“One of the best Christmas stories ever – and certainly one of the funniest.” — The Seattle Times

By Josh Wainright, PPT

Meet the Herdmans–six awful kids all prone to mischief of the worst kind. The meanest, nastiest group of unruly siblings in town, the Herdman kids lie, steal, smoke, and cuss. They ate doughnuts that were bought for the firemen, wrote a dirty word on the shell of a girl’s turtle and put tadpoles in the drinking fountain. But the most incredible Herdman story is the time they took part in the annual church Christmas pageant.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” written by Barbara Robinson and based on her bestselling book of the same name, is the hilarious story of a typical played-out Christmas pageant turned upside down. PPT’s version of this holiday classic opens next Friday and features a cast of 32 youth actors from 19 area schools ranging from 2nd to 12th grades.

The only place neighborhood children are safe from The Herdmans is at church. That is until the lure of cake entices them to attend Sunday school for the first time…on the very day the Christmas pageant plans begin. When the usual director of the pageant, Mrs. Armstrong (Jayden Starcher), is sidelined by a broken leg, naive mom Grace Bradley (Sarah Hallett) agrees to take on the responsibility, not knowing that her inexperience as Pageant Director will end up being the hinge upon which the entire story is centered. After hearing the Christmas Story from the Bible for the first time, The Herdmans intimidate all the other children into letting them volunteer for the biggest parts.

The town reacts with horror to the news that the most sinful children will be playing the holiest roles guaranteeing the annual pageant will be a disaster, which only motivates the rookie director to dedicate herself to directing the best Christmas pageant ever.

When the night of the Christmas pageant finally arrives, the kids look more like trick- or-treaters than Bible figures, and the whole town has decided to show up just to see what the Herdmans will do this time. You won’t believe the mayhem – and the fun – when the Herdmans collide with the Christmas story head on!

PPT’s youth production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever will bring audience members of all ages behind the scenes of a Christmas Pageant where we are reminded to be more generous, not with our wallets, but with our hearts. The result is more than heartwarming; it is inspirational.

In addition to 6 public shows, THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER is also PPT’s 4th and 5th grade school show. All 4th and 5th grade classes in the county will be bused in to the Norvell to experience live theatre the week of December 8th.

The public can see what the Herdmans do to the classic Christmas Story beginning December 11th. Public Show Dates: Dec 11 & 18 at 7:30pm, Dec 12 & 19 at 2:30pm & 7:30pm. Adults $10, Seniors/Students $8. Tickets go on sale Monday. For tickets stop by the Norvell Box Office, call 704-633-5471 or purchase tickets online at PiedmontPlayers.com. Producing Partner: Crescent Construction Services.

MEET THE CAST

FATHER Andrew Prater

MOTHER Sarah Hallett

BETH BRADLEY Madisyn Rey

CHARLIE BRADLEY Zeb Harry

RALPH HERDMAN Christian Rape

IMOGENE HERDMAN Mary Kathryn Brown

LEROY HERDMAN Elijah Carpenter

CLAUDE HERDMAN Hayden Palmer

OLLIE HERDMAN Elliott Smith

GLADYS HERDMAN Emery Franz

ALICE WENDLEKEN Meg Bivens

MRS. ARMSTRONG Jaden Starcher

MRS. SLOCUM Leah Russell

MRS. CLARK Mary Plott

MRS. CLAUSING Kiana Floyd

MRS. MCCARTHY Kaylee Hawley

MAXINE Olivia Gregory

ELMER HOPKINS Ally Cress

HOBIE Ali Khatib

DAVID Fares Khatib

BEVERLY Ardyn Eggar

SHIRLEY Abby Campion

JUANITA Miles Abramson

DORIS Stella Smeltzer

REVEREND HOPKINS Zachary Stevenson

SHEPHERD Lila Rosser

SHEPHERD Maggie Dees

SHEPHERD Quinnlan Watson

ANGELS Chloe Mullinax

ANGELS Reagan Carpenter

ANGELS Ella Jones

ANGELS Lucy Blakeley

STAGE MANAGER Rachel Nuottila