Historical Reenactment

Everything about it is big.

More than 100 professional and volunteer actors. More than two years in the planning. Seating for more than 3,000. Almost $250,000 spent.

The city of San Juan Capistrano, the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the governor’s office have declared the week leading up to it “California Heritage Week.”

According to producer and event organizer Harvey Smith, crew members have begun calling the set, a huge facade of Mission San Juan Capistrano, “Titanic.”

It’s the Capistrano Pageant and it’s coming Saturday and Sunday to the Oaks Blenheim Outdoor Showpark in San Juan Capistrano. The all-day, Renaissance Faire-style living history expo will be capped by the evening performance of an original musical titled, “Capistrano.”

“You’ve got the Pageant of the Masters [in Laguna Beach] and the Ramona Pageant [in Hemet]. I think people are ready for another one around here,” Smith said.

“Like the [U.S.] bicentennial, around the millennium people are becoming very interested in history,” he said. “In a way we’re tapping into that.”

The pageant is billed as a celebration of California history, as it began around Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Smith, who is retired from the advertising business, has organized other events but this is his first musical. He wrote the story with mission spokesman Jim Graves.

Their text was adapted by Bruce Goodrich, who also wrote lyrics for the program’s songs. Goodrich is a scenic designer with New York and regional theater credits. His recent writing credits include the American Fashion Awards hosted by Delta Burke.

The music, which will be played on a soundtrack, features songs by composer Robert Hartman, an adjunct instructor at New York University.

James R. Taulli, head of the musical theater department at Cal State Fullerton, will direct the show.

“Capistrano” is described by its organizers as an accurate portrayal of life in and around the mission from “Eight Thousand Years Ago,” as one song is titled, to 1865.

Scenes from the 90-minute show depict plans by Catherine the Great of Russia for conquest of Southern California; the mission’s founding; the legend of Magdalena, a Spanish girl whose ghost is said to have haunted the chapel since 1812; the earthquake that destroyed the Great Stone Church; the Battle of San Pasqual, the only battle of the Mexican-American War fought on California soil; the auction of the mission by the Mexican government in 1844; and life among the Juaneno Indians before the arrival of the Europeans.

The musical’s narration will ring out in film star Ricardo Montalban’s rich voice. Montalban, who prerecorded the part, is an honorary event chairman, as is Joan Irvine Smith.

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Among the musical numbers are: “Colonize!” sung by Catherine the Great; “Ordered by You,” sung by Father Serra; and “500 Dollars,” sung by the cast in the mission auction scene.

The musical is patterned after Rodgers-and-Hammerstein shows, with dramatic scenes that lead to songs, some of which are reprised.

“It’s no Ramona Pageant,” Harvey Smith said, referring to the annual show, written in 1884, as a protest against the mistreatment of California Indians by European settlers.

“It’s a comprehensive picture we’re trying to paint,” Harvey Smith said. “One of the things [people] don’t talk about much is the contributions of the various cultures to Southern California: Spanish, Mexican and Europeans.”

Smith hopes patrons will take from the musical an understanding: “Despite [a person’s] cultural background, we are all Californians. We all contribute to the history and culture of California.”

The living history expo, which is free and opens at noon, features more than 100 volunteer actors who will stage scenes at encampments throughout the park. Girl Scouts from Huntington Beach, decked out in period costumes, will demonstrate historic games for visitors.

Scott Scheller, a direct descendant of a soldier from the Portola Expedition, will play the role of his ancestor, Sgt. Cristobal Dominguez, commander of the guard at the mission from 1802-1810.

The pageant is the centerpiece of an effort to build an appreciation for California history, with Mission San Juan Capistrano as a treasured resource.

About a year ago Harvey Smith, Joan Irvine Smith, Graves and other public officials created the Mission Pageant Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting the mission.

The time is right to make a push to increase awareness about the mission’s history, Harvey Smith said. The millennium coincides with a boost in state funding.

Restoration of the Great Stone Church, reduced to rubble in 1864 by a massive earthquake, had been on hold since January but received a boost with a recent $1-million state budget allowance for preservation efforts. Although another $5.4 million is needed to complete restoration of the church and vestry, this is the first time the government has doled out funds for the project.

While the mission is refurbished, Smith and his team are working to generate interest in history and the pageant; members of the community from San Juan Capistrano and the rest of Orange County will be asked to participate.

The foundation has created several children’s programs to promote the pageant. On Tuesday, children from local organizations participated in Passport to History, in which they spent the day interviewing actors playing historical figures. Megan Waechter, 9, of Cypress and Mikela Fritz, 12, of Laguna Beach will be honored at a pageant premiere gala Friday for their winning essays about historical figures.

Five direct descendants of Spanish soldiers in the first California expeditions will be recognized at the gala.

But will all this history make for an entertaining show? “We didn’t want to make a 90-minute history lesson,” Smith explained. “So we created something that is going to be exciting, driving and emotional and it will focus on that for 90 minutes. The history lesson is next door.”

Smith said he hopes the living history demonstrations will be a draw. “If you’re down at the expo grounds, then you’ll like what you see and you’ll want to see the show.”

Admission to the pageant includes entrance to the mission. “People can go to the mission in the morning, spend the afternoon at the expo and finish the day off with a spectacular show,” Smith said.

Next year, Smith would like to see the event run for two weekends and even take his show on the road.

“We couldn’t take the living history expo with us,” Smith said. “But imagine the play in Des Moines, Iowa, with historic pictures of California and the mission. . . .”

* “The Capistrano Pageant,” Saturday and Sunday at Oaks Blenheim Outdoor Showpark, Ortega Highway and La Plata Road, San Juan Capistrano. The expo opens at noon and is free; “Capistrano” begins at 8 p.m., $14-$20, (714) 979-1190.