Late Night Visitors. Bible Reference: Luke 2:7. 1 (female, older) likely, but not necessarily, traditional

Transcription

1 Late Night Visitors Theme: It s the old, old story of the innkeeper and his wife. And the couple that come into town needing a room for themselves and for a soon-to-be-born baby. In the past when I have written scripts about these people and the situation that brought them all together I have set the innkeeper s wife in a kind of mellow, gentle light. But in thinking this through, and recalling back to my younger years travelling through the small, isolated towns and areas when I would stay in small inns and motels, the lady in charge, as I remember her, wasn t usually particularly mellow or gentle. In fact she usually had a bit of an edge to her personality, likely necessary to deal with some of the crusty salesmen and travellers who were her main clientele. But the same women often had, under their rough exterior, a heart of gold. So, rightly or wrongly I used this kind of person as the character of this monologue. I hope I painted her fairly and honestly... I think this might have been how the innkeeper s wife may have reacted that night 2,000 years ago. Bible Reference: Luke 2:7 Cast: Set: Lighting: Sound: Costumes: Props: 1 (female, older) blank lower light standard likely, but not necessarily, traditional broom, stool Other instructions: The character at the outset is clipped and forceful, an in your face lady, a rough nature. But as time goes by she mellows and becomes soft and almost loving. It is important to set the pace of her speaking at a faster meter at the beginning, gradually slowing over the course of the piece, to the point where her speech is more thoughtful and concerned. Time: 10 Script: actor comes on stage, sweeping looks around, shakes head, throws hand in the air, sits on stool People!... More people than this old hotel has ever seen! Every room full! Restaurant is wall to wall, kitchen simply can t keep up! And no end in sight. Late Night Visitors Page 1

2 looks into audience, listens to question from unseen person Am I pleased to see the business? Of course I am pleased to see the business! I mean when me and Eli.. he s my husband.. when we bought this inn we knew it was off the beaten track, we knew it wouldn t be like booked up solid every night. smiles, shakes head Yeh right!.. Booked up... Fact is not once in the six years we been here have we sold out all twelve rooms. Not so much as once! So all is activity is great.... But fact is I haven t gone to bed for better than two days now. thinks, smiles a weary smile No way I could go to bed even if I had the time.. my all-knowing, brilliant entrepreneur husband rented out my bed. stands, sweeps furiously I ve got to get these rooms cleaned up... it will soon be dark and the visitors will be expecting to have their rooms ready. stretches, rubs sore muscles, sits on stool The Romans for sure blew it.. No way they can keep up processing the people that have come into this town, all these people showing up at once for the census. So the crowds of visitors won t be heading for home any time soon. When my husband and me bought this hotel six years ago we had this big pipedream thought of having the rooms sold out and the restaurant filled to capacity... Never happened, until now that is. Now our wallets are full but..(stretches).. my back is broken! And our staff!... Some staff I tell ya! Demand top dollar, drag themselves around like a turtle with a broken leg.. and then rob you blind. My mother told me I oughta get a 9 to 5 job but oh no!... I gotta go be my own boss! Me, not the smartest cookie my Mom turned out I tell ya! stands, holds broom I gotta get back at it! looks around, disgusted You know, the way these people leave their room, junk all over... you would think they were born in a barn! Late Night Visitors Page 2

3 stops, thinks Which,... I gotta tell you,... isn t as far out as you might think. looks into audience, listens, frowns You mean you didn t hear? Night before last, hotel full to the rafters, this young couple came to the hotel, said they need a room bad. I say, You and half the population of the known world, seems like. Young man says they ve been on the road all day and how he s tried all the other spots in town and no one has any room. Then I see the young woman.. no older than my twelve year old daughter Hester, looks to me... And the young girl is pregnant. One look and I can see the girl is about to give birth... I can tell these things.. I should... I ve had fourteen children of my own... The young man is begging me to find a room for his wife.. And my husband Eli is shouting from the kitchen that we have no room, send them away. So I say to the young man, I m sorry, all our rooms are filled, there isn t a room to be found for any price, sorry. And he just sort of loses it, shakes his head. He says if it s just him, no problem, he sleeps in the street, but there s his wife... OK, now what am I supposed to do with this tricky development? I remember real well what it was like when my first kid came! Labor pains!... I thought I was gonna die right then and there. pauses, reflecting, shakes head Anyhow, I look at the young girl... BIG mistake I tell you!.. She looks up at me with her big eyes so frightened and so full of pain. goes downstage, speaks to the audience as though sharing a secret OK I am no saint. far from it, truth be known,.. but turning a pregnant girl out in the cold.. not gonna happen in my place I tell ya! Anyways.. I figured,.. I got no room,.. and no hope of getting any... And it almost makes me sick to my stomach to think about it but.. well.. see, we got this barn out back, it s not much.. I mean like it s a barn OK? But it s a good, well constructed barn... it s warm with all the animals in there.. and it s out of the wind.. fierce wind was blowin in from the west I tell you! I knew Eli had put some nice fresh straw in all the stalls, sweet smelling hay in the mangers.. I mean.. it was something, OK? No question, the best there was available in the whole town that night. Oh sure, I felt kinda bad, what with a barn for the birthing of a baby, but.. snickers with a memory, shakes her head Eli, he like to blew a gasket, he was so put out about the whole thing. Late Night Visitors Page 3

