One of the lines in the Christmas pageant is that there’s never anything new about it.
“It’s true that the story remains the same, but every year this is a brand new Christmas pageant,” says Harry Blundell, director of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” on stage this weekend at the Arts Center of the Ozarks.
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is the story of Beth Bradley and her memories of what it was like for her mother, Grace Bradley, to direct the Christmas pageant for her church one year, Blundell says.
The show is a great look at the meaning of Christmas throughthe eyes of not only the good kids, Beth and Charlie Bradley, but the seemingly bad kids, the Herdmans, he says.
The Herdman children find out that there are free snacks at Sunday School and are assigned parts in the pageant upon showing up.
“They’re cast in all the major parts, much to the dismay of the ladies of the church,” Blundell says.
“Mrs. Bradley was brand new to the process and didn’t understand fully what the impact of the Herdmans would be.”
Although the character Mrs.
Bradley is new to directing, actress Debbie Gates has been involved in the show with her children for many years. She and her husband Ernie have been in the pageant before,but it is the first time they are playing the married couple Grace and Bob Bradley.
Ann Ayres is another returning cast member, who will reprise her role as Mrs.
Armstrong, a role she hasportrayed a number of times.
All of the other adults are new cast members, though. Blundell says that 40 percent of the kids are returning cast members and about 60 percent are new to the show.
Whats Up, Pages 12 on 12/07/2012