Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol Summary

Thaddeus Bristol, a theatre critic of discriminating tastes, reviews a series of elementary and middle-school holiday plays. First up is "The Story of the First Christmas," staged by the first, second, and third graders of Sacred Heart Elementary. Bristol's first complaint is of uncomfortable chairs and the lingering odor of that day's lunch, as the play takes place in the school cafeteria. He finds little to redeem the setting in the performances, undisciplined; the script, mind-numbing; and the staging, paralytic. The critic concludes that parental encouragement is nice, but in the world of theater, more often than not the encouragement only gives a child the idea that he is talented when he is not.

Next, Bristol discusses "A Reindeer's Gift" at Scottsfield Elementary. Chief complaints include the plot's shallowness and predictability, the overly...