Another Five Star Production from the Providence Players
This past weekend, over 500 theater goers, young, old, families, singles and couples fell in love with the Providence Players production of the Barbara Robinson holiday classic The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. William Powell, DCMetroTheaterArts.com critic says in his Five Star review, “Best Christmas Pageant Ever shows that even “bad” kids can do good. The show will warm the heart of every family who sees it. The performances, by the mostly child-to-adolescent cast made the Best Christmas Pageant Ever a winner. It’s definitely another sugar plum for this Christmas season.”
More importantly, audiences raved!
You Don’t Want to Miss this Holiday Treat
It’s Great Theater for a Great Cause!
It’s the final week of the show! The Providence Players production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever closes December 18th. There are five performances this week including a Thursday night performance and two matinees: Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 PM and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM. Tickets are currently available all performances which are held at the James Lee Community Center Theater 2855 Annandale Rd in Falls Church. Tickets went quickly last week as the weekend approached. Your best bet is to order online (PPF does not charge a fee for online ticket orders) Tickets can be ordered at the link below.
From the review:
Five Star from DCMetroTheaterArts.com’s William Powell for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”
DCMTA’s William Powell says “Best Christmas Pageant Ever shows that even “bad” kids can do good. The show will warm the heart of every family who sees it. The performances, by the mostly child-to-adolescent cast made the Best Christmas Pageant Ever a winner. It’s definitely another sugar plum for this Christmas season.
Young actress Evelyn Izdepski played…Beth Bradley and did a great job keeping the story moving along with her broken-fourth-wall narration. I loved Samuel Pounds as her little brother Charlie Bradley, who complained of being harassed by Imogene. The Bradley family was rounded out by patriarch Bob Bradley (well played by Daniel J. Calderón). Katie Rice as the snooty Alice Wendleken and Alison Raffaldt as Mrs. McCarthy stood out as nosey house-moms\back-seat-directors. I also liked the nuanced and humorous performances of Marilyn Warren, Tyler DeMille, Lucas Warren, and Kyleigh Friel as Maxine, Elmer Hopkins, Hobie, and Dana respectively. the combined Angel choir and Baby Angels did an excellent job with the traditional Christmas hymn “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” during their play-within-a-play performance.
I liked Brian O’Connor’s simple set, which consisted primarily of a family dining room and a minimalist church steeple. The costumes, including the play-within-a-play ones, were well done by Robbie Snow
Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the second production of The Providence Players of Fairfax’s 19th season is delightful Christmas family fun. Written by Barbara Robinson in the 70s and directed by WATCH Award-winning director Liz Mykietyn, the show is co-produced by The Young Hearts Foundation, a charity that helps young people with long-term illnesses.”
Read the Full DCMTA Review Here
The Complete Guide to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Ticket availability for this weekend: This has been the best selling holiday show in PPF history, BUT, as of Monday, plenty of tickets remain for all performances. The best way to assure yourself tickets is to purchase them online at the link below (we never charge our patrons a fee for online ticket purchases). Tickets should be available at the door for all evening performances but the matinees are selling exceptionally quickly.
The Providence Players opened Barbara Robinson’s contemporary holiday classic The Best Christmas Pageant Ever last weekend with 4 performances. The production runs from Friday, December 9th through Sunday, December 18th. There are 5 more performances conveniently scheduled to fit into the busiest of holiday schedules. Here is a complete guide to everything you might want to know about this fabulous production.
Where
The Providence Players at the James Lee Community Center Theater
2855 Annandale Road, Falls Church
Closing Week Dates and Times
THESE ARE THE FINAL FIVE PERFORMANCES
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m.
December 15, 16, 17,
Saturday & Sunday Matinees 2:00 p.m.
December 17, & 18
Purchase Tickets Here
$17 General Admission Seating. Tickets best purchased online at the link above (no service fee) but may also be reserved by email at providenceplayerstickets@cox.net or by phone at 703-425-6782 (leave voicemail) and at the door.
Show Length with a Post-Show Bonus
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever runs about one breezy hour, is performed without intermission, AND each performance is followed by a Santa Reception with refreshments (provided by and benefiting the Young Hearts – donation appreciated).
The Play
Based on the first book in Barbara Robinson’s acclaimed Herdmans series– Publisher’s Weekly straight-up called it “one of the best Christmas books ever” — The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, introduces us to the six “worst kids in the world.” This stage production perfectly captures the merry mayhem that results when the Herdmans, the town’s rowdy, sticky-fingered, pyromaniacal bullies, decide to audition for the annual holiday pageant and re-tell the nativity story their way. The entire town has gathered in anticipation, waiting to see the Herdmans ruin Christmas – or will they? This funny, heartwarming, holiday tale has become a classic: and good for the entire family!
