“The Butterfingers Angel” etc etc etc a thoroughly modern Nativity play
By Kristin Carlson
If you’re looking for a novel way to celebrate the holiday season this year, look no farther than Colorado Mountain College in Spring Valley.
“The Butterfingers Angel, Mary & Joseph, Herod the Nut & the Slaughter of 12 Hit Carols in a Pear Tree,” a modern Nativity play, opens Nov. 30 at the campus’s New Space Theatre.
The play offers an updated take on the Christmas story, featuring a feminist-leaning Mary, a jealous Joseph, a fast-talking sheep, an egotistical tree and an angel who desperately needs trumpet lessons. The result is a hybrid of Christmas pageant spoof and heartfelt holiday message, designed to bring comfort and joy (plus a few good belly laughs).
The late William Gibson, best known for his Tony-winning play, “The Miracle Worker,” first penned “Butterfingers Angel” in 1974 as a pageant script for his church. Dramatists Play Service picked up the unconventional piece, and theater directors across the nation began offering up a different kind of Christmas play.
The plot follows the career of a fumbling angel sent to bring “good tidings of great joy” to the world. Obstacles range from a resistant Mary to a nefarious Herod, making the course toward human salvation a bumpy one.
Students, alums, community performers featured
Colorado Mountain College adjunct instructor Brad Moore directs a cast featuring a host of CMC students, two theater program graduates and a few favorite community performers.
According to the participants, the entire cast is enjoying the ensemble experience. “Everyone’s high energy and fun,” said Cora Wettlin, who plays Mary.
Nick Garay, the first graduate of the college’s theater program, agreed: “The challenge is to keep our energy on track. I love working with fresh talent; new theater students have so much enthusiasm.”
Garay’s character, the Butterfingers Angel, is an insecure bumbler who’s been given one chance to save his job — and deliver a savior to the world. If he doesn’t succeed, he’ll not only be fired but also banished from heaven. “He’s doing everything in his power to get this right,” said Garay. But Mary is resistant, and Joseph suspects the angel of harboring a less-than-holy affection for his new wife.
Graeme Duke plays the hapless Joseph, who shifts from passionate pursuer, to jilted boyfriend, to jealous husband and beyond. “I have to work my way through all the emotional strides he makes,” said Duke. “It’s a new kind of role for me.”
Theater program graduate Cassidy Willey plays the vain and flamboyant Tree. “After all my years in the theater,” she laughed, “I finally get to be the tree.” The Tree in Gibson’s play not only talks but also transforms into an array of arboreal varieties. “I don’t know how to be a cherry tree yet,” Willey joked, “but I’ll find it.”
Chris Walsh portrays Herod and the Man in Gray, as well as the Courier. His roles complicate the plot and add notes of darkness to an otherwise lighthearted romp. Even so, Walsh is tackling his role as bad-guy Herod with a spirit of fun. “He’s a whiny, diva king, and that’s not really a stretch for me,” said Walsh.
The talking stable animals are played by Jaime Sklavos (the Sheep), Bella Barnum (the Donkey) and Shelby Lathrop (the Cow). “We’re there for comic relief,” said Sklavos. “This play is hilarious, but it has a moral in the end.”
Jarrod Majkut, Jason Cirkovic and Rajen Prodham portray the three kings. “We’re the three stooges of the play,” said Prodham. Majkut added, “We also represent a blind faith that’s healthy. We get completely lost, but we just keep following the star.”
Rounding out the cast are Robin Parent as a gossipy housewife, Brittany Chicon as a second townswoman and Ashley Williford in the role of the Innkeeper’s Daughter.
Parents should note that one scene in the play contains violence that could be disturbing to very young children, and some of the jokes will probably sail right over a younger child’s head. But, overall, the play is family friendly.
“Butterfingers Angel” will be performed Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 6, 7 and 8 at 7 p.m., with matinees Dec. 2 and 9 at 2 p.m. in the New Space Theatre at Colorado Mountain College in Spring Valley. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students, seniors, staff and faculty and can be reserved at svticketsales@coloradomtn.edu or 947-8177, or purchased with cash or check at the door.