On the Town: Annual musical about Nativity still crazy after all these years
In today’s world of uncertainty, it’s nice to know that Westminster Presbyterian Church in Burbank serves as an island of steadfast assuredness, especially when it comes to its annual production of “Nativity: The Musical!” which, for the 13th year, ran through last week.
If there is one certainty to be found during the holiday season, it’s that the church faithfully embraces the dogma that laughter and the ability to avoid taking ourselves too seriously are treasured gifts from God that should be liberally peppered in the (let’s call it “unique”) way in which the show tells the age-old Christmas story.
While just about every Christian church has congregation members don the garb of angels, shepherds and wise kings for some sort of pageant that presents a live recreation of the crèche, at Westminster the annual retelling relies heavily on artistic license and the aforementioned tenets of humor.
Written and directed by entertainment industry veterans Greg and Melissa Baldwin, the Westminster Christmas pageant does include the basic story and principal characters of Biblical renown including Mary, Joseph, the manger-napping swaddled babe and visiting shepherds and wise men.
It is about there, however, that convention ends and a cornucopia of odd characters, non-sequiturs, puns, pop culture and current-event references, parodies of show tunes and pop hits, Borsht Belt one-liners and rim shots o-plenty take over.
This year’s show began in heaven, where, in the midst of cherubim and seraphim, the archangel Gabriel, portrayed as a Vaudeville-era song-and-dance man, received a call from “the Boss,” telling him he was to have a son.
After angelic congratulations were offered up and it was revealed that the mother would be “a nice Jewish girl,” Mary was introduced by a contingent of “South Pacific” sailors who serenaded her with a rousing rendition of “Virgin Mary Is a Girl I Love.”
Moving beyond that number, with the mouths of first-time audience member’s agape and no bolt of lightning putting an end to the show before it even got underway, things did, as they do each year, get weirder and weirder.
For no explainable reason, the Von Trapp family performed Michal Jackson’s “Thriller” and “The Time Warp” from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with modified lyrics that took the audience “back to the stable again.”
Once returned to the little town of the Christ child’s birth, things began to more closely resemble the story we all know — for a minute or two.
Then it became an NBC “Bing Crosby First Christmas Special,” where the event was foretold by a Magic 8-Ball, the “Star of Bethlehem” was a glamorous Hollywood starlet, guest appearances were made by Inspector Clouseau, Cleopatra, the Roman Emperor Caligula and a Magi trio of bike-riding Mormon missionaries.
This was followed by Augustus Caesar, accompanied by showgirls, performing his nightclub act at (where else?) Caesar’s Palace, and King Herod sweeping in as the Phantom of the Opera with an entourage of (what else?) high school cheerleaders.
If none of this makes any sense, it is perhaps best that we refrain from going into further detail regarding the cameo appearances of Alexander Hamilton and Peggy Schuyler, Annie Oakley, Abraham Lincoln, the sewer-dwelling clown Pennywise and the recurring “Saturday Night Live” Halloween enigma David S. Pumpkins and his skeleton crew.
While the production is, by all means, highly unconventional, each year it also beautifully weaves in the true Christmas story, ending with a full-cast performance of “When You Believe” from “The Prince of Egypt,” and a hope-inspiring coda of Jackie DeShannon’s “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.”
The pastor of Westminster Presbyterian, Paul Clairville, actually looked a tad bit disheartened when a comment was posted that this year’s performance seemed a bit “gentler” than those of the past 12 years.
“Oh, I hope not,” he said, laughing. “But, maybe it is. It’s been a rough year for many people, our country and for some of us here at Westminster. My sister died, and, along with her children who lost their mom, two other young people who appeared in our performance lost their dad this year. So maybe we are all just a bit warmer toward one another this year, which is something we are good at doing here.”
Greg Baldwin also conceded that, while “Nativity: The Musical!” is still unlike any other Christmas pageant, they did tone it down a little this year.
“With all the upheaval in our country, we did refrain from political humor and the big stories that topped the news, which were even too far beyond the pale for us to include,” he said. “I think you have to be a bit gentler and more loving toward one another when we are living in a time that you have to leave out references to the real-life craziness that is going on, and yet find it acceptable to include a demonic and homicidal clown.”
Baldwin caught himself and sighed.
“I guess that speaks volumes as to why we have to always believe in miracles and remind everyone that we need a little love in our hearts,” he said.
DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.
