Staging Christmas spirit
Portland Lutheran students like challenge of singing, message of ‘Christmas Special’ musical
Jim Clark / The Outlook
Portland Lutheran students take a break from classes to rehearse ‘Christmas Special Delivery’ on Tuesday morning for their Thursday, Dec. 17, performance. The musical examines the true meaning of Christmas through the tale of a harried mail carrier, and features a variety of Christmas carols as well. Students in pre-school through fourth grade will be on stage for the musical, which is free and open to the public.
Julia Parrott, 7, a first-grader, and Laurel O’Brien, 8, a third-grader at Portland Lutheran School, particularly like one song in the musical “Christmas Special Delivery” — “What’s The Trouble With Christmas.”
“You can do lots of actions, like wave,” Julia says as she does just that with her hand.
Laurel cuts to the chase when asked what the song is about — “It makes you wonder what the trouble with Christmas is.”
Hmmm — and what would that be? Laurel notes it’s grown-ups, not children, who find Christmas troublesome.
“One of the things is they think snow is a hassle because they have to shovel it,” she says, adding, “Sometimes, if you’re not in a good mood, and you’re a parent, it makes you not want to buy presents.”
Mouths of babes
Julia and Laurel belong to a cast of dozens who will perform “Special Delivery” on Thursday, Dec. 17. The musical tells the story of a harried mail carrier named Gabriel Wilson and features such songs as “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “The First Noel.”
“It’s kind of like a play that’s in a play because in the end there’s a play in the play,” says Kyle Wicklander, 7, a second-grader.
Debbie Sorensen, who teaches first and second grades, confirms that “Special Delivery” does include the staging of a traditional Christmas pageant. She adds that the musical is fun for children.
“It’s one they can get into because they can get into grumpy characters, but their characters get cheered up, too,” she says.
However, having fun on stage nonetheless means you have to stand up in front of a crowd and perform, a rather daunting challenge to some children. One of the cast’s singers, Kyle, says he will not eat ice cream to calm his nerves before he takes the stage but “will probably run around.”
Laurel says she used to suffer from stage fright, but she sings in a choir at Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church and has learned to conquer her nerves.
“I learned that if you look at the people you know, instead of the other people, you can be fine just singing by yourself,” she says.
Deeper message
Ethan Bishop, 9, a fourth-grader, plays Mr. Porter, who helps homeless people in the musical.
“He actually feeds them and gives them a place to live,” Ethan says, adding the play highlights that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus is coming to town kind of giving faith to everyone.”
Kim Driessner, who teaches kindergarten, says the students are excited to step into the spotlight next week. The school’s annual pageant is always a highlight of the year for the children, she says.
“Even though the practices don’t always go as well as we want, the night they do it, they always shine.”
If you go
Portland Lutheran School, 740 S.E. 182nd Ave., will present the following Christmas shows:
• The upper elementary choir and band concert will take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14.
• Preschool through fourth grades will present “Christmas Special Delivery,” by Mark Brymer and Mark S. Bernthal, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17.
All performances are free and open to the public.
For more information, call 503-667-3199.