‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ is coming to Rexburg in November
Published at | Updated at
REXBURG – Rexburg is gearing up for “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”
The local production was originally a book published in 1972 by Barbara Robinson. It tells the story of a small town’s annual Christmas pageant, which is upset by a new director and a rowdy family of brothers and sisters – the Herdmans – whose amusing antics are at the heart of the play.
Adaptations of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” have become popular in various forms, including a feature film coming to theaters in November.
The cast of the Rexburg production ranges in age from 5 to 71, totaling 31 members.
Cami Starks, who was cast in the lead role of Mrs. Grace Bradely, says the show is highly entertaining.
“Come and see it for a good time. You will be able to see the humor in it,” Starks said. “It’s funny all the way through, and it’s great at getting you into that Christmas feeling, that Christmas mood, and being able to just feel the compassion for these kids and parents in the play. It’s hilarious, and it’s heartfelt, and it has a good message.”
Starks is a mother of four and works with kids in her day job. For this reason, she says the part feels a lot like her own life.
Charlotte Head plays Imogene, another main character in the play and a member of the rowdy Herdsmen children. Her involvement in the show is a family affair.
“I have two other siblings who (are) in it,” Head says. “My little sister Julianna is five, and she’s going to be playing a baby angel. And I have another sister who is one of the Herdmans.”
“I’m glad that my daughters have found their niche, something that lights them up inside,” adds Jennifer Holiday, the mother of two of the young actors. “It’s so fun to see when they walk on stage, and you can tell that they’re in their element and having a lot of fun.”
Amy Evans, the musical tour coordinator at Brigham Young University-Idaho, is the play’s director. She moved here from Texas in 2022, but has extensive theater experience.
She is delighted with the active arts community in Rexburg and gladly accepted the invitation to direct.
“(This show) is a great way to kick off the holidays,” Evans says. “I encourage people to come and laugh out loud, to be a part of this, and also to just be able to have a moment where their hearts turn a little inward and have a moment to kind of say, ‘What do I want the season to look like for me this year?’”
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” opens Nov. 1, and there will be nightly performances on Nov. 2 and Nov. 4. All nightly shows are at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the door at the Romance Theater.