THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER Will Close This Weekend at OCTA

What a holiday season! This Christmas, OCTA offered a wild take on the Christmas story with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, directed by Lana Jensen. This family comedy closes this Sunday, December 18.

In addition to the show, OCTA audiences also participated in two other opportunities. To add to the festivities, Saturday night performances featured a raffle for "the best Christmas wreaths ever."

Also, with so many local actors giving their time to this production, OCTA wanted to give something back as well. During the run of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, audiences helped to make the lives of many Olatheans a little brighter by bringing laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, and canned goods to the show to be donated to individuals served by the Salvation Army of Olathe. This activity is the first of what OCTA hopes will be an annual effort to give back to the community during the holidays, called "OCTA, Helping Olathe" (... or "O, HO, ho!" if you're in the holiday spirit...)

Lana Jensen serves as the Director for the School of Theater at The Culture House in Olathe. Jensen is also excited to see this story on the OCTA stage: "OCTA is the perfect venue for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Most of the show is set in the sanctuary of an old church so it is just perfect. The audience should truly feel like they are THERE." One of her favorite aspects of this show is how funny and meaningful the message is. Audiences will find something or someone to relate to in some way. The crowds so far certainly loved watching all the kids tell their version of the Christmas story. In the play, a couple struggles to put on a Christmas pageant, but they are faced with casting the Herdman kids - probably the most inventively awful kids in history. The Herdmans collide with the Christmas story head on, and really everyone around them, bringing nonstop laughs.

Also along for the ride are Michael James (stage manager), Harold Eastman (set design and construction), Mandy Stone (props), Camille Lerch (lighting design and light board operator), and Kevin Bogan (carolers vocal director). That's right! There are holiday carolers in the show, including Lindsay Lovejoy, Claire McClung (also Mrs. Clausing), Ella McClung, Chuck Chambers (also Reverend Hopkins), and Ken Kasten. Perhaps they can add some peace and harmony to the chaos brought by the Herdman children played by: Crew Shafer (Ralph), Lucy McClung (Imogene), Andrew McClung (Leroy), Ace Stone (Claude), Nathan McClung (Ollie), and Josie McClung (Gladys). You might see some similar names in the cast list, because there are six McClung family members in the show!

This cheery cast also features: Brian King (Father), Heather Tinker (Mother), Julia Masterson (Beth Bradley), Brock Olsen (Charlie Bradley), Madeline King (Alice Wendleken), Mina Foster (Mrs. Armstrong), Caroline Wise (Mrs. Slocum), Stephanie Kassen (Mrs. Clark), Jenn Ward (Mrs. McCarthy), Layne White (Maxine), Nate Lundgren (Elmer Hopkins), Andrew Guyer (Hobie), Thomas Hardy (David), Elliana Moore (Beverly), Aliyah Hart (Shirley), Madeline Ampleman (Juanita), Megan King (Doris), Ava Masterson (Janet), and Meredith Kiesling (Roberta).

Go behind the scenes below!

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Catch The Best Christmas Pageant Ever December 2-18, Friday and Saturday night performances at 8:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. To purchase tickets, visit www.olathetheatre.org. Subscribers can make reservations by calling the theatre reservation hotline at 913-782-2990 or by emailing tickets@olathetheatre.org.

Olathe Civic Theatre Association is a 501c3 organization producing theatre in Olathe since 1974. Performing in the Buddy Rogers Family Playhouse, OCTA produces five high-quality, engaging, and thought-provoking theatre productions a year. Through the generosity of volunteers, season ticket holders, donors, and the City of Olathe, OCTA has grown into one of the most progressive community theaters in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Receive daily updates by 'liking' OCTA's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/olathecivictheatre and follow OCTA on Twitter at @OCTATheatre.

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