Synopsis

As the drama begins we can see the doorway of the inn with the innkeeper and his child busy at work. In their travels, the Magi arrive in front of the inn. They are searching for the Christ child and are incredulous that this lowly place could be what they are seeking. It doesn’t fit their expectations of the birthplace of a king. After singing their song, Searching For God, they move on, assuming their calculations were wrong. The innkeeper enters and soliloquizes in all his penny- pinching gruffness. Then he sings a private song of hopeless yearning for God to be present. He snaps out of this momentary vulnerability and returns to his work.

In a dream like sequence, Isaiah in his wanderings finds himself outside the inn, knocks on the door and offers his prophetic speech (Isaiah 11). The innkeeper’s child hears it and is very moved and sings Get You to a Mountain. The child is inspired by the empowerment of the child-spirit in the prophecy. The innkeeper hears all the commotion and enters the scene to find the child all excited by the powerful words of Isaiah. The innkeeper gives a warning to the child to not trust “these traveling preachers who have nothing to give you.”

Scene four brings Mary and Joseph to the door of the inn. In singing My Soul Magnifies God, Mary, who is pregnant, helps Joseph overcome his doubts about this “disturbing” situation. The song, which becomes the underlying theme of the whole story, unites the two in their faith and they knock on the door of the inn hoping to find a room for the night.

In scene five, after a fierce debate with her child, the innkeeper agrees to let the penniless Mary and Joseph stay in the barn. Mary blesses her for this generosity and the innkeeper, somewhat confused by this, starts to reveal some chinks in her armor of skepticism.

In the next scene (6) there is a vision of the shepherds and angels based on the dialogue from Luke 2. In this version the very proper angels are trying to convince the uproarious shepherds what the best way is to express the Good News.

The final scene brings the Magi back to the inn. This time they knock on the door. They finally are sure now that they have “found the place” and are ecstatic. The innkeeper at last comes to realize that there really is something going on here. He makes his way to the manger where Jesus has just been born and sees the light. He slowly turns his enlightened face to the audience and leads the entire ensemble in a final reprise of My Soul Magnifies God.