chimes finish.

All I had was one dollar and eighty-seven cents – and sixty cents of it in pennies – pennies saved one and two at a time.  And you don’t know what a nice – what a beautiful, nice gift I’ve got for you.  Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered, but nobody could ever count my love for you.

During the following, JIM draws a wrapped package from his overcoat pocket.

JIM:  Don’t make any mistake about me, Dell.  I don’t think there’s anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.  But if you’ll unwrap this, you may see why you had me going a while at first.

DELLA, tearing at the string and paper wrapping, opens the package.  She screams with ecstatic joy.

DELLA:  Oh!  Jim!

During the following, she takes out two expensive pure tortoise shell combs with jewelled rims, holds them up, and then hugs them to her bosom.

Look – the combs – from the window on Broadway!  In my wildest dreams I could never imagine having them to – 

She realizes the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments are gone.

– to wear in my hair.  Oh, Jim, my hair grows awfully fast.

JIM:  Of course it does, darling.  You look rather cute this way.

DELLA smiles, then laughs.  JIM laughs.  Suddenly, DELLA breaks the moment.

DELLA:  Oh!  I almost forgot!

From out of her dress pocket, DELLA eagerly holds out a shining platinum fob chain.

Finally, a fob chain worthy of your Grandfather’s watch, instead of that old leather strap you’ve been using.  See, it’s platinum – you’ll have to look at the time a hundred times a day, now.  Give me your watch – I want to see how it looks on it.

JIM:  Dell, let’s put our Christmas presents away and keep ‘em a while – they’re too nice to use just at present.  I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs.

DELLA, with great understanding, gently kisses JIM on the forehead.

[MUSIC CUE 1: PROLOGUE]

A solo piano plays a simple hymn-like rendering of “A Christmas To Remember”.

DELLA:  Merry Christmas.

The lights fade out on DELLA.

During the following, JIM becomes O. HENRY.  In his forties, he appears older than his years.  He speaks with a distinct Greensboro, North Carolina accent.

He addresses the audience.

O. HENRY:  I was born and raised in ‘No’th Ca’llina’.  Name’s Porter – William Sydney Porter.  Perhaps better known to you as ‘O. Henry’.  I’m gonna let you in on a few of my secrets in writin’ a short story.  The most important thing, at least in my humble opinion, is to use characters and plots that are life-like.  Truth is stranger than fiction.  All of my stories are experiences I’ve come across durin’ my travels.

During the following, lights slowly up on a New York City saloon decorated for Christmas, 1905.  The PATRONS of the saloon are seen as if in a tintype tableaux: CON LANTRY, an Irish, white-aproned, good-natured fellow in his mid forties, tends bar; MADAME ZOZO, an Irish Spiritualist medium; JIMMY VALENTINE, a shoe salesman and former safe cracker from Brooklyn; JUSTUS O’CALLAHAN, an Irish green grocer and pushcart vender; DULCIE, a Manhattan shop girl; MISS LYNNETTE D’ARMANDE, an ex-leading lady of Broadway; MISS KATIE MAHORNER, an Irish kitchen girl in a Manhattan house.

My characters are facsimiles of actual people I’ve known.  Many people ask me how I manage to give that final little twist to my story.  I always tell ‘em that the unusual is the ordinary, rather than the unexpected.  Truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction.

As he is about to become part of the tableaux, joyous music is heard from the live orchestra, and the tableaux bursts to life.

[MUSIC CUE 2: THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS]

The PATRONS of Con’s Saloon, in the midst of Christmas revelry, sing.

“THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS”

PATRONS

CHURCH BELLS RINGING ALL THROUGH THE CITY,

DING-DONG, DING-DONG, MERRILY THEY CHIME.

CAR’LERS SINGING ALL THROUGH THE CITY,

HELP TO MAKE YOUR SPIRITS CLIMB.

CHRISTMAS IS HERE. CHRISTMAS IS HERE.

WELCOME THE YEAR AND JOIN THE SONG.

LIGHTEN YOUR HEART, BRIGHTEN YOUR HEART,

KEEPING THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS

ALL YEAR LONG.

