The Pageant of the Masters

Two-time cast member NewMexiKen was pleased to see an article in The New York Times on the Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters.

Is the tableau vivant passé? Not for the 155,000 fans who flock to this beachside town each summer for the pageant. For them, the two-month extravaganza — a $4.1 million production that includes sets and lighting for nearly 40 art pieces on eight staging areas with live narration and orchestra — weaves a magic that is a welcome palliative to the freneticism of modern-day entertainment.

The Pageant of the Masters dates back to 1933, when a much smaller version was organized to publicize an arts festival featuring local artists, which is still held in tandem with the pageant each summer (this year from July 7 to Sept. 1.). Today the tableau vivant pageant has an all-volunteer cast of about 300, and over the years it has added themes, movement, singing and surprises — from a cowboy on a real horse to the uncorking of a 20-foot-tall champagne bottle — to maintain its appeal.

Jill and Emily, official daughters of NewMexiKen, were cast members, too; Emily twice, first at age four. Jill was six. Son Ken made a one time guest appearance as well. He would have been eight. (They depicted children, though often children were needed just for their size to portray characters in the distance — that is, proportionally smaller.)

It was great fun, especially in the first few weeks. They had two complete casts so that you got a week on and a week off, though as the summer passed the drive to Laguna Beach, the application of makeup and costumes, the brief actual performance, and the cleanup and trip home could grow wearisome. Still, one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Oh, yeah. I was part of a depiction of a famous set of figures from the Lisbon harbor, “The Discoverers,” and a card player from one of Cezanne’s paintings. The children were in the Ted DeGrazia UNICEF plate, “Los Niños.”

The wonderful Thurl Ravenscroft was the narrator in those days — you know him better as “Tony the Tiger.”

The Pageant is really something everyone should try and see at least once. It’s grrrreat!

In case you’re uncertain, a tableau vivant is a recreation of artworks, with humans “positioned to take the place of characters in reproductions than can be as big as 35 feet wide and 14 feet high. The models are then made two-dimensional by lighting and the elimination of shadows.” Generally you hold the pose for 90 seconds, though in “The Discoverers” it was seven minutes.