Well, it’s about time. One of the best Christmas stories ever written is coming to movie theaters this winter. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a beloved fish-out-of-water tale that has never really gotten the attention it deserved until now. In a nutshell, it is the story of six roughneck siblings who volunteer to star in a local Sunday school Christmas pageant (and threaten to beat up any of the other kids who want to challenge them in this endeavor). They make a mess of things and yet in the end, it all works out for good.
Directed by Dallas Jenkins (creator and director of The Chosen), Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company began filming the comedy in Canada last December. The Christmas tale stars Judy Greer who plays Grace, a busy mom who reluctantly agrees to direct her church’s annual pageant by the book despite the new challenges placed before her. The movie also stars Pete Holmes, Molly Belle Wright and Lauren Graham as the story’s narrator.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is based on the children’s book of the same name by Barbara Robinson and from the new trailer, it appears that the bulk of the story remains the same.
Robinson, who passed away in 2013, is known for writing such tales as The Fattest Bear in the First Grade and My Brother Louis Measures Worms and other Louis Stories. But she is mostly known for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (or The Worst Kids in the World as the book is known in Australia, New Zealand and the UK). Robinson also wrote many short stories which have appeared in magazines such as Rebook, Ladies Home Journal and McCall’s. In fact, it was the latter publication that first published this now famous Christmas tale. Harper and Row published a stand-alone book in 1972 which has sold over 800,000 copies of the book. Robinson followed up on the success of the book by writing The Best School Year Ever in 1994 and The Best Halloween Ever in 2004 which also feature the Herdman’s, but neither have captured the hearts of readers in the same way.
In 1982, Seattle Children’s Theatre debuted a stage play based on the book which was followed by a short made-for-TV movie for ABC in 1983. The mostly forgotten movie starred Loretta Swit (M.A.S.H.) and Fairuza Balk (Disney’s Return to Oz). This is the first time that the story will get the big screen treatment and the movie is in good hands. Dallas Jenkins has proven that he is a gifted storyteller, and the partnership of Kingdom Story Company and Lionsgate has had their own string of hit movies including the recently released Ordinary Angels and Unsung Hero.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever comes to theaters on November 8, 2024.
Main Image: Kynlee Heiman as Glady Herdman, Matthew Lamb as Claude Herdman, Mason Nelligan as Ralph Herdman, Beatrice Schneider as Imogene Herdman, Ewan Wood as Leroy Herdman and Essek Moore as Ollie Herdman. (Allen Fraser/Lionsgate)
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