Scene 1:
Uncle Nick: Hayden
Uncle Nick: Hi, everybody! I’m Uncle nick.
Well, at least that’s what the kids call me. Actually, I’m the bus driver, and before the year ends, I always like to take the kids on a little trip somewhere in the country, to show them how the holidays are celebrated in different areas. This year the students are having a hard time deciding where they want to go. I say, “Pile in! Let’s hit the road an figure it out as we go!” Here… this ought to get things started! (Honks the horn of the bus)
Uncle Nick: Ho! Ho! Ho! Load’em up , kids! Let’s HIT the road!
Scene 2:
Uncle Nick: Hayden
Bobby: Megan
Kim: Kiera
Tommy: Avery A
Julie: Marcella
Shari: Grace
Louis: Edie
Ashton: Anthony
Lori: Sadie
Kitt: Amaya
Carson: Carson
Danny: Jaclyn M
Danielle: Rhiannon
Nick: First stop – New Orleans, Louisiana!
Bobby: New Orleans! Awesome! I can’t wait to see Basin Street!
Kim: I want to ride a street car on Canal Street.
Tommy: I want to eat beignets!
Julie: I want to go to the French Market!
Tommy: I want to eat beignets!
Shari: Maybe we can ride a riverboat on the Mississippi!
Louis: Hear some Jazz
Tommy: I want to…
All: We know… Eat beignets!
Ashton: But why would we want to spend Christmas in New Orleans?
Lori: Are you kidding me? They have so many fantastic traditions here around the holidays…like lighting bonfires down by the river
Kitt: and Christmas caroling by candlelight at Jackson Square!
Carson: I’ve even heard that Santa shows up, not in a sleigh, but in a boat pulled by eight alligators instead of reindeer!
Nick: Well, that sounds a little far-fetched but I supposed you never know. An elf’s gotta do what an elf’s gotta do
Danny: I’ve heard the music here at Christmas time is like no place else on Earth.
Danielle: Can you spell, Zydeco?
Danny: Sure! Z-I-Y-E-T-D (pause) E-I-E-I er….CO!
Dannielle: (Rolling eyes) close!
Danny: Hey, look over there! I think I see a lady about to sing… but there are so many styles. What’s she gonna sing…blues, jazz, Zydeco?
Scene 3
Nick: Hayden
Abby: Finley
2 Kids
Bonnie: Kiera
Carl: Cooper S.
Minnie: Addie
Carmen: Adrianna
David: Dom
Juanita: Carleigh R
Joey: Kiera
Kevin: (reserved)
Jane: (reserved)
Leslie: Parker
Nick: (Honks the horn) Ho! Ho! Ho! Load up the bus, everybody. We’ve got a schedule to keep!
Abby: Nice five o’clock shadow, Uncle Nick…
2 kids: NOT!
Bonnie: Wow! New Orleans is an awesome place to spend the holidays (SINGS LOUDLY THE LINE FROM THE SONG) “Gotta go, oh! Join the show!
Carl: Where to next, Uncle Nick?
Nick: Well, since we’re already in the South, I figured we might head on over to Florida for a tropical holiday!
Minnie: You mean we’re going to Disneyworld?
Nick: Not exactly. I’ve got another set of characters in mind
TRAVELING MUSIC
Nick: Here we are! Kids, meet my friend Carmen, Queen of the Florida Shores!
Carmen: (COSTUME LOOKS LIKE MRS. CLAUS PLAYING CARMEN MIRANDA) Hola mis jovenes amigos, bienvenidos a Miami beach
Juanita: Hola, Carmen! We’re on a road trip to try to figure out the best place to spend the holidays!
Joey: We’ve just been to New Orleans and it was awesome! (Singing loudly) “GOTTA GO, OH! JOIN THE SHOW!”
Carmen: Nice (pause Well if you are looking for a fine place to spend your holidays, you will find no place finer than right here in Florida!
Kevin: What do you do that is different than everyplace else?
Carmen: All sorts of things! But one thing we don’t do is shovel snow, or sit around a fire place sipping hot chocolate.
Jane: But then how do you get in the spirit of the season?
Carmen: the spirit of the season is all around you, it’s true, but mostly it is right there in your very own heart. In Miami, when we feel the holiday spirit dancing in our hearts, we don’t stay inside. We get outside and show the world!
Leslie: You mean right here in the street?
Carmen: Why not? What better place to celebrate with friends and family than right here? Feliz Navidad a todos!
Scene 4
Nick: Hayden
Tex: Zachary
Sharon: Natalie H
Tess: Chloe
Roxanne: Clarissa
London: (Reserved)
Baines: Savannah
Longhorn #1: Olivia
Baby Longhorn: Emma H
Nick: Load’em up, everybody! We’ve got miles to go if we’re going to get to Austin before Christmas Eve!
Tex: Austin? As in Texas?
Sharon: Uncle nick, are you ever gonna shave again? Those whiskers are getting kind of scraggily.
Nick: Just getting ready for the season. (looks in the mirror of the bus) these in-between days are never very attractive when you’re trying to grow it out.
Tess: Uncle Nick, how in the world are we going to get to Austin? That’s on the other side of the Gulf of Mexico
Nick: No problem, kids! This is a very special bus!
