Passion Comes into Play at Holiday Extravaganza

At a dress rehearsal last week for the Crystal Cathedral’s annual “Glory of Christmas” pageant, a tender moment passed unnoticed amid the camels, herds of sheep and goats on stage, and the eight angels flying 80 feet above.

There on the hills of the set, a shepherdess looked down on her real-life 13-year-old daughter singing “Silent Night” under the glare of a single spotlight. Shary McDonald thought about the five years her child has spent fighting brain and spinal cancer: the four surgeries, 30 radiation treatments, the high-dose chemotherapy and the stem-cell transplant.

“I had a big lump in my throat,” said McDonald, whose daughter Meta will be a soloist twice during the monthlong run of “The Glory of Christmas,” which began Friday at the church in Garden Grove.

“You always want your child to succeed and live a normal life. And we’ve tried to give her that as best we can.” The singing role is nice for Meta, whose disease is in “guarded remission,” but it’s not the world’s biggest deal. “I won’t be too nervous,” said the skinny teenager with wispy blond hair and pristine voice.

Her mother added the obvious: “After what she’s been through, nothing makes her too nervous.”

The story of the McDonalds is one of the many behind-the-scenes dramas unfolding during this year’s edition of “The Glory of Christmas,” a Southern California holiday tradition that’s viewed as either sublime or just a little tacky -- or even some of both.

With more than 200 performers, a menagerie of live animals (and shepherds who scoop up after them), 17 musical numbers and angels darting overhead at speeds of up to 20 mph, the pageant tells the Gospel story of the birth of Jesus on a spectacular scale.

To recreate the Bethlehem star’s beam, for instance, a 2,000-watt spotlight shines through an open 90-foot cathedral door near the play’s end.

The rigging takes two weeks of round-the-clock work, organizers say.

The elaborate production, which costs $2 million and operates in the black, reflects the power-of-positive-thinking philosophy of the Rev. Robert H. Schuller. The church’s senior pastor started his Southern California ministry in 1955 at the Orange Drive-In theater, built the award-winning glass cathedral 22 years ago in Garden Grove and is the author of more than 30 self-help books, including “Turning Hurts Into Halos.”

The mostly volunteer cast of hundreds comes from the Crystal Cathedral congregation and other Southern California churches. Many are pageant veterans, working their way up over the years from the mundane jobs -- such as marching in the background as a Roman solider -- to prized roles that include commanding Roman troops astride a horse.

As big of a spectacle as the 23rd annual pageant is, there are smaller stories, like the one involving Meta McDonald, that can be found behind the mammoth sets. Here are a few:

The Professional

Richard Kinsey, digging in a plastic tackle box for his theatrical makeup, pulled out some talcum powder and a brush and dusted his face in front of a long mirror in a subterranean Crystal Cathedral office. Aside from the church setting, it’s a familiar routine for the 48-year-old actor, who starred in “Les Miserables” on Broadway and in the touring show for seven years, and has a long list of other theater credits.

“It’s a good gig,” said Kinsey, who plays Joseph. He is one of a small group of professional actors with singing or acting roles paid scale for their work.

Kinsey sees other advantages to a Crystal Cathedral production: He gets to work with his wife and 7-year-old daughter, who also landed parts in the show, and “the kindness here is overwhelming.” In contrast to the backstage traditions in most theaters, “You’re not going to hear four-letter words here,” he said.

He acknowledged that the show, however popular, might not be regarded by the discriminating as high art. But, “for someone not to be moved by this production, you’d have to have a heart made out of stone.”

Associate Producer

Jeanne Dunn watched the dress rehearsal, just a few days before opening night, with a relaxed demeanor that comes from 20 years of working on the show.

She is the associate producer of “The Glory of Christmas,” and its springtime cousin, “The Glory of Easter.” She’s also the daughter of Robert H. Schuller and wife of Paul David Dunn, who wrote and directs the Christmas pageant.

The first thing she points out to a visitor is the latest generation of children in the production.

“One of our hopes when we started was to get this to last at least 15 years,” she said. “By then children who began with us will bring their own children.” And, she added, the same pattern of renewal has been established within the audiences, a sign that helps ensure the production’s long-term future.

Dunn estimates that 150,000 people will see “The Glory of Christmas” this year, including 18,000 schoolchildren from low-income areas who will see the play for free.

The audiences are less demanding that the professional critics, whose often-unflattering writings Dunn has to absorb each year. Among the comments appearing in The Times: “The star of Bethlehem looks like a vulgar rhinestone pin,” and “ ... a nonstop flow of high-tech bombast and directionless action.” Even some compliments were delivered backhanded: “ ... this spectacle far outstrips almost anything at nearby Disneyland.”

A recurring complaint is that the elaborate production is at odds with the humble story of God becoming a helpless baby in order to save the world.

It’s criticism that Dunn disagrees with, arguing that while the birth as described in scripture was humble, the events surrounding it were undeniably spectacular.

“I think if you saw angels and kings bringing gifts, you wouldn’t think this [production] was humble enough,” Dunn said with a smile. “The perception that the birth of Jesus was a humble event is wrong.”

The Family

Each member of the Martz family won a role in this year’s pageant. Kelly, 10, and Daniel, 6, play young shepherds, mother Tammy plays the trumpet, and father Bruce plays a camel-riding king, a coveted role.

“I started out as a Roman, like everyone else,” said Martz, who grows a beard each year for his role. “But now I’m a king.”

Tammy said the forced family time together -- up to six hours a day when the commute to and from their home in Corona is factored in -- is a major benefit of performing.

“We do it as a family thing,” Tammy said. “We drive here together, eat together, rehearse together.”

They also use the pageant as Christian outreach for friends who don’t go to church but will come to see the family perform.

There’s a little internal disagreement over the worth of this family holiday ritual, however. Daniel admits to being less than thrilled with the experience. “I just go on stage and be bored,” he said.

The Angel

With her long, flowing, blond hair, white and gold robes, and wide smile, Karen Crane has flown gracefully over “The Glory of Christmas” audience for the last decade, her body suspended by a state-of-the-art wire system.

“I can hear the oohs and aahs,” Crane said, adding that sometimes the chemistry between her character, the angel Gabriel, and Mary is “so intense that the audience can feel it. It’s very powerful.”

The 27-year-old premed student at La Sierra University in Riverside first read about auditions in the church bulletin. Though she first thought of trying out as a dancer, she couldn’t resist the chance to be an angel.

“You can dance anywhere,” Crane said, “but I don’t know too many places where you can fly.”