Accent

Rough edges accentuate 'Pastorela's' local charm

To a manger in Bethlehem

Is where the shepherds must go

And in "A Tucson Pastorela,"

That's the crux of the show.

They are tempted by devils

And nearly lead astray

But there's always an Archangel

To save the day.

OK, we're sorry about that. It's just that Borderlands Theater's "A Tucson Pastorela," which opened Friday night at the Leo Rich Theatre, always puts us in a rhyming kind of mood. And a holiday spirit. The Max Branscomb-scripted "Pastorela," about the shepherds' journey to witness the birth of Christ, is all in rhyme. It's wildly clever, incorporating everything from painting and repainting the "A" on "A" Mountain to Donald Trump's creepy boardroom antics. Borderlands' "Pastorela," now in its ninth year, has become a tradition of sorts in the Old Pueblo. It has Christmas carols in English and Spanish. A huge cast (28) pulled from around the community. It's hopeful and hokey. And it's very funny. This is not a polished production - that's never the point with "Pastorela," and that's part of its charm. The rough edges only reinforce the sense that this is a community-embracing event. But some roles are performed with over-the-top relish, and with delicious results. This is the fifth year Matthew Staples has played the role of Anger, whom Lucifer calls up to help tempt the shepherds away from their mission of traveling to Bethlehem, Staples loves this Anger fellow; you can tell. We aren't supposed to, but we love him, too. Staples moves like a dancer and is so extravagant with the character that you can't wait for him to get on stage again. And he has lots of competition for attention from Cisiany Olivar as Satan, and Matthew Copley as Molach, Lucifer's very incompetent assistants. The two have played the roles for the last four years, and they, too, clearly love the characters. Ah, but no one loves what he's doing as much as Albert Soto as the extremely evil Lucifer. Soto has taken on this gleeful role for nine years now. Like his sidekicks, he adopts all sorts of disguises while trying to trick the shepherds into abandoning their journey. He makes his entrance in a snarling version (is there any other kind?) of Mick Jagger singing "Satisfaction." He morphs into the aforementioned Trump; transforms himself into Joe Rogan, the host of "Fear Factor;" and adopts the persona of a heartless border agent. When Lucifer and his cohorts appear, the angels Michael (Suzanne Darrell) and Gabriel (Rob Rowden) aren't far behind, ready to fight for the shepherds' souls so that the wanderers make it to Bethlehem. The angels' disguises are a bit more heavenly: Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley; Fiona and Shrek. Rowden's Elvis, especially, was a hoot. Christina Walker Rowden directed this production with an eye toward infusing it with heart, and that she did. Providing the music and upping the spirit of the production and the audience was the A:Cim Waila Band, which has provided the sounds for "Pastorela" for five years now. "A Tucson Pastorela" has long been at the Black Box Theater at Pima Community College. It has made a smooth transition to the Leo Rich. But on opening night, there were too many empty seats. This is such a joyful Tucson experience, it's hard to figure out why it isn't overflowing with audience members every night. Opening night was cut a tad short - the piñata breaking at the end was canceled due to a fire at the Tucson Convention Center. But that didn't dim the spirits of the audience as it filed out with the luscious sounds of "Silent Night," lead by a lovely-voiced Norma Medina. For this "Pastorela"

We gladly applaud

It's helping Tucson

Have a Feliz Navidad.

Whoops. There we go again.