WITH A TIMBREL, TOO
A One Act Biblical Musical Play for Easter by Jewell
Ellen Smith
First published as part of a non-copyrighted booklet, "How to
Present a Good Friday Prayer Breakfast", 1973. All Scripture quotations
are from the King James Version. Nonprofit groups may perform this work without
payment, but if you plan to perform it, Jewell's children ask that you e-mail
her older son David at
DSmith1204@aol.com,
particularly if you have any questions or problems.
Click Here to go to the Jewell Ellen Smith Homepage
THEME: There are many
different ways to please God, to worship Him, and to serve Him. It may be with
"sweetness," "light," with a cup of cold water. And,
"With a Timbrel, Too."
TIME: The present, in U.S.A.
A Sunday afternoon in the spring
PLACE: Grandmother's sitting
room.
RÉSUMÉ OF ACTION: Sally and
Julia come running in from playing to ask Sally's grandmother to read Bible
stories. As Grandmother begins reading four separate stories, each comes to
life on stage.
BIBLICAL PLACES:
Scene
I - Beside the Red Sea, in the time of Moses.
Scene II - Sewing room in Old Testament home.
Scene III - At Jacob's well in Samaria, New Testament time.
Scene IV - At the home of Simon the Leper, in Bethany.
CHARACTERS WHO REMAIN ON
STAGE:
Grandmother
Granddaughter Sally (10 year old, played by adult)
Sally's friend, Julia (10 year old, played by adult)
CHARACTERS FROM THE BIBLE:
Miriam, the Prophetess,
sister of Moses and Aaron (Must have strong solo voice, dance, use tambourine.)
Twelve Daughters-of-Israel (Must sing and dance. May
play other roles, also.)
The Virtuous Woman (Has long soliloquy. Use Daughter
#1)
Woman
at the Well (Soloist. Use Daughter #2)
Christ
Figure (Speaking part in two scenes.)
Lazarus
(Short speaking part.)
Martha
(Use Daughter #3)
Mary of Bethany (Must have long hair, or wear wig.
Use Daughter #4)
Simon
the Leper
Thomas,
an apostle
Judas
Iscariot
Ten
other Disciples (Daughters #5 and #6 can take two roles.)
Total number of characters: 35
Minimum of players required:
23 (Must have five men. Eight would be better.)
COSTUMES:
Grandmother -- long dress,
apron, reading glasses. Have hair balled up on top of head.
Sally and Julia -- short
dresses with pinafores. Have hair tied with ribbons. Carry dolls and jump
ropes.
Biblical Women -- long
dresses in solid pastel colors, with loose head shawls. Daughters go
barefoot. Others wear sandals. Virtuous Woman must be in purple dress.
Biblical Men -- Wear
traditional long robes, with tied down head-dress. Christ Figure wears white.
PROPS, OTHER MATERIALS:
Rocking
chair, table, small rug, Family Bible for Grandmother
13
tambourines, real if possible
Large candleholder and
candle, smaller candle, round table, rich cloth and tapestry for Virtuous Woman
Very
long banquet table--15 chairs
Wooden
bowl for fruit; large and ornate jar of perfume
Simulated
well curbing to look like rocks; shrubs; water jar
Wigs
Piano,
or organ
SCRIPTURE BACKGROUND: To get
the feel of the scenes, all players should read these Bible passages:
Scene I -- Exodus 15, entire
chapter. Miriam and the Daughters-of-Israel are rejoicing because God has
enabled the Israelites to cross the Red Sea on dry ground, while the waters
drowned a host of Egyptians who were pursuing them.
Scene II -- Proverbs 31.
Verses 10 through 31 describe the ideal Old Testament, Hebrew woman.
Scene III -- John 4:1-40.
The Woman of Samaria talks to Jesus at Jacob's well, near Sychar.
