Children's play tells story of Christmas

IRONWOOD – Local youth and adults participated in the annual Christmas musical at Zion Lutheran Church part of the Christ Lutheran Parish in Ironwood.

Actors performed the show "Arrest These Merry Gentlemen," telling a different side to the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

The story followed two peacekeepers in the town of Bethlehem trying to follow leads about something "big" happening in the town. The peacekeepers tried to find the merry-making shepherds set to arrive in town for the birth of the messiah.

Despite searching for the shepherds to arrest them, the peacekeepers found how peaceful their town had become because of Christ's birth.

According to show director Mary Hansen, the performance was the first time the cast was all together at the same time.

"We have so many talented people, and it was so hard to get them all together at once," Hansen said. "So instead, we decided on doing a readers theater."

Performers also sang a variety of songs, including Christmas classics like "Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem" and "Joy to the World."

This was the first year this particular show was performed after doing a different show the past two years.

"We have done a Christmas musical the past two years, and the kid's really wanted to do something different," Hansen said.

While the show was performed through the parish, Hansen said there were many non-parish members involved.

"We had a lot of people invite their friends to be involved, and there are lots of people from all over, involved with this," Hansen said. "We have many talented people here."

Despite having a short rehearsal time, Hansen was confident the performers would do well.

"They are doing really good, and they are excited to get out there and show what they can do," Hansen said. "It should be a lot of fun."