Santaclausian, The
by Teresa Jennings and Karl HitzemannAn Imaginative But Highly Unlikely Musical Tale For Young Voices
The entirety of this little musical is told as a story to a couple of Polar Podcasters of The North Pole Network. The setting is, therefore, just a room with "microphones and headsets" (props), though you could have holiday decorations all around. The script calls for two Polar Podcasters and seven historians (Santa-storians), as well as an onstage audience for listening/group speaking, but it's all very flexible. Characters can be elves, reindeer, kids, animals, aliens, Christmas trees, snow people, and so on. Santa Claus does make a brief appearance, but not until the end of the program. He has one spoken line. In theory, this is an origin story of Santa Claus. A really, really silly one. It goes something like this:
Long ago in a galaxy that was, well, pretty much this one, there was a planet made entirely of snow and ice. And peppermint. This planet existed for many millennia, but over time, it drifted slowly toward its own sun. Because of this, it was called Suntooclose. The more the planet drifted, the warmer it got, and all the snow and ice (and peppermint) began to melt. Really melt. The people of Suntooclose, who were called Suntooclosians (what else?), were forced to leave their home planet. As sad as it was, they took it surprisingly well, adapting and moving on.
One of the Suntooclosians came to Earth and decided it was where he wanted to stay. The Earthlings were nervous about this stranger at first, but once they got to know him they realized how loving and kind he was. They called him Suntoo. The North Pole reminded Suntoo of his home planet, so that's where he settled. It had a thriving population of elves and reindeer with whom Suntoo became close. He discovered that elves were amazing craftspeople who specialized in making toys, and that these reindeer could fly! Turns out Suntoo himself was gifted with magical powers. Some say they came from his deep joy and love for everyone. He would always say, "Love is the way."
Suntoo decided to use his magic to make the children of Earth happy, for at least one day a year. With the help of the elves and reindeer, they made gifts and planned their journey to deliver them on Christmas Eve so that the children would find them the next morning – on Christmas Day. (What better day for such love?) The plan was a huge success! So much so that it has continued for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Over time, Suntoo became well known to everyone. Also over time, his name evolved. (You know where this is going, right?) Suntoo became Santa, and The Suntooclosian was now The Santaclausian.
Implausible, you say? Absolutely. But fun nonetheless! Approximately 20-30 minutes long, the musical includes a script with easy-to-learn lines, plus five original songs: All Things North Pole, Yikes!, Living At The Top Of The World, Love Is The Way, and Merry Christmas To All (And To All A Good Night!).
Downloadable PDFs and Performance/
Sound Samples
