Date: November 22nd, 2007

VVT's special holiday presentation of THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER opens November 29, with only 4 performances: Nov. 29, Nov. 30, and Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m., and Dec. 2 at 2:00 p.m. Reserve your seats now to avoid disappointment. Visit our website at www.verdevalleytheatre.com to buy tickets online with your Visa or Master Card. Or call the box office at 649-0626 and leave a message with your name (please spell it for us), your phone number, the performance date, and the number of tickets you want (# of Adults @ $10, # of Seniors over 55 @ $8, # of Students @ $6). That reserves your tickets; we will call you back only if there is a problem or we need more information.

VVT board member Kristine MacNeill is pleased to be directing this show, which is one of her favorites. Kristine’s previous theater group in Spearfish, S.D. performed the show to delighted audiences, and she expects the same reaction here in the Verde Valley. “This is a really fresh, funny look at the Christmas story, seen through the eyes of some rough-and-tumble kids who are encountering it for the first time. Their reactions remind us all what a truly remarkable story it is,” she said.

The fun begins when Mrs. Armstrong (Nancy Bauder), who always directs the Pageant for the local church, breaks her leg and lands in the hospital. Grace Bradley (Tammy Rehborg) gets roped into the job, and husband Bob (Tim Kuipers) reluctantly goes along. Meanwhile, their son Charlie (Devin Debowski) is consistently having his lunch desserts stolen by Leroy Herdman (Jule Johnson). Leroy and his 5 siblings (Sharon Rehborg, Faith Keller, J.C. Lawler, Kendra Colbert, and Koby Colbert) are, to say the least, a crude and obnoxious bunch -- one of the girls smokes cigars! When Charlie tells Leroy that he gets all the goodies he wants in Sunday School, the Herdmans suddenly develop an interest in attending, even though they’ve never even seen a Bible. To everyone’s horror, they also decide to participate in the Christmas pageant, and they intimidate the regulars (Britney Lawler, Shawna O’Leary, Kenny Gagliano, Paige Rivas, Jake McDaniel) into giving up their major roles. The rehearsa
ls get so out of hand that two firemen (Brian MacNeill, Al Jasinski) are called in at one point.

The church ladies (Ashly Lawler, Alyssa Majewski) are convinced that the pageant will be a disaster. Reverend Hopkins (Brian MacNeill) is looking for an excuse to cancel it. But Mrs. Bradley is fearless, and she declares that it’s going to be the BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER. And – to everyone’s utter amazement -- it is! The entire family will enjoy this hilarious, heartwarming show.