For any theatergoers who find themselves nostalgic for church Christmas pageants from their childhoods, you're in luck: The 40th revival of Al Carmines' "Christmas Rappings" feels exactly like one of those endless Christmas Eve services. All that's missing are candles dripping scalding wax on your fingers.
"Christmas Rappings" has been performed intermittently during the holiday season for the last 40 years. Telling the entire story of the Messiah through song, Carmines has an unfortunate tendency to fasten upon a single phrase in each song and then force his singers to repeat it ad nauseam. Just try to get "Hail Mary" out of your head.
The 119 cast members are clearly having a great time, whether they're stuck in the chorus or enjoying a solo, but that good time doesn't really translate. The songs are often tedious. The staging from Russell Treyz is minimal—perhaps unavoidably given the size of the cast—though a giant Herod puppet is employed, looking remarkably like James Mason. The overemphatic gestures of the chorus can be squirm-inducing.
Still, it's churlish to complain that a holiday show about Christ is a bore, even if I left questioning what has drawn performers and audience members alike to this show for nearly half a century. The songs frequently require the singers to unfurl the kind of soaring soprano voices rarely heard in musicals anymore, and among the cast are several standouts. The three wise men are amusingly played by sassy chorus girls (Erin Evers, Nikki Jenkins, and Crystal John), John Cormier displays both a powerful voice and welcome restraint as Gabriel, and Gary Giardina is a basso delight as Herod. As Christmas pageants go, things could be worse. At least everyone here can really sing.
Presented by Theater at Judson at Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South., NYC. Dec. 4–19. Wed.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m. (212) 447-0351 x24 or www.judson.org.