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Bluefield College’s Youth Theatre, featuring children actors from the community, will present “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” Tuesday, December 11 and Thursday, December 13.

Chris Shoemaker

November 30, 2012

Both performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. in BC’s Harman Chapel. Admission each night will be $10 for adults and $5 for children and senior citizens with all proceeds going to support the work of Bluefield Youth Theatre.

Written by Barbara Robinson, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is a story about what happens when a group of misbehaving, near juvenile-delinquent children hijack and almost derail thelocal church Christmas nativity play.

The BC cast features 17 children from the local area, along with students and staff from Bluefield College, including local high schooler Kathryn Priest who plays Beth Bradley and whoalso narrates the play, and BC’s Jennifer Bohannan, who plays Grace Bradley, Beth’s mother, the director of the Christmas Pageant.

While excited about the opportunity to present the church Christmas play, the Bradleys are ill prepared for thecharacters who show up to join the drama -- the Herdmans, considered to be “the worst children in the whole world.”

“They lie, they steal, they smoke, and they swear,” said Charles Reese, co-director of BC’s version of ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,’ about the star characters. “No one is prepared when this outlaw family invades church one Sunday and decides to take over the annual Christmas Pageant.”

None of the Herdmans has ever heard the Christmas story before. Their interpretation of the tale -- the Wise Men are a bunch of dirty spies and Herod needs a good beating -- has a lot of people up in arms. But, in the end, the added twists make this year’s pageant the most unusual anyone has ever seen and, just possibly, the best one ever.

The Herdmans are played by Bluefield Youth Theatre members Claire Fisher (Imogene), Luke Huffman (Ralph), Noah Jennings (Leroy), Nick King (Claude), Christian Yates (Ollie), and Mallory Brown (Gladys). Other Youth Theatre members in the cast include Brian Fisher as Charlie Bradley, Katherine Yates as Alice Wendelkin, Alexandra Stout as Maxine, Andrew Brown as Elmer Hopkins, Ethan Stout as Hobie, Aiden Stout as David, and Katherine Purdue, Milan Brewster,Emma Miller and Kendle Mitchem as the angel choir.

Adult characters played by BC theatre students include Bobby Hall as Bob Bradley, Katherine Santschi as Mrs. Armstrong, Sam Corker as Mrs. Slocum, and Summer Wilding as Mrs. McCarthy. Other adult roles include BC graduate Ben Shumate as Reverend Hopkins and BC FineArts Community School coordinator Kristi Stout as Mrs. Clark.

Joining Reese as co-director of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is Rebecca McCoy-Reese, instructor of theatre arts at BC. For more information about the play, contact the BC Theatre Department by phone at 276-326-4244 or 276-326-4213 or the BC Office of Public Relations at .

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