By Becky Evans
CenterPoint’s black box production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is so good, it has sold out its first week of shows and has added additional performances to thrilled audiences. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever focuses on two groups. One group is children church members who are getting ready to put on an annual Christmas pageant. The other group is the Herdmans who come from a broken home, live on welfare, smoke, curse, steal, and bully all the other kids in town. The Herdmans come to the church because they wanted refreshments but they decide to stay and join the Christmas pageant as leading roles. Grace Bradley (Camille Crawley) works hard to teach everyone that just as Jesus welcomed everyone, they could welcome the Herdmans (Hyrum Frank, Emma Leishman, Patrick Neal, Kaitlyn Botelho, Jeffrey Leishman, and Jacey Lambert.) Many members of the town, however, believe that the Herdmans will absolutely ruin the play and that it will be the worst Christmas Pageant Ever. After some rambunctious behavior, the Herdmans end up surprising everyone and helping teach about the true spirit of Christmas.
The play is set in the 80s, as evidenced by costuming designed by Shannon Page, which included details like side ponies, shoulder pads, Guess Jeans, and tee-shirt clips, which was nostalgic without being distracting. The Leishman Performance Hall, CenterPoint’s black box,is cozy and intimate with seating for approximately 75 people. This is general admission seating, so I’d get there early to get a good seat. The show is short (about 75 minutes which includes a 10-minute intermission) so it is great for children or anyone who can’t sit for a long time.
Director Wendy Inkley and Stage Manager Megan Call must have had their hands full with a large cast of mainly children, but all the children in the cast seemed to handle themselves with a maturity beyond their years. The ensemble was quiet when they needed to be, ad-libbed appropriately, responded to other characters and remained in character throughout the show. As my nine-year old son observed, “For so many kids in the show, I didn’t see any mistakes.” Jeremy Botelho was impressive as both actor and amazing pianist for the pageant.
Crawley and Jon Moody (Bob Bradley) are very believable as they attempt to teach the Herdmans about the Christmas story. Their daughter Beth (Sophie Utley) is absolutely delightful and keeps the show moving quickly with her on-pointe narrations. Her brother Charlie (Everett Duce) is the one who invites the Herdmans to church but becomes terrified of being injured if he is asked to play opposite a Herdman. Lambert deserves special mention as her portrayal of Gladys Herdman makes the adults in the audience laugh and the kids squirm. Lambert delivers her dialogue and gives some looks to the audience that are hysterical. There is a moment near the end of the play where Imagine Herdman (Leishman) is so silent she draws everyone in to share in her moment as she feels the wonder of the Christ-child.
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If you are looking for an uplifting, family friendly Christmas show that will leave you with the desire to reach out and bring others in, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is it! I love Director Inkley’s thoughts, “The beauty of this story…is that it teaches us how we can be the become the best versions of ourselves by making room for others, especially those not in our usual, comfortable crowd.”
CenterPoint Legacy Theatre presents The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Nov. 24- Dec. 16 Mon, Thurs-Sat 7:00 PM
Leishman Performance Hall 525 North 400 West, Centerville, UT 84014
Contact: 801-298-1302 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, Monday – Saturday
Tickets: Flex Pass (4 Shows) $40, Single Ticket $15
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