Lillenas Drama Presents Over the Palms from Son of Pew Prompter By Larry & Annie Enscoe Cast PALMER: a man, 20s BLANCHE: woman of any age (can be played by a man as BRANCH) Scene Parking lot in Jerusalem Props Aprons Baseball cap Red flags Styrofoam cup Stool Freestanding sign Costume Modern Running Time 7-8 minutes Notes Over the Palms takes a contemporary twist on the events of Palm Sunday. It s designed to fit neatly into a Sunday service or Easter week program.
The sound effect of people cheering can continue at a low level throughout the scene, punched up at the appropriate moments. Palm Sunday, 9 A.M. (The sound of people cheering for a moment. Then the cheering fades. (Lights. (PALMER is staring out at us. Straining to see something in the distance. He s young. A little slow, but sincere. Wearing a baseball cap turned backward. Also a heavy apron with pockets in it. He carries a red flag. (BLANCHE is sitting on a metal stool, drinking coffee from a Styrofoam cup and waving drivers into a parking lot with a red flag. She s bundled up against the cold. Sweatjacket hood pulled up over her head. She s also wearing a heavy apron. (A sign standing next to her reads:) PARADE PARKING $5.00 PALMER (checks his watch): They should be rounding the corner by now, don t you think? (Looks harder) Man, look at that! Must be 500 people blocking my view of the street up there! I m not gonna be able to see im from here. BLANCHE: Hey! Just whaddaya think you re doin? PALMER (turning toward her): Watchin the parade (BLANCHE jumps up, talking to someone in a car.) BLANCHE: You re blockin the driveway with that thing. Move it outta here. Look, I don t care if the parade s already started! (Points at her open hand) You wanna park here, I wanna see $10.00 cross over this palm PALMER: Ten dollars? I thought parking was $5.00 BLANCHE (looks at the sign): Aw, look at that! (BLANCHE stomps to the sign and flips it over. Now it reads $10.00.) Good goin, Palmer. You forgot to change the sign like I told you, didn t you? PALMER (lost): I... I... BLANCHE (to the customer): Sorry bout that, chief. Parking s $10.00 now. Five was the early bird special. PALMER: The early what? BLANCHE (laughs, jerks a thumb at PALMER): New kid. Just breakin him in. Ten dollars. You wannit or not? Suit yourself, but you re not gonna find anything closer to the action, I m tellin you. Come on, pal, I don t have all day to (Suddenly looks up) Hey, what s that noise?
PALMER (listens, shrugs): I don t hear noth BLANCHE (prompting him): No, no is it... people or somethin? PALMER (listens): I m telling you, I don t hear BLANCHE: Yeah, yeah! People cheering? Applauding? As if someone might be marching past right in front of their wondering eyes? PALMER (catches on, but not convincing): Oh... yeah, I hear it now... sounds like... a parade... Whoa! I think they re ahead of schedule. (The customer relents. BLANCHE grins. She mimes snapping up the money, stuffing it in her apron pocket.) BLANCHE: Thank you very much. (Waves the driver into the lot) Park it in the back of the lot. Enjoy the parade. (They both go back to waving people into the parking lot with the red flags. Then:) You see the look of desperation on the faces of those little guys? (Imitating) C mon, Daddy! Hurry! We re gonna miss the parade! It was classic! Coulda squeezed 15 smackerinos out of im. I m too easy on people. PALMER: You never told me to change the sign, you know. BLANCHE: There woulda been a day I da just seen a rugrat with the parents, I d ve tripled the price. I m getting soft. PALMER: But that s stealing. That s lying. BLANCHE: And coveting. Don t forget coveting. I covet first, lie second, and steal third. Three out of 10. Not bad, eh? And sometimes when people really tick me off I break another one of the Big Ten. You figure out which one. (PALMER starts trying to figure it out.) BLANCHE: Lookit there! (Points off) See that one? Guy s been around the block twice tryin to snag a free spot. See how he s slowin down? See his wife pointing at us like we re the Pearly Gates or somethin? You watch. I give him one more time around the block, and I bet you dollars to doughnuts we squeeze $20.00 out of that stingy yutz. PALMER: Blanche, you are not a nice person. BLANCHE: Please. You re killin me. (BLANCHE walks to a waiting customer.) Parade parking? Yeah, yeah, I ll take a traveler s check. Parking s $15.00. (Looks at the sign) Palmer! You forgot to change the sign again!
