Interview: Callie Scheidt, Danni Logan, AJ Evans, Elias Logan of BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER at Rialto Community Theatre

It’s always fun to go back to my home theatre to see what they are doing, and for this holiday season, Directed by Kent Britton and K. Shane Boen, the Rialto Theatre in Morrilton is presenting THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, which runs through this weekend, Sunday, Dec. 15. The show delivers heartwarming laughs and a powerful message about the true meaning of Christmas, all through the antics of the Herdman kids—arguably the most mischievous bunch to ever invade a nativity play. Lucky me, I was able to wrangle the Herdman crew (Callie Scheidt as Imogene, Dominic Tharnish as Ralph, Danni Logan as Gladys, AJ Evans as Ollie, Elias Logan as Claude, and Jameson Smith as Leroy) for an interview.  

BWW: OK, so all of you guys are new to me. Where are yall from? 

Callie: Well, I live here in Morrilton. 

AJ: I'm from Atkins. 

BWW: Are you having fun?  

AJ: Yeah, Yeah.  

BWW: What's been your favorite thing about being here at the Rialto?  

AJ: Meeting all these lovely people and getting to hang out with them. 

BWW: How about you guys? Are you guys having fun?  

Elias and Jameson: Yes, yes, yeah, yeah.  

BWW: What do you like about this show?  

Elias: I don't know.  

BWW: Tell me about your character.  

Elais: I don’t know about my character. 

BWW: What do you like about this play?  

Elias: I don't know what I like about this play.  

BWW: (I’m struggling with this one) Why are you here, child?  

Elias: Because I'm getting an award for it. 

BWW: You're getting an award for it?  

Elias: Yeah.  

BWW: What kind of awards? 

Danni (his actual sister): Zebra Cakes if he does well on his first day. 

Elias: And if I do it for three days, then I’m going to get pizza. 

BWW: You know, that is also my son's incentive to do things. It's the pizza.  

BWW: Cool, How about you? Why are you here?  

Danni: Because well, it's kind of two reasons. It's because I know Ms. Shane. I know this place, because I did the Joseph play (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) here. I was in it. I really like this theater. I don't know why, I just really like it. It's a really old theater, which I really like.  

BWW:  Would you say you identify with your character?  

Danni: I think how I'm like Gladys is because there is a little bit of chaos in me, and I also have a little bit of messiness, and, like, I don't care. I have a little bit of that in me, but sometimes I'm fine. And, the weird thing is because even though I'm the youngest Herdman in the play, I'm the oldest of four kids at home.   

BWW: So you're saying that it could be a little similar? You're real life versus the stage life? 

Danni: Yeah.  

BWW: Great! Thank you guys! So Callie, tell me about yourself.  

Callie: I am currently a Sophomore at Morrilton High School. I used to go to Sacred Heart here in Morrilton, and that's really where I started doing theater. I started in third grade, and I've always had small roles really, because I've been in small productions. I was supposed to be in a play at Morrilton High School last year, but I sadly got COVID before opening night.  

BWW: Ohh No!. That's horrible! 

Callie: Yeah, so I couldn't be in that one. So that really caused me to start searching here at the Rialto. I love acting. I love experimenting with characters and everything and seeing how far I can go. It's like a craft. It's like an art. I love it.   

BWW: So Imogene is a pretty good role. Yeah. How do you feel about that?  

Callie: Ohh, I was very, very happy to get this role. Marlena Tarnish inspired me to audition for Imogene saying she thought I would be a good Imogene, and so I auditioned. When I went into auditions and read a few lines, and I honestly fell in love with the character, and when Shane sent me that e-mail saying I got the part, I got really excited. I really love this character. She's so fun to play with, so it's been a great opportunity so far. 

BWW: What do you want the audience to get out of this play?  

Callie: I want them to realize that there's more than just what’s on the surface of people. I feel like that's an everyday lesson, but I want them to really see that come through my character. Imogene has this whole thing where she gets cast as Mary. At first, she's doing it to rub it in the face of Alice, the one who's always Mary. She's doing it to be that typical bully, but then she really starts to feel connected toward her role. I really hope that the audience can see Imogene’s true emotion and her change and how she wants to become a better person in a way, and that like we really shouldn't “Judge a book by its cover” and everything like that. There's more than just the surface to people, and that just because they may grow up bad, they can truly become good people.  

For more information on how to get tickets, visit The Rialto website at https://rialtomorrilton.weebly.com. 

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