Family & friends take center stage
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
by Lucretia Voigt
Playing a part in the Christmas pageant has been a right of passage for many years. Bathrobes for shepherd's robes, tinsel for halos, and dishtowels as headdresses - the annual Christmas pageant is typically a photo opportunity for proud grandmothers and grandfathers. What would happen if the Christmas pageant was hit with a series of mishaps worthy of a Laurel & Hardy flick? You would get Barbara Robinson's "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."

PHOTOS BY ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent Top photo, from left: The Herdman kids include Maggie Toole, Allyssa Randall, Sadie Pollock, Dominic Costanzo, Mollie Pollack, Tyler Fleischut (hooded sweathshirt) Jolie Jaycobs (purple shirt) Mary Goode and Eddie Yankow. Above, left: Ashley Hehir and Will Pittman. Above right: Gennifer Costanzo as Grace Bradley, and Mark Carapezza as Bob Bradley.

This holiday season the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket is inviting us all behind the scenes of the annual Christmas pageant. Mrs. Armstrong, who usually directs the play, has broken her leg and Beth Bradley's mother is recruited - or rather forced - to fill in. The Herdmans, the local family of bullies and misfits, decide to volunteer once they hear that free desserts are being handed out. The notion that "we have to do it this way because we've always done it this way before" is thrown into the fire - literally - and hilarity ensues.

Directed by TWN's Producing Director Jordana Fleischut, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" is a play for all ages. "We're performing 12 shows from November 30 through December 16 with shows on Fridays at 7 p.m., two shows on Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.," she recently explained when asked about the production. "The times are to accommodate families and little guys. It's a show anybody can come to because you'll find something in the show no matter what. And you'll hopefully leave being illuminated by the energy of the holidays."

Theater casts are typically spoken of as a "family." In TWN's production that distinction is not only a euphemism for the relationship between the actors. It is a reality.

Nine-year-old Audrey Herrmann plays Alice. "In every Christmas pageant, Alice is always Mary, but this year Imogene Herdman comes in and she takes over the part of Mary. Alice doesn't volunteer because Imogene threatens to stick a pussywillow bush down her ear. So Alice isn't Mary anymore, and she's not very happy about that." Audrey is in the play with her mom, Laurie. "It's really fun because we get to practice our lines together and rehearse together," explained Audrey when asked how she felt about performing with her mother. Alice is also played by Ally Laredo.

Mary Goode decided to expand her horizons and is playing the role of Claude Herdman, "Ollie's partner in crime," she explained. When asked about playing a boy in the pageant, Mary just shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't really care. Claude is competitive, and he's tough and mean. It's fun to play him."

Playing a person whose demeanor is different from his own allows Eddie Yankow to "act out," he said. "I like my character because normally I'm never rude or obnoxious or giving people the death stare, like Ralph, my character. I love doing that!" Eddie is another veteran of the stage, having performed in last year's TWN production of "Cinderella," as well as the Children's Theater's production of "Peter Pan." "I love this part because I love being a total opposite of myself. In a few of the Children's Theater plays I was the normal kid. That's what I usually am - nice, normal, nothing out of the ordinary. When I played Capt. Hook in "Peter Pan," I loved playing Hook because I got to be a pirate and be evil. I want to play a villain or a very animated nice person. I can't stand playing just the Average Joe, unless that Average Joe has a few funny lines."

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent Laurie Herrmann, left, as Mrs. McCarthy and Ann Marie Crane as Mrs. Slocum. Mark Carapezza, Mr. Bradley, is on the sofa.

"I'm Ollie and David," explained Dominic Costanzo when questioned about his role in the play. "Ollie is a Herdman and he's kind of like Claude's sidekick. David, though, is really nice." Dominic is a veteran of the stage having appeared previously in two TWN plays, including the role of Tiny Tim in "A Christmas Carol" in 2005. Fleischut was able to double cast the play, so Dominic plays Ollie in one cast, and David in the other.

Dominic's mother, Gennifer Costanzo, is cast as Mrs. Bradley, Beth Bradley's mother and the reluctant director of this year's play. Gennifer did not plan on playing the lead role. Like Mrs. Bradley in the play, the role was thrust upon her.

"I was taking my son to audition," explained Gennifer when asked how she became involved in the production. "I saw Jordana's enthusiasm, and then she handed me the script and said 'Aren't you going to audition?' It hadn't crossed my mind because I have never been in a play before. I read that night for the church lady, then went home and thought about it. When I showed up the next time she told me I had the role for the mother. Jordana was very encouraging."

The play has provided an opportunity for Gennifer and Dominic to expand their relationship as mother and son.

"I think, first and foremost, it has allowed us to switch roles, because he's teaching me. He's done theater, so when we read our lines together - he's being the teacher," Costanzo said. "Being a child, his perspective and enthusiasm is so unrehearsed and natural, that he just gets it. He's so uninhibited."

That enthusiasm is evident in each child, and though it is not listed on the credits, 'enthusiasm' is the star of the show. The child actors are excited and proud to be performing.

Funny lines abound in this production, and the personalities of the actors bring the characters to life. Molly and Sadie Pollock split the role of Imogene Herdman. Molly performs in one cast, while Sadie is in the other. Sadie, the younger of the two, is quick to point out that Imogene is the toughest of the Herdmans and wears that distinction with pride. When asked what it was like to be working together, both girls exchanged a knowing look, then smiled.

"I like it, but Molly was kind of annoyed at first," explained Sadie. "Not really," countered Molly. "I wanted to play Imogene. I was just happy I got it," said Sadie.

Practice is a major part of theater, and having a practice partner can be helpful. "We can practice together, but we don't," said Mollie. "We did once," countered Sadie. You begin to realize that Imogene lives a little in both girls. Are they competitive? "No, not really. Maybe in our minds, but we don't say it," laughed Sadie. "We're more competitive in sports," Molly clarified.

The child actors and their strong performances add to the true meaning of the play: Christmas is a time of acceptance and change, of growing and learning. No one in the cast exemplifies that better than Amanda Horn, the 27-year old actor playing 14-year old Beth Bradley. After having been cast as Beth, Amanda was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease. "I found out on the seventh (of November) that I had Hodgkin's Disease," she explained. "It could be a little much to handle at times. It's good to have the people that you love around you."

Amanda began her chemotherapy treatments last week in Boston. Her illness has not derailed her performance schedule, however. When questioned about the energy she exudes in spite of the treatment, she laughs. "I have to [have a lot of energy]. There are days that I just haven't felt like doing anything, but I know that I have to come and be a part of this. The kids don't have any idea what's going on. They don't know that I'm sick. I would never want them to know. They keep everything positive. It takes my mind away from all the negative things you could be thinking about when this happens. So even when I feel awful, I come here and it changes my perspective."

That is the meaning that Fleischut was hoping for when deciding to perform this play. "I like the show because it just shows the transformation and what the holidays do to everyone, even these kids who have nothing, and the people around them. I think this show captures it perfectly, and this cast is really grabbing the story and telling the story. It's so much fun to watch. They're having as much fun as the audience will have."

Maybe Laura Ingalls Wilder said it best: "Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having,

in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime." I

"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" is being performed by the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket from November 30 through December 16, Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., upstairs at the Methodist Church, 2 Centre Street. Tickets are $15 adults, $10 children. Call 228-4305, or visit www.theatreworkshop.com.