The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Written by: Barbara Robinson
Performed with licensing from Concord Theatrical
Performance Dates: Dec. 7-10
Runtime: 1.5 hours
Audience: G
Location: Jubilee Theater Center, 109 Commercial Street, Marshfield, MO 65706

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A heartwarming Christmas classic brought to life!

As The Best Christmas Pageant Ever begins, the narrator introduces the Herdmans as the worst kids the world has ever seen. These six kids — Imogene, Claude, Ralph, Leroy, Ollie, and Gladys — smoke, curse, bully other kids, steal, and once set fire to an abandoned toolhouse. Their father abandoned them when they were young, and their mother works two jobs and has no time to look after her rowdy kids. The Herdman siblings take care of themselves. The narrator’s little brother Charlie is a frequent target of Leroy Herdman, who likes to steal his dessert at school. Charlie mentions that it does not matter because he gets all the snacks he wants at Sunday school. The Herdmans decide to show up next Sunday to see what they can get.

When it comes time for the pageant, it begins as usual, but the Herdmans soon start adding their own unique flavor to the show. However, the Herdman children have been changed by their studies and are more subdued and respectful than usual. Amid all the usual candlelight and singing, the three Herdman children playing the Wise Men bring a ham that was given to them from the food basket by the church. Imogene is overwhelmed by the kindness and begins to cry at the beauty and wonder of the scene, which she is now a part of. Everyone leaves the church buzzing about the play, talking about how the play was different this year though they do not know exactly why. The narrator, however, says that she understands why. The Herdmans did not portray the Holy Family and the story of Jesus’s birth as if it were something dry from a book. Rather, they understood the needs of the family and related to it in a genuine, powerful way that let them truly put their hearts into their roles.

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Cast List

Father (Bob Bradley) – Eric Atwell

Mother (Grace Bradley) – Jenn Smith

Beth Bradley – Adalynn Rowe

Charlie Bradley – Ryker Trevino

Ralph Herdman – Oliver Floyd

Imogene Herdman – Zoee Fiscus

Leroy Herdman – Addison Shaw

Claude Herdman – Finley Haymes

Ollie Herdman – Sawyer Taylor

Gladys Herdman – Cricket Cantrell

Alice Wendleken – Sloan Gregory

Mrs. Armstrong – Toni Lorenz

Mrs. Slocum/Mrs. Clausing – Angie Hoffman

Mrs. McCarthy/Mrs. Clark – Emily Shaw

Maxine – Hannah Atwell

Elmer Hopkins – Jacob Vestal

Hobie – Waylon Kirk

David – Lydia Rowe

Beverly – Liliana Minor

Fireman – Randy Hoffman & Elijah Biggers

Shirley – Ella Korte

Juanita- Elsie Shaw

Doris – Bella Shaw

Reverend Hopkins – Nightly Guest Cast

Angel Choir Members: Adalynn Rowe, Sloan Gregory, Lydia Rowe, Liliana Minor, Ella Korte, Elsie Shaw, Bella Shaw, Annaliese Wade

Shepherds: Ryker Trevino, Waylon Kirk, Jacob Vestal