Barbara Robinson's novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has been a holiday staple since it first hit bookstores in 1971, and its longevity was ensured by her 1988 stage version, played regularly across the country each year. -- Now, thanks to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Rick Dildine's intention to sustain links with the local community, the current cast of actors on the Festival Stage is comprised mostly of River Region students from public, private, and home-schools; the remainder of the roles go to local adults and this year's ASF Interns.
And what a troupe they are! Under ASF Associate Director Greta Lambert's expert direction, this is as lively, fast-paced, and energetic a show as one could get, and one whose family-friendly messages mixed with some hilarious antics signal the Christmas Season with the ensemble's good-natured performances.
Young Beth [Gerrisyn Shipman] narrates the story of the time when her Mom [Sarah Adkins] was conscripted to direct the local church's annual Christmas Pageant after Mrs. Armstrong [John Cencio Burgos] became wheelchair-bound after an accident. Mrs. Armstrong's version was predictably the same year after year, one in which all the backstage jobs and on-stage roles were predetermined. -- But not so this year: Beth's brother Charlie [Lannon Bowman], in an attempt to avoid bullying from the notorious Herdman tribe of troublemakers, tells them that Sunday School offers free treats...and they show up to commandeer all the pivotal roles in the pageant, much to everyone's dismay.
Not to be deterred by the Herdman's cussing, drinking, smoking, and shoplifting exploits, Mom is determined to make this year's effort "the best Christmas pageant ever"...and does she have her job cut out for her! In her ASF debut, local actress/director Ms. Adkins, doing more than just herding cats, summons everything at her disposal to give the Herdmans a chance by using their ignorance as teaching moments. And we are witness to their honest responses to the Bible story they had never heard, and watch as they learn the true meaning of Christmas.
Running just under an hour, the young actors in this ensemble demonstrate a level of sophisticated performance disciplines that many mature thespians struggle with: their vocal strength, character focus, and dexterity of movement are laudable. -- Ms. Shipman's straightforwardly practical demeanor and Mr, Bowman's frantic need to escape bullying at all costs show how dissimilar siblings can be. Faith Gatson's powerful solo singing also centers the assorted choral numbers.
But it is the Herdman siblings whose journey from being "the worst kids in the history of the world" to the most compassionate messengers of the Christmas Season that centers the play. -- J'Kai Foster, Jason Grinstead, and William Miller take on the roles of the Wise Men, having forced themselves into the production, but bring a canned ham as a gift to the Christ child: a more practical present than gold/frankincense/myrrh to poor refugees living in a stable, and we find that the ham was from their own welfare Christmas basket. -- Timothy Brannon and Ann Welch Hilyer as Joseph and Mary shift from arrogance to protective parents in such a truthful manner that garnered gasps of appreciation from the audience. And spunky Eva Kate Mason relishes her role as the Angel to bring the good news to the shepherds [and all of us] with uninhibited naivete and absolute commitment to getting the message across to one and all.
Yes, the Herdman kids have learned a lot, and the rest of the company of characters have also found connections to people they formerly judged, that the goodness in all of us may just need a bit of coaxing to emerge, and that the gifts of acceptance and understanding are priceless.
