4.22.2011

The Pageant

Ever since I met Chris he has been raving about Arizona all its wonders--great weather, a paradise built in the middle of the desert, the nicest people in the world... and the Easter Pageant. I have always brushed his excitement for the pageant aside knowing how easily Chris is impressed. Example: "Oh my gosh.... this Hamburger Helper is amazing! I'm inviting the neighbors over."

I have to admit, it's usually a pretty big esteem booster when Chris is raving over something that involves me (even if it is a less-than-mediocre dinner). In the same breath, he does have a tendency to set an unrealistically high level of expectation, so when I went to the pageant this week I planned on being mildly disappointed. I was anything but.

Now it's my turn to rave as a proud Arizonan. The Easter Pageant is a performance hosted by the LDS church every year at the temple grounds. It is a massive production that is brought together by over 400 cast members and about 100 crew members. They spend months preparing for a handful of evening performances that show during the final weeks leading up to Easter.

The pageant is essentially a play about Christ's life. It begins from the time of his birth and ends with his crucifixion and resurrection. Everything was executed with perfection including the costuming, the choreography, the acting, and the singing.

Chris and I attended the pageant on Wednesday night, and because we only live two blocks from the temple we packed a blanket and walked to the grounds. By the time we arrived there were already thousands of people who had come early secure good seats, so we sat on the grassy hill in the back. I could hardly see the actors and knew I was missing some of the critical details that really made the performance, so I opted to go again Thursday. I was slightly fanatical and arrived two and a half hours early, but I got great seats and had an even more remarkable experience.

Now I can proudly rave about the pageant as being just as good as a Broadway, but free... and it makes you cry. Definitely worth the two and-a-half hour wait.


The masses grew....


and grew in anticipation of the show.


The beautiful statue of Christ in the public visitor center.


The meticulously well kept temple grounds.


A few cast members. (Guy on the right looks jolly)


This boy was carrying around the newest cast member (a two day old lambie). The baby had a very dramatic roll playing the first born sheep that Adam sacrificed. Although he went unscathed, when Adam held him up over the alter in a moc sacrifice, the audience could hear him crying "Baaaaaaah. Don't saaaaacrafice me." I don't think he was fully informed what the role would entail.

He was only one of many animals in the play. There were birds, ponies, mules, and sheep.


The grand finale.


He lives!

2 comments:

  1. What a cool pageant! I need to put that on my bucket list! Your blog is so cute! I don't know what you're talking about! I just use the template designer in blogger to redo mine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. thats amazing tori! Thanks for sharing. I didn't know that existed. Oh I will have to go one day. Love you!

    ReplyDelete