4 I said to him, OK general, you maybe got some better idea? He mumbled and grumbled but seemed like didn t have any brain wave that d open up new possibilities. After all these years I do believe in my heart,.... men are more of a hindrance than a help when birthing is happening, you ask me. Other times, maybe a hindrance too, but that s another matter, for sure. So, anyhow, Eli he finishes up settin out the straw and hay and he leaves to look after the payin guests. Then I go and get the couple, names are Mary and Joseph it turns out... I lead,.. half carry Mary out back to the barn. You most likely heard the explosion half way to Jerusalem when young Joseph figures out where we was headed to. You expect my firstborn son to be born in some filthy old barn?... And... Woman, maybe you oughta know this baby just so happens to be the very son of the Lord God Jehovah! What carryin on from this outta control young man, I tell ya! Not only did he have to get his mind around the fact I was offering the best that was available anywhere in the town.. but, upset though he was, I don t believe this gave him any right to take the name of the Lord God Almighty in vain! This baby to be fathered by God himself? I guess not! But just as I was about to give this young firebrand a piece of my mind, there s this quiet, gentle voice speaks up... It was young Mary... And she says, It will be quite OK Joseph, we will be nice and warm and comfortable.. and she says to me, thank you lady, for your generosity. I tell ya, her sweetness like to broke my heart! So I offered to go get Anna, my friend, a midwife in town who had delivered all my babies and half the children in the area. But Mary was insistent! Thank you for thinking of me, but we will be just fine. So what could I do?.. I went and fetched some warm blankets and I made Joseph promise that first sign of complications he scoot over to the inn and I would go fetch Anna to help in the delivery. So then, reluctantly, I go to the inn, and I sit close to the backdoor so I could kinda watch what was going on in the barn. I swear my eyes must have been bad worn out from lack of sleep,... but couple of times I swear I see extra people moving around in the barn.. so help me they looked all dressed up in white, kinda like... Nah!.. Like there s gonna be angels in my dirty old barn! Whatever! But pretty soon I hear this little voice, crying.. it was the baby! In my barn! I gather up some food and hit out to the barn.. Most gorgeous baby I ever did see, even more gorgeous than my grandbabies, much as it pains me to admit to that. Joseph he starts goin on about how this is a special baby.. Late Night Visitors Page 4

5 Men are such braggarts, I tell ya! But he insists this child was a promised one and that him and Mary was told that the child would be the most important child ever born. Whatever! pauses, thinks But I wondered... how did they know in advance that this baby was gonna be a boy? Some folks got the gift of telling these things in advance is my guess. Anyhow, be that as it may,.. along about then this raggey tag bunch of shepherds show up outside the barn, makin a ton of noise. I go out to shoo them away... Let the child and the mother sleep, will you guys? But they refuse to leave, spoutin some ridiculous story about they had been visited by a ton of angels, tellin them to go find the son of God, borned in a manger! Ya right! More likely these guys been visited by someone who brought along fermented drinks is my guess. But again, Mary s sweet little voice: Come see my child. getting very quiet By this time it s just all gettin just too weird here! thinks Could it be that Joseph wasn t lyin about this bein the son of God? I mean... Nah!.. That s just way too weird! But... what if.. And the shepherds all filed into the barn, respectful like..and they kneel before the baby and.. they are sayin that.. they have seen the.. the.. Messiah. The Messiah? The promised one? I sense someone standing beside me.. it s my husband. I look at Eli and I say to him, What s this man,... you are crying. As are you, he responds. It s true.. I was crying great tears! And this man beside me, my husband, this big, strong giant of a man, a man I had never seen to have tears in all the many years of our married life.. he is flat out sobbing. He takes my hand and leads me to the manger. We will kneel and honor the Messiah, he says. And we do! There on that dusty barn floor, with animals and shepherds all around, we bowed, and we honoured the newborn Messiah. turns to leave, walks a few steps, turns, speaks Late Night Visitors Page 5

6 Oh and there were more visitors that came... shakes head, remembering But all this is beyond a simple and old.. country woman.. This much I know... My barn was the first home of the Messiah.. The Prince of Peace... And though he left my barn.. and left our town.. The Messiah never,.. to this day,,, left my heart. shakes head in amazement Amazing! lifts her right hand in greeting The Messiah is born! smiles, picks up her broom and stool and slowly leaves stage lights go down Late Night Visitors Page 6