Scene IV -- John 12:1-8. Also
Matthew 26:6-13 and Mark 14:3-9. A farewell feast for Jesus is given in Bethany
at the home of Simon the Leper. Mary anoints the feet of Jesus with costly
perfume.
HYMNS AND SONGS:
"Come! Sing Ye to the Lord," by Jewell
Ellen Smith (See below).
"Fill My Cup,
Lord," by Richard Blanchard. We are unable to display this hymn as it is
still under copyright. It may be found in many standard hymnals, or another
suitable hymn may be substituted. The verses are as follows:
1.
Like
the woman at the well I was seeking
for things that could not satisfy.
And then I heard my Savior speaking,
”Draw from my well that never shall run dry.”
Refrain:
Fill my cup, Lord. I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more--
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!
2.
There
are millions in this world who are craving
the pleasures earthly things afford.
But none can match the wondrous streasure
that I find in Jesus Christ my Lord.
3.
So,
my brother, if the things this world gave you
leave hungers that won’t pass away,
my blessed Lord will come and save you,
if you kneel to Him and humbly pray:
HOW TO STAGE:
If only a small stage and
one curtain are available, set up table for feast scene behind this curtain.
Have other scenes on floor level, using portable screens, or none at all.
Grandmother's Sitting Room can be on stage, in front of the curtain, or down on
the floor to one side. Spotlights should be used to draw the attention of the
audience to a given location, as the Grandmother begins each new story.
PROLOGUE
Grandmother sits in rocking
chair, reading a magazine. Sally and Julia come running in--jumping rope and
out of breath. They pause before they reach Grandmother. Two dolls lie on the
rug near rocking chair.
SALLY: Come on, Julia! Let's
rest a minute! And get my grandmother to read us a story! She reads good
stories!
JULIA: What sort of stories?
SALLY: Out of the Bible! My
grandmother knows about everybody in the whole Bible!--Say, Grandma, will you read
to me and Julia out of the Bible?
GRANDMOTHER: Why, hello,
girls!--Julia, it's nice that you're visiting Sally this afternoon.
JULIA: Yes'm! We're having
fun, but I'm out of breath! Will you read to us?
GRANDMOTHER: Of course. Why
don't you both sit down here on the rug. Your dolls are still here. Grandmother
reaches over to lamp table to get Bible. Julia picks up one doll, hands
it to Sally. Then, picks up the other. Girls sit on rug at Grandmother's
feet
GRANDMOTHER: I'll read you
about how when King David was a boy--not much older than you all are. --Both of
you are 10 years old, aren't you? Girls nod heads and murmur
"Yes'm." Well, as I was saying, I'll read you about how David
killed the big giant Goliath with his slingshot. And he did it for God!
SALLY: Aw, Grandma, you're
always reading about David! Didn't any girls in the Bible ever do anything for
God?
GRANDMOTHER: Sure, Sally!
Maybe you'd like to hear about Miriam. --Julia, had you rather I read about
Miriam--instead of David?
JULIA: Who was Miriam?
GRANDMOTHER: Well, Miriam
was the sister of Moses, and when he was a little baby, she was sort of his
baby-sitter.
SALLY: Grandma, Julia
doesn't go to Sunday School. She doesn't know about the Baby Moses and how his
mama hid him in a basket down in the bulrushes of the Nile River. 'Cause the
Pharaoh was killing all the Hebrew boy babies in Egypt!
JULIA: Did the Baby Moses
get killed?
GRANDMOTHER: No, no.
Pharaoh's daughter adopted him as her son. You see, she found Moses in the
little basket when she went down to the river to bathe. And Miriam was standing
right there; so she talked Pharaoh's daughter into letting her get a nurse for
the baby. The result was that Miriam ran and got Moses' own mother!
And Pharaoh's daughter let
the mother take care of Moses till he was seven years old.
And during those seven years
Moses' mother taught him about God. That's the time to tell children of
God--when they're young! --Now you little girls try to remember that when you
get to be big ladies!
