A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant
November 2006-January 2007: New York Theatre Workshop
This holiday season, a jubilant cast of children celebrate the controversial Church of Scientology in uplifting pageantry and song. The actual teachings of Scientology are explained and dissected against the candy-colored backdrop of a traditional nativity play.
A large ensemble cast of 8-12 year-old children tells the story of L. Ron Hubbard’s meteoric rise from struggling science fiction writer to supreme leader of a (highly-profitable) New Age religious empire.
Avant-garde performance art and children's theater meet in one of the funniest and most bewildering holiday shows you will ever see: A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant.
Concept by:
Directed by:
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Press Representation:
Alex Timbers
Alex Timbers
New York Theatre Workshop
Aaron Lemon-Strauss
David Evans Morris
Juliet Chia
Jennifer Rogien
Alaina Taylor
Gabriel Kahane
Stephanie Klapper Casting
Richard Kornberg and Associates
For more information: www.lesfreres.org/pageant
New York Times| Feature Article
"The company's aim is to both celebrate and satirize historical icons by examining conflicting interpretations of them."
Los Angeles Times| Feature Article
"Irony is a starting point for these innovators, not a destination."
New York Times
"The gutsiest gimmick in New York theater for 2003... A spooky, sharp-toothed smile of a show... Pageant has already acquired a halo of hipness and daring... A cult-hit blueprint for a young generation that prefers its irony delivered with not a wink but a blank stare."
Time Out New York
"Wonderfully weird... Refreshing... Subversive... The show artfully succeeds at both telling and mocking the tale of Scientology."
New York Magazine
"A holiday classic-to-be!"
New York Sun
"Brave and lunatic... Hilarious and disturbing at once... No one has an excuse to miss the show's run at the Houseman."
Los Angeles Times
"An instant cult classic... Threatens the kidneys... Clear-minded subversive purpose with lethally gleeful results... The mix of pastorale, Dianetics demo, and Bill Melendez Peanuts special leaves irony to its audience, ending on a coup de theatre that is thrilling and chilling."
LA Weekly
"A beguiling blend of amateurism and blind innocence, here expertly assembled by Timbers... Genius... Charming and kooky... The evening plays out like a comedy about mind control as written by Nathaniel West."
Backstage West
"Jaw-dropping... Hilarious... A provocative mix of Christmas-pageant sincerity, Christopher Durang-like irony, and unexpected rage."
Variety
"The artless innocence of a children's holiday pageant provides the deceptively benign backdrop for this deeply probing and ultimately disturbing query into the history of guru L. Ron Hubbard... Provocatively juxtaposes innocent revelry and weighty content... You will laugh till it hurts!"