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“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” playing at the Whidbey Playhouse the next two weekends, is just that: the best of the options for holiday plays. It is simple, it is surprising, it pulls at the heartstrings and it offers the story of Jesus’ birth in a straightforward, unvarnished way. The Pageant is played by kids for kids. Bring your kids to see it. After it is over talk to them about it.

Based on the 1971 children’s book of the same name, its stage premiere was at the Seattle Children’s Theatre in 1982.

Back in the day – maybe now, too – church Sunday schools put on Christmas pageants for their congregations. When long-time director Mrs. Armstrong (Geri Thomas) breaks her leg, Grace Bradley (Rachel Warner) is recruited to take over.

Grace has grit. In the face of skepticism and problems she declares “this is going to be the best Christmas pageant ever.”

But the production is not the same as years past. As daughter Beth (Kayla Raasina) narrates, all bets are off when the Herdman children – “The worst kids in the history of the world” is her opening line – stumbled into church for the snacks.

All six Herdmans, from their introduction on, are not to be messed with. Each has an air of grime-iness, insolence and toughness. Stealing the show is Olivia Valencia as Gladys, and The Angel of the Lord in the play. Her energetic, bullying and yet innocent air is a joy. Elizabeth Hauter’s Imogene, playing Mary, transforms from an equally tough Herdman to a Mary who realizes the significance of the role God cast for her.

As Grace casts the children, the Herdmans muscle their way into the key characters: Ralph (Gabriel Zanin) takes Joseph. Leroy, Claude and Ollie (Landen Dupuis, Lucas Allen, Remmy Nuqui) take the Three Wise Men.

The not so ironic twist is that the Herdmans don’t know the Christmas story. The Bible is new to them. They are dirty welfare kids from the other side of the tracks. One mom tells another “the six of them end up in a Christmas pageant when they ought to be in jail!”

The church mothers are in an uproar, gossiping to one another in phone calls – not very Christian. The Herdmans are terrorizing angels and shepherds alike during practice – not at all Christian. When a mom goes into the church restroom after Imogene had smoked a cigar there, she calls the fire department. Sirens and an actor in fireman’s gear runs onto the stage, scuttling the dress rehearsal. This is going to be the Worst Christmas Pageant Ever the moms tell each other.

The father’s (Chris Kehoe) hope that attendance will be low is shattered as folks flock to see this disaster in the making.

Director Sue Riney adds several carols to the production, opening the pageant with angels singing “O little town of Bethlehem” and ending with the angels singing “Silent Night.”

Somehow the lines “the hopes and fears of all the years / are met in thee tonight” seem totally appropriate. Kid angels in white bedsheets and tinsel halos singing carols are what Christmas pageants are about.

Then stage magic – transformation – happens, as Imogene swaddles the baby doll in a blanket and takes it in her arms. The Wise Men’s gifts are from their welfare basket, and their hearts. Angel of the Lord Gladys pushes the shepherds toward Bethlehem in bringing them the good news of the baby’s birth.

When it is over, the moms proclaim it was “the best Christmas pageant ever.” It is. Go see for yourself.

There are a ton of angels and shepherds of all ages in a mostly ensemble cast. They perform admirably.

Kathy Hawkes and Diana Dupuis led the Playhouse’s usual top-notch job of providing vintage costumes and props. The many colored, long coiled cord telephones fit right in with the various mothers’ dresses.

“Jingle Bell Jukebox” a revue of rock and roll versions of holiday songs follows an intermission. This, too, is by and for kids, though adults will know the tunes better. Most of the “Pageant” cast is in it.

The production runs Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 16.

Tickets: 360-679-2237 or [email protected].