Edna Grant
Staff Writer
The past two weeks, the Stephen’s Performing Arts Center was the home to Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the Musical,” a musical about a small town church’s Christmas pageant and herd of young local trouble makers. Students and faculty from ISU’s School of Performing Arts brought the musical to life for the ISU and Pocatello communities, showcasing the talent within the school.
While many musicals performed on campus have been riddled with hiccups in the past — off-key soloists, buggy microphones, and late light cues — The Best Christmas Pageant was a delightful break from reality.
The cast, impeccably chosen, delivered a story blissfully short of buggy interruptions, and expertly guided the audience through the world of the Herdman family.
The first act quickly introduced the Herdman children as unruly and wild beasts, clearly feared by the other children in the town and loathed by the adults in the community. The seven children in the family — Ralph (Jared Albano), Imogene (Hanna Romney), Leroy (Austin Baum), Claude (Jazz-Lynn Grant), Ollie (Gabe McDonald), and Gladys (Jessic Moss) have had limited discipline in their life, due to their mother’s busy work schedule.
The entire exposition was laid out in one up-beat and exciting musical number, which set the tone of the show and instantly won me over.
In my past experience with musicals, especially those performed by community members, the first song is exceptionally important to get right. The first song establishes the majority– if not all of the characters. This means, that in addition to singing the right words at the right time and on key, the actors really have to find the perfect voices, the perfect attitudes, and the best persona for their characters. This is not easy to do and is often done poorly, but the ISU cast managed effortlessly execute this first number.
One of the most memorable numbers came in the middle of the first act, “Hey Mrs. Bradley,” in the scene where the Herdman’s show up to audition for the pageant asking for the top-billed roles of Mary, Joseph, and the Angel of the Lord.
This number was made memorable by Hannah Romney’s remarkable vocal performance as Imogene Herdman. Romney’s mischievous belting blew me away, solidifying my suspicion that the cast was perfect. The confidence Romney displayed, as well as how easily she sang through choreographed numbers which would leave many people gasping for air, was an absolute treat to watch.
Of all the church-going characters, the most convincing performances were given by Elaine Bell, Brielle Nielson and Kylie Widdison. Coming from someone who was raised in Southern Baptist culture, their portrayal of the gossipy church ladies left me in stitches. The church committee women who refuse to do the job that needs to be filled, yet see fit to judge and gossip about others was both hilarious and heartbreaking in the accuracy.
Hilarious and heartbreaking would be the best way to describe the entire second act, which showed the Herdman kids at home, waiting for Christmas to make their mom happy and share “One magic night,” where there’s happiness in their home. Jessica Moss successfully pulled on my heartstrings as Gladys stared at their family’s Christmas basket with utter joy and appreciation.
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is a show with many life lessons about treating others fairly and shows that everyone’s family and home life is different. It’s a beautiful story that encourages others to see past behavioral differences and learn valuable life lessons from accepting others into your circles.
