Musicline School Musicals
Countdown To Christmas Cover

Countdown To Christmas

by Mike Smith & Wilf Tudor

Pricing & Order Info.
Ideal Cast Size 53
Speaking Roles 42
Minimum Cast Size 28
Duration (minutes)60

Why choose this Musical?

42 speaking roles plus chorus

Easily reduced or expanded, see "Casting" tab below.

Flexibility

Flexible Cast size to suit YOUR group numbers, from 28 actors upwards. See "Casting" tab below for examples.

Scenes that can be worked on class by class

Easy to stage with simple scenery - adaptable

CDs of Backing Tracks & Vocal Tracks available

No pianist required!

Piano/Vocal Score (Grade 5 Standard) available

Easily constructed and manageable props

Age range - Key Stage 2 Production (7-11 years)

Set in a Village Hall, "Countdown to Christmas" is a fun-filled musical look at the pre-Christmas goings on in a local community. Enjoy the hilarity that is the Weight Watchers Club as they strive to lose those extra few inches; warm to the charm of Dolly the Pantomime Cow! Will Mr Shufflebottom ever get his drains fixed? What has Councillor Clott been up to? Can the Silver Surfers come to terms with new technology? And what really happened to Fred? With a Rock Band that rocks (only slightly) and Cleaners who must never be upset, this festive offering will have your audience rolling in the aisles and tapping their feet, but more importantly, lifting the children to a performance previously unseen!

"Countdown to Christmas" has been structured to maximise the available rehearsal time, with scenes that can be worked on class by class, and then seamlessly stitched together to produce an evening's entertainment of pure delight!

Contains 42 speaking parts for the talented and the more reluctant thespians, 9 songs, choral and solo parts that explore the different genres of music. How can it fail!?

The musical opens with the cast singing 'Countdown to Christmas' in the village hall. As members of the cast disperse, the vicar and his wife are left on stage and share a short conversation about the season of goodwill.

Buyers and sellers enter to set up their stalls with goods to sell and sing 'Roll Up.' After their successful sales, everyone is keen to leave the village hall spotless for fear of 'Upsetting the cleaners.' It seems that there was an incident last year and everyone is keen to avoid something similar from happening again...

The following group to arrive are the weight watchers who share their anxieties about being unable to lose those extra inches before Christmas so they can put it all on again! However, 'Counting Calories for Christmas' lifts everyone's spirits.

Councillor Clott is the next visitor, but unfortunately his civilized conversation with the vicar and his wife is interrupted by Mr and Mrs Shufflebottom and their ten children who are keen to complain about their drains that need to be fixed before Christmas. Their complaints are collectivised in 'Fix Our Drains.' However, before the family exit, they are keen to tidy up for fear of 'Upsetting the cleaners...' This is a mystery that leaves the audience guessing until the end.

The Rock Band are the next individuals to use the village hall to rehearse and the vicar adds a touch of humour when he attempts to 'rock on' with the likes of Gazza and Basher. Cedric, the newest recruit to the band with the addition of the triangle doesn't fit in, and 'Let's Party' follows as they attempt to all come together. However, even this group of misfits stay behind for fear of 'Upsetting the cleaners.'

The village hall wouldn't be complete without the theatre group performing the annual pantomime, but even this group is having problems. The leading role wants her own dressing room, and no one can decide who is going to play the front of Dolly the Cow and who is going to perform the 'udder' side; 'Dolly the Cow' follows with a comical dance routine. As you may have guessed, this group are also eager to stay and help clear up.

The Silver Surfers Club are next arriving and reminisce together about how things have changed; 'If We Were Younger' is an appropriate song that follows. Despite their previous lack of energy, they still find the strength to help clear up before the cleaners arrive...

Finally, the cleaners make an appearance and we eventually discover that the hype has been pre-meditated by them so that they don't have to work as hard! 'Cleaners Calypso' follows.

After an eventful day, the cast join together once more to sing 'Merry Christmas.'

Suggested Cast List For 53 Actors

N.B. In the following list, the number shows how many spoken lines each role has. An asterisk (*) before the character's name indicates that this character ALSO has solo or featured sung lines.

Character NameNumber of Lines
Vicar80
* Mr Shufflebottom43
Wife40
Roger33
Robin29
Councillor Clott27
Gazza26
Elsie23
Bazza22
Annabel16
Miss Jones16
Mr Grimes16
Len15
Simon15
Annie13
Buster13
Cecelia12
Mr Wainwright12
Vivien12
* Mrs Shufflebottom11
Florrie10
Hilda10
Mrs Wainwright10
Beattie9
Cybil9
Jack9
Carmen8
Alf7
Bert7
Marge7
Tania6
Ted5
Cedric4
Floss4
Paul4
Vanessa4
Jimmy3
Plant3
Daisy1
John1
Little Boy1
Sophie1

Non-speaking roles: Amy, Carly, Eric, Karen, Robert, and a Chorus of six Rock Band Followers (who could, if preferred, be played by some of the actors also playing characters in Scenes two and three).

