• A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant
• By Kyle Jarrow
• Directed by Andrew Baughman
• Produced by Landless Theatre Company
• Reviewed by Tim Treanor

David Sedaris had a routine in which he played a theatre critic who passed judgment on grade-school Christmas pageants. “A cloying, preening stage presence,” he sniffed, dismissing a six-year old playing the Virgin Mary, “her performance seemed based on nothing more than an annoying proclivity toward lifting her skirt and on rare occasions opening her eyes.”

None of that for me. The Very Merry Pageant uses young kids in all of its roles, and thus effectively immunizes itself from criticism – mine or anyone else’s. [Read more...]