Communication Department at MC Presents Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Those rotten Herdman kids are at it again on the Clinton campus as the holiday season nears.
Audiences seeing the Mississippi College production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” can expect to laugh at the zany behavior of the Herdman children. But before the production is over, the audience will be pleased to see the kids finally come to realize the true meaning of Christmas.
Presented by the MC Department of Communication, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” makes its annual run on the stage of Swor Auditorium November 18-21.
Some cast members love playing parts in the hilarious show year after year. MC student Shelby Scott Harris, 20, of Birmingham, Alabama, will return for her second year. She’s playing the character Beth.
It’s a funny show that caters to hundreds of young students that travel to the Clinton campus from schools all over Central Mississippi.
That fact really appeals to MC student actors on stage. “It reminds me to have a more childlike approach toward Christmas which causes me to fall in love with the true meaning of Christmas every time I read the script,” Shelby said.
An English writing major with a minor in theatre, Shelby Scott Harris also likes the production because of the important message it relays to children.
“It tells children to be gentle and kind to all people, even ones you really don’t want to be kind and gentle to,” Harris said. “That’s what makes this show so precious: the way it teaches children to care about each other regardless of differences.”
Department of Communication professors Sandra Grayson and Phyllis Seawright are teaming up to serve as the show’s directors.
The production, Seawright said, “is such a hit with MC audiences year after year because it speaks to the heart of everyone who comes to the show. Best Christmas shows the true meaning of Christmas the same way the original Charlie Brown Christmas does: by speaking the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that everyone can understand.”
It’s always a fun field trip for school audiences from around the Magnolia State, she added.
Production members include a talented lineup of Mississippi College students and children from the Clinton area. Based on Barbara Robinson’s adaptation of her beloved children’s book, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” comes to the Swor Auditorium stage just one month before Christmas.
Other key performers by MC students include Charlie Bell of Helena, Alabama who plays the character Charlie. Laura Grace Smedley plays Alice. Jarvis Gatlin joins the cast as one of the infamous Herdman kids.
The show’s schedule begins with the November 18 opening at 10:30 a.m. and an evening performance at 6:30 p.m. The one performance on November 19 is at 10:30 a.m. Shows are presented at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on November 20. The final performance is booked for 10:30 a.m. on Friday November 21.
Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students, MC employees and senior citizens. Prices are $4 each for groups of 20 or more.
To reserve tickets, contact the MC Communication Department’s Tribal Players at 601-925-3935.
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