Nativity returns to Aztec Theater this weekend
The biennial presentation of the Albany Nativity is set for two performances Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13-14, at the Aztec Theater.
As is the tradition, tickets to the performance are free of charge and will be available at the box office starting 45 minutes prior to each show.
The show has been produced mostly on a two-year schedule since first written and performed in 1939 by Albany playwright Robert Nail.
“We invite everyone to come experience this gift to the community by Robert Nail, who also wrote, directed and produced the Ft. Griffin Fandangle,” director Lorna Ayers said. “We feel privileged to again bring this timeless story of the birth of Christ to the stage.”
Performed by the citizens of Albany and accompanied by both adult and children’s choirs, the production movingly recreates the foretelling of the Christ child and His birth in a stable in Bethlehem.
The doors close each night when either the tick-ets are “sold out” or when the play begins, whichever occurs first.
Once the doors are shut, no one else is allowed to enter so that a worshipful atmosphere can be maintained during the performance, and attendees are asked to do their part as well.
“Out of traditional reverence for the Nativity and respect for fellow audience members, please silence all phones and technological devices and remove any young children that are unable to quietly observe the performance,” Ayers said. “Due to the solemnity of performance we are requesting children under the age of four years not attend.”
Nail’s Albany Nativity tells the well-known story of the birth of the Christ child, but rather than jumping in somewhere shortly before His birth, Nail starts his play where the Bible begins the narration, in Genesis.
Nativity Rehearsals
A dress rehearsal is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12.
Ayers said she was very pleased with rehearsals.
“We have concentrated this week on putting the scenes together and it has gone very well,” she said. “Everyone has been so cooperative and ready to help in any way they can.”
Financial Support
In order for the Na-tivity to be presented as a free production, it is financially supported by the Albany Nativity Association through the Marge Bray Memorial Fund. Contributions are tax deductible and may be mailed to the association at PO Box 2530, Albany TX 76430.
Nativity Origins
The Albany Nativity was first performed in 1939 at the Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church.
The drama, which is taken from scriptures, was written by the late Robert Nail the year after the Fort Griffin Fandangle was es-tablished. It was produced by the people of Albany, just as the Fandangle was, until the Fandangle As-sociation was organized several years later. The Nativity continued to be sponsored and financed by the Fandangle until 1994, when a separate board was set up.
The biennial production is now funded by the Marge Bray Memorial Fund.
Bray directed the Nativity after Nail died suddenly in 1968. She continued as director until her own death in early 1994.
Other directors since that time have been Bill Overton, Alan Jones, Betsy Parsons, Reilly Nail, and Jeanine Hill and Lorna Ayers.
The Albany Nativity has had three different homes over the past 65 years. It began in the Presbyterian Church, although people from all denominations participated then, as they do now.
In 1952, the drama was moved into the auditorium at Nancy Smith Elementary School, which had been completed a year or two before. It continued to be presented in the small intimate auditorium every third year for the next 30 years, until 1982, when the auditorium was remodeled into classrooms.
There seemed to be no good location for the pro-duction to go, until 1991, when the Aztec Theater underwent the first stage of a complete renovation. The play was presented again in 1992, and since then has been produced every other year with the exception of 2010 and 2020.
