Catherine Bush / Playwright
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I’ll Be Home for Christmas

  • Justin Tyler Lewis & Hannah Ingram
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Libby Zabit & Justin Tyler Lewis
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Hannah Ingram as Sgt. Sid Zadnichek
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Libby Zabit & Hannah Ingram
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Libby Zabit as Mary Margaret Gilmore
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Justin Tyler Lewis as Randall King
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Hannah Ingram as Cheryl Dean
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Justin Tyler Lewis & Hannah Ingram
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Justin Tyler Lewis & Libby Zabit
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Justin Tyler Lewis as Joel Hartman
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Libby Zabit & Hannah Ingram
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Libby Zabit & Justin Tyler Lewis
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

  • Libby Zabit as Rosie Armellino
    Photo courtesy of Barter Theatre

Synopsis

Air travel during the Christmas holidays is usually anything but jolly – delayed flights, lost baggage, bad weather, and the pressure of celebrating with the family can all add to the stress of the season. So when six zany characters, each with a desperate need to get home, collide at Skyways Airline Gate 37, anything can happen – and does.

Cast

Cheryl Dean 30’s-40’s; a gate agent for Skyways airline. This is Cheryl’s first Christmas as a divorced mother of two, and she is determined to make it merry and bright for her kids– if she can just get out of the airport…
Joel Hartman 30’s; a plumber. As a Jew, Joel isn’t too interested in celebrating Christmas, but his father is dying and he’s trying to get home to see him before it’s too late. What he isn’t counting on is a delayed flight and an insane group of fellow travelers who seem determined to make a crazy day even crazier…
Mary Margaret Gilmore late 20’s; a friendly, Irish-Catholic girl with no filter who finds herself pregnant and boyfriend-less at the same time. Out of a job, broke, and armed with only her swollen ankles and morning-sickness, Mary Margaret has no choice but to go home and confess all to her very conservative mother… unless someone can come up with a better idea…
Sgt. Cynthia “Sid” Zadnichek 30’s; a no-nonsense, straight-talking lesbian who is used to giving orders. Sid loves two things above all else: the United States of America and her wife Buffy, who desperately wants Sid home for Christmas. Sid has wrangled a 48-hour leave and is determined not to disappoint her wife. Little does she know that the Army’s motto of “Hurry up and wait” is going to follow her to the airport…
Rosie Armellino mid-60’s; an Italian mother whose umbilical cord is still firmly attached to her 42-year-old son Freddie. Freddie told his mother he was going to Albany on “business” – but when his business turns out to be proposing to his secret girlfriend, Rosie loads up her suitcase with eggplant parmigiana, determined to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life…
Randall King 35; a financially successful pharmaceutical rep, Randall was always a disappointment to his father, an outdoorsman whose specialty is hunting wild turkeys. Now Randall has found a way to make his father proud: he won the National Turkey Calling Competition, and is headed home to be Grand Marshal in his hometown’s Christmas Day Parade… if he can get there in time…

Specs

Cast Size: 3 (2w, 1m)
Approximate Run Time: 1h 50m
Number of Acts: Two
Script Sample
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Sample Music

Production History

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" was first produced in 2023 by Barter Theatre (Abingdon, VA), Katy Brown, Producing Artistic Director

Casting Notes:
The following roles are to be played by the same actor:
Cheryl Dean/ Sid Zadnichek
Mary Margaret Gilmore/Rosie Armellino
Joel Hartman/Randall King
Cast Size: 3 (2w, 1m)
Approximate Run Time: 1h 50m
Number of Acts: Two
Script Sample
Request Rights
Sample Music

Synopsis

Air travel during the Christmas holidays is usually anything but jolly – delayed flights, lost baggage, bad weather, and the pressure of celebrating with the family can all add to the stress of the season. So when six zany characters, each with a desperate need to get home, collide at Skyways Airline Gate 37, anything can happen – and does.

Cast

Cheryl Dean
30’s-40’s; a gate agent for Skyways airline. This is Cheryl’s first Christmas as a divorced mother of two, and she is determined to make it merry and bright for her kids– if she can just get out of the airport…
Joel Hartman
30’s; a plumber. As a Jew, Joel isn’t too interested in celebrating Christmas, but his father is dying and he’s trying to get home to see him before it’s too late. What he isn’t counting on is a delayed flight and an insane group of fellow travelers who seem determined to make a crazy day even crazier…
Mary Margaret Gilmore
late 20’s; a friendly, Irish-Catholic girl with no filter who finds herself pregnant and boyfriend-less at the same time. Out of a job, broke, and armed with only her swollen ankles and morning-sickness, Mary Margaret has no choice but to go home and confess all to her very conservative mother… unless someone can come up with a better idea…
Sgt. Cynthia “Sid” Zadnichek
30’s; a no-nonsense, straight-talking lesbian who is used to giving orders. Sid loves two things above all else: the United States of America and her wife Buffy, who desperately wants Sid home for Christmas. Sid has wrangled a 48-hour leave and is determined not to disappoint her wife. Little does she know that the Army’s motto of “Hurry up and wait” is going to follow her to the airport…
Rosie Armellino
mid-60’s; an Italian mother whose umbilical cord is still firmly attached to her 42-year-old son Freddie. Freddie told his mother he was going to Albany on “business” – but when his business turns out to be proposing to his secret girlfriend, Rosie loads up her suitcase with eggplant parmigiana, determined to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life…
Randall King
35; a financially successful pharmaceutical rep, Randall was always a disappointment to his father, an outdoorsman whose specialty is hunting wild turkeys. Now Randall has found a way to make his father proud: he won the National Turkey Calling Competition, and is headed home to be Grand Marshal in his hometown’s Christmas Day Parade… if he can get there in time…
Casting Notes:
The following roles are to be played by the same actor:
Cheryl Dean/ Sid Zadnichek
Mary Margaret Gilmore/Rosie Armellino
Joel Hartman/Randall King


Production History

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" was first produced in 2023 by Barter Theatre (Abingdon, VA), Katy Brown, Producing Artistic Director
Script Sample
Request Rights
Sample Music
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