SALLY: Grandma, what did
Miriam do when she got to be a big lady?
GRANDMOTHER: She became a
prophetess. And when Moses was leading all the Israelite people up out of Egypt
to the Promised Land, Miriam helped the people to remember to worship God as
they traveled along--especially when God saved them from some great disaster.
SALLY: Great disasters? What
sort of disasters?
GRANDMOTHER: Let's see, I'll
find it for you. Opens Bible It's right here in Exodus. Now you have to
remember that at this time Moses and all the people were fleeing from the
Egyptians, and Pharaoh sent a lot of soldiers to capture them and bring them
back to be slaves again.
And they had come as far as
the Red Sea. It was wide! And there wasn't any bridge! And Moses and the people
could see Pharaoh's horses and chariots and soldiers coming right behind them!
Fast! Moses didn't know what to do!
SALLY: What did he do?
GRANDMOTHER: He prayed to
God. And God rolled back the waters of the Red Sea! And Moses and all the
people crossed over on dry land. --They didn't even get their feet damp! --But
the minute the Egyptians started across, God let the waters come rushing back
down and drowned them! Everyone! Pharaoh's horses and his riders and his
captains sank to the bottom like stones!
Then Moses called all the
people together to praise God.
And they sang to God--practically all day long!
JULIA: Did Miriam sing, too?
GRANDMOTHER: Indeed she did!
Miriam was quite a good singer! And she could dance! And play a timbrel! I'm not
sure, but I think a timbrel was sort of like our tambourines.
Here's what the Bible says: starts
reading Exodus 15:20
"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron
and Moses, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her
with timbrels and with dances.
"And
Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea."
Scene
I
With piano accompaniment,
Miriam and all Daughters of Israel dance their way out onto scene, Miriam
leading. When they stop, Miriam steps forward, still shaking tambourine. She
addresses her companions, in song. They sing, and, dance. Choreography will
depend on size of stage. It should be kept simple. Words of song suggest much
of movement, e.g., "God made the waters a wall on the right... a wall on
the left" suggests that the dancers could form two walls. When they sing
"...and bow down," they should, of course, bow themselves to the
floor. But the dancing should not overshadow the singing. --If
theater-in-the-round is being used, group can dance as they leave.
See below for words and
music of "Come! Sing Ye to the Lord."
When dancers disappear,
Grandmother and girls resume talk.
SALLY: Grandma, tell us
about some more ladies in the Bible!
JULIA: Did all the Bible
women dance?
GRANDMOTHER: No, I don't
think so!
SALLY: Then, what did they
do?
GRANDMOTHER: Well, if you
want me to, I'll read you girls part of the last chapter of Proverbs—where it
tells many things that a woman in those times did. Some people call this a
description of the "Ideal Woman."
Opens Bible
Here it is. It starts:
"Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies..."
Scene
II: Sewing room in Old Testament home.
Virtuous Woman, dressed in rich,
purple dress, is seated by a small table, sewing on a scarlet garment. A large
unlighted candle is on a stand. A very small lighted one burns nearby. Cloth,
to represent fine linen, and pieces of tapestry are spread on stands.
VIRTUOUS WOMAN: Places scarlet
cloth on table, rises to her feet, and clasps hands as if in prayer. Unto
thee, O Lord, do I pray. Make me to be as the Virtuous Woman. "The heart
of her husband ..." (etc.)
Virtuous recites, from the
King James Version, the remainder of the last chapter of Proverbs. She does it
as a soliloquy, using appropriate gestures; e. g, she examines tapestry, walks
about, takes candle in her hand. To get off stage (when there is no curtain),
she may simply pick up a piece of the cloth and the small candle and leave.
Grandmother and girls talk on.
SALLY: Oh, I wish I could be
a Virtuous Woman and have a big candle and a pretty purple dress!
JULIA: Why wouldn't she ever
let her candle go out?
