· Web viewOut walked the youngest son, David. Now he weren’t so big and strong, but he had a good smile and a good heart. (They called him “Dancin’ Davey” on account of

The Ballad of Dancin’ Davey

CastKing Saul - Long Tall SaulKing David- DavidJesse (David’s Father)Samuel the Prophet – Sam JonathonGoliathShebaNathan the Prophet - NateSingers and Dancers

THE SET:Side one: BETHLEHEM SET (Trees and

Rancho Gate)Side two: TOWN SET: BuildingsSide three: DAVID’S MANSION(One big

building)

PROPS:Large GoliathThe brothers fold-able silhouetteJesse’s SonsThe Boss’s ThroneWhite Cowboy HatBlack Cowboy HatTin Stars

Act 1

Narrator: Gather round. I’d like to tell you a story that happened a while back in a place I like to call, “God’s country.”

Narr.: The owner of God’s country was—you guessed it—God! …. Only folks called him THE BOSS.Now everybody that lived in God’s country new that the owner was THE BOSS and that THE BOSS called the shots.No spittin’.No cussin’.No disrespecting your parents.No stealin’ or cheatin’ or killin’.And—oh, yeah—take a break one day of the week to think about how good THE BOSS is.

Written by Phil Holck, Lutheran Church of the Cross, Calgary, AB © Phil HolckPermission is granted for educational use with acknowledgement of copyright and author.

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Now the BOSS had a spokesperson. This spokesperson was called The PROPHET.[THE PROPHET walks out from behind one of the buildings

carrying the WHITE HAT and a TIN STAR.]Narr: God’s Country also had a Sheriff. His name was LONG TALL SAUL.

[Long Tall Saul comes out from behind one of the buildings.]Long Tall Saul became sheriff when the BOSS told THE PROPHET to put a White Hat on him and pin a star on his chest.

[Prophet hats and pins him.]

Now Long Tall Saul was a strapping young man and he was a good sheriff. He settled disputes. He caught bad guys. He kept everyone safe.

[Act out these actions. Could “arrest” some bad guys and steal one of their black hats?]But then, one day, folks noticed that he wasn’t wearing a white hat anymore, but a black hat!

[Sheriff tosses the white hat toward the Prophet and puts on the black hat.]

He wasn’t real mean, but he started acting like this was HIS town. Hmmm….

Sam the Prophet noticed it too. [Sam is off on the side looking disappointedly at the Sheriff.]

One day, when Sam was talkin’ to the BOSS, the BOSS said,

BOSS It’s time to get someone ready to be the next sheriff. Go and appoint a DEPUTY. You know the one.

Narr. So THE PROPHET grabbed the white hat, rode out of town, and headed for Rancho de Bethlehem.

(Scenery shifts from separate buildings to trees and “Rancho de Bethlehem” gate.)

Narr: The owner of Rancho de Bethlehem was Just Jesse. They called him that because when they asked him what nickname he wanted, he said…

Jesse Oh… Just Jesse.

Narr THE PROPHET pulled up and said,Sam I’m here to appoint a deputy.


Jesse’sBethlehem Ranch

Narr Just Jesse gathered called up his sons and had them stand up straight for the prophet.[Either stand up a prop or bring in 7 boys.]

Narr THE PROPHET looked ‘em over, one at a time from head to toe, and said, Sam Nope, not this one.

Nope, not this one.Nope, not this one.Nope, not this one.Nope, not this one.Nope, not this one.Nope, not this one.I could have sworn this was the place… Is this all you got?

Jesse I got one more but he’s just a runt.

Sam Fetch him fer me.

Jesse Dancin’ Davey, git on out here!

Narr Out walked the youngest son, David. Now he weren’t so big and strong, but he had a good smile and a good heart. (They called him “Dancin’ Davey” on account of him playing the guitar and stuff.)

When The Prophet saw David, he walked over, put the white cowboy hat on him, pinned a star on his chest, and said,

THE PROPHET Congratulations, the Boss says you’re the new deputy. And one day, you will be the sheriff!

Davey Thanks! I’ll do my best!

Narr Now we’re going to sing a song!

When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart,I’ll say YES, as David said YES. (REPEAT)

I’ll say YES! I’ll say YES! I’ll say YES as David said YES! (repeat)

ACT 2(Scenery shifts back to the town set.)


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Narr Not too long after that, a gang rode into town headed by a dude named GOLIATH. This dude was big. And he was as mean as he was big. He stood in the middle of town and shouted,

Goliath I have decided that I want this town.

Saul This is MY Town.

Goliath Tell you what I’m gonna do. I’ll fight you for it. Pick your best gunfighter and we’ll have a show down. If I win, I get the town. If you win-heh, heh, heh-you get to keep your town. Take it or leave it.

Narr Now everyone was scared of Goliath--even Long Tall Saul-- and no one would volunteer to fight him. When word got to Dancin’ Davey, he got mad,

Davey (To the audience.) Goliath can’t have this town. This is the BOSS’s town![He goes up to Saul and says to him.]

Narr I’ll do it!

Saul You’re only a runt. You don’t stand a chance… [pause and look around.]… but since there’s nobody else… OK.

Narr They tried to give Dancin’ Davey shotguns and armor and lots of ammunition, but he declined…

Davey No thanks. All I need is my slingshot because I believe in the BOSS and the BOSS will make me victorious!

[Goliath walks in.]Narr When it was time for the show down, Goliath walked out onto main street and when he saw

little Dancin’ Davey, he started laughing,

Goliath Are you kidding me? I’ll eat this runt for breakfast!

Davey Prepare to lose because this is God’s country and the BOSS is on my side!

Goliath Okay. On the count of three. ONE…. TWO… THREE.

