Gifts of Christmas

“The Gifts of Christmas”

A THEATRICAL PRODUCTION performed by The

Mukwonago Village Players

and Mukwonago High School Theater Department

The show includes 2 one-act plays, each based off a short story written by the famous American author, O’Henry.

“The Gift of the Magi” is about a young couple who are short of money but desperately want to buy each other Christmas gifts. Unbeknownst to Jim, Della sells her most valuable possession, her beautiful hair, in order to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch; while unbeknownst to Della, Jim sells his own most valuable possession, his watch, to buy jeweled combs for Della's hair.

“Soapy Smith’s Christmas Wish” tells the story of a hobo named Soapy, who sets out to get arrested so that he can be a guest of the city jail instead of sleeping out in the cold winter. Despite efforts at petty theft, vandalism, and disorderly conduct, Soapy fails to draw the attention of the police. Disconsolate, he pauses in front of a church, where an organ anthem inspires him to clean up his life—and is ironically charged for loitering and sentenced to three months in prison.