Backpack Jesus

When the director of our church Christmas musical first asked if Cole could be the understudy for the young boy Jesus, I said no thanks. First of all, Jesus didn't look like Cole, and secondly, Cole has never acted like Jesus. It was far to easy, based on past experience, to visualize Cole, in a public display of defiance, bringing to naught the weekly practices that had been held since August and the countless hours parents had spent on the set and sound and costumes. And to set the stakes even higher, people had been inviting friends and family to attend for months.

As it turned out, no other parents wanted to gamble their dignity on their 3-year-old, so we (Dad) felt obliged to at least give it a try.

The first rehearsal proved my fears groundless: with little to no coaching, Cole hammed it up like he'd been raised on Broadway. He eagerly watched the others and tried to imitate the choreography, even when it didn't make theatrical sense for Jesus to be doing hand motions. When Mary sang to him, he gazed at her angelically with an expression I've only seen when he's asleep--the result of energy that comes from knowing that you are, in fact, the center of attention. How could a boy not rise to the occasion when every song and line of a dramatic production highlighted his greatness?

So then came the task of explaining to Cole that he would only get to be Jesus if the other boy got sick. I told him he was "backup." This was confusing because he didn't know what backup meant, and he also didn't couldn't foresee any difference between the practices and the actual performance. Cole simplified things by telling others he was "Backpack Jesus."

This came in handy for awhile. Whenever Cole would disobey, Rich would say, "Cole, What would Backpack Jesus Do in this situation?" (WWBPJD?) "I don't think Backpack Jesus would be getting out of bed again, do you?"

Due, I'm sure, to his impressive handling of the role, the director decided to drop the "Backup" status and allow Cole to act in the first night's performance. He stole the show and made us proud-- except for a few terrifying moments when he started picking his nose during Mary's solo. Mary subtly pushed his hand back into his lap. With a mischievous grin, he slipped his finger up several more times, with Mary and Joseph alternately pushing it back down. Finally, he offered Mary a booger on his thumb -- exactly the behavior I expected, but fortunately less of it.

I don't know yet if the nose picking scene was captured on DVD, but rest assured I will post it if so. For now, here are some pictures from the dress rehearsal. (As you can see, Jack was not nearly so enthralled as Cole with the whole thing).