O. HENRY shouts above the PATRONS.

O. HENRY:  Con!

CON:  Yes, Mr. Henry?!

O. HENRY:  Fill ‘em up all around!!

PATRONS: (ad lib.) Hooray!!

CON:  Comin’ right up!

The PATRONS rush to the bar to get their drinks, as the song continues.

[OPTIONAL CUT:

PATRONS:  SEE THE MADNESS ALL THROUGH THE CITY.

PEOPLE RUSHING UP AND DOWN THE STREET.

SPREAD SOME GLADNESS ALL THROUGH THE CITY.

SMILE AT EVERYONE YOU MEET.]

MADAME ZOZO:  OFTEN TIMES MOST 

OF THE STRANGERS YE FEAR,

AREN’T SO STRANGE AFTER ALL.

O. HENRY:  AFTER YOU TOAST  SEVERAL TANKARDS OF BEER,

MADAME ZOZO & O. HENRY:   ALL OF THE FOLKS WHO WERE STRANGERS

NOW ARE NEW FOUND FRIENDS!

CON:  HERE’S TO NEW FRIENDS!

ALL:  CHEERS TO NEW FRIENDS, HOPING THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS

NEVER ENDS.

JIMMY VALENTINE raises his glass.

JIMMY VALENTINE:  To the Rockefeller of Con’s Saloon!  Hip, hip – 

PATRONS & CON:  Hooray!

JIMMY VALENTINE:  Hip, hip – 

PATRONS & CON:  Hooray!

JIMMY VALENTINE:  Hip, hip – 

PATRONS & CON:  Hooray!!

The WOMEN corner O. HENRY.

DULCIE:  Mr. Henry, me and the girls are dying to know – 

MISS KATIE MAHORNER:  Will ye tell us a bit about this year’s Christmas story?

MISS LYNNETTE D’ARMANDE:  Yes, what’ll be in tomorrow’s newspaper – do give us a hint?

MADAME ZOZO:  Gyurls will be gyurls!  Ye’re really wantin’ to know if any of ye be the centre of the story.

O. HENRY:  Ladies, ladies – even if I was at liberty to tell, how can water from the Pierian Spring be measured in spoonfuls?

MADAME ZOZO;  Ag’in ye haven’t written a single word, have ye, sir?

O. HENRY:  Who can write with such lovely distractions?

MADAME ZOZO:  Okay, “ladies”, let’s move along, now, and leave off “distractin’” Mr. Henry from his work.

The WOMEN move to the group of men.  DULCIE stays behind with O. HENRY.

DULCIE:  For all the swell stories you write, when are you ever gonna write about yourself?

O. HENRY:  When I do somethin’ interestin’ to tell ‘bout.  Ah, writin’ little pieces for the printer man ain’t much, anyhow.  There ought to be a law reservin’ literature for widows with nine children to write.  Men ought to have the hard work to do – they ought to read the stuff.

DULCIE:  Say, are you holding out on something?

MADAME ZOZO escorts DULCIE away from O. HENRY.

MADAME ZOZO:  Leave the poor man alone.

Alone, O. HENRY sings in soliloquy.

O. HENRY:  HOW I WISH

YOU ALL COULD SEE,

EVERYTHING I HIDE INSIDE OF ME.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY,

IF YOU KNEW THE REAL ME?

During the following, O. HENRY gradually rejoins the present scene.

JUSTUS O’CALLAHAN:  STORM CLOUDS LOOMING OVER THE CITY, CAST A SHADOW,

EVERYWHERE YOU GO.

 DULCIE:  DON’T BE GLOOMY. LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE,  STORM CLOUDS MAY BRING CHRISTMAS SNOW.

ALL WOMEN:  CHRISTMAS IS HERE.

DULCIE:  CHRISTMAS IS HERE.

ALL WOMEN:  THROW OFF THE DREARY YEAR THAT’S GONE.

DULCIE:  LIGHTEN YOUR HEART.

CON, JIMMY:  FA LA LA LA LA, etc.

CON & JIMMY:  LIGHTEN YOUR HEART.

