Scene set with three single "huts" on stage. One for each wise man.
King 1.
Neptune: Knows the stars, characterized as a leader who follows Played by Pierre Scales
King 2.
Theos: Theologian - had access to the OT scriptures. Played by Stephen Eastwood
King 3.
NAG: Young man, loves the new ideas, easily carried away. Played by Mason Clark
Scene 1
NAG: Ahh…. so peacful. The servants are finished, they make so much noise, always moving and making my home busy. But at the end of the day, as the sun goes down, I tell them to go home. All the other Nobels keep their servants till half night, I couldn’t stand the chaos.
Instead, I bring my flute, stack my rocks, burn some incense to the gods, I breath, I stretch… I don’t know how the others live the way they do.
Theos: My eyes… oh my eyes… once I could read the smallest scrolls. Oh my collection, I have the best collection of writings this side of the Swallos, Probably including a good way beyond too. You know, so many people go through life blind. Content to live off what they here in the markets, or from the travelers. But if you really want to know about the earth, you have to read. To read what the wise people of every culture have to say. And bring it all together.
Neptune: Theos… Theos… …. (looking up) Theos!!!!!
NAG: Dude!
Neptune: Oh Nag, there’s a new star… I mean a new star, not one that I have never seen that has always been there… but a star that has never been there…. is now there!
NAG: Dude… I’m breathing man…. you are ruining the peace.
Neptune: You are not getting it… a New Star - there has never been a new star… ever! it just appeared. Look!
NAG looks, closes his eyes, and breaths.
Neptune: (Turns attention away from NAG) Theos!
Theos: Nepturn!
Neptune: Theos! A Star just appeared tonight. It’s never been there, and you can’t say I’ve just missed it - look!
Theos: oh of all the holy gods…. you can’t miss that… what is it? What does it mean?
Nepturn: It means something really big is happening. Something is changing….
Theos: Of course!
NAG raises his hand to receive whatever it is
Theos: But what? Which of the gods are talking to us? (to himself) And what are they saying?
Neptune: (To himself) Is it coming or going? Will it move with the other stars during the night? Will it be here tomorrow night?
(everyone looks at each other… says good night and gets to work!)
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Music
Scene 2
Neptune: People call me a magician. I’m not. All I do is read the stars. I tell people it’s going to get colder, and it does, and they call me a magician.
You see, the sky, the stars - it’s so predictable. The skies… they have messages. They can tell of things past, and things to come. People talk of the gods… and they make idols to these gods… but these idols can’t tell you anything. But the sky is alive. The sun comes up each day, exactly where it’s supposed to and moves across the sky, according to the time of the year… it will go down exactly as I predict - because it always does. And when the sun goes down, well, that’s when the real show begins. Stars, in patterns, clusters, arrive in the east, and move across to the west… and here’s the interesting part:
They don’t come up in the west the next day! They come back up in the east again! It’s like they reset… it’s like every day is a brand new start. A brand new beginning. Like we get to do it all over again.
But here tonight… there is a new star. There has never been a new star. They call me a magician, but I can’t put a new star in the sky. Whatever put that there… whoever put that there… it came from somewhere… from someone. It came from the One who controls the stars, who writes the stories, the One who made the beginning, this God is doing it again. This is some serious Devine stuff. This is Holy.
Theos: There have been stories of new stars before. Jonnosh… the magician from the trees… he tried to tell me of a new star. He took me out at night to see it, I said I saw it… but I don’t know if I did see it! There are a lot of stars out there.
But I saw this one tonight. There was no missing this one!
There is one story that our world began with a star, that story comes from this city, there was a story of a new star… a star that was bigger than all the rest, one that got bigger and bigger… until it spawned this earth. They say it took thousands of years. I don’t believe it though. But there is no mistaking that star there tonight.
I don’t much care for Nepturn and his magic. I prefer the school of philosophy. The historians, the Scribes. So much wonderful writings from so many cultures… none about a new star though… chuckles… wait….
There was . . . there was such a story. From the Israelites… people say they have a very powerful God, oh they have some good stories, legends! Some incredible writings about crossing seas on dried land, and whole walled cities falling at their cry. Difficult to prove all the writings though, But if they were true… well… then the one true God is indeed talking to us.
There was a prophet, believed to have come from the Israelites… what was his name….. opens scroll….
Balham! Yes. The talking donkey man! You hear everything in the writings. But he did talk about a new star…
A new star from the West…. wow, it would be something if that star came was in the west!
