Staging Christmas spirit

Portland Lutheran students like challenge of singing, message of ‘Christmas Special’ musical

By Rob Cullivan

The Gresham Outlook, Dec 9, 2009

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.

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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.

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