GRANDMOTHER: Oh, I think
that's a figure of speech. It means that when trouble comes, a woman who trusts
in God doesn't have to be afraid. Her light, or her spirit, doesn't flicker and
go out. She stays brave and strong.
SALLY: Tell us about another
good Bible woman!
GRANDMOTHER: This time, I
want to read to you about one who wasn't so good! That is, until she went to
Jacob's well to get some water.
She met Jesus there. Then,
she was changed from a very bad woman into a good person. The story about this
woman of Samaria is in the book of John.
Starts reading
Scene
III
Christ Figure is seated
beside well. Woman of Samaria stands, with water pitcher on her shoulder. They
remain motionless--as if they were literally a Bible picture--until Grandmother
quits reading.
Or, if there is no curtain and
real stage, the spotlight can be turned on the well, and Jesus can enter as
Grandmother reads the first verse. And the woman can come during the second
verse. Christ Figure and Woman begin talking, only after Grandmother's voice
trails off.
GRANDMOTHER: reading from
John 4:6-12 "Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being
wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well; and it was about the sixth
hour.
"There cometh a woman
of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, ‘Give me to drink.’ (For his
disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
"Then saith the woman
of Samaria unto him, ‘How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me,
which am a woman of Samaria?’ For the Jews have no dealings with the
Samaritans.
"Jesus answered and said
unto her, ‘If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee,
“Give me to drink;” thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given
thee living water.’
"The woman saith unto
him, ‘Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence
then has thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which
gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children and his
cattle?’"...
Grandmother's voice trails
off.
Woman hands Christ Figure cup of water.
CHRIST FIGURE: Whosoever
drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water
that I shall give him shall never thirst.
For the water that I shall
give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
WOMAN of SAMARIA: Sir, give
me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw ... I perceive
that thou art a prophet, sent from God.
CHRIST FIGURE: God is a
Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
WOMAN: I know that the
Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all
things.
CHRIST FIGURE: I that speak
unto thee am the Messiah, the Christ!
WOMAN: The Christ?
CHRIST FIGURE: Moreover, I
say unto thee that he that giveth a cup of cold water in my name shall receive
his reward.
WOMAN: Oh! I have found the
Messiah! I shall hasten to Sychar and tell all of that city that I have found
the Christ!
Woman quickly puts her water
jar down by the well and hurries to the front of the stage. Curtains close
behind her. Or, if there is no curtain, she may merely walk hurriedly to the
spot near the piano. Here she sings, "Fill My Cup, Lord."
As soon as the Woman of
Samaria is gone, Grandmother and the girls talk on.
SALLY: Find us another woman
that talked to Jesus, Grandma!
GRANDMOTHER: Would you like
to hear about the Mary who poured some sweet perfume on Jesus' feet?
JULIA: Perfume on his feet?
GRANDMOTHER: Yes, Mary of
Bethany put a sweet ointment of pure nard on Jesus' feet while his friends were
having a feast for him. In those days that was considered a lovely, gracious
thing to do. Mary even wiped the Lord's feet with her hair.
SALLY: Who fixed the big
feast?
GRANDMOTHER: It was held in
Bethany at the home of a man called Simon the Leper. The Bible doesn't say so,
but evidently Jesus had healed Simon of the dread leprosy. They had the feast
just a week before Jesus was crucified. All the twelve disciples were there.
And so was Lazarus.
JULIA: Who was Lazarus?
GRANDMOTHER: A very special
friend of Jesus. Jesus had raised him from the dead. And Lazarus was the
brother of Mary who had the perfume.
The Bible
tells that at the feast Lazarus was one of the guests who "sat at
meat" and that Martha helped to serve the food.
Scene IV
Curtain opens on banquet
scene. Jesus and one or two disciples are already seated. Others are still
standing. The Christ Figure is at the head of the table, his chair turned so
that his feet are visible to the audience. Martha comes in, places a bowl of
fruit on the table, goes out again for more food. Simon, the host, is busy
trying to seat all his guests.
