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Mesa Arizona Easter Pageant

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Jesus the Christ
Written byThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Date premiered1928
SubjectCreation of the world, Fall of Adam and Eve, and life of Jesus Christ
GenreReligion
SettingEvenings on the North lawn of the LDS Temple visitor's center in Mesa, Arizona, United States
Official site

The Mesa Arizona Easter Pageant (Mesa Pageant) is an annual production of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) entitled Jesus the Christ and staged on the grounds of the Mesa Arizona Temple. One of the six LDS pageants, the Mesa Pageant is now the largest annual outdoor Easter pageant in the world.[1]

With a 450-member cast, the 65-minute pageant depicts the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ using song and dance.[2]

History

Jesus the Christ began in 1928 as a small sunrise Easter presentation. The pageant began on the same grounds, just a year after the Mesa temple, the seventh to be constructed by the worldwide church, was dedicated.[3] During World War II, the pageant was not held.[3]

In 2018, the Mesa Pageant celebrated its 90th anniversary with 90,000 attendees.[4] Because of renovation work on the Mesa Arizona Temple and grounds, the Mesa Pageant was cancelled for 2019 and 2020. The Mesa Pageant will continue under area leadership in 2021 following the completion of renovation of the Mesa Temple.[5][6]

Production

A crowd gathering to watch the pageant in 2007, the stage to the right and the temple in the background

The Mesa Pageant runs Tuesday through Saturday evenings during the two weeks just before Easter, performing completely in Spanish on the first Saturday evening. No donations are accepted and no tickets are required, although seating is first-come, first-served. The four-story, multi-level stage used for the pageant is a temporary installment on the temple grounds.[2] It takes three weeks to assemble and is disassembled after each Easter season.

Auditions are required to participate in the Mesa Pageant, and all cast and crew positions are voluntary. Nearly 1,000 people auditioned in 2013 while only 475 (the largest cast to date) were invited back. While the cast is mostly composed of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, members of several other religious faiths participate in the production each year.

Participation in the Mesa Pageant is meant to enrich both the viewer and the cast and crew. Before each performance, the cast and crew gather in the chapel adjacent to the temple grounds for a devotional. A portion of the cast and crew is also assigned to visit with the crowd before and after the production each night. The director as of November 2013 is Jenee Prince.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Jesus the Christ Easter Pageant", VisitArizona.com, 2020. Retrieved on 25 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Markland, Cecily. "Mesa Easter Pageant shares message in dance, drama and music", East Valley Tribune, 17 March 2013. Retrieved on 25 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b Griffiths, Lawn. "Mesa church to present 70th year of Easter pageant", East Valley Tribune, 8 March 2008. Retrieved on 25 March 2020.
  4. ^ Henderson, Krystle. "Why you don't want to miss the Mesa Easter Pageant this year", NBC KPNX, 21 March 2018. Retrieved on 25 March 2020.
  5. ^ Weaver, Jennifer and Roe, Ginna. "LDS Church issues its decisions on pageants, ending 4 while keeping 3 productions", CBS KUTV, 5 December 2018. Retrieved on 25 March 2020.
  6. ^ Walch, Tad. "Church finalizes pageant decision: 4 to end, 3 to continue", Deseret News, 5 December 2018. Retrieved on 25 March 2020.
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