When my children were young, our Passover seder was always a lot of fun.  We dressed up in costumes, sang silly songs about frogs and pyramids, acted out the Exodus story, and invited friends and relatives to share in this celebration of freedom.

But as our sons grew older, the seder got old, too. Everyone still wanted to sing the preschool songs and put the Make-a-Plate seder plates and plague bags stuffed with rubber frogs and wild beasts on the table. But the importance of the holiday was getting lost. Our seder desperately needed to evolve. I wanted our sons to be engaged in this ancient tradition and anxious to participate each and every year.

I decided to write a play. It was 2005 and our boys were 13 and 15; post Bar Mitzvah. I entitled it, “Why is this Seder Different from all other Seders,” and we tried it out on second night. It was in plain language, included traditional and not-so-traditional songs, and made the evening a true celebration of laughter and freedom. Everyone had a blast. The idea really caught on. I’ve written nine more plays.

I always try to incorporate whatever is going on in our lives into the theme.  One year when my older son was a Speech and Debate Captain, pairs of guests were given topics about the Passover story to argue. Another year, when my younger son was obsessed with game shows, I wrote “Cash Cab Pyramid.”  When my husband learned to play the ukulele, I came up with “Aloha Moses” and changed the words of songs he could play into lyrics about the Passover story.  And who could forget the two seders that were modeled after my own favorite reality TV shows: “Seder Idol” and “The Voice of Moses.” We even had Skype battle rounds when our boys were in college and couldn’t be home for the actual event.

We also go crazy with the décor.  Last year, when our Rocky Mountain High state of Colorado legalized marijuana, I wrote “Stoned-Soul-Seder” and bought tie-dyed everything from plates and napkins to bandanas and peace sign centerpieces. This year, because of my husband’s recent retirement, my own semi-retirement, and my beloved Jon Stewart’s impending retirement, I’ve written, “The Retirement of Moses.” Bottom line… the guy doesn’t want to be in the story anymore. Reliving those plagues each year is giving him nightmares.

I love our seders. Along with the delicious matzah ball soup and peach kugel, we usually have 20-30 active participants around the table. This year, I finally found the time (because of being semi-retired) to edit that very first play and put it here on my website for you to download and use. Feel free to print it, make copies, modify it, whatever. I’ve written it for 25 parts, but you can easily combine them if you have fewer guests, or add more numbers if you have more.  I hope you are inspired to revitalize this wonderful holiday.  Enjoy and Chag Sameach!

To view the play, “Why Is This Seder Different From All Other Seders,” please go to the Books-Songs-Plays tab and scroll down.  You can copy and paste the text into your own word file to use.