Christmas Crime Scene

by David Beardsley

It's late on Christmas Eve. Santa has just turned up dead outside Nick Snow's living room window, and it's beginning to look a lot like murder. Will Nick, his Lady Caller Mary Vergennes, and Rudy Redd, a hardboiled, North Pole lawyer, find a way save Christmas (and save themselves in the process)? Or will this holiday season finally be the moment when their lives unravel like a poorly made Christmas sweater?

It's late on Christmas Eve. Santa has just turned up dead outside Nick Snow's living room window, and it's beginning to look a lot like murder. Will Nick, his Lady Caller Mary Vergennes, and Rudy Redd, a hardboiled, North Pole lawyer, find a way save Christmas (and save themselves in the process)? Or will this holiday season finally be the moment when their lives unravel like a poorly made Christmas sweater?

  • Inquire About Rights
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

Christmas Crime Scene

Recommended by

  • Ramsey Uhter: Christmas Crime Scene

    As an avid fan of holiday plays, this one truly takes the fruitcake! Comedically hapless circumstances bring two adverse lovers together on a chaotic sleighride of a Christmas celebration. Witty and fun-filled!

    As an avid fan of holiday plays, this one truly takes the fruitcake! Comedically hapless circumstances bring two adverse lovers together on a chaotic sleighride of a Christmas celebration. Witty and fun-filled!

  • John Busser: Christmas Crime Scene

    A fun little play that both embraces and skewers Christmas traditions while adding some new twists. Playing out like an old noir murder mystery, David Beardsley gives us a terrific little present that would delight an audience.

    A fun little play that both embraces and skewers Christmas traditions while adding some new twists. Playing out like an old noir murder mystery, David Beardsley gives us a terrific little present that would delight an audience.

  • Rachel Feeny-Williams: Christmas Crime Scene

    Its the brilliant absurdity of the characters that caught my attention right from the very beginning. Nick's passion for the festive season coupled with Mary's devastating (if slightly amusing) relationship with the same festive season had me giggling almost instantly. The play then keeps giving with the connection of the classic Christmas story to the chaos that is actually happening. You would think that every tale that could be associated with Christmas has been done but this writer takes the audience through a wonderfully funny and fantastic new story that can't fail to make you giggle!

    Its the brilliant absurdity of the characters that caught my attention right from the very beginning. Nick's passion for the festive season coupled with Mary's devastating (if slightly amusing) relationship with the same festive season had me giggling almost instantly. The play then keeps giving with the connection of the classic Christmas story to the chaos that is actually happening. You would think that every tale that could be associated with Christmas has been done but this writer takes the audience through a wonderfully funny and fantastic new story that can't fail to make you giggle!

View all 7 recommendations

Character Information

1-2F, 2M

  • Nick Snow
    A holiday enthusiast and avowed mama's boy whose obsession with Christmas might not be as innocent as it seems.
    Character Age
    35-40
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Mary Vergennes
    A lonely cynic with a taste for bad boys and a hard-earned distaste for Christmas traditions.
    Character Age
    Early 30s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Rudy Redd
    A hard-boiled, North Pole lawyer, Santa's fixer. What Rudy wouldn't give for a quiet, family Christmas.
    Character Age
    About 30
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Voice of Nick's Mom
    Could be pre-recorded. Could also be a Stepford-wife type holding an old cassette player. You might think you're good enough for her son, but honey, you're not.
    Character Age
    late-50s or 60s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Female

Production History

  • Type Community Theater, Organization Quannapowitt Players (Reading, MA), Year 2021