SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Historical Pageant Will Be Renewed

The South Orange County Community Theatre plans to perform “La Christianita Pageant” next year at Mission San Juan Capistrano.

The pageant, last performed in 1988 in San Clemente, is expected to begin next July with a two-week run at its new venue here. The production is a story of California settlement by Spanish missionaries.

Bertha Henry Taylor, a member of a committee overseeing the revival of the pageant, said that organizers are optimistic that the shows will be the first of many.

During a news conference last week at the mission, a check for $35,000 was given to the South Orange County Community Theatre by the now-defunct La Christianita Pageant Assn.

The group dissolved so its assets could be turned over to the new committee, made up of members from the San Juan Capistrano Chamber of Commerce, Mission San Juan Capistrano and playhouses that operate under the South Orange County Community Theatre.

Gerald Miller, business manager of the mission, said officials want to see the pageant performed every year.

Norman Wright, the pageant’s playwright, told those gathered Thursday that the pageant may have finally found a permanent home. “We think it will have a long and well-deserved run,” he said.

Open auditions will be held in the spring. For more information, call (714) 489-8082.