NAG: A new star! How cool is that. A new star… new energy. What if it was a different kind of star, with a different kind of energy! What if it made things like giving better than receiving… now that would make the world better - what if it turned everything that was last, into everything that was first…. wait… what if this new star could mean you could be born again! That evil could be beaten and we get to start over with everything in perfect harmony! (getting excited now!)
Oh that would be SO cool. What if instead of coming up in the east, this star showed up in the west first….
Hey… Nepturn! Nepturn!
Neptune: (reverently) yes?
NAG: Is the star in the north, south, east or west?
Neptune: Strange you should ask. It showed up in the west.
NAG and Theos: Interesting...
All three are gathered on stage again. And they swap things… Nag takes the star chart, Neptune takes the scroll, Theos takes the incense. All retreat back to their “home”.
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Music?
Scene 3
NAG: Wow! A new Star! With new… everything! Just boom! I wonder, is it moving? (looks at it)
Not moving exactly - but it does feel like it’s calling. Actually it should be moving… the rest of the stars move
Neptune: Something wonderful is going on when the writings of men, and the writings in the stars collide. It has to signal the coming of the most wonderful power, the One that makes everything true.
The star has to be some sort of signal to us… and if it is signaling, we should answer.
I have to go to the star… oh the others will think I’ve really lost it now. But this God has to be met. This God has to be welcomed. By someone who knows and recognizes it… oh what if the magicians go, and pretend they made it! Or the other Kings who’ll say they rule it! Oh the chaos… no, I have to go to this star… oh serpents, go to a star… no idea how to do that, but if this is what I think it is, the God will take care of the how… I should just get right under it. Oh I have to go.
But Theos, he knows stuff… He’ll think I’m crazy, but I want him to come too…
Thoes: (Holding up the incense) Dear Gods… well, God .. probably… Is this you? Are you talking? Are you shining in a far off land? Are you coming to turn the evil to good? Would we dare dream that this earth would flow with milk and honey? Gods, God, is that you in that Star? I feel I know it is. Is that you putting that thought, that feeling into me? I have not felt like this before…
Oh God, if this is you, make Nepturn want to go too… confirm this though him… I don’t want to look foolish… But if this is you God, I will go to that star. I will come and find you. I don’t know how you’ll do it, but this IS you… the Israelites had it all along… Oh God, don’t leave us out… may we all be part of your kingdom, your city. May your ways be my ways. Your people, my people. I simply must come to you.
NAG: (Looking at the chart, and coming out of his hut) It’s not moving! We must go to it! The Star… it’s not moving… we must go to it.
Theos: (Comes out of hut) Crazy Boy
Neptune: He is a crazy boy, but he’s right… it’s God. It’s THE God. We have to go to the star. We have to join in with the world in welcoming the Creator to this earth.
NAG: When the sun goes down tonight, if the star is still there… we will go toward it.
Theos: (Solemnly, reverently, and with certainty) Oh, it’ll be there. But tonight? I have court to arrange… the festival of Eremas to attend to… I must bring Bulle up to speed with the servants…
The camels, the supplies
A trip like this takes 3 weeks to plan.
Neptune: Theos, we must go tonight… When the star is in the sky, we must follow it…
NAG: It’s calling us.
Theos: We are going to see God… oh how majestic it will be… The King
Neptune: The Creator. The Author of the stars
NAG: My comforter, my savior, my reason for being. Namaste.
Neptune: I’m going to take Gold. 3 years wages of Gold…
Theos: 3?
Neptune: You’re right, 4.
Theos: I’m going to take Frankincense. Symbolizing our communication, our very best to God.
NAG: I’m taking Myrrh.
Theos: What’s myrrh?
Neptune shrugs his shoulders
Music! Jesu Joy of Mans Desiring ~ Bach,
manger scene comes in (perhaps stage hands, simply dressed, could undo the middle “hut” and turn it into a manger??? just a thought.
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Scene 4
Off stage outside in the back…
Neptune: There is no one here… this can’t be it
NAG: oh this is it
Theos: This is where the King of the Stars is?
NAG: Yep, get your gifts, let’s go in.
All walk in, richly dressed, in the most humble way possible. Take coats off. Bow.
NAG: Master,
Theos: Holy one.
Nepturn: Prince and King.
Followed by the Congregation singing - Oh Come All Ye Faithful