TRAVELING MUSIC
Tex: What happened?
Nick: Nothing to worry about, kids. Just a Long Horn in the road.
Longhorn: MOO
Sharon: A long horn? Here in Florida?
Nick: Oh, we’re not in Florida anymore. Everybody out. Welcome to the Lone Star State!
Tess: Wow! This is a special bus!
Roxanne: Yee Haw! Christmas in Texas! What could be better than that?
London: They say down here, Long Horn cattle pull Santa’s sleigh!
Nick: could be
Baines: And they make wreaths out of cactus
London: You mean “cacti”
Baines: What?
London: You mean “cacti.” You said they make wreaths, as in “more than one,” out of cactus. When you should have said “cacti,” the plural of cactus.
Baines: (Rolling her eyes) And they make wreaths out of “cacti”
London: Much better
Tex: My Texas friends eat tamales and light their sidewalks with luminaria
Sharon: They decorate their homes with Texas-size poinsettias!
Tess: and they dance to the music of the “Jingle Bell Boogie”
Roxanne: I actually have never heard of the “Jingle Bell Boogie”
Tex: Well, that’s the last time you’ll ever be able to say THAT! Come y’all, let’s boogie!
SCENE 4.5
Roxanne: Clarissa
2 Long Horns: Olivia, Emma H
Uncle Nick:
Tess: Chloe
Sharon: Natalie H
Baines: Savannah
Ryan (NEW CHARACTER): (Reserved)
Sofia (NEW CHARACTER): Bella S.
SCRIPT COMING SOON!
Scene 5
Nick: Hayden
Ann: Phoebe
Liza: Avery H
Dorothy: Ella F
Mary: Eleni Jo
Martin: (RESERVED)
Matilda: Madison
Clueless kid: Natalie L
Nick: Load’em up, kids! Next stop,, New York City!
Ann: New York City? Oh, boy! I wanna be in a Broadway Show!
Liza: I wanna walk down Fifth Avenue and look at all the beautiful windows
Dorothy: I wanna ice skate at Rockefeller Center
Ann: I wanna be in a Broadway Show!
Mary: I wanna ride a carriage in Central Park
Martin: …eat chestnuts roasted on an open fire
Matilda: …see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall!
Clueless Kid: …ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower!
Clueless kid: The Eiffel tower’s not in New York, is it?
All: no
Clueless kid: (looking at Ann) she wants to be in a Broadway Show!
Liza: Uncle Nick, isn’t parking this bus in Manhattan going to be bit of a challenge?
Nick: Don’t worry kids. I’ve got connections.
TRAVELING MUSIC
Nick: In fact, here we are everybody, Time Square!
Scene 7
Nick: Hayden
David: Dom
Juanita: Carleigh R
Joey: Kiera
Tommy: Avery A
Leslie: Parker
Tex: Zachary
Ann: Phoebe
Kitt: Amaya
Ashton: Anthony
David: That was fantastic! I’ve never had a better time in my whole life!
Juanita: But how in the world are we ever going to decide where to spend Christmas?
Joey: Yeah, I loved singing the Blues down in Louisiana
Tommy: Yeah, and those beignets were out of this world!
Leslie: And dancing in the streets of Miami was just the best!
Tex: How about the Texas Line dance?
Ann: Or singing on Broadway in New York City?
Kitt: It’s all been incredible!
Nick: (in full beard) Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s true, kids. There are a lot of wonderful ways to enjoy Christmas and as you have learned, people all over the country, in fact all over the world, like to add their own twist to things.
Ashton: Like alligators pulling a boat in Louisiana
Liza: Or the Rockettes kicking up a storm at Radio City Music Hall
Nick: Ho! Ho! Ho! I think you get it. Wherever you are at this wonderful time of the year, if your heart is full with the spirit of peace and giving, you’re at exactly the right place to have a perfect holiday!
Scene 8
Danny: Carson (will change) Abby: Finley
Danielle: Rhiannon
Liza: Avery H
Ann: Phoebe
Leslie: Parker
Kitt: Amaya
Carson: Carson
Joey: Kiera
Minnie: Addie
Martin: Carson (will change) Baines: Savannah
Mary: Eleni Jo
Danny: Hey everybody, have you noticed anything different about uncle nick lately?
Danielle: you mean like the fact he hasn’t shaved this entire trip?
Liza: And his eyes – how they twinkle!
Ann: His dimples – how merry!
Leslie: His cheeks are like roses; his nose like a cherry!
Kitt: His droll little mouth is drawn up like a bow!
Carson: And that beard on his chin is as white as the snow
Joey: He’s gotten so chubby and plum like a jolly old elf!
Minnie: And I laugh when I see him, in spite of myself!
All: Hmmm…
Martin: Is anybody else thinking what I’m thinking?
Mary: Well there’s only one way to find out.
Mary: Hey, Uncle Nick. I think we all know where we want to be for Christmas this year.
Martin: Uncle Nick, do you think we could get on the bus and head for home?
Nick: Ho! Ho! Ho! Of course we can! I’ll get you home for Christmas or my name isn’t…
All: Santa Claus! Nick: (shrugs) Ho! Ho! Ho! Busted! Merry Christmas, everyone! Now let’s hit the road!
Kids: YAY ROAD TRIP!