Dolly the Cow is a pantomime cow played by Annabel & Simon.

Suggested Cast List For 28 Actors

N.B. In the following list, the number shows how many spoken lines each role has. An asterisk (*) before the character's name indicates that this character ALSO has solo or featured sung lines.

Character NameNumber of Lines
Vicar80
* Mr Shufflebottom43
Wife40
Roger - also plays Robert Shufflebottom33
Gazza - also plays Ted31
Robin - also plays Eric Shufflebottom29
Bert - also plays Bazza29
Councillor Clott27
Elsie23
Alf - also plays Simon22
Buster - also plays Jack22
* Mrs Shufflebottom also plays Hilda21
Floss - also plays Annabel20
Paul - also plays Mr Grimes20
Marge - also plays Cecelia19
Cedric - also plays Len19
Daisy - also plays Miss Jones17
Jimmy - also plays Mr Wainwright15
Annie13
Vivien - also plays Rock Follower12
Sophie - also plays Florrie11
Mrs Wainwright - also plays Amy Shufflebottom10
Beattie - also plays Karen Shufflebottom9
Cybil - also plays Rock Follower9
Carmen - also plays Rock Follower8
Tania - also plays Rock Follower6
Little Boy - also plays John Shufflebottom and also plays Plant5
Vanessa - also plays Rock Follower4

Notes: Use a doll, carried by Mrs Shufflebottom, for Baby Carly.
: An adult could, if preferred, play the Plant in the final scene.
: Dolly the Cow is a pantomime cow played by Annabel & Simon.

5 Star Rating

Countdown To Christmas

"I only left Kearsley West two weeks ago, but this play was the best nativity I did! I was Mr Grimes and everyone told my Mum how funny I was! "
Spike, Kearsley West Primary and Nursery School, Kearsley

5 Star Rating

Countdown To Christmas

"I loved it and I'm also doing the performance at my school and I'm the cleaner."
violet , kallangur state school , kallangur

5 Star Rating

Countdown To Christmas

"A Christmas show with something for everyone - very funny script - great songs. "
Lincolnshire Primary School

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  Downloads

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NEW

We now allow School / Purchase orders for orders which include downloads. However, please be aware that a member of the Musicline staff will manually authorise your order which can take up to 48 hours (or longer if we need further information from you). If you require the downloads to be instantly available, please pay by credit/debit card or PayPal on the last step of the checkout.
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Product Name Product Price Qty
Script (Non-editable PDF) £10.00
Script (Editable Word Doc) £12.00
PDF & Word Doc Scripts £15.00
PDF Piano Score (Grade 5 Standard) £10.00
MP3 Backing Tracks £10.00
MP3 Vocal Tracks £10.00

  Posted

The traditional means of getting your items. Most of our works are RING BOUND books or CDs of recorded music.

U.K. schools can order posted items with a school order number.
This facility is available at the end of the ordering process.

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Product Name Product Price Qty
Script £14.00
Pack of 5 Scripts £45.00
Pack of 10 Scripts £70.00
Piano Score (Grade 5 Standard) £13.00
CD of Backing Tracks £13.00
CD of Vocal Tracks £13.00

  Performing Licence: valid for 12 months from date of issue for THIS musical only

The Musicline Performing Licence covers you to perform this musical.

It is illegal to perform ANY published musical without the appropriate licence which is only available from the publisher of that musical.

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For more information about Licensing, please click here

Size of your School Size Price per Performance Price Number of Performances Number
200+ Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £30.00
150-199 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £25.00
100-149 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £20.00
50-99 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £15.00
0-49 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £10.00
Theatre Group (any size) £50.00

  Copying Licence: valid for 12 months from date of issue for THIS musical only

The Musicline Copying Licence covers you to copy ALL of any of the items you buy for this show either posted or downloaded.

This Licence is only available from the publisher of the copyright material.

It is illegal to reproduce or share ANY published material without the appropriate licence.

For more information about Licensing, please click here

Size of your School Size Price of Licence Price Qty Qty
200+ Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £30.00
150-199 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £25.00
100-149 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £20.00
50-99 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £15.00
0-49 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £10.00
Theatre Group (any size) £50.00

  Video Licence: valid for 12 months from date of issue for THIS musical only

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For more information about Licensing, please click here

Size of your School Size Price of Licence Price Qty Qty
200+ Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £30.00
150-199 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £25.00
100-149 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £20.00
50-99 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £15.00
0-49 Pupils on Total School Roll (Ofsted Figures) £10.00
Theatre Group (any size) £50.00