PATRONS IN VARIOUS COMBINATIONS:  LIGHTEN YOUR HEART.

LIGHTEN YOUR HEART.   BRIGHTEN YOUR HEART.

BRIGHTEN YOUR HEART.

LIVE IN THE JOY.  LIVE IN THE JOY.

LIVE IN THE JOY.  LIVE IN THE JOY.

ALL IN VARIOUS COMBINATIONS:  LIVE IN THE JOY

OF CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS,  CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS,

CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS,  CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS

FROM NOW ON!

The music ends.

ROBERT H. DAVIS, a well-dressed man in his early fifties, enters to find O. HENRY drinking.

O. HENRY:  Bob!  Have a drink.

DAVIS:  Where is it?

O. HENRY:  Plenty of time.

DAVIS:  You’ve already missed the deadline.  I can’t keep making exceptions for you, Will.

O. HENRY:  You’re a great editor and a good friend.

DAVIS:  And getting closer to the grave.

O. HENRY:  Still have two hours before lowerin’ the coffin.  Don’t you worry none, this ol’ Tar Heel will deliver a story – same as ev’ry week.

DAVIS:  So, where is it?

O. HENRY indicates his head.

O. HENRY:  Up here.

  DAVIS begins to gather O. HENRY out of the saloon.

DAVIS:  Come on.

O. HENRY:  Where’re we goin’?

DAVIS:  Across the street.

O. HENRY:  Why?

DAVIS:  Because there’s more of a chance to keep you sober in that flat of yours than in here.

O. HENRY:  Care to wager, Mr. Davis?

As O. HENRY and DAVIS are about to exit, CON calls to O. HENRY.

CON:  Hi, Rockefeller!  That’ll be three dollars, fifty.

O. HENRY reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handful of change, which he deposits onto the bar.

O. HENRY:  Thank you, Con.

CON counts the change.

CON:  One dollar and eighty-six cents.  Better dig deeper.

O. HENRY reaches deeply into his pocket and produces one penny more.  He adds this to the pile of change on the bar.

O. HENRY:  One eighty-seven.  All’s I have.  Davis, here, will settle the tab – won’t you, my good man?

DAVIS quickly pays the remaining amount of the bill, including a tip.

The “Rockefeller of Con’s Saloon” humbly thanks you.

[MUSIC CUE 2A: RAGTIME THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS PART 1]

As music underscore, a honky-tonk piano is featured playing a ragtime version of “The Joy Of Christmas”.

O. HENRY: (calls to the PATRONS of the bar)  Fellow partakers of the season’s joy, forever I’ll hold the mem’ry of this evenin’ close to my heart – and to my lips.  I thank you one and all for such excellent company.

PATRONS:  (ad lib.)  Here, here!  Pleasure, Mr. Henry!  Thank ye!

O. HENRY:  And now, ‘long with my esteemed colleague, Mr. Robert H. Davis, editor “extraodinaire” of The New York World, it’s time to explore the Netherlands of Hell’s Kitchen.

DAVIS:  Hell’s Kitchen?!?

O. HENRY:  Or Heaven’s Vestibule, if you prefer.

DAVIS:  I think not – come on.

As DAVIS leads O. HENRY out of the saloon, O. HENRY addresses the PATRONS.

O. HENRY:  Merry Christmas!

PATRONS:  (ad lib.)  Merry Christmas!

PATRONS:  CHRISTMAS IS HERE.  CHRISTMAS IS HERE.

WELCOME THE YEAR AND JOIN THE SONG.

[OPTIONAL SCENE AND MUSIC “ACT 1, SCENE 1A” MAY BE INSERTED HERE].

During the following, the lights fade on the PATRONS in the saloon, and simultaneously come up on O. HENRY’s flat.

FEMALE  PATRONS:  

LIGHTEN YOUR HEART. 

 BRIGHTEN YOUR HEART. MALE PATRONS:  

LIGHTEN YOUR HEART. 

 BRIGHTEN YOUR HEART.

ACT 1, Scene 2

O. HE

A Christmas to Remember

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