Plot

Grace Bradley and the Bradley Family (daughter Beth, son Charlie, and husband/father Bob Bradley) had to take over their church's annual Christmas pageant after the original play director (Mrs. Armstrong) broke her leg. To make matters worse, Charlie Bradley told Leroy Herdman, one of six horrible Herdman kids who curse, smoke, swear, and steal (Imogene, Ralph, Leroy, Ollie, Claude, and Gladys), that people who go to Sunday School get free refreshments, to make him feel dumb about stealing his dessert. This makes the Herdmans infiltrate the only safe haven in all of town.

The next Sunday during Sunday school, Imogene had heard about the pageant and asked know-it-all Alice Wendleken (best friend of Beth Bradley) what a pageant was. Imogene was interested in this "Christmas Pageant" and decided to sign all the Herdmans up for all the main, important parts. This could only mean one thing; TROUBLE!

In the end, the Herdmans become a better family and they find out the true meaning of love.

Characters

Grace Bradley: Mother of Beth and Charlie, and new director of the Christmas pageant. She's determined to make the pageant the best one ever, even with the Herdmans.

Mr. Bradley: Grace Bradley's husband, is your average American father, but doesn't want to go to the pageant almost as much as the kids.

Helen Armstrong: In charge of the Potluck supper, Bazaar, and Christmas Pageant, until she broke her leg, and then everything went to the dogs, er, Herdmans.

Charlie Bradley: The cute younger brother that could never do anything wrong, until that fateful day Leroy stole his lunch... (serves as most of the comic relief in the play version)

Beth Bradley: (Narrator in the play version) the oldest Bradley child, who is somewhat like the voice of reason, at least a little bit.

Alice Wendelken: The goody-two-shoes girl that the adults love. Alice is just considered to be annoying to her peers, including her best friend Beth. She's always Mary in the pageant, but Imogene Herdman made her change her mind...

Maxine: The narrator in the pageant, not the brightest bulb in the bunch.

Beverly: The girl who, according to Gladys Herdman, "got sick"

Elmer Hopkins: Son of the reverend, perfect kid, an example to his fellow students, and is hating every second of it. He's always Joseph, but he's too afraid of Ralph Herdman to argue.

Janet: A bit of a troublemaker, but nowhere near as bad as the Herdmans.

Hobie Clark: The kid with all the excuses. He's the personification of the attitude of the kids; he was already bored with the pageant, but now he has to share it with the worst kids in the world.

Reverend Hopkins: Elmer's father, basically doesn't want anything to go wrong, and can see nothing but that happening if the Herdman's are involved.

The Herdmans

Ralph: The biggest, and probably the dumbest. He's Joseph, but he doesn't really know or care what that means.

Imogene: The leader of the Herdmans. She tells them what to do, and they listen because, well, she's Imogene. She's Mary, and that's the way she likes it. She blackmails fat, skinny, smart, dumb, tall and short kids to obtain wanted items. She smokes cigars durring practice of the best christmas pageant ever.

Leroy: The guy who always steals Charlie's lunch. He heard about the refreshments at Sunday school and passed the information on to his siblings. Although he's sort of like a thug, he gives the gift of a Ham to Jesus.

Ollie: A Imogene-Wannabe, Ollie is sort of in-charge of Leroy and Claude.

Claude: Just goes with the flow, well, the Herdman flow anyway.

Gladys: She's the smallest, but she's fast, and she's mean, and she bites. Gladys is now the Angel of the Lord, who she thinks is her favorite comic book character, the Mighty Marvo.