A Change of Heart for the Herdmans (StageOne Family Theatre)
Nov 24, 2025
3 min read
5
167
0
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
By Barbara Robinson
Directed by Andrew D Harris
Review by Kate Barry
Entire contents are copyright @2025 by Kate Barry. All rights reserved.
Every year, a church gathers at Christmas for a pageant. The kids are cast as wise men and angels where they go through the motions, dressed in their parent’s finest bathrobes. And every year, it’s the same old thing…until the six Herdmans show up. Things are never the same. StageOne Family Theatre’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is the annual favorite all about traditions and changing minds and hearts.
If you have a kid or kids in your life, this show is sure to entertain. Clocking in at a tight 60 minutes, the jokes are light hearted and well timed with a positive message for all ages. StageOne’s Producing Artistic Director Andrew D. Harris lends his keen director skills to his cast of all ages. Letting kids just be kids, the play has lots of screaming hordes of children running about, baby angels singing at the top of their lungs and breathless explanations of what fathers do in their underpants. The comedy is quick without ever being cheesy and stirs genuine laughter.
With such a large cast, this show is smartly double cast and I had the pleasure of seeing Red Cast on their special preview night. As Beth, Ava Francis serves as an endearing narrator who makes sure you don’t miss any details about the pageant. As the Herdmans invade and conquer the Christmas pageant, Ava Francis’ Beth has her own judgements about the family, their actions and begins to have a change of heart. Her change of opinion extends throughout the entire story as the community experiences their own change in judgement.
Beth is joined in the story by her parents, Grace and Bob. LaShondra Hood’s Grace handles the stress as the put upon mother turned director of the pageant with relatability. She may have the weight of the world on her shoulders as she manages the Herdmans and gossipy neighbors but Hood’s Grace sets out to craft together a pageant and succeeds in the end. John Vessel’s Bob fills the role of support for Grace as her steadfast assistant, with a quip ready in his back pocket. And Jayden Peele as Beth’s brother Charlie shows rising star quality with excellent timing and comedic choices.
But it’s the Herdmans who pull focus during this Christmas pageant. As the original novel was written in 1972, I could not help but think of the Sweat Hogs when I saw these six scruffy misfits with hearts of gold played by Breanna Breckenridge (Imogene), Elizabeth Gordon (Gladys), Ivy Kilgore (Claudia), Dylan Budnick (Ollie), James Fitch (Ralph), and Lucas Sigman (Leroy). They bring chaos with every scream but as a group, their performances of genuine curiosity of the Christmas story and how they relate to it brings tenderness to their rougher edges. Breanna Breckenridge’s Imogene grows from the intimidating alpha to a gentle heartfelt presence as Mary. Breckenridge brings a vulnerable performance as she tenderly reveals a softer side of the misunderstood tough girl.
In the end, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever goes off without a hitch. Mary and Joseph are visited by the angels, wise men and shepherds as the Herdmans steal the show and defy all expectations. Without a doubt, StageOne has yet another installment of a genuinely entertaining show that is perfect this time of year.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
StageOne Family Theatre
December 6-7, 13-14 & 20-21
Saturdays at 2 p.m. & 5 p.m.
Sundays at 2 p.m.
Bomhard Theatre at Kentucky Performing Arts
501 West Main Street
Louisville KY 40202