Narr As soon as Goliath said, THREE, David started running at Goliath and shot him with his slingshot right between the eyes before he could even draw his gun! Goliath fell down dead!


The whole town cheered. Long Tall Saul walked over to David and said, Saul What was your name again?

Davey David, but they call me ‘Dancin’ Davey’. And I’m your deputy!

When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart,I’ll BELIEVE, as David BELIEVED. (REPEAT)

I’ll BELIEVE! I’ll BELIEVE! I’ll BELIEVE as David BELIEVED! (repeat)

ACT 3(Scenery is still the TOWN SET).

Narr From that point on, when there was trouble, Long Tall Saul would send Dancin’ Davey… And David always got his man. Dancin’ Davey and his posse were so successful, that folks started saying,

Townie The Sheriff gets one villain but the deputy gets the whole gang!

Narr Long Tall Saul did not like that. He started getting’ wary of David thinking that he might try to take his town away from him!

Narr Now Long Tall Saul had a son named Johnny. He and Dancin’ Davey were best buds. One day, as they were hangin’ out, Davey said to Johnny,

Davey I got a feelin’ that your dad hates me.

Johnny I don’t see why! You always do what he asks you to do!

Davey I just gotta feelin…

Johnny Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.[Davey exits the stage.]

Narr That very night, Johnny and his dad went for a walk.


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Johnny Dad, how’s your deputy Davey workin’ out?

Saul That young whippersnapper! He’s trying to turn my town against me. I was just thinkin’ I need to do something about him… PERMANENTLY!

Narr The next day, Johnny found Davey and told him what his dad said.

Johnny You gotta get out of town, now!

Narr They hugged each other and then Dancin’ Davey got his posse and headed for the hills.

When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart,I’ll HAVE FRIENDS, as David HAD FRIENDS. (REPEAT)

I’ll HAVE FRIENDS! I’ll HAVE FRIENDS! I’ll HAVE FRIENDS as David HAD FRIENDS! (repeat)

ACT 4Narr Some time passed and there was a new gang that wanted to move into God’s country. Long

Tall Saul put together his own posse which included Johnny. They rode out of town never to be heard from again. (That means they died!).

When Davey and his posse heard that Long Tall Saul and Johnny had died, he came back to town for the funeral. When all the people saw David ride into town, they started shouting,

Townies Yahoo! Our new sheriff is here. Hooray for Sheriff David!

Narr From that time on, Dancin’ Davey was their sheriff. Peace filled the land and everything was goin’ fine. The people were so happy, they built him a brand new, fine mansion to live in.

(Scene changes to DAVID’S MANSION)


Narr Everything was going so well. Sheriff David married a local woman and started having children. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, Sheriff David started to get kind of full of himself. Remember what happened to Long Tall Saul? David started thinking that this was HIS town and he could have anything he wanted in it!

Well, one day, Sheriff David set his eyes on a beauty name Bathsheba… Sheba for short. [Sheba enters and walks by Davey and Davey says]

Davey Hey. She’s pretty cute!

Narr The problem was that Sheba was married to a fine man named, Uriah. I don’t want to get into the particulars, but let’s say Sheriff David found a way to get Uriah OUT of the way and then he married Sheba.

Well… Sheriff David was pretty pleased with how clever he was and that nobody knew what he did. Well, someone knew. The BOSS knew! The BOSS had another prophet that the BOSS used to speak to the people. His name was NATE. So the BOSS sent Nate to call the Davey the Sheriff out.

[Nate comes on stage when introduced and then heads over to talk to Davey.]

Nate I have a story to tell you…There was a poor man who didn’t own anything. But he had a horse. He loved that horse. He gave it the best food. He spent all of his time with it. He loved that horse. There was a rancher nearby who had hundreds of horses. Somebody dared him to throw a barbecue where he served horsemeat. He accepted the dare but—not wanting to kill any of his own horses—took the horse from the poor man, slaughtered and served it at his barbecue.

Davey That man should be shot!

Nate [pointing his finger at him.] You are that man.

Narr Sheriff David knew the gig was up… You can’t hide anything from the BOSS. So he repented and PRAYED that he would never forget who the real boss was ever again.

When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart,I will PRAY, as David PRAYED. (REPEAT)

I will PRAY! I will PRAY! I will PRAY as David PRAYED! (repeat)


ACT 5Narr After that, Sheriff David was a good sheriff. He did right by the people and he did right by

the BOSS.One day, as he was sitting in front of his mansion, he had the thought,

Davey I should build a house like this for the BOSS.

Narr He sent for Prophet Nate to share his idea with him.

Davey I think I’m the one to build a beautiful house for the BOSS.

Nate The Boss says, “You are not the one to build a house for me. That will be one of your son’s jobs. You can however, bring my throne chair into town so that, when the people see it, they will remember that I am the BOSS and that I am here among them.

Narr So Sheriff David rounded up his posse and they went to get the Boss’s throne and bring it into town.

[Scene shifts back to the TOWN SET with room for the Boss’s throne in the middle.]Everybody in the cast joins in the parade.

Narr As they approached town, they decided to make a parade of it. And Sheriff David was going to lead the way… Dancing!

When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart,I will DANCE, as David DANCED. (REPEAT)

I will DANCE! I will DANCE! I will DANCE as David DANCED! (repeat)

EPILOGUE[The cast stays on stage with Davey in the middle in front.]

Narr Sheriff David continued to serve God’s country for many years until he died.Though it is not the end of the story about the BOSS and God’s country, it is the end of the part we are telling you today! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoyed it!

When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart,I will DANCE, as David DANCED. (REPEAT)

I will DANCE! I will DANCE! I will DANCE as David DANCED! (repeat)


Documents

· Web viewOut walked the youngest son, David. Now he weren’t so big and strong, but he had a good smile and a good heart. (They called him “Dancin’ Davey” on account of