Hi Theater Friends,
I’m so excited! I got to go to The Bathhouse Theater in Green Lake to see THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER. It was a nighttime performance, too! I got to sit in the front row, super close to the actors. I felt very grown up.
Remember when I told you how mean the Herdman kids are in the book? Well, guess what? They are even meaner in person. I’m glad they are only characters in a play and not that way in real life.
Most of the story from the book was the same as the story on stage. But some parts were different.
In the book, Mrs. Armstrong broke her leg. But in the play, she broke both her arms and both her legs! She was wearing roller skates and she had two helpers push her on stage. She also talked funny. My teacher,
Kathleen, told me she had an accent. I liked her costume, too. She looked like a big Christmas present.
Another part that was different was in the book there was a reverend for the leader of the church. A reverend is a man. In the play, it was a lady. She was called the minister. Oh, and she was played by the same person who played Mrs. Armstrong. I bet that’s tricky to do. I hope she reads my blog. If she does, maybe she can tell me what it is like to play two different characters in the same play. I bet that takes lots of practice! I would be afraid I might say the wrong lines.
This was a funny part. The adults thought the Herdman kids started a fire in the church so they called the fire department. Except, it wasn’t the Herdmans who started the fire, it was the ladies baking in the church kitchen. They burned their applesauce cake! Gladys hopped onto the back of a fireman. That really surprised him. Or, maybe he was scared because he knew Gladys was a Herdman!
One of my favorite parts was when the choir angels started to sing. My fur was tingly and it was sticking straight out. Kathleen told me she had goose bumps. I think that’s what I had, too. She also told me it meant that the actors were doing a super great job at singing and being angels in a choir. I agree. I almost forgot I was sitting in a theater! I wonder if they take singing lessons.
This was another really good part. That’s Gladys holding the star and Imogene and Ralph Herdman! Wow! The real people did a super job to be Herdman kids and actors in another play. That’s like a play inside of a play. Good thing the cast has a super good director, Shana Bestock, to help them.
Most of the story in the book was the same as the story on the stage. The most important part that was the same was the part about why the Christmas pageant really was the best Christmas pageant ever.
Kathleen told me that sometimes people get too busy and they forget that Christmas is really supposed to be about caring and giving and thinking about others. She also told me that it doesn’t matter if you believe in Christmas or another holiday. It’s the tradition and spending time with family and friends and caring about others that really matters. That’s what happened in the story. The Herdman kids really weren’t that bad. They just needed people to care about them and give them a chance and help them learn new things and believe in them.
My fur got all tingly again. Must be those goose bumps!
I could go on and on about how super great the performance was. But, I think you should go see it for yourself. Here’s the link to the Seattle Public Theater: http://seattlepublictheater.org You can find out all the days and times when you can see the show.
I hope the cast members write back to me and tell me more about what it is like to be in a play on stage.
Your Theater Friend,
Sleepy Bear
