really her child; the Wise Men choose to bring the baby Jesus a ham from the Herdmans' own gift basket instead of the "crummy" frankincense and myrrh from the story; the shepherds are sufficiently terrified of Gladys to look authentically awed by her announcement of Jesus's birth; and during the final scene, the narrator looks over from the choir and is dumbstruck to see Imogene weeping softly while hugging the "baby". By common agreement, it is the best Christmas pageant the town has ever had. Literary influences In its amiable combination of farce and spirituality, the story appears to be a modern-day reimagining of the medieval Second Shepherds' Play, the surname "Herdman" being a thinly disguised synonym of "Shepherd." Publication and reception Robinson first published the story in McCall's magazine before it was adapted into a book, which sold over 800,000 copies. Stage and screen adaptations The book was adapted by Robinson into a play which was first performed on November 26, 1982, by the Seattle Children's Theatre. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a play performed annually for over 20 years by Stage One, a children's theater in Louisville, KY. Other theaters that have performed the play are the Public Theatre of Kentucky in Bowling Green, KY, and The Communication Department of Mississippi College in Clinton, MS. The book was adapted into a television movie on ABC in 1983, starring Loretta Swit and a then-unknown Fairuza Balk. Robinson also wrote this adaptation's teleplay. First Stage in Milwaukee has presented the show nine times since 1990. In 2018, they produced the musical version. The Herdmans were featured in two sequels, The Best Halloween Ever! and The Best School Year Ever. In November 2016, the Children's Theatre of Charlotte in Charlotte, NC, premiered The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical written by Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartener and featuring a cast of both student and professional adult actors. The musical had the highest ticket sales of any show in the theater's history, causing CTC to remount the show in the 2017 season. References 1971 American novels American children's novels Christmas novels Harper & Row books Christmas children's books American novels adapted into films 1971 children's books American novels adapted into plays American novels adapted into television shows