SIMON the LEPER: Thomas,
please take this place here by the Master. --Judas Iscariot, this will be your
chair. Simon then calls Lazarus aside.
SIMON the LEPER: Lazarus,
please speak to your sister to see if the food is ready! All my guests are here
and seated. It is past time for the feast to begin!
Lazarus starts to go to find
Martha, meets her in the doorway. She holds another platter of food.
LAZARUS: Martha, is all the
food prepared? Simon is ready for the feast to begin. He is quite anxious, in
fact.
MARTHA: Ah, Lazarus, dear
brother, tell Simon it will take only a few more minutes.
LAZARUS: Where is our sister
Mary? Isn't she helping you and the other women?
MARTHA: Not Mary! You know
how our sister is. She's just not practical! Mary left an hour ago, saying she
was going to the village to buy a whole pound of sweet ointment--the best she
could find.
LAZARUS: What on Earth for?
MARTHA: I can't imagine what
she's planning to do with it.
Mary hurries in, a jar of
perfume in hand.
LAZARUS: Here comes our
sister now. Goes over to Mary. Mary, please help with the food. Simon
the Leper is anxious that the feast for Jesus get underway.
MARY: I will help Martha. But
later. First things must come first. She starts walking toward banquet
table.
LAZARUS: What are going to
do with that jar of ointment?
MARY: It is for our Master.
She walks quickly to Jesus,
kneels at his feet. Pours on ointment. Begins wiping feet of Christ Figure with
her hair. Guests gasp, murmur. Thomas and Judas Iscariot rise from their
chairs.
THOMAS: Pointing his
finger at Mary Just look! Look what she's doing! She's pouring burial
spices on the Master's feet!
SIMON the LEPER: Ah, the
sweet smell of this nard fills my whole house!
THOMAS: It does, indeed!
Such ointment is costly!
JUDAS ISCARIOT: Too costly!
It's a waste!
Why, that perfume Mary has just poured on Jesus'
feet could have been sold for $500! --And the money given to the poor!
Moves into better position
so he can talk directly to Mary.
Mary, what are you thinking about? Don't you have
any pity for the poor?
CHRIST FIGURE: Judas! Judas
Iscariot! Leave Mary alone! She hath wrought a great and beautiful thing for
me.
She hath anointed my body
for burial ahead of time.
JUDAS ISCARIOT: But—but--
what about the poor?
CHRIST FIGURE: The poor you
have with you always. Any time you want, you can help them. But me you have not
always.
Mary hath done what she
could, and wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she hath
done will be told as a memorial to her.
Curtain.
Players at table remain seated so that they will be in place for the grand
finale. Grandmother and small girls continue talking.
SALLY: Grandma, what does it all mean? In every
story those Bible women were doing something for God.
JULIA: Yeah! But no two of
'em did the same thing! And Mary had that sweet perfume.
GRANDMOTHER: Each woman was
trying to tell us something. So let's think hard, and remember how they looked,
and decide what they would say if we could really see them. Both you little
girls close your eyes and do some real thinking.
Girls cover eyes with hands.
There is a short interlude of piano music—a few bars from "Come, Sing Ye
to the Lord."--
The curtain opens. All
players are on stage. Four women come to center front, stand side by side in
this order: Mary, holding jar of perfume; Virtuous Woman, with lighted candle;
Woman at the Well, holding a large cup; Miriam, with her tambourine.
Grandmother rises from chair, takes Sally and Julia by their hands and leads
them over to listen to the women.
MARY: To please God,
a woman could use sweetness.
VIRTUOUS WOMAN: To serve
God, a woman should let her light shine.
WOMAN at the WELL: To thank
God, a woman can offer a cup of cold water in Jesus' name. It is He who gives
the Water of Life.
MIRIAM: To praise
God, a woman may sing--And, she can praise God "With a Timbrel, Too!"
CURTAIN
