Strike!

"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" is now officially history.

My husband (with all his theater degrees) said I did a good job on the show. I had not asked him for help with it because...well...I wanted to do it on my own. I had asked him about techniques of blocking, but the rest was mine, all mine.

The production was a success. Sold out houses every night. Way under budget. The kids had fun--no life-long enmities born in the green room. Nobody got seriously hurt. A few bumps and scrapes and dings, but that's to be expected. No parents pulled their kids out because they were worried about them.

The large cast was very cooperative. Kids gave their hearts and souls in roles that had to be disappointing for them. They all came in to the auditions wanting to be Beth or Imogene. They were all realistic enough to know that there were other roles that had to be filled.

I auditioned at least a dozen girls who would have been wonderful Beths, but Amanda brought a special magic to the role that went far beyond my best hopes. My Herdmans formed an ensemble all their own.

The patient parents deserve a very special "thank you," for letting me have their kids to play with. Some of them carpooled, but I had many parents there every night. One even joined the cast--if it weren't for Mike Tuuk, who showed up to bring his daughters to auditions, I would have had to call around to actors I know and begged somebody to play the Dad. Mike, who had never done any acting in his life, brought to the character of Bob Bradley a whimsy that got laughs every night. Thank you, Mike.

My crew was superb, as well. Sharon, Michael, Valerie, Emily, Rob--y'all are superior human beings!