Saturday, March 28, 1998

Pageant has power to touch lives -- even of those who participate

By LORETTA FULTON / Abilene Reporter-News

Fred McNabb likes to tell about all the people whose lives have been touched or even changed by seeing Pioneer Drive Baptist Church's annual Easter pageant.

Not all those people are outside the church, waiting for an experience to move them. Some, including McNabb and other members of the church, are right in the middle of things.

"Easter has never been the same for us since we started the pageant," said McNabb, who is music minister at Pioneer Drive and director of the pageant.

No longer is one Sunday enough to tell the story of Jesus' resurrection.

"We live through it," McNabb said, during the weeks of rehearsal and performances.

This year's version of "Jesus: His Story" will begin with a 7:30 p.m. performance Friday at the Abilene Civic Center. Other performances will follow at 3 and 7:30 p.m. April 4, 7:30 p.m. April 9-10 and 3 p.m. April 11.

The church also will combine its usual three Sunday worship services into one service at 10 a.m. Easter Sunday, April 12, at the Civic Center.

Admission to the pageant is free, but tickets, which are available at the church, 701 S. Pioneer Drive, are required. Call 692-6776 for ticket information.

Doors open at the Civic Center 15 minutes prior to performance time and tickets usually are available, McNabb said. Seating is not reserved.

The annual pageant has evolved considerably over the years. The first performance was in the church sanctuary in 1981 but it moved to the Civic Center the following year and remains there.

The original script was written by church member Chris Bonifant, who later moved to Arkansas. She periodically rewrites it, but it always tells the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection.

"It's told from a different perspective" with each rewrite, said Carol Carr, who designed the set.

Last year Bonifant rewrote the script using the family of a shepherd named Judah, played by David Morris, to tell the story to his grandchildren.

"It was such a good script we decided to do it again," McNabb said.

The approximately 200 cast members, 100 choir members led by McNabb and 30 musicians in the orchestra directed by Mark Best have been working since January to put the show together.

One of the toughest jobs came Friday when three trailers containing the sets were hauled to the Civic Center for assembly today. About 60 people will be involved in putting the puzzle together.

"It's a big set," McNabb said.

It gets bigger on production nights when a number of animals, ranging in size from baby donkeys to fully developed llamas, grace the stage to add realism to the pageant. The animals have been provided for several years by May Farms at Hawley. Some, including the llamas, have been in the show so many times, they know their parts as well as the actors.

"We've trained 'em," McNabb said.

McNabb started the pageant back in 1981 and then he later left for a few years for a position in Dallas. He later came back, but even while he was gone, the show went on.

"It just kind of happened over all these years," McNabb said.

The fact that so many people donate so much time each year to put on the quality performances is somewhat of a miracle in itself. Hours and hours of time are required from January through Easter, which this year doesn't come until the second week of April.

Even children who may be on the stage for only five minutes come to all the rehearsals.

Another major commitment is money. The budget for the show is $28,000, and the church contributes all but $6,000 of that. The rest is made up from a "low key" offering taken at the end of performances plus other donations.

"Every year afterward checks just come in," said Carr, the set designer.

And the people keep coming back. An estimated 10,000-12,000 people see the performances each year, McNabb said. The main reason, of course, is the story. But the professionalism of the performances also contributes to its popularity.

Lavish costumes, live animals, professionally made props all add to the show's realism. Many of the performers, choir members and musicians are in the show year after year, bringing a touch of professionalism with them.

"We've only had three Jesuses in this whole thing," McNabb said. As in last year's production, Jay Moore will play the part this year.

Carr's set, created from a balsa model, has been a wonderful contribution to the show, McNabb said. Originally, a set was borrowed from a Dallas church, then another person designed a set. Finally Carr and her husband Wayne, who is an electrical engineer and software designer, built the set that is used now. It remains stored year-round in trailers, waiting to be assembled.

They got some ideas from visiting other churches and now their set is the one being looked at.

"We've had the opportunity to share with other churches what we've learned," Carr said.

During performances, the set is left on the Civic Center stage and various props are brought in throughout the show.

"We use props to make the scenes," McNabb said.

Everyone involved agrees pulling off the pageant year after year is somewhat of a miracle, with more than a little divine guidance thrown in.

"The Lord guides your hands in everything you do to make it come out," Carr said.

McNabb has his own take on the situation.

"I think they're all crazy is what it is," he said. "They're wonderful -- they just come and do it."