VOORHEESVILLE— The Classic Theatre Guild is gearing up to bring the rambunctious family comedy, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, to The Old Songs Art Center this holiday season.
"It’s a zany, crazy comedy with a good moral message," said Steve Suriano, the director of the production. His cast includes 20 kids and nine grownups.

Based on the 1972 book by Barbara Robinson, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is about a church Christmas pageant gone crazy. The annual play, a re-enactment of the Christmas story, starring Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, has, in previous years, been performed with ritualistic perfection.

However, the long-time director of the pageant, Mrs. Armstrong, is in the hospital with a broken leg, and the responsibility to direct the play lies with Mrs. Bradley, played by Christine Gibson.

Mrs. Bradley, faced with the challenge of taking over the church’s annual Christmas pageant, is thrown yet another surprise when the Herdmans, a rotten bunch of kids, after hearing the church is a source for free goodies, infiltrate the church and try out for the pageant.

Gibson said her character doesn’t normally help out with the church’s production, and Mrs. Armstrong’s absence throws everything out of whack.

The Herdmans wreak havoc within the church while rehearsing, but the night of the performance a miracle happens.
"The fire department gets called because a Herdman girl is in the bathroom smoking cigars," she said.
"They perform the same nativity scene every year, and it’s picture perfect," Diane Piagare, who plays Mrs. Herdman, said of the church’s pageant.
"Religion is not a big part of their lives, so they ask a lot of questions," she said of the Herdman characters.
"These are the six meanest, nastiest, misbehaving kids you’ll ever know," Director Steve Suriano said of the six actors lined up before him. The six youngsters playing the Herdmans look up at their director and snicker as Suriano describes their roles.
"Gladys bites. Loretta is the meanest," he said.
The six grubby Herdmans, feared and despised by nearly everyone in town, end up with big roles in "The Greatest Story Ever Told." Three are wisemen, and one is the angel of the Lord.

"Revenge of Bethlehem"

During the pageant rehearsal, Mrs. Bradley is hit with a number of unexpected questions. The Herdmans, not a church-going bunch, constantly interrupt and prod her for answers to questions:

What is a manger"
There wasn’t any child welfare in Bethlehem"

While Mrs. Bradley reads the Christmas story to the children, the Herdmans interject their own modern opinions and common-sense anecdotes.
"I don’t think it’s very nice to say Mary is pregnant," one says.
When Mrs. Bradley reads from the story of Jesus’s birth, a young boy doesn’t know what these gifts are that the wise men brought to the manger — gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After Mrs. Bradley tells him what the gifts were, he answers, "I don’t think oil is a very good gift."
Yet another is perplexed when he discovers there isn’t a part in the pageant for King Herod. After all, he asks, Herod was out to kill Jesus, wasn’t he"
Mrs. Bradley, frustrated with the questions, says impatiently, "No one is going to be Herod."

To make matters more complicated, the imaginative Gladys Herdman, played by Rebecca Belenchia, runs around the stage, adding personal touches to the nativity scene.
"Shazam!" she yells. "Zap!"
Given the opportunity to rename the Christmas story, the eccentric Gladys says, "I’d call it ‘Revenge of Bethlehem.’"

Belenchia’s father, Peter, also has a part in the production. Taking on the role as Mrs. Bradley’s husband, Belenchia is rekindling an old pastime.
"I hadn’t acted in 20 years," Belenchia said. He said he last acted in college. Belenchia said the theater group is receiving a lot of support from the community.

Director at work

Though most of his actors are youngsters and first-time performers, Suriano is amazed by the talent and composure of the kids, and, he said, the kids have been a delight to work with. The company began rehearsing in mid-October.
Suriano, looking over his quiet, young cast, said, "They’re all quiet and attentive. They’re excited when they’re on stage. A lot of them haven’t done anything before."

Throughout rehearsal, Suriano plays many parts, moving from the serious, all-business director to comic relief in seconds. He goofs around by riding across the stage in a wheelchair. He stops the action onstage, and instructs his cast on how to better deliver their lines. At one point, Suriano stops a scene, moves closer to his young actors, and snaps his fingers.
"Hold. Back up. Start again," he says.

Suriano feels the scene is moving much too slowly. There’s too much dead air between lines, and, Suriano has the actors rerun their lines. Cuing the actors by rapidly pointing to each when their line comes, he creates a sense of urgency. The end result is a rapid-fire delivery of lines, spoken with more confidence. Suriano, along with the other adult actors and members of the guild, applauds them.
"Steve is great to work with," Gibson said. "It’s amazing how one little change he makes, one little thing with timing, affects the flow, and leads to laughter."

Gibson said she auditioned for a part because her two sons were trying out.
"I thought, ‘If I have to go to rehearsals, I may as well try out,’" she said.
Gibson’s husband is the president of the Voorheesville School Board. "It’s been a busy fall for us," Gibson said.

Suriano also worked with his actors on line delivery. He stressed the importance of enunciating each line and saying each word loudly. A keen observer, Suriano, at one point, detected the pattering of feet, while his younger players were rehearsing. He brought it to their attention.

Later in the rehearsal, Suriano and assistant director, John Cody, added a line to make an entrance easier for the baby angels.
"It’s coming," Suriano said after rehearsing a scene.

Producer Edward Bablin said the community has shown great support for The Classic Theatre Guild.

The company, formed in 2000, performed The Brady Bunch at the Voorheesville Elementary School in August and Shakespeare’s As You Like It in Voorheesville’s Evergreen Park this summer. The guild recently put on its fall play festival at Old Songs.

The theater troupe is looking for a permanent home, and, Bablin said, he encourages anyone within the area with ideas and a vacant building to contact him.
"It’s important for the town of New Scotland to have a theatre group," Belenchia said.

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The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is performing this month at the Old Songs Arts Center, located at 37 South Main St. in Voorheesville. Performances are on Dec. 8 and 15 at 8 p.m., Dec. 9 and 16 at 2 and 7 p.m., and Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. All seats are $10. Reservations are recommended. For reservations or additional information, call 356-3197.