Article by Brae Foust
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is one of those pieces of media you could put into the rotation of Christmas stories to show every year next to “A Christmas Story,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and “Die Hard” (typed that last one just to see how people would react to me calling Die Hard a Christmas movie). The story is based on the 1972 children’s novel that was written by Barbara Robinson. It tells the simple story of the Herdman siblings, six misfit children who decide to volunteer in their town’s Sunday school Christmas pageant. In what perceives to be a program destined to collapse, the six siblings end up teaching the town what Christmas is all about. It’s a fun story to read, it’s a fun story to witness & it’s a fun story to watch live at the Lyric.
The Play is honestly a simple work & could be performed with little to no effort, but that’s not what the actors did with this play, especially the kids. Beth Bradley, played by Katelyn Vera, is great for our narrator with the spunk and attitude of a teenager. Elijah Speegle plays her brother Charlie who gets pushed around a lot & portrays fear pretty darn well for a kid his age. The Herdman’s, however, I can say are the scene stealers of the show, such as Mikaela Speegle playing Imogene, who goes from annoying leader of the kids to someone who gets a change of heart convincing at the end. Leroy & Ralph, played by A.J. Tidwell and Tanner Gammon, feel like two peas in the pod & have a relationship that I think normal two brother would love to have, aside from the ‘misfit’ issue. Gladys Herdman is played by Emilie Hill-Heubner, is the little one of the group, but has an enthusiasm & charism about her that you just smile & laugh when she makes her presence.
Don’t forget about the adult either, as they are just as essential to the show. Grace Bradley is played by April Tassin & I can see the fire in her eyes when she says, ‘I’m going to make the best Christmas Pageant ever,’ as in I believe her that she will do that task. Shade Tidwell plays Bob Badley, and Shade was the one character I connected with the most being the dad who gets a joy of spending time with kids while poking fun & teaching them a lesson, not wanting to help with the pageant but doing it because he loves his wife & would help her out whenever he can. Niki Brown, Shannon Turner, & Ryan Smith play worrisome mothers well, all in all feeling like a complete cast.
The show is run smoothly no noticeable miscues; the set is not overly produced giving the kids more of a chance to shine. There really isn’t much to critique it’s just a fun, not too long story about the true meaning of Christmas the family will all love to watch. Darlyne Ervin got a chance to direct this classic tale & was blessed with a talented cast & crew to get the job done. Tickets are on sale now, showings are going to be for Friday, Saturday as well as Sunday for the next two weekends. They’ll be showings at 7:30 on Fridays, 2:30 on Sundays, and double featured at 2:30 & 7:30 on Saturdays. If you’re looking to do something festive this weekend, what better way than checking out ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ and see for yourself the true meaning of this festive holiday.
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