FOLK Live Authentic

with rehearsals. The night of the production
he did show up and gave the performance of a
lifetime…all without rehearsals and therefore, ad
lib. It was truly a great performance that nearly
stole the show.
Remember, I said nearly. My sister, Janet, played
the role of Mary. Her best friend, Vicky, was
the angel who appeared to Mary. “Hell, Mary!”
As you can imagine, that had the entire cast
in stitches every rehearsal. She, of course, was
supposed to say “Hail, Mary!” but it always
came out like “hell”. Rehearsals invariably had a
friendly argument between Mary and the angel.
“Vicky! The word is hail, not hell.”
“That’s what I’m saying. ‘Hell’, Mary.”
That went on for a couple of rounds before an
adult stepped in to move forward with rehearsal.
All the while we younger kids were taking our
places in the manger scene at the appropriate
point in the story. As most 7-11 year olds, we
found it difficult to keep from giggling all the
time anyway. Our angel proclaiming hell and our
ad lib proficient innkeeper only gave us fodder for
laughter.
We made it through the acting portion of the
program and then prepared for the grand finale…
our youth choir concert. We prepared several
traditional Christmas carols and had settled
into a more serious mood. A couple of ladies
had taken sheets of crepe paper and made choir
robes for all the young people. We assembled in
the pulpit area and arranged ourselves into the
practiced formation of a Christmas tree. A few
select “branches” carried small candles to serve
as lights on the tree. All went well as we sang
“Away in a Manger” and “Silent Night” in our
best angelic voices. The candle bearers had been
well coached and no candle came close to the
paper robes. Since I was one of the younger and
smaller singers, I didn’t carry a candle. A fellow
classmate of mine, Kathy, did, however.
She stood behind me and followed directions
carefully. She did not let her candle get near her
robe nor mine. She held it high enough to be
seen but, by the time we sang “sleep in heavenly
peace” the final time, her arm apparently got
tired and she had lowered her candle to a point
right behind my head…and a bit too close. My
hair, in some recollections, caught fire. Mom
played piano for us and as soon as the last note
was played she saw what was happening. She
quickly jumped up and “patted” my head to
keep it from burning my scalp. I didn’t realize
what had happened but did notice an odd smell.
Although my head didn’t actually burst into
flames, it did singe the hair on the back of my
head enough that I had quite a bald spot for some
time.
Needless to say, we never use real candles in
such a manner. Our Christmas pageants may
not have as much flair (or maybe that should
be flare) but the tradition of small town church
Christmas plays continues. Strains of “Away in
a Manger” and “Silent Night” often mix with
more contemporary carols but the spirit stays the
same. We all probably grumbled about having to
be in those productions each year but I’m willing
to bet every one of us will have to admit that
some of our best childhood memories center on
those rehearsals and presentations…complete
with shepherds in bathrobes.
I may not have been a wise man/woman but I
definitely smelled like smoke!