The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - 2019
The holiday season with all of its trimmings and traditions is about to be upon us. In my family we have traditions around family gatherings, trips to Boston to see the lights, tree decorating,home cooked meals, and the reading of the “Polar Express”.
Here at BYPC our holiday season always begins with the performance of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”. The retelling of this magical holiday story began over 23 years ago when the Spencer family moved from Pennsylvania to Bedford, NH. They brought with them a love of theatre and a very talented musical theatre performer in their daughter Stephanie who graced our stage for all of the years that the Spencers lived in Bedford. The Spencers also brought a script from a community youth theatre company from their Pennsylvania home town. That script made me laugh and it touched my heart. I licensed the production for BYPC and we staged our first performance of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” in 1997.
A new tradition was born that has span 23 years and hundreds of performers. Our first performers are now grown and have families and professions of their own. They have gone into such fields as the arts, medicine, business, education, tech, public service, and journalism spanning the world. They carry with them the memory of their time telling the story of the Bradleys and the Herdmans reminding us of the true meaning of the season. And they have left a legacy that we carry forward to this day.
This year we have a record number of performers with multiple casts. Our performers hail from Bedford, Amherst, Merrimack, Goffstown, Manchester, Windham, Londonderry, Candia, Weare, New Boston, Lyndeborough, Mont Vernon, and Salem. And they range in ages 5 - 18 years old. Some of our performers are experiencing our holiday story for the first time but many of our performers have also made “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” a tradition in their families as they join us year after year.
Let me introduce our cast. Here are our new performers
(Bottom left to right) AJ, Luke, Rhys, Violet, Catherine, Ivy, Rylee,
Lily, Julia, Kaity, Catherine, Sienna, Maggie, Bella, Sophia, Cage
Grace, Katie, Emma, Hope, Paige, Lauren
These cast members have performed in our show for one - four years
Marin, Graham, Louisa, Nathalie, Brielyn, Brayden, Calla, Daniel
Teddy, Gabriel, Kayla, Scarlett, Oliver
Luke, Ava, Liam, Piper, Gabrielle, Emily, Annabelle, Chloe
These cast members have performed in our show for five - ten years
Ainsley, Izzy, Megan, Shannen, Allison, Annalise, Isabelle
And our Grace Bradley, senior Stella Jaques has performed for a whopping 13 years.
We are thrilled to have all of new and returning actors come together to invite you to join us in the holiday tradition of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”. And just like me you will laugh and you will tear as this tale touches your heart and for at least a moment remind you of the magic of the season. Join us on Friday December 6 at 7PM and Saturday December 7 at 1PM at The Derryfield School in Manchester. You may purchase your tickets at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/35009.
The tradition continues.
Ann Davison
Executive Director