Which shall it be: The Ft. Lauderdale Christmas Pageant or Palm Beach Singing Christmas Tree? Some have been to the pageant several times and asked for another Christmas event to do together.
The date for both performances is Sunday, December 17th. 2:00 pm is show time at the Ft. Lauderdale pageant: 7:30 pm is the Singing Christmas Tree show time.
Tickets for the Ft. Lauderdale pageant are $32.00 each. Singing Christmas Tree tickets will be around $25.00 for premier seating and $11.00 for general admission.
Transportation will be via car pool for both events. Tickets for the Singing Christmas Tree go on sale in November. While we cannot refund money, if you make a reservation and are unable to attend we will help you find someone to purchase your ticket.
Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant Sunday,
December 17, 2006, 2:00 pm
From the time it premiered 21 years ago at a civic auditorium to the 22nd performance year of 2005, the Ft. Lauderdale Christmas Pageant sold out for every performance (there are 18 per season). We have reserved 40 seats for the 2006 pageant. The tickets will be held for us until August 1. Those for which we have not paid by that date will be relinquished for sale to others. Therefore we must receive reservations forms by July 25.
The musical extravaganza features
• a festive opening scene with familiar carols in a turn-of-the-century setting,
• a concert of inspirational contemporary songs, and
• a musical drama of the nativity and life of Christ.
The 2005 Pageant included a spectacular snow-filled winter wonderland (watch for the falling snowflakes, not just on stage, but in the audience as well!) and an elegant horse drawn sleigh.
The settings for the production were created by George and Goldberg whose credits include the Winter Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the El Capitan Theatre, the Millennium Village at EPCOT, Super Bowl XXVI, and televised concerts. The stage was designed by Broadway designers Peter Wolf (“Peter Pan”) and Bill Eckart (“Cinderella”).
One of the most celebrated aspects of the Pageant is the role played by young people, featuring hundreds of children and students from weeks-old babies (in the starring role!) to high school seniors who’ve been part of the Pageant all their lives. For example, a young violin prodigy who grew up in First Baptist Church is now a teenager and served as concertmaster for the 2004 season’s adult Pageant orchestra. The 2005 showcase for the young people was a countdown to Christmas. The 2004 showcase was a Seusically inspired “One Wish, Two Wish” look at Christmas lists. 2003’s was another favorite, “The Christmas Cruise”. Writers of the original mini-musical have been such well known composers as David and Celeste Clydesdale. (Who also wrote the new Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom parade, “Share a Dream Come True,” as well as the music which serenades the park during the fireworks finale over Cinderella’s Castle).
The best is saved till last – the nativity. The pageantry is not outdone by what I just described. The nativity pageantry includes, of course the story of Mary and Joseph making the journey to Bethlehem, the announcement to the shepherds, the manger scene and the wisemen’s visit, all complete with beautiful pageantry and live animals (camels, donkeys, sheep, cows, etc.).