THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER to Delight OCTA Audiences this Holiday Season

The Herdmans are the worst kids in the world and Olathe Civic Theatre Association is bringing them straight to the stage! This Christmas, OCTA spices up traditional holiday theatre offerings with a wild take on the Christmas story with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. This family comedy plays December 2-18 and is directed by Lana Jensen.

The beloved young adult book of the same name comes to life on stage in this hilarious 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. Jensen enthuses that "it's a Christmas show that doesn't feel like it is trying to force the Christmas spirit on you" and the plot turns the story "into a very real, very present, very powerful realization."

Lana Jensen serves as the Director for the School of Theater at The Culture House in Olathe. In addition to directing this show, she also serves as the costumer - a substantial undertaking for a cast of over 30. Jensen is also excited to see this story on the OCTA stage: "OCTA is the perfect venue for BCPE. 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. I'm also really excited for the OCTA community to experience a performance that might be a little different from many of the shows that are typically done here." One of her favo