(PALMER reluctantly flips the sign. It says $15.00.) (To customer) Sorry bout that, chief. That was the pre-parade special. (Pause) Oh, yes, ma am. The parade s already started. Palmer, when would you say the parade started? PALMER (looking at his watch): Just a few min BLANCHE: Half hour ago. You hurry and park, you can probably catch him go past right up there. You and all those adorable little children. (Winks at PALMER; to the children) I bet you little guys re smart, huh? I bet you never let Mommy forget when she blows it, huh? (Takes the money) Thank you very much. (Waves them in) Park it in the back of the lot. Enjoy the parade. (They go back to waving people into the lot with the flags. PALMER glares at BLANCHE.) BLANCHE: That look supposed to make me feel guilty? Hey, in this life, you gotta have somethin to grease the palms, huh? (Sees he s not buying) Oh, get over yourself, would you? In case you haven t checked lately, it s a hard world out there. PALMER: And you re making it easier? BLANCHE: Wise up. I didn t make up the rules, OK? The world s the way it is. Always has been. I don t see anything about to change it in a hurry. (The sound of people cheering and applauding. It grows louder through the next lines. PALMER runs to the edge of the stage.) PALMER: That s gotta be Him! BLANCHE: Yeah, well don t get too engrossed, buddy boy. People pay us so they can watch. We just sit back and let the parade pass us by. PALMER (strains to look): I see Him coming around the block down there. Everybody s going wild. BLANCHE (rankled): So what? I don t know why everybody s got their socks in a bunch, anyways. Not like it s a real parade or anythin. PALMER: Looks like a real parade to me. BLANCHE: You see any marching bands? You see any Spandex? Any sequins? See any floats? See any horsies? PALMER: He s riding a horse! BLANCHE (looks up the street): He s riding a donkey, you lugnut! PALMER: The people throwin flowers and wavin branches don t care if there s any Spandex or floats or whatever. BLANCHE: That s cuz people re idiots! They re easily took, buddy pal. And I should know. People get desperate, they ll buy anything. Even some nobody on a donkey.
(Sees a customer in a car. Snaps.) Parking s $25.00. I don t care what the sign says! You believe everything you read? Now pay up or pull out. (Takes the money) Thank you very much. Park it in the back of the lot. Enjoy the parade. (The cheering gets louder. PALMER grabs BLANCHE s stool, gets up on it.) BLANCHE: Hey, that s mine! I m the one gets the stool! PALMER: There He is! I can t believe it! I m lookin right at Him. (Beat) He looks sad. BLANCHE: You d be sad, too, if you had to ride a donkey while people lined up to watch you. PALMER: Heard all about Him, and there He is. They re shouting. Everybody s shouting somethin. BLANCHE: Yeah, Who gave You permission to tie up traffic? PALMER: No, no... it s something like... (Hears it) They re sayin, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! BLANCHE: Get off it. PALMER: You ever hear that at a parade before? BLANCHE: Aw, people get caught up and say all kindsa bizarre PALMER (suddenly overcome): Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! BLANCHE: Would you pipe down! Whatever happened to the good old days when people just shouted stuff like, Yahoo! and Ain t those flowers pretty, Marge! (The cheering is loud now.) PALMER (calling over the cheering): Hosanna! BLANCHE: Would you knock it off! PALMER: Hosanna in the highest! BLANCHE: I got a business to run here! PALMER: Praise You, Jesus! (BLANCHE yanks PALMER off the stool.) BLANCHE: Enough already! It s a parade! Just another parade! Another 15 minutes of fame for some nobody! Another grand marshall gets his grinning face in the paper, and everybody forgets all about im. (PALMER looks around. He finds a palm frond on the ground.)
BLANCHE: Just whaddaya think you re doin? PALMER: He s heading downtown. BLANCHE: Yeah? PALMER: So I m gonna follow after Him. BLANCHE: Palmer, don t be an idiot! You re just gonna be another face in the crowd! (PALMER runs out an aisle, waving the palm frond.) PALMER: Hallelujah! Hosanna! Praise You, Jeeesuuus! BLANCHE (over him): End of the week, everybody will a forgotten about Him! He ll be history! Palmer! (PALMER is gone. BLANCHE grabs her stool and drags it back to its place. She sits and drinks her coffee.) Can t believe they gave im a parade. Like He s a king or an astronaut or somethin. What s the world comin to? (Beat) Yeah, I give im a week. Tops. By next Sunday... nobody ll remember if He s dead or alive. (She checks her watch. Takes down the PARADE PARKING sign. Puts up another sign:) CRUCIFIXION PARKING $5.00 (Blackout) The purchase of this sketch entitles the purchaser to make photocopies of this material for use in their church or nonprofit organization. The sharing of this material with other churches or organizations not owned or controlled by the original purchaser is strictly prohibited. The contents of this sketch may not be reproduced in any other form without written permission from the publisher. Please include the copyright statement found below on each copy made. Questions? Please write, call, or E-mail: Lillenas Publishing Company Phone: 816-931-1900 E-mail: drama@lillenas.com Drama Resources Fax: 816-412-8390 Web Site: www.lillenasdrama.com P.O. Box 419527 Kansas City, MO 64141 The sketch collection Son of Pew Prompter (MP-774) is available for purchase from Lillenas Drama or from your local Christian bookstore. For a full description of the rest of this collection, or to purchase other individual sketches, refer to www.lillenasdrama.com