THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, THE MUSICAL to Take the Stage at Roanoke Children's Theatre

A beloved holiday classic has been reimagined as a fun and hilarious musical guaranteed to thrill the entire family.

Continuing the 10th Anniversary Season celebration, Roanoke Children's Theatre will present THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, THE MUSICAL at the Jefferson Center (541 Luck Ave SW), playing December 20-23, 2017.

The worst kids in the world have just found out that there are free snacks at Sunday school. AND they insist on playing all of the good parts in the annual Christmas pageant. They've never heard the Christmas story, and have no idea who Mary, Joseph or the wise men are. Will the pageant be canceled? Will the other kids even show up to participate? Will this be the worst pageant ever? Full of hijinks, laughs and plenty of holiday cheer, this brand new musical comedy makes its Virginia premiere at Roanoke Children's Theatre just in time for the holidays.

"I am not aware of a more humorous, unique, and memorable Christmas musical to share with our audiences," says RCT Artistic Director Pat Wilhelms. "It is so funny, with laugh out loud moments throughout. THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, THE MUSICAL is a fresh, embraceable holiday show for every age."

This production is backed by an exceptional artistic team of designers and actors.

The adult cast of THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, THE MUSICAL includes: Taylor Cobb, Mary Hannah Garber, Caitlin McAvoy, Akilah Ramsey, De'Shawn Riley, Brett Roden, David Schultz, Aaron Sifford, Kristen Kay Smith and Rae West.

The youth cast includes 25 area youth actors, youth roles will alternate performances:
Sarah Clemmer, Meredith Dabney, Coopeer Davis, Connor Dunford, Adalynn Eller, Simon Elliott, Joe Francis, Olivia Goodman, Laila Haley, CJ Hairston, Chloe Hunt, Calan Johnson, Dylan Ludlow, Haley Lynch, Mateo McNamara, Jasper Moore, Carter Mullins, Mikayla Parker, Charlotte Pearl, Abby Shelton, Isaiah Swanson, Ann Marie Thorell, Bella Turner, Jacob Wadstrom and Madisin Witt

The creative team includes Director Pat Wilhelms, Musical Director Reed Carter IV, Choreographer Leslie Owens Harrington, Set Designer Jimmy Ray Ward, Costume Designer Lindsay Patton, Lighting Designer Rob Bessolo, Technical Director Star City Sets, Props Artisan April Corbett and Stage Manager Ian Felker.

For further information or to buy tickets, patrons may call the box office at 540.345.2550. Patrons may also visit RoanokeChildrensTheatre.org for full details.

THE BEST CHICK-FIL-A DINNER EVER - OPENING NIGHT EVENT: Roanoke Children's Theatre invites guests of the Opening Night performance (December 20) to join them for THE BEST CHICK-FIL-A DINNER EVER prior to the 7 p.m. performance in the Jefferson Center atrium. The event will feature a catered dinner from Chick-Fil-A, and allow patrons the opportunity to write letters to Santa, make Christmas ornaments and take fun photos in a themed photo booth. The evening will culminate with a performance of THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER. Patrons must have a ticket to the Opening Night performance of THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER on December 20 in order to attend THE BEST CHICK-FIL-A DINNER EVER. The pre-show dinner event is FREE with the purchase of a ticket for the December 20 performance.

Musical Director Pat Wilhelms is the founder and Artistic Director of Roanoke Children's Theatre. Since 2008 she has led the team to create productions, school residencies and year round classes and camps as well as tours that travel all across the Commonwealth. Prior to that, she was the Director of Education and Outreach at Mill Mountain Theatre for 10 years. Other theatre residencies include: Theatre of Youth Company, Melic and Mime Inc., and Idaho Repertory Theatre. Pat currently serves as Board Member at the Burton School of the Arts, is a partner with the Star City Reads initiative and serves as an adjudicator for the Southwest Theatre Conference. Directorial credits at RCT include: Madeleine's Christmas, Charlotte's Web, The Giver, Junie B. Jones, The Secret Life of Girls, Tuck Everlasting, If You Give a Mouse A Cookie, Wrecked, The Velveteen Rabbit, Go Dog Go, Junie B in Jingle Bells Batman Smells, Eric & Elliot, Stuart Little, How I Became A Pirate, A Little House Christmas, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Cat in the Hat, EAT: It's Not About Food, Fancy Nancy, James and the Giant Peach, SHREK, the Musical, The Ice Cream Man, Rapunzel, The BFG, Seussical, the Musical, BABYLAND, Elephant and Piggie's We Are In a Play, and Goosebumps, the Musical. Pat is married and the proud mother of 3 grown children and 2 young cats.

Roanoke Children's Theatre: Professional Theatre for Young Audiences is an independently owned and operated 501(c)3 organization located in the Jefferson Center. RCT is dedicated to providing high quality theatre education and entertainment to families, schools and children with year-round programming; crafting new and exciting partnerships and programs that engage our youth in a world of communication, imagination, creativity, empowerment and learning.

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