Local community theater group The ABC Players is going back to its roots.
The troupe is the product of a 2009 merger between the Athenian Players Theatre and the Berean Community Players. APT presented its first production The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in 1992. Now, 21 years later, The ABC Players are putting the pageant on once more.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever follows the story of the tough Herdman kids who uncharacteristically invade a church and decide to take over the annual Christmas pageant, even though none of them know anything about the Christmas story. The town may worry they’ll ruin the production, yet it could turn out to be the best pageant ever.
The play will run Thursday through Saturday at Stuart’s Opera House, 52 Public Square, Nelsonville. Paired with the story is the singing of traditional Christmas carols such as “Silent Night” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
“It explores a different part of Christmas that, usually when we see a regular Christmas play, we don’t really think about,” said Micaiah Clouse, 12, who plays Imogene Herdman. “This play really brings out different things like Mary and Joseph and focuses on that. It’s just as important as everything else and we get to explore that part.”
To the show’s director, Jodi MacNeal, the content of the play is what makes it stand out.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” she said. “To me, this is the real meaning of Christmas. … The Grinch and those kinds of things are funny, but this is funny and has a serious tone to it.”
The play is adapted from the book written by Barbara Robinson in 1971. Lee Carter, who plays the mother Grace Bradley, said it was her favorite book as a child.
“As a kid, I related to the book so much so it’s kind of fulfilling for me to be in it,” she said. “I never imagined I would get to be in it. … It’s coming full circle for me to be in the play version.”
The message of the play that Carter loved as a child—and still does—is the message of being open to others.
“Before you make any assumptions and decide who you are and what box you belong in, this play tells you to see there’s so much more,” she said. “There can be so much more if you give people a chance.”
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If You Go:
What: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Stuart’s Opera House, 52 Public Square, Nelsonville
Admission: $7
