What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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DECEMBER 5-11, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 3 FAQ 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' WHEN — 8 p.m. Dec. 10-11; 2 p.m. Dec. 12; again Dec. 16-19 WHERE — Arkansas Public Theatre, 116 S. Second St. in Rogers COST — $15-$35 INFO — arkansaspublic theatre.org or 631-8988 FYI 'BCPE' At Trike Trike Theatre, North- west Arkansas' profes- sional theater for young audiences, located in Bentonville, will also be producing "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" this December. The cast includes A'Mya Hayes as Beth; NaTosha Devon as Grace; Riley Newsome as Bob; and Sally Kate Lind, Avery Valdez, Audrey Romero, Grayson Reckner, Addie Lundy, Thatcher Reckner and Caroline Fitzgibbons as the Herdmans. WHEN — 7 p.m. Dec. 10; 3 & 7 p.m. Dec. 11; 7 p.m. Dec. 17; 3 & 7 p.m. Dec. 18 WHERE — 902 S.W. Second St., Suite E, in Bentonville COST — $15 INFO — triketheatre.org The women of the church have a lot to say about the Herdman children's involvement in the annual Christmas pageant. Pictured are Jan Riedmueller (center), Lexie Edmunds (left), Nikki Cathcart-Sievert (center back) and Shelley Moore (right). In the photo at left, 11-year-old Clark Sievert of Bella Vista plays Gladys Herdman in the Arkansas Public Theatre production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." "Gladys is the youngest of the Herdmans, and didn't grow up with a father or a mother who cared," she explains. "Being the youngest, she feels as if she needs to be in control of as much as possible." (Courtesy Photos/Chad Wigington for APT) COVER STORY Reason For The Season 'Worst kids' make for 'Best Christmas Pageant Ever' BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette At home, says Patrick Edmunds, his wife, Lexie, wrangles "a 4-year- old, a 1-year-old, and a 30-year-old all by herself!" Backstage at Arkansas Public Theatre's "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," she's helping herd 24 kids, some of them as young as 4. Oh, and she's also sharing the stage again with her husband in a show that's very different from their recent run together in "Avenue Q." "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" is exactly what it sounds like — a sweet family holiday story about the true meaning of Christmas, albeit with a little twist in its delivery. The plot revolves around the Herdman children, who are always described as "the worst kids in the history of the world." Imogene, Claude, Ralph, Leroy, Ollie and Gladys lie, steal, smoke cigars, swear and pick on everyone else. In this evergreen Christmas tale, based on the novel written by Barbara Robinson in 1971, the Herdmans show up to try out for the church Christmas program — largely because they heard there were snacks involved. Frightened, the other children refuse to express interest in the leading roles, and the Herdmans find themselves cast as Joseph, Mary and the Wise Men, much to the consternation of all the adults. Of course, having never heard the Christmas story before, the Herdmans see it through very different eyes, angry that an innkeeper forced a pregnant woman and her baby to sleep in a barn, appalled that King Herod wanted to kill the baby Jesus and practical enough to want to bring the child a ham, not "crummy" frankincense and myrrh. Along the way, not only are the Herdmans changed, but so are the people of the church, who learn "that you shouldn't judge people who look like they don't belong, because they might teach you something new or give you a new perspective," says 11-year-old Clark Sievert, who plays Gladys Herdman. See BCPE Page 4