Oh, how I love the Christmas pageant! Especially since I am not now responsible for it. Other people with oodles more energy (and intelligence and imagination and love) for it than I step up to the plate to make it happen, and make it gorgeous, and I sit back and bask in the reflected glow of their hard work.
Today we had a pageant called "Away From the Manger." In other words, the excuses of Wise Men, Shepherds, Stars, Animals, and even (Petra in a real star-turn as) the Innkeeper's Wife... all of whom stayed away from the Christ Child, with their various excuses.
Shepherds: They're unionized. It's not in their job description.
Wise Men: They were attending a conference on "Celestial Bodies Signifying the Advent of the Messiah: Theoretical and Practical Applications."
Stars: Too shy. (Best moment: when they covered their faces with their points. Also, when, after taking their costumes off, they waved at their parents, because, you know, they couldn't recognize them in the star costumes.)
Animals: "We're not good enough. We're not good enough," in an eerie and disturbing chant.
Innkeeper's wife: Too busy getting ready for the holiday. She pulled out a rubber chicken (that she supposedly had to stuff and roast). Her best line (to the narrator, who has just expressed how nice it was that she allow that pregnant woman to use her barn): "There's a pregnant woman in my barn?"
(Petra also sang the Bach/ Gounod "Ave Maria," accompanied by a wonderful senior on the piano. Face hurt from beaming.)
All that plus communion! It was a good morning.
(To get your very own star costume, go to here.)
5 comments:
That sounds great! Ours is in two weeks, and I am glad not to be in charge.
Omigodde this sounds fabulous! Who wrote the script?
that's very cool about the article, and the pageant sounds wonderful. i wish i could have seen it.
peacester
Jane, the pageant is "Away From the Manger" by Elizabeth M. Topp. It's available from Contemporary Drama Service, and I thought it was really very good. We interspersed it with a verse each of several Christms Carols that were appropriate to the characters.
i would love to see this script. it sounds awesome.
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