Performers in Borderlands Theater's "A Tucson Pastorela" include, kneeling left to right, Gabriela Nugent, Jeremy Yoyetewa and Teresa Simone. Behind them are Magdalena Pike-Colchado and Darwin Hall.

Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

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Imagine this: Lucifer is disguised as a smarmy host of an "American Idol"-type show. He plans to lure shepherds, who are on the way to see the Christ child, to hell with the promise of fame.

Michael the Archangel is costumed as a wrestler, ready to foil the evil Lucifer's diabolical plan.

That's when Lucifer breaks into the above.

It's just so silly. It's just so fun.

Maybe it's Dan Guerrero's delicious depiction of a slimy Lucifer who can sing and swing and swagger in a most tempting way. And when he sang his father Lalo's "Vamos Bailar," you can see it would be hard to resist following him to hell.

Or perhaps it's Darwin Hall as Michael, towering over everyone else on stage, speaking with a booming, authoritative voice as he smoothly takes on various disguises and defeats the Dark One.

Whatever it is, this "A Tucson Pastorela" is one of the most delectable, funniest ones Borderlands Theater has had in the 12 years it has staged the traditional play.

Of course, much of the credit must go to director Eva Tessler, who kept the 90-minute, one-act production hopping along at a never-get-bored clip.

And nothing was sacred to her, as evidenced by her decision to make Lust, the only capital sin available to help Lucifer lure the shepherds away from their mission, a busty, bootylicious Bardo Padilla, in black wig, lots and lots of makeup, and a dress slit up to here. Padilla was shameless in his over-the-top shenanigans, but oh my, was he fun.

From the ridiculous to the sublime: Amy Erbe's stuttering, disabled Estrella was a heartbreaking wanderer who sang "Let It Be" with such truth and commitment that the Beatles song never seemed quite so powerful. Her voice is heavenly. Which made her rendition of "Silent Night" — sung in Spanish (the language's beauty is particularly evident in this song) a near-holy event.

All performances were sweet and honest and heartfelt.

And then there were the delightful Emily Pratt and Noemi Zavala as Lucifer's sidekicks — it would be hard to call them sweet. They were energetic troublemakers who tried to, but just couldn't seem to carry out Lucifer's demands. It's their fear of Michael, and his never-fear sidekick, Gabriel (a bouncy and talented Camila Tessler), that prevents their completing the tasks.

This telling of the shepherds' journey to see the Christ child and all the hurdles they must overcome to do so is a raucous community event that manages to tell the story in rhyme, weave in topical events and characters, and stick a pitch fork in bigotry and hate.

These pastorelas are personalized and are seen all over in the villages and towns of Mexico.

Borderlands' pastorela, written by Max Branscomb with additional dialogue by Toni Press-Coffman, is a family affair that'll have you giggling and reveling in the fact that we, too, have such a celebratory event.

"A Tucson Pastorela"

• Writer: Max Branscomb, with additional lyrics by Toni Press-Coffman.

• Presented by: Borderlands Theater.

• Director: Eva Tessler.

• Where: Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Ave., in the Tucson Convention Center.

• When: Final performances are 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

• Tickets: $17.75, with discounts available.

• Information: 882-7406.