Entire Family Will Love CCTC/HJT’s ‘Best Christmas Pageant Ever’

Twenty years ago, I saw Barbara Robinson’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at the then Harwich Junior Theatre for the very first time. I freely admit I am a fan of the sentimentality of the season, but thought the actual holiday had become too commercial and even greedy. So I wasn’t prepared for the play to resonate with me as much as it did. It’s more than a re-emphasis of the true meaning of Christmas; it’s a play about the danger of prejudging folks. It’s eye-opening for children to see there could be a reason behind someone’s bad behavior, and that Christmas can sometimes sneak up on you and give you a different kind of gift, a new perspective. And the best lesson of all is the one we continue to quote to this day: “There are no small parts, only small actors.”

It’s a simple yet poignant story set in a small town during the holiday season. Everyone wished the Herdman Family would just go away! They were loud, they dressed funny, they stole your lunch and they were mean. And there were so many of them! Sundays at church was the one day no one had to worry about being harassed by the six Herdmans. That was one place you would never find a Herdman, Beth Bradley said. That is until her brother Charlie told them about the desserts served at Sunday school. So guess who showed up just when it’s time to prepare for the annual Christmas Pageant? Would the Herdmans ruin that too?

Come along and witness how the Herdmans learn all about Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus and make the Bible story more relatable to all the other children. The Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre’s director Sue Kosoff has a deep history with the Division Street theater and personally knows how much Robinson loved seeing this play performed here. She’s the perfect choice as the director for this show.

And what a cast! Emily Murray is fantastic as Mrs. Bradley, the parent who inherits the job of casting the pageant and has to juggle not only that but listen to Mrs. Armstrong (Jane Staab) barking orders from her hospital bed on how she always did the pageant. Her task gets even more difficult when the Herdman children decide they want to star in the show and make that happen by silently “persuading” anyone else from volunteering, much to Alice’s dismay. “I’m always Mary,” she wails. Coco Kemp nails the Alice character; we all know one. The Herdman family (Kelly Martin, Stella Seufert, Zach Wesp, Ben Whitman, Evangeline Bonwit and Gemma MacBride) are all spot-on. Each Herdman entrance is rambunctious, unruly, and hilarious. MacBride in particular nearly steals the show as the littlest Herdman, Gladys.

Beth Bradley acts as narrator and Ashlynn Nee explains all succinctly and with great enthusiasm. Even the youngest child in the audience understood what was going on. Sam Bonwit is adorable as her brother Charlie. Mrs. Clark (Nichole Shaw) led the “angel choir,” and what a treat these children are. They are Amelia Angioillo, Nora Angiollilo, Nora Wedge, Mae Dower, Elianna Taylor, Rebecca Reyes, Piper Taylor along with these actors who play both angels and other roles: Ashauri Martin, Wes Foster, Addison Wilda, Mason Maas, Phoebe Schuessler, Fiona Mooney, Maya Nava and Aria Nickerson. Kosoff’s idea of having the gossip train of busybodies (Nina Schuessler, Samantha Walker, Leah Dower and Shaw) all around us was very clever. Noteworthy and a testament to this teaching theater, and I believe for the first time, they had an actor (Phoebe Schuessler) on stage with both her mother (Emily Murray) and her grandmother (Nina Schuessler)! Adults Seamus Sartin (Father) and Matt Kemp (Reverend Hopkins) round out the huge cast.

Kosoff assembled an excellent production crew also: set designer Charles Baldwin, lighting designer John Malinowski, technical director Matt Kohler, costume designer Cathleen Perry, acting coach Janie Newton, chorus director Patricia Anderson and prop designer Marybeth Travis. And at every performance, behind the scenes with roles as important as those on the stage were these talented folks: stage manager Gianna Casale, sound operator Quill Adamsons, light board operator Alex Ingraham, spotlight operator Connor Perry and backstage run crew Mae Herrington.

The play is delightful and the run time is a little over an hour, thus the perfect family outing this holiday season. Adults will be touched and tear up a bit, and children will giggle, yet learn something, too.

DETAILS

"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever"

At Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre, Division Street, West Harwich

Through Dec. 30, Fridays at 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m.; additional performances Dec. 27 and 28 at 3 p.m.

Information and reservations: 508-432-2002 www.capecodtheatrecompany.org