There might be many traditions at Cape Fear Regional Theatre, but one has been 33 years in the making. This year, like so many years before, the actors at Cape Fear Regional Theatre will be performing The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The Herdsman will return to the stage to remind audience members of some bigger themes of the holiday season.
However, there will be a main difference between this year and the previous years — the venue. The folks at Cape Fear Regional Theatre are now performing at 1707 Owen Drive with an audience present on three sides of the stage.
“There is something exciting about the new space … but the meaning of the story has been very impactful to the community and the kids that are in the show,” says Director Jennifer Sell.
Beside Sell sit two child actors, Annie Bir, who plays Maxine, and Maryn Hammond, who plays Alice. The two are from the “Nutmeg” cast. The show will have four different groups of child actors to allow more in the community to participate. Of course, the names of the groups even bring the sense of the holidays, with names like Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Clove, and Ginger.
Even at their young age, Hammond and Bir have both been part of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for years.
“It's been fun for even the kids that have done this year after year,” says Sell.
The two kids nod in agreement. Bir has been doing this for four years and Hammond has been doing it for six years.
The show will have a cast of 160 kids. Sell admits there is always some chaos to expect with so many kids but it's organized chaos, she says laughing. And it was from the beginning, says Ashley Owen, the marketing director for Cape Fear Regional Theatre.
“The audience process is bananas,” Owen says.
They ended up auditioning more than 200 kids during a 3-day period and then Sell sat down and reviewed schedules, particularly school and extracurricular, with this many school-aged kids involved to figure out how to cast the members. Owen says it requires a lot of strategy to cast for this particular show.
For other parts, like the mother in the play Mrs. Bradley, played by Amber Dawn French, it is a little bit easier as the adults remain the same through the different casts. French, who has played this same character for many years, says that her character changed for her during the first three to four shows.
“But I think it’s been pretty consistent once we landed on that. We fell in sync,” French says. “Being able to be consistent is important for Mrs. Bradley who is sort of a grounding figure in the show.”
French says being on her “own game” and knowing about the children’s parts is an important part of the show for her. She will work with all four groups of child actors. The different groups rehearse on different nights of the week. When the performances begin, they will all perform on their regular evening night and then alternate on the weekend.
The stage for the actors will include the audience being on three sides of the stage and the folks have transformed the first few rows into church pews.
“You’ll literally be in the church,” says Owen.
The biggest thing, though, Sell says, is what the new cast of kids bring to each show. Even Hammond and Bir, who have been in the show years before, are playing new parts. Sell says the new cast brings a new spin to the show each year. But again, the venue itself will be something very noticeable for both the audience and the cast.
“The new space is very intimate. It feels very cozy to me. It’s going to be nice to have a Christmas festive show in that space. It makes the audience feel like they are on stage with you,” French says.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever will run from Dec. 7 to Dec. 22. They will host military appreciation nights on several dates to include all the different casts. Tickets will range from $11-$16. For more information about the performance, visit www.cfrt.org.
“It’ll be nice for people to be able to see it,” Sell says. “Getting away from the presents and decorations into something that has a little bit of a deeper meaning.”

(Photos courtesy of Cape Fear Regional Theatre)