Providence Players “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” on the Lifestyles TV show “Business Profile” Hosted by Charlene Sloan
And Joel Markowitz, Publisher and Editor at dcmetrotheaterarts.com (and an outstanding supporter of community theater in the DC Region) is publishing a Meet the Cast of Providence Players’ ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ series edited by PPF’s own Julie Janson.
PPF’s Rob Cuevas interviews some of the younger cast members for their take on this contemporary holiday classic:
The Fairfax County Times did a piece on the production in their December 9th Edition.
The Fairfax Connection Newspaper made their Best Christmas Pageant Ever story by David Siegel their Print Edition Cover Story Nov.24th
We first produced this show in 2012 and it proved to be our most popular holiday offering ever. We are mounting the the contemporary holiday classic again with WATCH award winning “Best Director” Liz Mykietyn at the helm and a brand-new cast of extraordinarily talented young people and adults. Once again, in keeping with our larger mission of “building community through theater”, we are partnering with The Young Hearts, a nationally recognized group of young people dedicated to raising funds to fight disease and support families facing life-threaten illness. Half of all net proceeds from this holiday production will be donated to the Young Hearts Foundation in pursuit of their important mission. Great theater for a great cause!
The Cast of PPF’s Production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Directed by Liz Mykietyn
A Note From the Director: I love holiday productions. I’ve even written original Christmas scripts and I enjoy being both on stage or in the director’s seat for a great holiday show. Why this script?! I know it inside and out. I myself played “Beth Bradley” when I was a kid, let’s just say circa early 1980s. I vividly remember laughing at my friend Hava who played our Gladys Herdman because she was absolutely perfect at it and so hysterical. And laughing at Christmas time reminds me of my own family, for the family that laughs together bonds together just as much as when you are there for the rough times, too. Thus, I was thrilled in 2007 when I was asked to direct The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for the Sterling Playmakers with a windfall of memories from this silly but sweet script. I am even more excited to get another chance here at my home theater group, the Providence Players of Fairfax, where I can continue the tradition of a story that obviously survives the test of time as they say. At the heart of this story, we learn you cannot judge books by their covers and that everyone, even on their worst day, deep down is good. The Herdmans – the worst kids in town in the multiple stories written by Barbara Robinson in the 1970s – prove themselves to not be so bad after all. And isn’t Christmas Eve a great night for us all to stop and remember the holiday spirit and that everyone needs a hug.
Love, Laughter & JOY to you all. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
The Bradley Family
Mrs. Bradley Michelle Shader
Mr. Bradley Daniel Calderon
Beth Bradley Evelyn Izdepski
Charlie Bradley Samuel Pounds
The Herdman Kids
Ralph Herdman Jack Wright
Imogene Herdman Nora Rice
Loretta Herdman Kashvi Ramani
Claude Herdman Gavin Friel
Oliva “Ollie” Herdman Aerial Indirisano
Gladys Herdman Erika Friel
The Other Children
Alice Wendleken Katie Rice
Maxine Marilyn Warren
Elmer Hopkins Tyler DeMille
Hobie Lucas Warren
The Church Community
Mrs. Armstrong Cheryl Bolt
Mrs. Slocum Judi Deatherage
Mrs. Clarkensing Wynter Chatman
Mrs. McCarthy Alison Raffaldt
Reverend Hopkins Sally Ann Flores
The Angel Choir
Angel Choir Leader Kyleigh Friel
Angel Choir #2 Shirley Erin Casey
Angel Choir #3 Doris Matilda Lee
Angel Choir #4 Joselina Lemmerman
Angel Choir #5 Katya Zaitsev
Angel Choir #6 Ryley Rogers
Baby Angel Choir
Baby Angel #1 Oju Ramani
Baby Angel #2 River Rogers
Baby Angel #3 John Rice
Baby Angel #4 Serena Indrisano
Baby Angel #5 Meadow DeMille
Closing Weekend
Designed to Fit into The Busiest Holiday Schedule
Thur-Fri-Sat 7:30 pm
Sat & Sun 2:00 pm Dec. 17, & 18
ALL TICKETS JUST $17 – PURCHASE HERE
General Admission Seating – All Great Seats at
The James Lee Community Center Theater
2855 Annandale Road Falls Church VA