“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” opens Friday, 7 p.m., in the San Juan Community Theatre.

Tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for student reserved, with $5 student RUSH available at the door.

Director Merritt Olsen said the true sense of “community” comes alive on the stage with sons, daughters, moms and dads sharing the limelight together.

The play focuses on poorly-behaved children of the Herdsman family, who participate in a church play about the birth of Jesus.

The Herdsman encounter Sunday School children performing in an annual Christmas pageant. Drawn to the hopes of eating a free dessert at church, the Herdsman children find themselves performing the lead roles in the Christmas story.

Through the eyes of the Herdsman children, the cast in the Christmas pageant learned to see the story differently and with new meaning.

“Our impression of people change when we get to know them for the better,” Olsen said.

This family show is sure to generate some laughter and tears. The pageant is a touching tale inviting everyone to gain a renewed understanding of the meaning of Christmas.