Frostburg Presents, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!”

Frostburg State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance debuted, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!”, on November 30, and it was a true hit with the audience. Being performed by a cast with an age range from almost 5 to 22 and older, it is an engaging experiencing that will have you glowing with holiday cheer by the end.

As the Annual Christmas Pageant rolls around, all of the children begin to dread the upcoming performance which is the exact same cast, costumes and performance every single year. With little variety the Pageant has begun to have a ring of monotony, boring the audience, the crew and the cast. However, this year Mrs. Armstrong, the tried and true director of the ‘beloved’ pageant, has fallen and broken her leg, leaving her in a tizzy worrying about the pageant unable to micromanage from her hospital room. But it is not only Mrs. Armstrong who is worried, the whole town begins to wonder who will replace her and take upon themselves the job of wrangling young children to recount the biblical tale of Christmas to their loved ones.

And the lucky recipient of this Christmas catastrophe is Mrs. Grace Bradley, mother of two and wife to Bob Bradley, she is soon over her head as the cast begins to expand unexpectedly. When Grace’s son, Charlie, is once again having his lunch stolen by a dreaded Herdman, a family who all bully the rest of the local kids, he begins to brag that his lunch isn’t of any importance when compared to the treats he’ll receive from Sunday School. Charlie speaks of the twinkies and juice and all the goodies that kids who go to Sunday School receive, unknowingly sparking the interest of his bully.

As the first rehearsal is about the begin and the cast list is about to be assembled, the entire Herdman family comes in to join as well. With the kids frozen in horror and Grace completely befuddled, the Herdman’s begin to proclaim the roles they want; Mary, Joseph and the Angel of the Lord, only the roles of utmost importance to the Christmas Pageant tale. For years the Pageant has remained unchanged and now there is a new director and an entirely new cast list, Grace is in a pickle. But a true challenge arises when they try to rehearse and discover that none of the Herdmans are actually aware of the story to which they are supposed to be acting out. Even after trying to explain, it still seems that they believe they’re acting out a sDeterminationort of spy story instead of the beginnings of Jesus’ life.

Yet the Herdman’s confusion is not the only issue, nearing the performance night, they are without

a baby Jesus, costumes are a mess, lines are unknown, the kids are terrified of the Herdmans, and there are fireman clearing the church searching for a fire, it is looking to be the worst Christmas Pageant Ever! This show is funny, engaging and will warm your heart with the holiday spirit and the passion of the young actors. The Bottom Line recommends that all who can, go and support Theatre and Dance on December 6,7,8 at 7:30pm and the 8,9 at 2pm. You are guaranteed a laugh and smile from this very talented cast.